Indonesia
Indonesia is really different from what I was used to in Australia. =/
For example, we have these things called "angkot"- they're like, mini-vans, and their purpose is just like what buses are meant to do.
The thing about them is that they're not scheduled. You just wave your arm or even lift a finger and one of them will stop and let you get on. There's so much demand for them and so much supply of them that the system actually works.
They're also self-operated- not by an angkot company- and their drivers tend not to earn much. =/ So if you give them big money like Rp 5000 (Rp 1000 is a bit more than AU$0.10, but that can get you loads of little snacks and juice boxes in here) they'll give you the least change they could, which sort of sucks.
You pay according to how far you travelled with the angkot. Not sure how they measure the fee, but whatever.
They're like, colour-coded! So when I get home, I take the blue one with yellow streaks, or the green one with light-blue streaks. It's much easier than seeing what number the bus is.
Another difference is the large amount of street vendors. They're not vendors, per se, but the point is, they sell on the streets- you don't need a permit for that.
They'd sell anything from drinks to pirated stuff (also, I saw some guns and bows being sold, too). Pirated stuff comes cheap around here. =D It's sorta hard to enforce the law on them, when there's too much law-breaking around.
They can really block the streets, and they make you feel guilty for watching them pitifully trying to sell their products, however convenient they can be.
Aaaand, last, but not least, school orientation.
We have this thing where the seniors make us newbies do all these tasks.
They're to strengthen us mentally (even physically).
We have to run around places, wear embarassing giant nametags saying we're "(insert celebrity) wannabe", get signatures from the top members of the Student Council and teachers, tie/gel our hair in ridiculous fashions (complete with ribbons!), bring all these food (they're actually for us) and items, etc.
They give the "shopping list" as riddles, and we stressed ourselves out to figure them out- it's meant to improve teamwork.
There's also TATIB- they're like really mean hall monitors, minus the halls.
These are their rules:
1) TATIB is always right
2) Students are always wrong
3) If TATIB was thought to be wrong, look at Rule No. 1 again
They try to pick your slightest mistakes out and make you do sit-ups and push-ups and things like that.
But then, before the ending ceremony, all the seniors showing the way around got "stressed out", we all went into the great hall, Student Council was going against TATIB, and everyone was all so emotional and some cried and then this junior went up on the stage, and did this speech thing, and the truth was out. TATIB was actually only an act (though I figured that out in the first place), to show us what DOESN'T happen at the school, because... well, schools are named by numbers, and my school was "One". So we're promoting the "we are one" thing.
Also, that junior kid? He was a senior in disguise. =O
It was so much torture at the start, but now that I look back at it, it was sorta fun.
---
But school still sucks -.- We have to study FOUR languages, and loads of homework everyday!
... I have nothing to say anymore, so peace out... yeah...
For example, we have these things called "angkot"- they're like, mini-vans, and their purpose is just like what buses are meant to do.
The thing about them is that they're not scheduled. You just wave your arm or even lift a finger and one of them will stop and let you get on. There's so much demand for them and so much supply of them that the system actually works.
They're also self-operated- not by an angkot company- and their drivers tend not to earn much. =/ So if you give them big money like Rp 5000 (Rp 1000 is a bit more than AU$0.10, but that can get you loads of little snacks and juice boxes in here) they'll give you the least change they could, which sort of sucks.
You pay according to how far you travelled with the angkot. Not sure how they measure the fee, but whatever.
They're like, colour-coded! So when I get home, I take the blue one with yellow streaks, or the green one with light-blue streaks. It's much easier than seeing what number the bus is.
Another difference is the large amount of street vendors. They're not vendors, per se, but the point is, they sell on the streets- you don't need a permit for that.
They'd sell anything from drinks to pirated stuff (also, I saw some guns and bows being sold, too). Pirated stuff comes cheap around here. =D It's sorta hard to enforce the law on them, when there's too much law-breaking around.
They can really block the streets, and they make you feel guilty for watching them pitifully trying to sell their products, however convenient they can be.
Aaaand, last, but not least, school orientation.
We have this thing where the seniors make us newbies do all these tasks.
They're to strengthen us mentally (even physically).
We have to run around places, wear embarassing giant nametags saying we're "(insert celebrity) wannabe", get signatures from the top members of the Student Council and teachers, tie/gel our hair in ridiculous fashions (complete with ribbons!), bring all these food (they're actually for us) and items, etc.
They give the "shopping list" as riddles, and we stressed ourselves out to figure them out- it's meant to improve teamwork.
There's also TATIB- they're like really mean hall monitors, minus the halls.
These are their rules:
1) TATIB is always right
2) Students are always wrong
3) If TATIB was thought to be wrong, look at Rule No. 1 again
They try to pick your slightest mistakes out and make you do sit-ups and push-ups and things like that.
But then, before the ending ceremony, all the seniors showing the way around got "stressed out", we all went into the great hall, Student Council was going against TATIB, and everyone was all so emotional and some cried and then this junior went up on the stage, and did this speech thing, and the truth was out. TATIB was actually only an act (though I figured that out in the first place), to show us what DOESN'T happen at the school, because... well, schools are named by numbers, and my school was "One". So we're promoting the "we are one" thing.
Also, that junior kid? He was a senior in disguise. =O
It was so much torture at the start, but now that I look back at it, it was sorta fun.
---
But school still sucks -.- We have to study FOUR languages, and loads of homework everyday!
... I have nothing to say anymore, so peace out... yeah...