my experience

from Indonesia to Germany

[boymanroe]

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[boymanroe]

summer

Summer is the season which is highly anticipated by everyone. The sun started shining, the weather began to heat up, and the duration of daylight longer than night. 

If in Indonesia in general at 6 pm the sky was getting dark, and at 6 am the sun will rise, in Germany, in the summer the sun will rise around 5 am and sunset will be around 9 or 10 pm. So do not be surprised if during the night, you can still see the sun in Germany. Sometimes it makes me forget the time, I was still daylight when it was evening, because the outside is still very bright. 

Indonesian people in general really do not like the hot weather, the bright sun. If the weather is hot, then people would be reluctant to get out of the room, and prefer to remain indoors. If you must go out, in general, will walk among the shadows of buildings or trees to avoid sunlight. Even if the sun is too hot, don’t be surprised if you see people walking outside by using an umbrella even though it does not rain.

In contrast to the Germans, they really like hot weather and hot sun. If it had been summer, it will be a lot of people who go to the park, lake or beach for swimming, sunbathing, or grilling. They look very happy with the sun, because the majority of their weather is cold or cloudy, so they do not want to waste when they got the sun. In contrast to us, which is generally the weather is always hot, and we felt it was fed up with the sun, so we really want the cold weather.

[boymanroe]

school

I always felt curious about the German education system and how schools in Germany. I always try to pay attention and observe the lives of school children here. 

Finally yesterday I met with a friend of my friend who turned out to work as a teacher. I asked her how the system of pre-university schools. 

In Germany, education Pre-College that there are only two kinds, namely primary education (Grundschule) and further education (Gymnasium, Realschule, or Berufschule). And in Indonesia, Pre-College education there are 3 kinds, namely primary (SD), junior high school (SMP) and Senior high school (SMA).Also different in terms of time, in Indonesia it takes 12 years (normal) levels prior to university, whereas in Germany it took 13 years. But nowaday in most parts of Germany, it took 12 years.

In addition, students in Germany do not use a uniform to school. They use free clothes to school. While in Indonesia, each student must wear uniforms to school, if you do not use a uniform, then the consequences will be given. 

The most important thing is, education in Germany free of charge, every person has an equal opportunity to get an education. It applies to foreigners or Germans living in Germany. In Indonesia, not all people can get a free education. And yet in all levels of education can be obtained for free. I hope that someday, in Indonesia all people can get a free education.

[boymanroe]

shopping center

Shopping ... shopping ... yeaaah ...

I love shopping .... 

In Indonesia, especially the big cities, you will be very easy to find shopping malls everywhere. Even in Jakarta there are more than 170 shopping centers. The distance of each shopping center is generally not much. 

Each shopping centers competing to make something different from other shopping centers. This is spoiling the shopaholic, because they have very many options and sometimes can find all the desired items by simply visiting a shopping mall. 

Slightly different from the situation in Germany, as long as I was in the NRW region, I very rarely find a shopping mall. In general, a shopping center in the form of a row of shops alongside a road, so we have to trace all the way in shopping centers if you want to shop. This is probably because German people really like walking, and prefer the atmosphere of the shops on the roadside. 

The unique thing is, at the top of the building each store is home residents. You can rent the residence, but in general are quite expensive. Maybe if in Indonesia, such as RUKO (Home and Store), but the difference is usually RUKO is occupied by the owner of the store.

RUKO ( House & Store)

[boymanroe]

do and don’t

During my time in Germany, I realize there are some things that the usual and ordinary people do here but it is not reasonable to do people in Indonesia, and vice versa. There are a few things that make me uncomfortable, but there are some things that I think is very good to be emulated.

All right, I'll try to compare between a common do in Germany but is unusual in Indonesia.

You will very often see men and women kissing in public places, such as train stations, trains, buses, even at the roadside. It is very unusual for them, and no one is prohibiting you if you did. But when you are in Indonesia, do not try to do it in public places, because people will stare at you with sharp, and sometimes will rebuke you. Because for eastern culture, kissing in public is very unnatural and it is still considered taboo.

German society was known to be on time, if you have an appointment to meet at a certain time, you have to come just in time, should not be earlier and should not be late. This is true in every respect, both in the case of a visit to the homes of others, and especially in terms of employment. If we look at the habits of the people of Indonesia, in general, will always come late from the agreed time, and it has become a natural thing for the people of Indonesia. I hope someday the people of Indonesia can be a punctual person.

Most of the Indonesian society is still eaten by hand, and it is very reasonable. But for the Germans, fed by hand are considered disgusting, and it is very unnatural. Because they are usually eaten with a spoon, fork, and knife. So, for the people of Indonesia, when you are in a restaurant or cafe and dine with the Germans, do not try to eat by hand.

Blew his nose with a loud voice is very natural for the German people. I'm often surprised on hearing the sound of the exhaust snot in the classroom, bus, train, even in the restaurant and in the church. For the people of Indonesia, it is a disgusting thing, and very unnatural in a public place. If you want to dispose of snot, you have to go to the toilet or looking for a quiet place. If the state was forced, you can do it in a low voice.

Never jaywalking in Germany. If you want to cross the road, you have to look to the right and left first, and make sure no vehicle that was speeding. You have to wait for the green light at a crosswalk, and never crossed on a red light. Actually this is the rule in every country, but in Indonesia are still many who don’t cross over in time. This is because not many crossings in Indonesia, and sometimes crossings are rarely very far away, and make people lazy if it should cross at a crosswalk and finally crossed at any place.

[boymanroe]

Toilet

"I want to go to the toilet, do you have 50 cents?"

"What?"

"For what you need 50 cents to the toilet?"

Don’t be surprised at this, because in general in Germany if you want to use the toilet, you have to pay. Even the restrooms at restaurants, train stations, rest areas, and even in shopping malls you have to pay as well.

At the train station, if you want to toilet, you must insert 50 cents into the machine to be able to get into the toilet. And in a restaurant or shopping mall, there is a woman sitting in front of the entrance to the toilet with a plate on the table next to them. There is no rule requiring you to pay, but when you come out of the toilet, this woman would be glowering at you, as if to say

 "where's my money ... give me 50 cents ..." 

and like it or not, you should putting money on a plate that is provided.

However, in Indonesia toilets are generally free, you don’t need to pay to use the toilet like a train station, shopping mall, or at a restaurant. You can use the toilet as often as you want, and generally when people go to the shopping mall, the first thing people do is go to the toilet prior to spruce up their appearance.

But don’t worry, if you do not want to pay for toilet, there are a few places that you don’t need to pay to go to the toilet. For example, when at the train station which is the last stop, you can get into a train that was stopped and using the toilet in the train. Or you patiently wait for your train, and later use the toliet in the train. When you're d shopping centers, there is usually some restaurant or café that has free toilets, you simply go into the restaurant and went straight to the toilet. It sounds a bit ridiculous and embarrassing, but it is one of the solutions to avoid the toilets were paid.

Ah yeah, in German, bathroom in the house in general is the dry bathroom. Unlike in Indonesia, wet bathroom and usually has a water tank, or cistern. Here you can even use sandals or shoes to the bathroom, tried in Indonesia, surely your sandals or shoes will be wet. So, don’t ever urinate or have a bath in the bathroom on the floor when you are in German, because the water can wet the bathroom floor and even water could come out of the shower and wet the floor of your home.

Bathroom in German

bathroom in Indonesia

[boymanroe]

Transportation

There are some friends asked me, "Do you have a train in your country?" Sometimes I laughed at this question, I feel they imagine Indonesia as a country that remote and underdeveloped. In Indonesia, we have a railway transportation but not as much as in Germany. In general, people use the train to go to a different city. More community use private transportation such as cars and motorcycles in everyday life. That's why the traffic in Indonesia is always jammed.

Commuter Line in Indonesia

In Germany there are several alternative public transportation such as trains (DB), tram (U-bahn, STR-bahn), and buses. And in general public transport facilities here are very adequate, and there are many alternatives to move from one place to another. And in our country, we usually use the buses, Angkot, Metromini, Kopaja. And do not expect too much of the public transportation in Indonesia. For big cities like Jakarta, we have TransJakarta, which has a special line. In my opinion, this is the most excellent public transport in Indonesia.

Trains in German (DB)

U-bahn

STR-bahn

TransJakarta in Indonesia

About prices, public transportation in Indonesia is cheaper than in Germany. For example if you want to use the TransJakarta, you simply buy a ticket for Rp. 3,500, and you can use the TransJakarta to any destination in Jakarta during the day, as long as you do not get out of the shelter. When you come out of the shelter, you have to buy another ticket to use the TransJakarta.

The unique thing is Ankot in Indonesia. In some places, Angkot owners will usually renovate their public transportation (such as sticking stickers, change the look of the car, using a great sound system, and the use of lights like a disco light) and sometimes there are designing their car such as a mini bar. 

Angkot in Indonesia

And for Metromini or Kopaja, don’t ever expect the driver will wait for you when you want to go up and down from there, because the bus driver just lay a few seconds and then go forward. You also can ask the driver to stop anywhere you want, sometimes they will drop you in the middle of the road. There are several bus stops, but they very rarely use it as a stopping off point.

Metromini and Kopaja in Indonesia

Aah yeah, in Indonesia, pedestrians and drivers to use the left lane, unlike in Germany who use the right lane. And steering a car in Indonesia is on the right, and in Germany instead. For the type of car used is also generally different. The Germans are very much using the small-sized cars such as uncharged 2, 4 or 5 passengers. If in Indonesia, in general, every family would prefer larger cars are charged 8 people in one car, because in general the number of families of public transportation in Indonesia, more than in Germany. This is what makes us need a car with a larger size.

[boymanroe]

Supermarkets

If in Germany there is Aldi, Netto, dm, Rewe, Lidl that we can meet anywhere, in Indonesia they’re Indomaret, Alfamart, Alfamidi that can be found everywhere as well. And in general, the location of this supermarket is always close to one and the other. While in Indonesia, I always to Indomaret or to Alfamart, if in Germany I usually to Aldi or Netto.

Supermarket in Indonesia

This time I wanted to write about the differences supermarket in Indonesia and in Germany. There are some interesting and different things when I shop in Germany when compared with in Indonesia.

Here, do not ever expect from a supermarket cashier gives you the plastic to carry your groceries. If you need plastic shopping, you have to buy about 10 or 20 cents per plastic shopping. If you do not want to pay for it, you have to bring your own basket or plastic shopping. However, if in Indonesia, buy things no matter how small, they will provide plastic shopping for you. More you shopping, the more plastic shopping can you get. In fact, some people may ask for a plastic shopping is made double. This system is applied in Germany to reduce the use of plastic, because plastic is one material that takes a long time to be recycled. I hope that this system will be applied also in Indonesia.

Unique again is, several bottles have a deposit (Pfand). I realized when I finished shopping at the supermarket, and I check that my bills are paid Pfand writing. I'm trying to figure out what the object Pfand this, because I do not find it, I tried to find out on Google, it turns out it was a bottle deposit, because I buy drinks in bottles. For every bottle of this kind, you have to pay 0.25 cents per bottle. But do not worry, you can get back the money you paid for each bottle with the bottle insert into existing machines in supermarkets such as Netto, Rewe, Lidl or the like. Perhaps this was done in order to facilitate the collecting bottle waste to be recycled. So do not be surprised if there are those who wait near you when you bring a bottle that has Pfand, waiting for you to throw it into the trash and they will pick it up.

Things that make me scared every shop in supermarkets is when faced with the cashier. They will quickly calculate your groceries, and you should as soon as possible to enter your groceries into shopping bags, because they will not do it for you. After the cashier finished counting the total of your purchases, he will mention the total price you pay, but you are still busy preparing your groceries in a shopping bag. With a sharp look, the cashier will wait for you to give your money according to nominal spending and give you change. This is a very quick process that sometimes makes people have to move to a table near the exit to reconstitute their groceries. Very different in Indonesia, the cashier will arrange your groceries into a shopping bag and you do just wait. After completion of calculating the total purchases, they will be mentioning the amount, and with full patiently waits for us to give money. Once that process is completed, we can immediately bring the groceries that had been neatly arranged in a shopping bag.

[boymanroe]

Drink

After writing about the food, now I am going to discuss about the drinks and drinking habits in Germany and in Indonesia. Why do I discuss this, because I found a few things that are unique and different between drinking habits in Germany and in Indonesia. In general, if we ordered mineral water in the restaurant, they will not ask anything, and directly provide mineral water. But a little different than in Germany, if you ordered mineral water, then they will ask, with soda or not? What? It appeared in Germany that there are several types of mineral water.

I first noticed when I was on a plane heading to Germany, the airline stewardess offered me, "Do you like something to drink?", I immediately asked for mineral water. And when I drink it, I felt a little strange, "this mineral water or Sprite, sparkling like a Sprite but it feels fresh as mineral water, hmmm ...." Arriving at my residence in Germany, I immediately searching on the internet to find out what's wrong with my drink drinking earlier. And finally I realized that there are several types of mineral water in Germany. In general, people in German drinking sparkling mineral water (Natürliches Mineralwasser mit KOHLENSÄURE), that's why if you ordered mineral water in the restaurant or café, then they will provide mineral water with soda. If you feel odd with this drink, you can order mineral water without soda (ohne KOHLENSÄURE).

In Indonesia, we have only one type of mineral water, mineral water like in general, does not contain soda. That's what makes me feel a little weird when drinking sparkling mineral water. In addition, each house usually has a water dispenser and each family always buy mineral water in gallons. But in Germany I very rarely see people wearing water dispenser, because in general people are buying mineral water in a bottle or drink tap water directly. The tap water here has been good to drink, unlike tap water in Indonesia. But when I saw them drinking tap water, I felt a little awkward, as if in Indonesia there are no people who drank water straight from the tap, that while, in general, has been cooked first.

Sparkling Mineral Water (Natürliches Mineralwasser mit KOHLENSÄURE)

Another of the most famous drinking habits of German is drinking alcohol or beer. In Germany, alcohol can be purchased in grocery stores, gas stations and even newspaper stands. It can be consumed in restaurants, cafes and snack bars, and it's not uncommon to see people drinking in parks, on the streets and even on public transport.

In Indonesia, if you drink alcohol in public places such as streets, parks, and even in public transport, people will stare sharply to you. Because in Indonesia it was not a natural thing, and in general people think alcohol is a bad thing and contrary to the teachings of some religions and cultures. If you wish to consume alcohol or beer, make sure not to do it in a public place. You can do it in a restaurant, café, bar, or at your own home.

Alcohol prices in Indonesia are also quite expensive, not cheap as in Germany. In Germany the price of alcohol and beer is very cheap, sometimes even cheaper than mineral water. Types of alcohol and beer in Germany is also very much, unlike in Indonesia. For you who like to drink beer and alcohol, German is the right choice, the beer paradise.

Ah, there is another type of beverage that is typical of Germany, Apfelsaftschorle. Apfelschorle, also Apfelsaftschorle, is a popular soft drink in Germany. It consists of carbonated mineral water and apple juice. The broader category Fruchtschorle consists of any fruit juice mixed with carbonated water, but Apfelschorle is by far the most common. Although little was weird, but I prefer it than sparkling mineral water. I hope we have it in Indonesia.

[boymanroe]

Language

Now I want to talk about language. I came to Germany to capitalize English and don’t know German at all. I've learned it when I was in high school, but I had forgotten the most part, I just remember the "Danke", "guten Morgen, guten Tag, and gute Nacht". My expectations of the German society, surely many understand English, because they are part of the western society. 

Was very difficult to live in a country that we can’t understand the language at all. It would be much easier if we know the original language of the country, although only everyday language. Because if we want to go shopping or to ask directions, they aren’t necessarily understand English, therefore, it’s very important to know their native language. 

During my time in Germany, I attended German language lessons at the college I attended, but I was still not enough to be able to speak German, les need more intensive. If it is possible, I recommend for you who want to study in Germany to take language lessons in advance. 

Which makes me interested to learn German is I found some words are almost the same and identical. Moreover, for some letters, reading and pronunciation are largely the same, differing only on the letter "J, Q, V, W, Y ', exactly the same as the rest. It is quite easy for us in reading the German language. 

Here are some of the words are almost the same and identical between German and Indonesian:

[boymanroe]

FOOD in German and Indonesia

Culture is the habit or the values held by a specific group of people in a particular place, which is inherited from generation to generation. Every group of people has customs different, and this difference makes it into an interesting culture. This time I will try to write about how the German public culture and try comparing some things to the culture in Indonesia. This time I was in Germany for a student exchange program for one semester, and over here I found some interesting things and a little different from the conditions in Indonesia. And it always makes me feel interested and want to know more. I will try to review it based on my observations and asked some people who have a longer stay in Germany. The first thing I want to discuss is the food. Each of us visiting a new place, surely the first thing we want to try is the typical food of the place. There are some differences between the eating habits of the German people with the people of Indonesia, here I will try to discuss.

• If you go to Germany, most things you encounter are BAKERY. Iyaps, here you will find plenty of bakeries and there are so many types of bread. This is because they are very much the majority of people consume bread every day. Very different from Indonesia, which most of their food is always paired with rice. But for you who can’t eat without rice, don’t fear, here are also quite a lot of rice especially in Asian restaurants you will easily find rice. In supermarkets (Aldi, Netto, REWE, ...) are also widely available various types of rice, but not as much as the type of bread.

• For breakfast, they usually eat with bread. traditional breakfast includes bread, toast, and/or rolls, marmalade, honey, eggs, cold meats, such as ham and salami, various cheeses, all washed down with a strong cup or pot of tea or coffee. Meanwhile, in Indonesia we generally eat Nasi Goreng (fried rice), Bubur Ayam (porridge of rice coupled with chunks of chicken meat), Nasi Uduk (rice cooked with coconut milk), Lontong Sayur (rice is boiled longer than rice in general so that the texture is soft and mushy, and served with vegetable broth).

• Traditionally, Germans eat their main meal during the day, between 12 and 2 p.m. However, today, the midday meal is often eaten away from home, i.e. at work. A typical lunch plate might consist of Kartoffelsalat mit Würstchen oder Frikadellen (potato salad with sausage or meat balls), Spätzle mit Geschnetzeltem (Spätzle noodles with stir-fry) , Schnitzel mit Buttergemüse (Schnitzel with buttered vegetables) or Fischstäbchen mit Kartoffelpüree (Fish sticks with mashed potato). Meat is served most every day, particularly pork and chicken. Vegetables are also a standard part of any Mittagessen. Typical vegetables served at lunchtime are grüne Bohnen (green beans), Möhren (carrots), Erbsen (peas)and Kohl (cabbage). Potatoes are also a staple and come in the form of Salzkartoffel (boiled), Knödel (dumplings), Bratkartoffel (fried potatoes), Krokette (croquettes), Kartoffelpüree (mashed potatoes) and of course, Pommes Frites (french fries. Of course, as popular as potatoes are, rice and noodles are also eaten as side dishes. In general in Indonesia lunchtime ranged between 12 to 1pm. A typical lunch in Indonesia in general rice with extra side dishes, like Ayam Goreng (fried chicken), Gado-gado (mix vegetable), Nasi Padang, Soto (soup), rice with fish, and generally will be combined with vegetables. In Germany, they eat potatoes, in Indonesia we eat more rice.

• Abendbrot, when literally translated means “evening bread”. It is a light meal that is eaten usually between 6 and 7 pm, since German families generally tend to eat their main meal during the day. A typical Abendessen consists of a selection of whole grain bread, cheeses, deli meats and sausages, mustards and pickles (gherkins are very popular). Often it is accompanied by a salad and/or a soup, depending on the season. A glass of sparkling mineral water (Mineralwasser) or a glass of juice (Saft) is usually the beverage of choice for young people. The dinner menu in Indonesia in general is not much different from the lunch (rice with fish or meat and vegetables), there are also some people who prefer to eat Nasi Goreng (fried rice), Bakso (meatballs), Sate, Sea Food, or noodles (Bakmi, Mie Ayam, Mie Goreng).

The most different between foods in Germany with Indonesia is the taste. The Indonesian food has more flavor, perhaps because in Indonesia there are more seasoning food. In Germany, they also do not like spicy food, is very different from the Indonesian people who really like spicy food, if the food is less spicy, then it means the food is less tasty. Therefore in Indonesia is always consumed Sambal (chili mashed). A few months here, the thing I miss most of Indonesia is the FOOD !!!