Peter, Qianfan Wu from International High School Grade 3 Class 1

A wonderful first week with my Indonesian friends, from the very first opening ceremony, till we went back from Jogja and enjoyed The Maze Runner: The Death Cure in a local IMAX theater.

One thing that surprised me the most was when I had my first Indonesian breakfast in my host family house. Based on what I researched in China, Indonesian people do not usually eat breakfast, and that was the same thing I expected from Richi’s family. However, my first breakfast was gorgeous, I had a bowl of rice on the table, along with milk, bread, chicken skewer, and many other food. I ate my meal alone, as Indonesians do not eat breakfast, and frankly I could not finish them all, really wished that I could bring them back to school for breakfast when the new semester starts.

The Hakka Guild Hall we visited last Sunday was really impressive to me as well. Before I had visited the site, it seemed to me that all traditional places would give me the same feelings, old, historical, and just barely embrace the modern era. However,  the Hakka Guild Hall really provided me a different perspective of studying traditions. The president of the Hall did a perfect introduction of it, by using vivid examples of the Hakka’s ancestors, I felt like the hardship and endurance of Hakka people were gradually uncovering in front of me. Hundreds of years ago, when Chinese immigrants first arrived Indonesia, some might not know they would eventually become a significant part of the Indonesian population, having generations of generations grew up in Surabaya, making great contribution to the nation. Visitors now could only see the accomplishment they have achieved, but might typically overlook all the obstacles they had overcome for centuries, and few could realized the fear and helplessness when Hakkas first stepped on the island, and not to mention the homesickness in every lonely Chinese New Year.

Today, Chinese culture had become a significant component of the Indonesian culture, I barely found out even the Indonesian language contained some Chinese phrases. People celebrated Chinese New Year as national holiday, the Chinese food brought to Indonesia being transformed and made into Indonesian deliciousness. Curiously, I wondered for the Hakka descendants, and so as the many other Chinese immigrants, after hundreds of years, and all the foundation they had built, how much value they would put themselves on their two identities, more of an Indonesian nationals, or more of a Chinese immigrant’s descendants?

Personally, I would say the identities of them would not matter as much as people would say. Being proud of an Indonesian national, and appreciating the fact of an Chinese descendant. Because identities are just tags that the world adds on you, long as descendants value themselves as a great contribution of the both sides, and a sense of belonging to both cultures, hatred like xenophobia and racism would fade in times.

Still trying to figure out why I would fell so touching of the Hakka Guild Hall, possibly being inspired by the experience of the Hakka ancestors, or I might have attached my future of going to overseas university as a type of outsider on the land? I genuinely appreciate my experience in Indonesia, and stay tuned for the things I will discover next week.