There are plenty of habits in Indonesian culture I find difficult to adjust to - their idea of what is personal, the nose picking and spitting- but above all they are early-ghastly o'clock in the morning early-risers and they are spontaneous singers. They love music here, largely 80's rock ballads circa Bryan Adams and Celine Dion, and they are not shy about randomly bursting into song, even in the middle of a conversation. This is awkward for me as I'm still not sure: Am I supposed to join in or just wait until they've finished? Am I expected to applaud at the end? Do I need to start carrying a lighter for a more authentic experience?
My neighbours are very Indonesian and, on top of inhaling the smoke from their garbage burning pile which gives me a persistently scratchy throat and watery eyes, I am woken every morning, if I manage to sleep through their rooster, from the squealing vibrations of Roxette's "Listen to Your Heart". It seems they've invested the money they save on garbage pick up in an ultra pumped extreme stereo system and the bass line pulsates through my reinforced, earthquake proof room shaking me awake at 6 am.
The house is a duplex and they live just on the other side of my wall. I would bang on the wall but it's made of cement and I don't own anything heavy enough to get my point across. Thankfully the music usually stops around 9 am when the hammering begins. The hammering on the other side of my bed. If I yell, in either English or Bahasa, the hammering just gets louder. The good news is it does stop...
At 10 am when the stereo gets turned on again so we can all enjoy a little Trooper at 25 million decibels.
Bahasa Word of the Day: diam = be quiet
Light on the eve of the election
10 years ago
2 comments:
Maybe a really good pair of earplugs would be a worthwhile investment? Or a gift of some of your own favorites so they can play those as your wake-up call? :)
Ha! The only music I want to wake up to is The Sound of Silence, and I don't own that.
Post a Comment