In Indonesia, I sometimes have to live way outside of my comfort zone in this regard. Partly, it's the language barrier. When I don't understand most of what's being communicated, it's difficult to get a big picture perspective. And, partly it's the culture. There's a habit that I find frustrating where a person will only share part of the story. At work, it might be about why a student is missing class. The student's parents will call in and talk to the front desk. The front desk will give me one sentence: "So and so is sick." If I try to get more information, they shrug their shoulders. If I ask a yes or no question, I sometimes think that they are giving me the answer they think I want. The same thing happened when I lived in Korea and it used to really piss me off. Here, I can deal with it, partly because I expected it (because of my previous experience) and partly because the people exhibiting the behavior are so warm and friendly it takes the edge off.
Still, moments like these can be frustrating and as I become more of a resident of Jakarta--and less of a starry-eyed foreigner--I'm starting to notice more. As a result, I often launch little information gathering projects. I study maps and bus routes. I take pictures and make little notes to myself about the things I see. Neurotic, maybe. But useful.
In the spirit of learning as much about my surroundings as possible, last Saturday, I initiated a new project--to draw a map of the angkot routes in my suburb. I think it would be impossible to map all of the angkot routes in Jakarta--and anyway, most of the time I venture away from my area, I take the bus or a taxi--but there are four main angkot routes running around where I live and no map to tell me where each begins and ends.
So, I got up early and set off. I took a taxi to the mall, which is where drivers from all four of the angkot lines sit in their empty little angkots and wait for passengers. The taxi driver told me the mall was closed, which I knew. But he was concerned that I didn't know what I was doing. In one respect, he was right. During mall hours, there are always two or three angkots from each route sitting in front of the mall, waiting. It didn't occur to me that when there are no people exiting the mall, they wouldn't bother to wait.
But across from the mall, there was one driver, all alone in a number 13. I made my move. I took my Jakarta city atlas and one of four colored highlighters out of my bag and walked up to the driver. I told him (partly in Indonesian and partly in pantomime) that I would give him 5,000 rupiah if he would use the highlighter to mark his route. He understood and he agreed. Then, he didn't want to take the money, but I insisted. It's only 2,000 for a short ride in an angkot, but 5,000 is the rough equivalent of 50 cents.
When he was done, I was feeling pretty good about myself and my idea. There was a number 4 angkot parked across the street, empty, so I approached. The driver looked at me intently as I explained what I wanted, pointing out to him the streets highlighted in blue, where the driver of the number 14 had marked. He nodded understanding. So, I handed him an orange highlighter. And he wrote his signature.
I tried not to laugh as I explained again what it was that I wanted. Again, I pointed out to him the number 13 route that had already been marked in the atlas. He heard "number 13" and told me I had to cross the street to catch it.
At that point, I decided to just ride in his angkot to a place near the bus station where I knew that several number fours waited for passengers. Before we reached the location, he told me I had to get out because he was getting something to eat.
Okay, so at this point, I'm one for two--a little deflated, but still feeling okay about my project. A number 30 was coming down the road, but it had people in it. So, I decided to climb aboard and highlight my own route. Unfortunately, this task was impossible because the driver left the main road and traveled through a twisty-turning series of streets with enough room for only one car. We had to stop frequently to let a car by that was coming from the other direction. Kids roamed freely, people were outside, cooking or sitting around. It was a neighborhood so different from mine, where people stay in their gigantic houses locked behind iron gates. After about twenty minutes, we came to a place where there was a line of angkots waiting--the beginning of the route.
At that point, the driver tried to make me get out, but I was now the only passenger and I saw my chance. I explained to him what I wanted. He got uncomfortable and called out the window for someone who could speak English. This nice man came over and tried to help. His English wasn't great, but he could understand my Indonesian/pantomime routine, so he told the driver what I wanted. Except he told the driver that I wanted to ride along and draw the route myself when I would have preferred to have it drawn for me. But I'm nothing if not flexible and my schedule was clear, so I climbed into the front seat so I could see where we were going, asked where our precise location was on the map, and got my highlighter ready.
Turns out, the route of the number 30 is super long. It leaves my suburb and heads for another area of the city, further north, all the way by the docks. My driver got out soon after we left the neighborhood and a new driver got in. I had to explain all over again what I was doing. It took him a really long time to understand, even though I was sitting there with a map and a highlighter. Eventually, he understood though, and he took me all the way to the end of the route and brought me back. The 30 is the angkot that I take every day to work, so when we got back to my neighborhood, I thanked the driver and jumped out, deciding I was done for the day.
On Sunday morning, I considered trying the number 4 again, but I was reading a great book (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and I went to a coffee shop instead so I could finish it.
This weekend, I have plans to spend the weekend in Kemang--a sleepover!--and the weekend after that is my awesome trip to Bukit Lawang. But before May is over, I figure I'll have the angkot routes figured out. I probably won't use them any differently than I do now. But at least I'll know that I'm not missing any important piece of information!
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