Taman Mini!

4 Nov 13

Sacha Stevenson...a really funny "Bule"

So, some may be wondering what “Boolay” means.  It is spelled as “bule” and it basically means “white person.”  Since I am easy to spot in a crowd, that is what I usually hear on the streets of Jakarta.  I have been very fortunate to be staying at this homestay known as the “Pesona Guest House.”  It is owned by Nana (who is Indonesian) and her Canadian husband, Mel.  When I first got here I was surprised to meet them…in fact, initially I spoke Indonesian to Mel and he gave me a weird look.  He doesn’t speak a “lick” of Indonesian and his wife speaks English pretty well.  They also have a 12 yr old daughter named Mita, who acts just like an American teenager and speaks English very well.  Her conversations include the boy band “One Direction,” (which I know nothing about), Marvel movies, and The Walking Dead.  To me it is like a parallel universe, and I am learning a lot about both Canada and Indonesia from the Breau Family.

"The Pesona"...nestled in Cilandak, South Jakarta

            Mel’s son, Desmond runs the Language Studies Indonesia school, so it happened that this homestay was located right down the street from the school where I am studying.  The faculty are very easy-going and I have had some very interesting cultural and religious discussions with them.  They are very interested when they find out I am Mormon.  A lot of Indonesians are not too familiar with the LDS church, and some get so excited when they meet a Mormon.  It’s funny, because Religion and Politics are “Taboo,” but it seems to be the root of all the discussion questions in my classes.

           

On Friday evening I was able to get a sneak peek of the new Thor movie.  Once again, I was quite amazed at the facilities that they have in these malls.  I went to yet another mall called “Kemang Village,” which was built on a cemetery.  In fact, if you look at the location on Google Maps, all you will see is a cemetery…this Mall/Hotel/Plaza is pretty new.

            On Saturday I went to indulge myself in (what so far has been) the ultimate cultural immersion experience.  The place is called “Taman Mini,” and they have everything from museums to water parks.  It cost like $0.75 to enter, and then you pay for things like the museums, sky lift, water park, IMAX, etc.  However, there were plenty of things to see that were free.  It is set up to represent each province/region of Indonesia, so theoretically, you can travel through the entire country of Indonesia and somewhat get a taste of the culture from those respective areas. 

Each region had replica houses, worship places, buildings etc. with museum-like exhibits inside.  It was cool traveling through the different parts and seeing the different architecture and cultural elements.  Probably the pinnacle part of the experience is taking the skylift across the park.  You get a really cool view of the mini-map, and it was well worth the $3 price.