Complexions

It is not a mountain we conquer, but ourselves. This is one of my favorite quotes by Sir Edmund Hillary. It is a meaningful quote that reflects the stories of my journey from Indonesia to the United States of America. In Indonesia, the country where I was born, many people follow the idea of the dynamic of a balanced life. Some phrases to represent Indonesia’s dynamic balanced life are easy going personality, slowly but surely, and family oriented. Those are the mottos that many Indonesians hold dearly. It has made it easy to meet new people and socialize in Indonesia because of these reasons. Nevertheless, the bureaucracy and the queuing customs in Indonesia has taken society to despair. Since I moved to the United States, the new cultures of this country have stunned me. The distinction between these two countries, Indonesia and the United States is a hundred and eighty degrees from the lifestyle to the bureaucracy, and many other cultural aspects. After a while, I have allowed myself to digest and absorb these cultural differences between Indonesia and the United States and the adventures to conquer myself have begun. 

Among the hustle and bustle in this country, there are several things I have embraced while living in the United States. One thing I have admired the most is how the bureaucracy works. The day I went to get my ID license, the DMV made my ID within thirty minutes. I could see how efficiently the staff were working with the time. The majority of people in the United States respect the queuing customs. In addition, almost all public offices and businesses have their own websites to provide easy access for appointments or order something ahead to save time. These are the things that I had hardly experienced in Indonesia. The motto slowly but surely has gotten into our veins. Even with the support of high technology, in Indonesia, the expectation to get our Indonesian ID is minimum a week after the government processes it. This is because of many Indonesian government employees get a tiny amount of salary compared with the fancy role position they have had in the government. This normally does not motivate them to work fast and on time unless there is under-table money to accelerate the process.  

Even though there are several positive things I have embraced while I am living in the United States, there are plenty of things that I have not followed that make me raise an eyebrow. For numerous people in my circle, typically for holiday parties, many people tend to like potluck parties. The idea of a potluck is when somebody invites the guests to a dinner or lunch party, at least, the attendees need to bring one dish or drink to share to the party and can take it home when the party is over. These are some things that I still could not understand. Besides the potlucks, I have found it hard to believe how many people in the United States have extremely hectic lives. Some people in the United States do not have a balanced life between work and personal life, because for most people in the United States their major priority is working, due to taxes, insurance, retirement savings, and expensive living expenses. I can relate this situation to my experience living in the United States. These ideal of life almost did not exist in Indonesia. It does not matter how busy most Indonesians are getting in life, family and socialize are the most important things for many Indonesians need to follow. It is an unspoken rule. My parents always nagged me to visit them. On the big celebration and national holiday, those are the time for us, as an Indonesian, must spend with family, to be together with the family of my family of our big families and friends. This lifestyle family oriented lost in translation for me in Chicago. Up to this present, I have still tried to incorporate these cultural differences. I have done what I was supposed to do, allowing myself to digest the new cultures to conquer my mind from this distinction. 

In conclusion, living in United States and in Indonesia have had negative and positive outcomes in my life. Nothing is perfect, and it depends on people’s desires to allow themselves to digest and absorb or accept these differences. So far, I have enjoyed the two complexions of these two countries, both Indonesia and the United States. Their diversity is the spice of my life. It has been fun and stunning at the same time. This is how I conquered myself from these adventures, I focus on the good things. In addition, I have been blessed to have some of best friends in Atlanta and Chicago that feel like my version of family.