I went to a boarding school in Indonesia 2 years ago. I had just finished my national service at that point of time and I wanted to experience the life of my fellow Muslim brothers and sisters living in Kedinding, Surabaya. As Singaporeans, we always boast about how lucky we are, being able to live in the comfort of our HDB homes, with comfortable beds and luxuries. I wanted to see how different it was there. So when i was given the opportunity to enroll myself in the boarding school for a month, I jumped at the opportunity. I flew myself there and immersed myself in the Indonesian culture in this particular islamic boarding school(as shown in the picture).
One of the first things i observed about the people of surabaya is that they are generally warm people. Everywhere i went, people would greet me even though they did not know me. While walking, I would be stopped a few times in a day by locals who simply wanted to talk to me. I felt an instant attraction to the place. This made me more comfortable speaking, smiling, joking and laughing with random people even though i have only just met them.
However, it was not without its challenges. There were 30 students sharing my room and we all slept on carpet ground everyday. The students there perceived that since i was from Singapore, i would not be able blend into their 'hardships'. What they did not know was that we experienced much worst sleeping conditions during field camp in National Service! Thus, the other students could see that i adjusted relatively well to their sleeping conditions. However the sleep timings took a while getting adjusted to. They would sleep at 11pm and wake up at 4am for morning prayers. They would then take a short nap in the afternoon to make up for the lost amount of sleep.
One particular characteristic i noticed about the locals was that they seem happier! They were more laid-back and relaxed. This was how they lived their life. There was little or no stress in their life.They were not in a constant rush for time(unlike Singaporeans!), and this made their time seem longer. When i was there, i was able to appreciate the scenery, the people, the culture and the environment.
However, the experience was not all peachy. I knew that I was only going to be there for 4 weeks, so i wanted to go to places and buy souvenirs for my family before i went back to Singapore. Therefore i needed a guide. When i related this to other students, they implied that they would accompany me but there was no tentative appointment that was made. This made me slightly frustrated. However, i was aware of their 'relaxed' culture and did not press them to bring me around. True enough, a few days before I left for Singapore, some students did bring me around! This made me realize that their concept of adhering to promises and ours are no different(both keep to their promises). The only difference is how long it took for the promise to be fulfilled!
