After living in Jakarta for over a month, I've been able to notice some quirks of the locals. I've mentioned the cramming culture before, which is one quirk that I'm slowly getting used to. However, the thing that really drives me crazy is being called "bule" by a complete stranger.
Walking down the street, random people will quite often call out to me or Alexander and say, "Hei Mister/Hei Missus!", which is something I'm quite used to ignoring. The world over I've had to ignore unwanted advances of strangers. But more often then Mister/Missus we'll hear "bule". Generally, it is said more than just once. It kind of reminds me of a pig call, except they say, "bule, bule, bule".
"Bule" is not meant to be a derogatory term, it simply means Westerner/White person. It is not meant to be an insult, attack, or even rude. The most hilarious part is that they usually try to speak English to us after having called out "bule". The only problem is that we see it as rude, whether it is meant to be or not.
In Spain, I would joke about being a guiri, or gringa, and even here we say we're bules among friends. But if someone screamed guiri at me in the middle of Sevilla, I would understandably be irritated. It's kind of like telling someone who's disabled that he/she can't walk. Stating the obvious is never very polite. So even if they're just trying to be friendly, that's not the way to make a good impression with a stranger.
Alexander has taken to responding with, "Indonesian, Indonesian, Indonesian" everytime we're called bule. At first I was embarrassed that he did this, but then I realized a taste of their own medicine might be just what the doctor ordered. We may even achieve a cultural awarenes that bules don't like to be yelled at in public. Then again, Alexander might just give bules a reputation for being crazy.
No comments:
Post a Comment