50% Indonesian in 3.5 months??? No, But we enjoyed studying here....

I was under Dr. Jennifer Lindsay last year for her ‘Media in Southeast Asia’ classes. I was really impressed when she told me she translated Indonesian books into English versions. I told her: “Wow, your Indonesian language must be really good, you must have mastered the language!” Dr. Lindsay replied: “No, we can never master a language but we can keep learning and improving our language ability.” Similarly, I was also very impressed with Ibu Wendy’s ability to speak Indonesian language, but she told us “No, not very good, still learning.” I am really impressed with them; not only because they could speak Indonesian language well, but also because they are so humble. We must truly learn from them because it is only by acknowledging our flaws, then we will continue to work hard to improve our language skills...

Am I expecting that I could speak like an Indonesian after 3.5 mths? My reply is no - Not even close to becoming 50% of a true Indonesian who could really speak and understand the language well. You must either be really good or really arrogant to say that because learning a language is really not easy and it can be tiring... However, our Bahasa Indonesia (all 3 of us) has certainly improved because we speak and listen to the language every day, and we read and write more in Bahasa Indonesia too. This semester away is also a good opportunity for us to widen our social group too.

Well, 3.5 mths here may not be long enough to make us half Indonesian, but all SE Asian students should take this opportunity to expose themselves to the new study experience here… That is not a single day that I have regretted studying here because it is very interesting and it gives us a different perspective of Indonesia. I am sure you will agree with me that studying comes alive when you are here...JOIN US!

God bless Tante, Puteri and Terence…