Back home... to internet
I've finally returned to Singapore and first things first, I have a long 'i-miss-you-honey-bunch' session with my facebook account. What? No access to Facebook when in Indonesia? Hadn't I brought my trusty netbook with me precisely for that very purpose- to maintain my connectivity to billions and billions of gigabytes? Of course! But how was I to foresee that Sanata Dharma was going to throw a wet blanket over my virtual dreams of internet usage by blocking Facebook and Youtube before 2pm? And did I mention that more often than not, our break was between the hours of 1200 and 1400? Brilliant! Anyway, that is not the point of this blog entry that Ibu Indri has repeatedly reminded me to type, with the persistence of a loan shark owed tonnes of money, wielding bright red paint and some marker pens(O$P$, yo!). The subject of this blog entry is the extension of Indonesian friendliness into cyberspace, and how it is at odds with my Singaporean unfriendliness. So I must go back to my pengalaman Facebook.
The hidden perils of FB
Because of my sparkling personality and lovable nature, several new Indonesian friends I've made during the course of my one month stay in Indonesia added me on Facebook. As I look back, I think I am able to say with confidence that this was indeed the start of my virtual troubles. And perhaps, I should have known.
Several days later, I find that strange Indonesians I have never met are starting to add me on Facebook. Do imagine me frowning at this point, because I am. Upon closer inspection, I find that most are friends of my friends. However, the important point here is... who are these people?! I have never even shared the same breathing space as these people so why in the world are they adding me on Facebook, and in doing so, falsely claiming to know me?
Frustrated with more questions than answers, I turned to Facebook.
Status update 1
Dhava ลักษมี Psince i came back from indonesia random people from goodness knows where have been adding me on fb... WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE???!!! AM I BEING STALKED???10 Juni jam 21:45 · · Musawwadah Mukhtar your number of friends is too small compared to average Indonesian, sometimes I feel bad to refuse :DMusawwadah Mukhtar jika kamu menolak, dia berkata,"ih, Dhava sombong deh, tidak mau berteman." :-)
Status update 2Dhava ลักษมี P
Question of the day: Kenapa orang Indonesia mau berteman dengan semua orang?11 Juni jam 20:40 · · Indrianti Iin Karena kami baik hati dan tidak sombong ^_^
Interesting. Apparently Indonesians are so fond of Facebook and making new friends, they like to go around adding anyone and everyone to their exponentially growing list.
Something scary
Unbeknownst to me, Indonesian societal norms had successfully extended its octopus like arms into the virtual world and trapped the unsuspecting me so that now I too have to abide by them and be friendly or be blacklisted as 'sombong' for the rest of my life. Perhaps I should be flattered that someone out there actually wants to be friends with my cold hearted Singaporean self.
And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say - that the Singaporean's small heart grew three sizes that day. And then - the true meaning of Indonesian hospitality came through, and the Singaporean found the strength of *ten* Singaporeans, plus two! -Taken and corrupted from 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'
- Post written(or rather, painstakingly typed) by Dhava yang rindu Indonesia and its quirky people dari Singapura, bukan India. Sigh...
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