Skip to main content

Hello, Vancouver!

Finally, after spending a month in my birth country, I am back in Vancouver.

My sister mentioned how different life is between the two countries. Indonesia is bustling with activities and noise. People are selling stuff everywhere. Cars honk every 5 seconds or more. Trucks pass by all kinds of road with little regulation. And our lifestyle there is very different -- no self-laundry, self-cooking, or self-cleaning up, thanks to the maids we hire (people power is cheap over there). Whatever we want can be fulfilled easily. We basically live like a princess.

Canada, on the other hand, has clean air and good road. It's cooler in temperature. And we do everything ourself. If you don't pick up your clothes, nobody is going to do it for you. If you don't cook, then you don't eat. Canada is also quiet. Cars don't honk. People do not shout.

When I was back there, life in Canada felt surreal. I saw how the women spend their days filled with things they like to do. They arranged their own schedules and they could drop everything at a moment's notice if emergencies should arise. Hobbies got done. I saw wives hanging out in a beauty parlor all day. Going to a gymn had become a social activity. Life in Canada surely would never be that 'easy'.

But now that I am here, life in Indonesia is but like a dream. Who needs a castle as a home, anyway? And I realize that those wives must have been bored out of their minds. Having a week or two with nothing to do but relax is a privilege, but having a lifetime of vacation is a thing I am not looking forward to.

Two countries, two worlds, two lifestyles.
Labels:

Comments

closari said…
Your husband loves more Indonesian way of living. However, living in Canada gives interesting experience on how to become more independent.
May 20, 2008 at 9:41 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amigurumi: Mario Bros Mushroom

I found out that I had a stash of acrylic yarns left (in the storage), and so I was looking around for patterns/stuff I can use them for. I ended up finding Amigurumi , and of course the pattern I wanted uses the colors of yarns I did not already have. I ended up buying another stash of acrylic yarns in different colors. Thankfully, Zellers had it on sale. In any case, my first Amigurumi project was the Mario Bros Mushroom. I found out (too late), that I was doing the red part wrong. I crocheted from the back loop only, instead of from both loop. Hence, the "head" is taller than it's supposed to be. But since I didn't realize it until after the head was completed, I decided to leave it as it was. Mushy I gave this one to Chris, just because he wanted one. This became another addition to his "work buddies", as you can see below. Chris's "Work Buddies" But bad Chris! He made Mushy to be the bad guy (I think). Chris called this scene "Revenge...
7 comments
Read more

Entrepreneurship and Time

Flexo from Consumerism Commentary asked a good question today: Can you be an entrepreneur in your spare time? There are strong arguments for maintaining a relatively secure job while laying the groundwork for your own business. With a stable income, you can fund your endeavors. With benefits from your day job, you don't have to worry about making enough money from your side work to support you if you encounter medical emergencies. On the other hand, there are some reasons why you can't be a successful entrepreneur if all you can devote to the business is your spare time. The more aggressive your goals, the more risk you must be willing to take. Hah! I am averse to risk myself. I like the idea of me being a risk-taker and reap benefits of the challenges I take. But in reality, I like the consistent and the familiars. I guess that's the reason I am not an entrepreneur myself. Flexo then continues to argue that while trying to launch a successful business, don't expect to...
3 comments
Read more