Sumatran Pendidikan: Indonesian Teen Life

Well, having just typed the title for this entry I feel a bit silly...I mean what can I really say and what do I really know about Indonesian teen life? Some observations, yes...some discussions with students, yes...but like American teen life - I have only a small window through which to view and only my own biases as filter. Still, I suppose that in a blog you are entitled to say whatever you like, without any real study or research to support. So, here are some fragments and photos sharing what I have seen, heard, and think I understand about Indonesian teenage life:

Like American teens, Indonesian teens love to sleep...this was confirmed by three different classes of students (120+ students). The majority love to spend their Sunday (the only day they don't have school) sleeping...or at least a large portion of that day. They also enjoy hanging out with their friends at one of the many malls here or traveling to places like Danau Toba (Lake Toba). What's remarkable to me is the freedom the young people here to seem to have and the courage they show in taking on a big city like Medan. For example, tonight I was talking with the 13 year old who lives in the home where I am staying about her freetime activities. She often goes with her friends to Merdeka Walk (an outdoor market area) or SunPlaza (a very expensive, Western-style, shiny mall) by taxi or becak with no adult supervision...and she's been doing so for a couple of years already. Today, while in transit to the "Let's Talk" radio program where I've done two sessions now, I saw two very young (8 and 10 maybe) kids in a becak going home from school. These youth are out in the world - doing their things and getting themselves around. It's amazing! But I digress...

Let's see...teens here also enjoy technology (Blackberrys are ubiquitous; Facebook is loved) and sports (futsol is very popular in Medan given that there are few large fields on which to play soccer). They belong to extracurriculars ranging from sports clubs to English club (which participates in competitive speech and debate contests and these students ROCK!) to math decathlon to dancing and so on....They also take extra study courses (tutoring) in the afternoon to develop skills that they find hard to master in a class of 45 where individual attention does not exist really. In many ways, their lives reflect teenage lives around the world - full of school, cliques, stress and fun.

I was very fortunate to be invited to a student's birthday party last week by the English club. I visited their kick-off meeting at the start of the school year and was asked if I would accompany them to a birthday party for their classmate. Why not, I thought, and so off we set in becaks to I have no idea where for a party. I wasn't sure what I'd find, but I imagined a small gathering of friends...what I found was a huge party (over 60 or 70 students) and some family members and live karaoke (keyboard player and a song book for students and family to sing from). It was amazing to see everyone sitting together on the floor (classic Indonesian style), eating, laughing, and then singing and dancing. Most touching of all was when Nurul, the sweet 17 (as they celebrate it here) birthday girl, and her father sang a love-song duet. It was beautiful!

Following the party, which ended before dark so that all could get home safely and get some homework done as it was a weeknight, I was invited to do some sight-seeing with a few of the English club leaders...which was absolutely awesome. Not only are their English skills so impressive, but their thoughtful way and generous spirits have made a lasting impression on me. Thinking that I might be interested in a Buddhist temple and in a "natural" space in Medan (how they read that about me in only two days is beyond my comprehension and is so appreciated too), they took me to Cemara Asri, a housing development that is rather posh and which features a massive complex of Buddhist temples of different sects and styles. And when I say massive, I don't exaggerate. The largest temple building is huge and is comprised of a temple, a playground, a vegetarian restaurant, a "hotel" for monks, a shop, and much more...there is incredible artwork - and some fantastic kitsch (see below) - inside the structure too. And then, just outside, there is a beautiful lake area that was man-made but which has been preserved in recent years as it has grown into a bit of a wildlife sanctuary with egrets and herons...amazing! I suppose the whole place had the feeling of a Central Park - a spot of peace and beauty in a bustling, dirty city.