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Janet Steele: New book bridges Indonesia and US
(JP/Anggara Mahendra)Written in Indonesian, with a simple style that one would use in an email to a friend, Email dari Amerika (Email from America) describes the daily life of an American
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(JP/Anggara Mahendra) (JP/Anggara Mahendra)
(JP/Anggara Mahendra)
Written in Indonesian, with a simple style that one would use in an email to a friend, Email dari Amerika (Email from America) describes the daily life of an American.
More than just stories about the simple things in life, the book also touches on a wide range of issues that connect not only the author with Indonesia, but also Indonesian readers with American traditions.
The book is a compilation of emails written by Janet Steele, an associate professor of journalism at the School of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University. The emails were published as a weekly column in Surya newspaper in Surabaya from 2007 to 2011.
As an American who loves Indonesia ' calling it her second home ' Steele points out commonalities between Indonesia and the US through topics she thinks Indonesian readers will find interesting.
'Actually, the message is that Americans and Indonesians are pretty much alike. Although we have different customs, we both live in big democratic countries, and we have the same issues. We all have friends, we love our families, we love our pets, we worry about money ' the basic things in life,' Steele said.
She even wrote on topics such as 'what is snow like?' and 'how do Americans manage to live without pembantu [domestic helpers]?'.
Having been associated a lot with Indonesia since 1997, Steele felt a connection between Indonesians and Americans, something that inspired her to write the emails every week.
'I'm just an ordinary American. But for many Indonesians, I might be the only American they know, so I want to make sure I leave a good impression.'
The book is published by Yayasan Pantau, a small foundation devoted to quality journalism, where Steele has taught an annual course on narrative journalism since 2000.
Writing the column for a little over three years, Steele has truly connected with the readers, with many writing to her asking various questions about America, and even expressing their condolences when her parrot Conrad died.
Every week, she found it exciting to decide what topics she should talk to readers about. Always starting the email by greeting her readers with 'hai' and concluding with 'salam hangat dan sampai minggu depan' (warm regards and see you next week), she was moved to talk about Valentine's Day when the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued a fatwa declaring the celebration haram.
In the story, she told readers about a friend who could not stay for the meeting because she had to make cookies for her children's class.
'I got really upset about that [MUI fatwa]. Valentine's Day in America has nothing to do with religion and it's not a vice. The people who like it most are children, because they get cookies and candies.'
Reading the book is like seeing 'the other side' of Steele, who usually writes about heavy matters.
Steele's previous book is Wars Within: The Story of Tempo, an Independent Magazine in Soeharto's Indonesia, which focuses on Tempo magazine and its relationship to the politics and culture of New Order Indonesia.
A former Fulbright professor in the American studies program at the University of Indonesia (1997-1998), she was awarded a second Fulbright teaching and research grant to Jakarta's Dr. Soetomo Press Institute in 2005-2006.
She found her ability to use Indonesian improve because of writing the column.
'My vocabulary is somewhat limited, but my editor in Surya was excellent. She corrected my grammar, but didn't change my syntax, making it really sound like me,' she said, adding that many of her friends did not believe that she actually wrote those emails in Indonesian.
Describing the book as 'her memoir written in the form of email', she ends it on a high note with a chapter titled 'Anugerah' (godsend), her favorite Indonesian word. This chapter tells about how she feels blessed to have lovely family and friends.
- Not available in bookstores, Email dari Amerika can only be purchased through Yayasan Pantau. Contact details: Eva or Udin, Jl. Raya Kebayoran Lama 18 CD, South Jakarta 12220. Phone +6221 7221031; Fax +6221 7221055; and website pantau.or.id
