30 Things I'll Miss About Indonesia

Hi there! Been skating through unique things lately. Who would think that I would someday join the John Robert Powers course? lol. So far, I've learned that washing faces has its techniques, that introduction also has its, and that I'm overweight. Ahh...

The leisure days are over and I'm stunned by how quickly time swims by. I've arrived at the phase of my life which I call 'Counting Days Before MIT'. Or, to better reflect my heart, 'Counting Days I'm Left With' to be home. To float, fly, dive, dip, and splash inside my community, my friends, my life I've been knitting for eighteen years. To gather as much homeness as I could into my backpack. To be this kind of me.

So!For the sake of fulfilling my sentimental needs, and for possible future keepsake, I've decided to write this entry. I have 30 days to write 30 things I loved, and always will.

30 Things I'll Miss About Indonesia-
#3- Indonesian Language

"I'm perfectly happy with my language, despite the fact that only a drip of human population speaks it."

I agree that some phrases sound more sophisticated, romantic, or simply better in English. Yet there's what you call Indonesian 'slang's that are highly familiar that they become a part of me. It's so hard not to use them, you can't find a good correspondence in English, and no English slangs or colloquials (as far as I know) are as lively as them. I'll show you.

"Gak Yoi lo!"
english direct translation: not 'yeah', you!
This is said when some of your close friends isn't as enthusiastic as you, although you're very excited about something.
alternative version: "Gak CS-an, ah!"

"Krik."
This is, imitating the sound of a cicada, showing a disinterest in something (cicada is usually heard in silence-got the point?)

"Sumpe lo??" (emphasis on both 'e' and 'o')
"You swear?" doesn't sound equal. XD

"Tos dolo dong, coy."
"High-five!" in a faaaaar cooler way. =D

"Menurut lohhh?" (said in a certain tone. lol.)
"What do you think?". Said when you don't want to answer someone's question.


Besides the slang, the grammatical Indonesian also sounds nice. For those of you who are interested, "Aku mencintaimu" is the way to say "I love you", although I prefer "Aku sayang kamu." It's more...heart warmer =) hee-hee. I think that it's also a powerful media to communicate things, check out this awesome poem by Sutardji Calzoum Bachri, "Tragedi Winka dan Sihka" (Tragedy of Winka and Sihka). For non-native speakers, 'Kawin' means marry, 'kasih' means love. 'kaku', in this context, is meaningless (sort of). The rest, is not hard to figure out ;)

Not to mention mellow Indonesian songs! They're definite heartbreakers. Awww...

It's the first logical expression I've learned, and it has been imprinted, almost genetically, inside of me. And there's currently *only* 6 Indonesian undergrads at MIT. I'll definitely, definitely, miss Indonesian language. MIT here I come!