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Vlogging to satisfy craving of Indonesian food: Christina
Christina’s budding success as an Indonesian lifestyle vlogger abroad is in large part thanks to her informative cooking videos. What makes her channel unique is how she manages to cook complicated traditional Indonesian recipes with limited resources in the US.
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Pontianak-born vlogger, Christina, poses with her vlogging camera. (JP/Severianus Endi)
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fter seven years living in Minnesota, the United States, up-and-coming vlogger Christina set foot in her birthplace, Pontianak, West Kalimantan. Despite suffering from a cough as it is dry season there, Christina is still happy to be back.
“I don’t want to control my appetite while I’m here. I miss all the food,” she said to The Jakarta Post on Thursday, Sept. 27, in Pontianak.
She was on vacation and held a meet-and-greet session with YouTube subscribers. Similar sessions are also held in Jakarta and Yogyakarta while she’s in Indonesia.
Christina’s budding success as an Indonesian lifestyle vlogger abroad is in large part thanks to her informative cooking videos. What makes her channel unique is how she manages to cook complicated traditional Indonesian recipes with limited resources in the US. Her YouTube channel entitled "Nongkrong Bareng Christina" (Hanging Out With Christina) has over 101,000 subscribers at the time of writing.
“I’m not too in tune with technology, but I decided to just go for it. When I first started, I only used a phone camera,” she said.
Christina, who was orphaned at the age of 18, met her American foster parents online. After finishing her English major at a university in Pontianak, she met an American man, David, who is now her husband, via a chat platform.
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As a prolific vlogger, Christina focuses on traditional Indonesian recipes and unique Borneo food. Aside from cooking, she sometimes vlogs about her daily life.
“I focus on positive content that can inspire many people. I tell life stories that bring peace. I also share about creativity,” she said.
The most-viewed recipe on her channel, according to Christina, is ikan asam pedas (sour and spicy fish), as it has reached over a million views at the time of writing. The challenge of finding Indonesian ingredients doesn’t stop her.
“It’s just survival instinct. I have to satisfy my craving by cooking Indonesian food because nobody sells Indonesian food in Minneapolis,” she said. “I still want to cook a lot of things, one of which is rawon (East Javanese-style black beef soup), which requires a certain type of beansprout. I haven’t been able to find the beansprout,” she added.
Although it seems like she only vlogs for fun, Christina makes sure that she uploads her vlogs regularly. “I vlog when I have spare time, but I upload three times a week,” she said.
In her vlogs, Christina often features her three year-old daughter Maddy, and her husband, David, known to her loyal viewers as ‘Babang Dave’. “I do worry about Maddy’s privacy, therefore I am very careful in exposing Maddy’s activities, particularly when she takes a bath or gets dressed,” said Christina.
After two years of vlogging, Christina has monetized her channel and now makes up to Rp.15 million per month. Starting off with only her phone camera, today Christina has several cameras to support her vlogging activities. “I use a Canon Vixia Mini X, a Nikon D7000 and a Canon GX Mark II. My favorite one is my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV,” she said.
Christina encourages mothers to start vlogging as she regards it as a positive activity, “Vlogging has a lot of positive impacts. It’s a good pastime, it increases our confidence and broadens our network."
However positive and cheerful her online persona is, Christina also has haters, “There are always haters. If I can still handle them, I’ll let them be. If not, I’ll just block them,” she added. (asw)
