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Jakarta Livin’

Happy 65th Independence Day, Indonesia

Indonesia
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Today Indonesia celebrates her 65th Independence Day after proclaiming its freedom from Japan (Japan took over Indonesia from Netherlands occupation in 1942) on August 17, 1945. Still young compare to some other countries but we’ve surely come a long way. Unfortunately, because the day fall during the Ramadhan month, seems like there won’t be too much of traditional celebrations going on, sadly much like last year. For fun, here are my top 10 reasons why I love my country: My rich cultural background. Yes, I’m Indonesian but when people asks me where I’m from and I asked them to guessed they all failed miserably. My father is from Ambon one of the most beautiful island in Indonesia that I have .....

Inter-religious Tolerance, A Possibility?

Indonesia
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So it’s that time of the year again in Indonesia where you will see most restaurants either closed down during the day or spread a curtain on their usually cleared windows to cover the people eating inside. These veiled windows will be a very common sightings for a month. It’s the holy month for the Muslim as they start their one month long fasting or known as Ramadhan. Being one of the largest Muslim populated country in the world, it means this whole month long event will affects everyone even from different religions. When I was still working, the company’s canteen will be closed for lunch leaving us, non Muslim to find lunch somewhere else or just fast away and .....

Top 10 Favorite Indonesian Cuisine

Indonesia
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Being Indonesian, I love Indonesian foods and being a country of so many tribes and islands, you bet there are plenty of  different kinds of food here that Anthony Bourdain from No Reservations did an episode  in Jakarta and Bali. Andrew Zimmerman was here too but my favorite gotta be Anthony Bourdain – he’s just so cool like that. With no particular order, here are my Top 10 Favorite Indonesian Cuisine 1. Mie Ti Ti (Makassar Fried Noodle) : This is a traditional fried noodle from Makassar – the place where I was born – What makes the noddle so special is the way they fried the noodle first it is super crunchy and crispy. Then you pour the vegetable .....

Is Indonesian Parents Spoil?

Jakarta Livin'
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With how cheap domestic helper/nanny/maid whatever you want to call it here in Indonesia, has Indonesian become spoil parents? Granted there are still parents who go against the ‘tradition’ of having their own nanny and plunge head first into the unknown role of parenting but it seems a lot of parents – specifically those within the middle-upper class economic status – these days would be on the hunt for a nanny even before they decide which crib to pick. So when one of my blogger friend questioning about this “nanny nation” trend because she saw Western family with a baby dining out without a nanny and they seems alright while right on another table she saw local families with their .....

Will Indonesian Language Go Extinct?

Indonesia
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New York Times ran an article a couple of days ago about how Indonesians’ younger generations nowadays are more fluent in English, some can’t even master the national language. It’s a pretty good article and pretty much portraying the current ‘trend’ in upper – middle class parenting accurately. I have noticed this since we moved back here, these little children running around talking in fluent English with their Nannies barely-there-English tendering after them. Me, I think it is fantastic to introduce another language to a child since their tender age because we all know that it’s easier to teach them early but honestly it is sad to thinks that most of these children can’t even speak in their own native .....

Medan Is NOT The Worst City In The World

Indonesia
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photo credit: a_rabin I came to read this article that says Medan (capital of North Sumatra) is the worst city in the world from Twitter. Eyebrows were raised reading it, disturbing but at the end I found myself laughing. Disturbing, because as much as I have this love-hate affair with my own country, it always pull a few nationalism nerves on me when I read others write badly about Indonesia. Funny, because it sounds like that piece of crap – yes it is crap – article came out of an amateur bitter tourist. Let’s analyze it a bit, will you. You’re slim pickin’s for hotels, you don’t seem to boast a single, decent restaurant and from what I’ve heard, you’ve .....

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