How much do you get involved?

[ryoshi]

Reading Gilbert's post on converting to a spouse's religion to get married, got me thinking about how much expats here get involved with local Balinese customs and religion.

People move to Bali for a number of different reasons, retirement, activities like surfing etc and it does seem like that there are some expats living here who have totally immersed themselves in the culture, to the point that they look down on other foreigners who have not done the same.

I am trying to learn the language here, which I think is important and learn about local customs and I have been to a few ceremonies, which have been interesting and a great experience, but that's about enough for me.

How about everyone else here?

 

[calitobali]

As far as religious immersion just about zero. I've attended ceremonies before, but not all that often. I'm pretty much non-religious in my home country, maybe wouldn't go as far to call myself an aethiest, but definitely am not big on any sort of religion, so feel no need to pretend my way through, just for the sake of doing it.

When it comes to things outside of religion, I would say I am pretty involved. These days I tend to speak Bahasa Indonesia much more than I use English, due to the company that I keep, and can even keep up with the conversation a with Bahasa Bali, Bahasa Jawa and Bahasa Sunda. Out of those 3 extra languages, I am probably best with Bahasa Sunda though, due to previously living with a Sundanese girl. I eat local food, hang out at the warungs near my kos, drink the local drink, all of that good stuff. So I would say I'm pretty immersed, but I keep the religious stuff to those who actually want to practice it. I don't need to be a bother to them, and I'm not much of a looky-loo either, besides, I've been here long enough that I don't feel the need to go to a ceremony and take pictures etc. More of a tourist thing to do in my opinion.

 

[gilbert de jong]

I am trying to learn the language here, which I think is important and learn about local customs and I have been to a few ceremonies, which have been interesting and a great experience, but that's about enough for me.

Same here. the Bahasa Indonesia got that under the belt, about local customs and attending a cermony now and then.. I don't think there's much more one can do to 'fit' in.
Ofcourse any donations to the Adat and the desa are very welcome and very appreciated by the people. With donations I don't only mean money...can be fixing a road, improving a pura (temple) or just join the guys when they have 'kotong royong' (unpaid work) in the village and buy them some drinks (water). btw, they don't actually let you work even if you tried, but you being there is something they really appreciate.
Bahasa bali...working on it, but is frecking hard to speak. the mind does, but the mouth doesn't follow :lol: .
Me personally don't look down on anyone who doesn't want to be part of the comunity he/she chooses to live, just think there's alot that person misses what could make his/her life in Bali so much more enjoyable. Like calitobali describes his life and how he's immersed in Bali, how would his life be without having all those experiences?
forget about religion...not intending to be disrespectful and to each his own...but why believe in something that is written some 2000 years ago by a man (human), maybe if I (or anyone else) would write a book now (full of 'crap' and controversie), who knows in 2000 years people would believe in that too ? That is if the world doesn't end in 2012 :lol: .
friendly greetings all, gilbert.

 

[noodles]

Marriage, there is a good reason to live on Bali who want establish themselves at here.
Trust that your Girl/Boyfriend are very glad to teach u abt the Bahasa and how to survive.
Apart from local customs and religion, Im afraid that I have no intention of marry with Baliness/Javaness boy yet.

 

[MiSO]

I can live without religion, even better: I like to live without a religion, but I can't live without respect. In my opinion to live and let live & to adjust to your environment can go together well.
My father was a Christian who was converted when he was in his 20-something. His parents were atheists, serious socialists, so converting to a Christian was a big step. He was more into the philosofical side of the Bible. When I was a kid, we had neighbours who were Jehova-witnesses . My father learned us not to wash the car or hang the laundry outside on a Sunday because of the neighbours religion, it was actually a small thing to do (or not to do :wink: )

I think we all have our own way to be engaged to the community and/or people.
I'll be living on Bali as I do in Europe, not too many changes in my lifestyle.
To live and to let live + to adjust a bit = good for me, good for you :wink:

 

[tintin]

calitobali,

Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Bali, Bahasa Jawa and Bahasa Sunda. 8) Quite impressive, and what else? . I have no ideas what Bahasa Sunda sounds like. Is it close to Bahasa Jawa? I remember reading that Bahasa Jawa is so complicated (In France, when one does not understand a language, one says that "it's Javanese to me") that when Indonesia became independent, Soekarno decided to make Bahasa Indonesia the official language instead, eventhough he was Javanese himself, and Java represents about 62% of the Indonesian population.

I learned Bahasa Indonesia in Bali, which is not the best place to do it, because Balinese always speak, well...Balinese among themselves and most don't speak very good Bahasa Indonesia. But I gave up on Bahasa Bali because I could never get to pronounce correctly the "ng," which Bahasa Bali has its large share of them. :roll:

 

[calitobali]

I've actually found Bali to be a very good place to learn Bahasa Indonesia, since there are so many people mixed in one are (if talking about South Bali) that people are forced to use Bahasa Indonesia often. The same could be said about a place like Jakarta yet the difference with Jakarta is that people talk so slangy it gets hard to understand. Most young Balinese people these days use a lot of Bahasa Indonesia as well, even amongst other Balinese friends, but they do switch it up with Bahasa Bali as well.

I can't really say in full seriousness that I could speak Bahasa Bali or Bahasa Jawa to any level of real fluency, but I understand quite a bit, and sometimes find myself in situations at a warung or something where an older person who cannot speak good Indonesian conducts the transaction with me in Balinese or Javanese. So let's call it market language.

As far as Sundanese, it is nothing like Bahasa Jawa really, and there are some hard sounds, particularly the "eu" that is present frequently.

For instance "sareung saha?" - "sama siapa?"

"Wilujeung Wengi" - "Selamat Malam"

"(Hen)teu aya artos" - "tidak ada uang"

"teu nananaon" - "tidak apa apa"

All of those extra languages aren't really for anything useful though. I'm young and have a knack for language so I pick up bits of pieces, and only really use them for trying to follow the conversation when it strays from Bahasa Indonesia, or to make people laugh by saying something in their own language.