A

strong>April 12, p8

When I reflect on what has been perhaps my greatest accomplishment in my young life so far, I have always thought it to be my ability to speak Indonesian. But I have realized I am wrong.

My greatest accomplishment in these short, almost 30 years is my relationship with this country. Those that know me well know that I have had a great number of challenging relationships in my life, many of which I am lucky to say, still stand. (By Kate Hill, Bandung, West Java)

Your comments:

Australians tend to fall into two camps: those who embrace Asia like this author and those who are negative toward other cultures that differ markedly from their own backgrounds, for example Anglo, Italian, Lebanese etc.  

I suspect that multi-generational Australians are more likely to be relaxed and open to Asia than those Australians who are migrants or the offspring of migrants.

This is because those who go back to convict days have no connection to the societies their ancestors came from.

They are more likely to want to travel to Asia.

On the other hand, the migrant groups tend to reinforce their connections elsewhere.

Indonesia and Australia are indeed two very different societies. This is reflected in religion, history, politics, culture and ways of life.  What we have in common is a desire for prosperity and peace in our region.  

We need to build on this as good neighbors rather than be concerned about our differences.  

It is in fact the differences that lure people to travel and understand other societies.

Jagera