Well, you see, I’m considered myself from a Chinese tribe, but because some “conflicts” that Chinese tribe had in the past with Indonesian government, the government stripped down many things that “smells” like Chinese from the land, including Chinese language and cultures. Just since 2001 when Gus Dur become the president, the Chinese language and culture started to be circulated again. But After 40 years of suppression, I guess losing the identity has become inevitable price we have to pay. Including me. I don’t know Chinese language at all, and I don’t even celebrate Chinese culture and tradition, except for the cultures where I may gain some profit from it *tee hee hee* like Chinese New Year. And now that I’ve been married, there lost my only advantage of celebrating that tradition. *grumpy sounds* But apart from that, I never indulge myself much with my ancestry culture, as my parents also didn’t do that, and I believe many Chinese tribe in Indonesia in my generation.
But then, working at a place where it upholds strong tradition or culture has its own perks. I work at Taipei School in Surabaya, and they celebrate almost every Chinese tradition, from the most popular ones, to the ones I never heard about. And today, it’s about Moon Cake Festival.
Life in a Nutshell 