ankhet who ate the world

My Frustration

Can you see how big Indonesia is? How many islands there are?

Now do you see this huge picture of all the different ethnic groups of Indonesia? Can I tell you many have their own language? They have their own food,traditions, dances and songs, and way of life. Sure they’ve mixed a bit esp in cities like Jakarta but they are still different. 

Now let me show you where I’ve been.

This is a tourist map and it contains all the places I’ve seen in Indonesia. There’s the big red area Jakarta where I live. Bandung, Bogor, Garut and just recently Karawang. I’ve seen the presedential palace and the bontainnical gardens in Bogor. i’ve seen the mountains of Garut and the hot springs. They were all incredibly beautiful. 

But Indonesia is huge. There’s a little map of Indonesia in the corner so you can see West Java in relation to the whole country. I’m not on some travel progrom so I don’t expect to be jetting off to stay in Bali for 2 months. Yes I have school. I have a normal family life. But when given the chance all I want to do is see more Indonesian culture. So my frustration is being held back NOT by oppurtunity but by rules that box me into just 1 city. 

Rules, people that say I’m not allowed unless so-and-so and the list get longer and longer until all I hear is no. It’s not my family - they are happy to have me see more of Indonesia. They can’t always take me exploring because they’re in school and have work so they get that I might have to go with friends, stay with other family members without them. They get it but some others don’t. And that is why I find myself stuck in this one city. All alone. School friends are still in school. So are my sisters so my host parents can’t leave. 2 vacation weeks where I was supposed to be exploring in a different part of Java wasted in my house. 

I have never hated rules so much. I have never hated having to ask permission so much. I have never felt so stuck.