Last weekend I visited my childhood friend, Cici, who was my childminder's daughter. They lived in a small house attached to ours. We spent 7 years of our childhood together, making sand & flower cakes and running around the garden with the batik capes of our fairy costumes flying behind us.
In Indonesia, it is tradition for the young to look after the old. It sounds natural and ideal; in western society this tradition is long gone. Cici returned to Desa Hanja after living and a decent eduction in Bandung a few years after my family had returned to Germany. This was not questioned despite her potential for a career. First I felt disappointed for her, but then seeing 4 generations (Cici has a son called Vega Verdaus, what a name!) all living in the same house, healthy and happy looking, living in a picturesque hilly village with a community, changed my thoughts. Remember where you are. Here, family comes first, values are different than in Europe, it is not all about career&success.
What else I saw there were colours. Such vibrant colours!
No comments:
Post a Comment