Basic Indonesian and Anecdotes: Book Two, #2

By Maria Uran

This book is a compilation of small stories and introductory lessons on Indonesian language and culture when the author has taught this subject to teenagers in Northern Australia. It does not only consist of some primary Indonesian language but also experiences that the author shared with her students that are weaved throughout this book. In this book, you can see the raw experiences of human nature, and it can bring back some memories of your own. It is light, fun and interesting.​

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maria Uran
• Release date: Dec 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393761198

Maria Uran

Maria Uran is a teacher at a local middle school in Darwin, Northern Territory since 2011. On a sparse time, she helps other people particularly Indonesian people to understand Australian Legal system on a pro bono basis. Prior to that, she was working briefly as a Barrister/Solicitor in the Northern Territory. She was born in small town in Lewoleba – Lembata, which is a small island next to East Flores. It is located in Nusa Tenggara Timor (NTT) [ East Nusa Tenggara Province] at 18 December 1979. She is the youngest of the family of nine children.  She is also a mother of two lovely children, Claudia and Edward. Education: Sekolah Dasar Katolik I Lewoleba – Lembata, NTT Indonesia1987 - 1993 (Primary School) SMP St. Pius X, Lewoleba- Lembata, NTT Indonesia, 1993 - 1995 (Middle School) SMAN I Nubatukan, Lewoleba –Lembata, NTT Indonesia 1995 - 1998 (High School) Bachelor of Business of Northern Territory University, Australia 2003 Bachelor of Laws – Charles Darwin University, Australia 2005 Master of Laws in Legal Practice – Australian National University, Australia 2006 Graduate Diploma of Teaching and Learning – Charles Darwin University, Australia 2011 Bachelor of Applied Science – Charles Darwin University, Australia 2014

Book preview

Introduction

Happy memories are like a comfortable blanket that can warm our bodies on a cold winter night. It is like a flicker of light in a dark pitch-black night, where there are no stars or moon in the sky. It’s like an eternal treasure that can never be removed from you. It’s security that is useful when we are at our lowest point of life.

Teenage years are a time full of joy and happiness. It’s like a day with beautiful weather where the colourful, fragrant flowers bloom, the birds are chirping happily, and the sound of song, music and laughter are everywhere. However, one day, that majestic time too will dissipate, and the question is, are we ready to face the change? Do we equip ourselves enough for the future?

This small book offers some ammunition that can be used by students and readers to understand other perspectives, language and culture, particularly of Indonesia. This book is a compilation of stories from years of teaching Indonesian to teenagers in the Northern Territory, Australia. During that time, there were countless of happy memories created, and I would love to capture and freeze those moments in this book as a gift for my Year Eight Indonesian students and anyone who is interested in learning Indonesian language and culture.

Although the physical classroom will end for some students this year, this book will break the barrier of that limitation. As Mahatma Gandhi said, Live as you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. So, to my dear students, never stop learning. Treasure our happy memories as it could help you in your life journey. As your Indonesian teacher, I would like to leave you with this saying from Nelson Mandela, If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.

All the best for your future endeavours. Lots of Love – Ibu Maria.

Chapter 1

Personal & Possessive Pronouns – A Story

One beautiful morning, when I walked from my preparatory room to the classroom, some students were standing on the way to my class. I overheard a girl say to her friend, I am very personal, and the kid was sobbing with tears rolling down her face. I saw her and asked, Are you alright? The student looked at me with a distressed face and just nodded. Her friend told me that she would be okay, and was there to support her. I told her that if she needs my help, I am always available for her.

Maybe this word, I’m very personal does not mean much, but it stuck on my head and made me wonder, what does she means? Does she take everything personally? If she does, then perhaps I need to teach her how to detach herself from the situation so that she won’t be hurt; after all, she was still in her tender years.

The next question that comes to my mind. If she takes things personally, then should I take things personally too? When I was younger, perhaps I was a bit too sensitive to others’ comments and unpleasant body language: when I said hello to others and they did not respond, when I cooked but they did not eat, or when I smiled but they turned away. Perhaps I was too quick to interpret the person’s intention with their body language or utterances. Maybe they did not have any intention to offend me, or perhaps they were just busy with their problems. Probably my friends were already full when they came to my place so they could not eat the food that I prepared. Maybe there were a lot of thoughts on their mind at that time, so they didn’t notice my smile or greetings. It reminds me that for me to help her, I need to work first within myself regarding my sensitivity towards others, as Phillip Massinger said, He that would govern others, first should be master of himself.

I then found myself in my classroom full of students. When I introduced the topic for that day, which was about personal and possessive pronouns, a student put his hand up and said, Miss, I can tell you what the personal pronouns are? I was surprised that they were already eager to contribute to the class discussion, and allowed him to speak. Miss, personal pronouns are words used instead of a person’s name. For example, instead of using a person’s name such as Archie and Phoebe, they would use he, she, we and they. Bravo, that’s a useful answer. As soon as I finished complementing the student, another boy in the class raised his hand. Let’s called him Maxi. He said, Miss, although personal pronouns are words to show the identity of a person instead of using their name, I prefer to use my name instead of personal pronouns. Why is that Maxi?, I probed him. The boy fell silent momentarily and looked around the class and said, Well, my middle name, if put in English sounds funny, but I am proud of it".

The class went silent to hear the passion in Maxi’s voice. He then continued, according to my father, my middle name is the name of my grandfather, my father’s father, who died when he was still in high school. Although my father was brilliant and able to go to a medical school, he could not since he was the eldest of six children in his family. His mother was very ill after his father died. To feed his family, he needed to give up school and work to raise his siblings. They all went to university, got their degrees, and hold many high positions in government and businesses.

In contrast, my father learnt to be an electrician. He worked for a contractor in Indonesia, who made a connection with a company in Australia. My father then migrated to Australia. My sister and I were born