At the beginning of 6 months in Indonesia, I had not yet entered school and was still learning Indonesian at home. Apart from aunt number 2, her husband, and her children, the first Indonesians I hung out with on a daily basis were my aunt's employees who work at home, such as domestic workers, drivers, gardeners, and pool builders.

They have different characters, of course. Some are very good, and some are bad for me, but for sure they indirectly help my adaptation process to the environment and culture in Indonesia.

In this article, I will briefly tell them one by one under pseudonyms and how I got along with them in my Indonesian language, which was very limited at that time.

Mbak Tantri (Domestic Worker)

Mbak Tantri's main job is as a cook, but she also helps with daily household chores with other helpers. Mbak Tantri is a quiet person and quite patient. In her spare time, she likes to listen to the radio in her room.

I really liked Mbak Tantri's cuisine at that time, and until now I feel that her cuisine is one of the best Indonesian foods.

Mbak Malya (Domestic Worker)

Mbak Malya is the wife of Mas Aditya (her aunt's husband's personal driver). Even though they were married, Mbak Malya was still very young, as far as I remember, about 18 years old. Perhaps the age factor and being often spoiled by his father, Pak Satya (the gardener of my aunt's house), his attitude is still immature. Often he fights in his aunt's house with Mas Aditya. The worst incident was that he threw some plates at Mas Aditya while they were fighting in the kitchen.

I didn't hang out much with Mbak Malya because she only worked for a short time and then Mas Aditya was no longer allowed to work at my aunt's house.

Mbak Inka (Domestic Worker)

Mbak Inka's main task is to wash, dry, and iron clothes and other household chores. At first, I lived at my aunt's house, Mbak Inka often addressed me in Indonesian, such as "white feet like corpses" and others. Although at the time I didn't understand, from his tone and facial expressions I more or less knew he was mocking me. After a little while, I understood the Indonesian language, and Mbak Inka began to dare not talk to me anymore.

Mas Aditya (Private driver, home environmental caretaker and pet caretaker)

Mas Aditya is Mbak Malya's husband. He was my aunt's husband's personal driver, a loyal and diligent person. When I returned to Hong Kong, Mas Aditya was still working with my aunt's husband. My cousin and I often ask Mas Aditya to drive us to the shopping mall and accompany us to do nosy things. I'll tell you about the nosy things we've done in the following articles.

In addition, Mas Aditya is also talented in caring for all kinds of animals. My aunt's husband is a lover of wild animals, so in addition to many pets, there are also many wild animals that should not be kept in private places. In my memory, they kept 3 dogs, a number of rabbits, several Koi fish, an Eagle, a Hornbill, a Tarsieve and a Gibbon Gibbon. Mas Aditya at that time was also in charge of taking care of all these animals.

Mr. Ubay (Special private driver to take us to school)

Mr. Ubay is a special driver to drive and pick up my cousins from school. When I was not in school, I also often took them to school, so I also learned a lot of Indonesian from Mr. Ubay.

Pak Ubay's former employer is Taiwanese living in Indonesia, so Pak Ubay also understands a little Chinese, but most of the words he was taught were rude words.

Mr. Ubay is also very funny personally; every school shuttle trip, he always makes us laugh out loud. The most memorable incident was when it rained heavily on the car window sweeper. At that time, Pak Ubay, my male cousin, and I could not see the road ahead, but Pak Ubay managed to drive us home safely.

Pak Satya (Gardener and swimming pool specialist)

Pak Satya is Mas Aditya's father-in-law. Pak Satya's main task is to take care of the garden and clean the swimming pool at my aunt's house. Pak Satya does not need to come to work every day, but the distance between Pak Satya's house and his aunt's house is very close and can be reached on foot, so if needed, Mas Aditya will go to Pak Satya's house to call him to come to his aunt's house.

Mr. Satya was a very kind and patient person, but while I was still in Indonesia, he passed away.

Mbak Widati (Caregiver of the third aunt's daughter)

Shortly after I lived in Indonesia, my aunt became pregnant and gave birth to her third child in 1990. Then they hired Mbak Widati as the caregiver for this newborn female cousin.

Mbak Widati was a good person and very patient, but not long after, for some reason, she had to stop working and return to her hometown. Mbak Widati often invited me to talk, and she was also the most respected aunt employee by my cousins.

Mr. Dimas (Aunt Anne's Guard)

Pak Dimas to me is a very scary person. Pak Dimas is a former soldier, and he often tells my male cousin and me how he killed the enemy while still serving as a soldier. My aunt's husband was not an ordinary person and had many enemies, so not long after I stayed in Indonesia, he hired Pak Dimas as a security guard for the security of his house.