Cool name, ha? That is one of the terms that found its new meaning for me while I am here.
Maybe the most common meaning that this terms refers to is the kind of person who has lots of guts, speeding, zig-zaging on the street, turning suddenly without signing…well, maybe thousands of other similar things. The cool (?) thing is that the fact that here, it is not that rare to find. The inspiration to write on this has dawned on me several time, especially during driving, but well…the time to sit down and write about it doesn’t seem to exist so easily.
The first weeks living in BA, I always freaked out when I had to go out in cars (well, you know, company pays, and I should have been quite grateful, but hey…I was afraid, okay?), especially when I don’t have a person from Aceh or Medan to drive me. So there I was, being the clown in the car because of all the “funny” faces I made, especially when we came closer to traffic lights. These are really the people who dare to die, or maybe the ones who really dare to live… Once I had a friend in Jogja who claimed that he was able to calculate the difference in seconds between the moment the light turned red on one lane and turned green on the other. Well, sorry Bro’, but you are in no way a match for these people. They see red lights, they just go through, as long as there are vehicles still moving from their lane, as long as there is no visible traffic jam on the crossroads, hit it, Man! Fuih… Turning on the sign light when you want to turn? That will be quite a rare thing to find. As a result, you have to become a profound and sensitive mind reader. In case you are driving on the street, and you see a vehicle going between the two lanes, you know, kind of undecided which lane to take…And you see that there is a T-junction coming. That vehicle keep reducing the speed, and you can clearly see that the handlebar was kind of shaky. Well, what do you think will happen next? A. S/he will turn left. B. S/he will turn right. C. S/he will make a U turn. D. S/he is looking for an address. E. It is running out of fuel. F. S/he is typing an SMS. See…nothing, simply, nothing is impossible, or improbable…
One of my dearest friends here has formulated a golden rule for him as he is driving the daily madness of BA traffic, “DO NOT look at your rear view mirror as you are driving, never. Even when you are trying to overtake, or make a turn, or change the lane”. And you know what, that rule is really golden, because it WORKS!
But besides these guys and gals driving, there are other kings and queens who are not less magical than the people (you know what, this land is really blessed…) Even as I was arriving here, I got a crash briefing by one of the office drivers, “Mbak, Mbak, only in Aceh (if you don’t want to count India in, ed.) where you can drive around, or stroll and find everywhere….COWS.” These very sexy, nude creatures can take their leasure stroll, sometimes even sitting so relaxed seeping the air of BA before sunset.
Around two weeks ago I joined a friend of mine on the first journey on his new motorbike going up and down the hills in the area called Krueng Raya, from the city you go up the hill and come out at the beach. In Javanese we have a saying “jlajah desa, milang kori”, which literally means “roving the village, counting the doors”, but to be honest, you wouldn’t go far with “counting the doors” since there are no so many houses around. During this trip we should really admit the power of the kings and queens of the street, the COWS. Whoever has the experience of taking a mountain road would be able to imagine the sight, in which you see small roads with lots of bents, and sometimes you cannot really see what is behind the next bent. This is the bad side of our trip, since there can be anything just right after the bent, we could see a bunch of cows and goats trying to cross the street as we are coming round the bent. Plus the bush growing on the sides of the road, which did not make it easier for both of us and the animals to spot each other. Don’t try to test how sturdy your motorbike is by bumping it into a cow, no…no…you could never win. You will risk having to pay the damage of the cow to its owner, and you would definitely risk paying the damage to your own well-being. So we end up taking the road very carefully, not because other drivers, but for the sake of the four legged road users.
One thing that could be such a beautiful experience driving in the area, especially in town, is that it gives you an opportunity to reflect on what regulation personally means to you. And also the chance to be more perceptive and sensitive to whatever is happening around you. This is a precious experience, to observe all the other street users, and trying to figure out what is going on in their mind, where people like to go, in which lane people usually have the sudden urge to accelerate or to turn unexpectedly (well, if you are reading mind, then of course you begin to expect it…). And all of a sudden you will feel that you senses are getting sharper, the eyes, the ears and the reflexes becoming more trained. And a valuable opportunity it is to be able to ask yourself whenever you see the yellow light turning red right on your face, “Should I stop?” Should I stop when I know that there are lots of drivers right behind me who would immediately commit sin by swearing at this car? Should we break the red light because there are lots of other people doing it? Will I stop even when I am alone and become the odd one? Will you continue driving through the red light, when you know that it is actually “safe” to do so?
A precious answer. And often, we did indeed, became the odd one. And whispering to ourselves, “Aren’t changes coming from ourselves?” Instead of joining the bunches of people surprised and swearing when they are stuck on the crossroads even when it is actually their turn to go, we figure out that maybe…just maybe…we are the one who should start the trend. So why not be the first ones who stop at the red light, even when you are actually only following your conscience which is already used to interpret red as stop. But you know, it only takes the first one to do it, because we begin to notice that whenever a vehicle stop (not only us, by the way…), other vehicles become not so brave in breaking the red light, and we see people actually stop next to us, and wait. See? Want some change? Why don’t you start?
Unfortunately, this does not apply to the cows… But hopefully, in the end, they are the ones who are left as the only true kings and queens of the street.
Regards, from the cherry green lights…
Malahayati Port
tapi kok tanya sana-sini belum mendapatkan jawaban…
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Hi....I am Die Kleinetheresia. It has nothing to do with I am being small or something...just an alternative interpretation of the origin of my christian name. I am an Indonesian girl who is trying to experience living in different places of Indonesia, enjoying the culture and experience.
