Indonesia

The Beach Culture in Sanur, Bali

Until I moved to a proper beach town, I didn’t really realize how different the beach culture is from country to country, or even city to city.

In Ipanema, Rio, for example, the beach is for tanning and playing volleyball, for surfing and partying. In Sanur, Bali, the beach has its own personality- distinct and fantastic in its own right, but more quiet and subdued. It’s a place for a long walk, stopping to pick up flowers from the path; it’s a place to sit and have a long, lazy lunch of nasi goreng; to ride your bike and watch it all unfold. (more…)

Raising a Third Culture Kid

I have recently become fascinated by the idea of TCKs, or third culture kids. What is a third culture kid? According to the TCK site, “a third culture kid is a “person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside their parents’ culture.”

The other definition on the site: “TCKs are the prototype citizens of the future.”

Being a third culture kid: the paradox of belonging to many cultures, and none at the same time

Although I had never considered it before and certainly never even heard the term until a few years ago, I myself am a third culture kid. I was raised in Mexico City, moved to the US in my pre-teen years. Even when living in New York, after returning from Mexico, I very much considered myself a part of the world as opposed to just an American. I was a bit surprised when I moved to Spain aged 26 and people there considered me so “American” when most of my peers back in the US considered me the opposite. It was almost like I belonged to both… and yet neither. My son, born in London to American parents, has been a bit of a migrant since his birth- first London, then Rio, then Montevideo, and now his longest run (9 months) in Bali, Indonesia. Although we adore Bali, we’re travelers at heart and this won’t be his last move, so he’s just as likely to spend his childhood years in South America as he is in Asia, or somewhere else altogether.

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Picture Postcards: Bali street scene

Our street scene of the week comes to us from Carrie, our contributor in Bali who sent in this photo from Sanur Bali, Indonesia.

Learn more about Indonesia:
Indonesian Student Life: A trip to Sempu Island
Nyepi Day in Bali: Still. Slow. Soft. Gentle. Easy
Naming Children: Traditions in 13 different countries

Indonesian student life: a trip to Sempu island

In this post, I would like to share my backpacker experience with my friends. When I was a University student, there was a long holiday after we have our semester exam. Me and my friends usually plan a backpacker trip for our holiday. In our 5th semester, we travelled to a remote island called Sempu Island. Sempu Island is located in the Southern part of Java Island. If you have watched ‘The Beach’ movie, yeah, some people said the view is just like Phi phi Island. Ok, the story begins…

First, since we are studying in Bandung, that is in West Java, so we have to go to Malang, that is in East Java, by train. We are in the economic class, since we are doing backpacker trip not a vacation holiday. It was a long trip; we get to Kertosono train station in 15 hours. From Kertosono cwe ontinued to Malang in 6 hours trip. The total is 21 hours trip to Malang from Bandung. We have still not reached the Island yet, we still have to ride to Sindang Biru before we cross into Sempu Island by fishing boat.

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Naming children: traditions in 13 different countries

How are children’s names chosen in your country? Do you follow ancient naming traditions or are modern names more popular? Do you pass names down through family generations or invent new ones?

We’ve had a lot of fun writing this post and the subject of how children are named in our various countries has inspired a lot of discussion within our team of contributors. So, read on to find out how children’s names are chosen in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the USA.

Have something to add? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

There aren’t many clear-cut naming traditions in Argentina nowadays. In the past, first-born babies were named after their parents but now the focus is on distinctiveness. Parents choose names they like or that are fashionable. For example, when Argentinean-born Maxima Zorriegueta married Crown Prince Wilhelm-Alexander of the Netherlands, the name Maxima became very popular.

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Which part of Belgium takes mealtimes more seriously?

Test your cultural expertise with our weekly quiz question. This week’s question is from Belgium, which is divided into two main regions – Flanders (in the North) and Wallonia (in the South).

Eating patterns differ between the northern and the southern parts of Belgium. Which pays more attention to tradition and family in mealtime habits?

A. Flanders.
B. Wallonia.

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