In short, both my parents have different ethnicities and backgrounds, but I am neither born nor raised in their hometowns. Half of my ancestors migrated here from other parts of the world at different points in time. And everywhere I lived, I am always an expatriate abroad or domestic migrants in Indonesia.
Cultural identity has always been a complex issue for me. But this does not mean that I am no less "Indonesia" as the next person.
The so-called "Indonesian identity" is summed up in the motto of the country: Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (Sanskrit: many, yet one). If you make a cut of Europe from the world map and place it on Indonesia, you swallow a dozen countries and between Sabang Merauke.
Nusantara once hundreds of kingdoms with distinct cultural identities and languages, before others chose to regroup in one: Sriwijaya and Majapahit of the emperors, European and Japanese imperialists, and the movement independence of the early 20th century, initiated by the founding fathers of Indonesia.
As a child of the 1990s, I felt that the education system of the Suharto era was constantly brainwashed schoolchildren with "identity Ind-ONE-sian" and my experiences and unique interpretations were often discredited. Yet the same schools were ready for the "age of globalization" emerge where Indonesians are supposed to compete internationally on the open market of the new borderless world.
At the time, I took almost all of Indonesia for granted and concentrate on trying to become citizens of this earthly world. Maybe he took my trips abroad as a teenager to finally appreciate where I'm going. I learned that the grass is not always greener on the other side. and people actually think my country and nation are beautiful, without doubt so I do not think of myself. They have genuine questions for me to answer or at least to find them.
I moved to Jakarta in 2007 and studied Performing Arts Communication at a local university that ranks as having an "international" atmosphere (although more they claim to be London plus I remember that this could happen in Jakarta).
There's nothing wrong with my campus brand image, but I noticed a problem when our classes became more about copycatting trends pop American and British culture rather than cultivating a true art. So I started looking for authenticity in the art scene of the local scene. I find the authenticity usually happens when artists are connected to their cultural roots and create something personal that others can not.
In my last year, I wrote a thesis on the cultural identity of Indonesian teenagers trained in a Western setting. The international school next to my office then claimed equip its students to become future "servant leaders" who are sensitive to social realities of their country of origin, but also able to excel in future advanced careers around the world. I noticed the music class of middle school and asked to interview three students who are Indonesian citizens, have two Indonesian parents and speak Indonesian at home.
The first, a seventh grader, fluent Indonesian. His eyes danced when we discussed his interest in Indonesian traditional music. However, she admitted that the search for teachers who could teach him the historical context of Indonesian instruments was difficult, so now she focused her studies about Western classical music. She later struggled with his Indonesian and English broke when we touched more complex ideas. She expressed her resentment "English policy immersion" school that has repressed his right to speak in Indonesian.
The second was an eighth grader. I thought I interviewed in Indonesian. I italics English in the transcript and ended up with 80% italics! And 20% were non-italics grammatically atrocious. She thought Indonesia is unfit for school education or expression fine, advanced ideas (I disagree) because the only "Indonesian normal" it is exposed to street level is slang Jakarta. And she thought that cultural preservation means watching a traditional dance in Bali holiday and tell friends.
The third, a ninth grader musically gifted, greeted me with a "Can we do this in English? My Indonesian is not so good. "I wanted to laugh, but apparently it was not a joke. It shocked me by proclaiming a program like" American Indonesian-base "after spending his previous eight years being homeschooled with US. The only people she talks Indonesia are its pembantu and SOPIR however, it has expressed regret for not being better informed about the history and culture of his country, and language. and hope catch up by reading books and traveling.
I have had similar experiences to that of every girl at different points in my life (except that my Indonesian is now more commonly than English). and I'll probably never be Indonesian expert I want to be. But I try to learn something new about my country everyday, to appreciate with new eyes, and live to tell his story. I ' hope the girls interviewed will also grow in their love for Indonesia in their own self-discovery trips.
I could discuss that the results of my thesis of 180 pages, but concluded that two "Indonesian identities" are identical. Rather, the identification as "Indonesian" is choosing to call this country home and do his best to do good things for this nation, what it means. But surely this applies to other nationalities as well. And if you were immersed in a culture other than your own, whether expatriate or overseas in an international environment at home, the experience often makes you reassess your values and how you view your national identity .
Jamaican politician Marcus Garvey said: "A people without knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots" Being a Third Culture Kid who struggle daily with multiple identities. and questions such as "where do I belong?" I believe that what really matters is not forgetting where you come from. It defines who you are and what you do, wherever you go. It gives your current direction and gives you the courage to face wherever you take your future.
BA Honsthesis Persepsi Xenosentrisme dan Budaya Identitas Pada Siswa Musik Indonesia Remaja Berpendidikan Barat Grace (English: Perceptions Xenocentrism and Cultural Identity in the Indonesian teenage students Music Western-Educated) was originally released by Indonesian STIKOM the London School of public Relations - Jakarta in November 2011, and supervised by the sociologist Alex Sobur, M.Si. Indonesian complete PDF version of the thesis, and an English translation only chapter are available on Academia.edu