[Globally] Southern Hospitality

Recently I’ve decided to start eating at the various warung around my neighborhood. I’ve passed by a number of food places on my way to and from work, but have yet to eat at them. My reasoning for this is that warungs are (1), just as cheap as shopping for groceries and cooking myself, averaging about $1.00-1.50 for a meal and a drink, and (2), a great way to make friends, if the mood is right. Today I stopped at a place that I’d never given much thought to, but it advertises about twenty different kinds of noodle meals, and I was intrigued by promises of Hong Kong, Thai, and Malaysian noodle dishes, and the word “vegetarian” next to a fried rice dish. Usually I plan on getting meals to go, but I always forget to specify, so the host usually sits me down and before I know it I’m eating at a table by myself. This was again the case today, but I happened to make two wonderful friends, the Ibu in charge of the place, and her 26-year old son who knew some English and wanted to know more. Essentially I sat with them for close to an hour and told them all about my life, we practiced my Bahasa Indonesia and they practiced their English, and a jolly time was had by all. I should mention that a large portion of Indonesians’ free time is spent just sitting around with their family and friends, often not even talking. They just like to be with other warm bodies, have someone to bounce ideas off of; companionship is really all they seem to need in life. And I’m happy to give it to them. A few times I got up and said I’d like to go home, but Ibu told me to sit down and keep talking. When I decided that the time was right to leave, she insisted on not charging me for my melon juice. Mind you, I probably had 50 bucks rolling around in my pocket, the juice would have cost me $0.35, and I’m sure Ibu knew this on some level. But here, hospitality is a cultural phenomenon that is blind to class difference. I find it absolutely staggering. People of the smallest means are usually the most giving, and free drinks from people who have hardly enough money to get by are pretty customary (see my entry on the ojek driver, Pak Pri). Just remember this the next time you find yourself angry at being over-charged or feeling that your friends don’t appreciate your generosity.