She’s in Fashion
(Melbourne Notes - Written in 2009)
By now y’all must have figured out that despite my headscarf, I actually have a secret fashionista in me (fashion-ista, not fashio-nista!). So when I was told that Australian office dress code is quite formal, I hastily rummaged Mal Ambasador to procure some decent shirts and jackets (or “blazer” as you call it) to wear at work in Melbourne. Quite a fortune spent, that was, for a proletarian.
Months went by since I first came and those jackets never once find the occasion to leave my closet.
That bloody person who tipped me off must have not acknowledged the fact that I am an *engineer* working in *oil industry*, not some high-profile admin staff in a private bank. As far as the eyes can see, ladies here dress more or less the same as in Jakarta. Or should I say, less!
For isn’t it a miniskirt that she’s wearing? Like 15 cm above the knees? Isn’t it a body-fit cotton tee that I see over there? And anticipating summer, I swear the ladies are all flaunting their “yukensi” shirts & dresses! Who actually wears a jacket? Supervisors. And those putting on “minimalist” tops when they actually have an important review coming up (old trick!).
So pardon me for going about this Melbourne office in my usual fashion statement. That is, “tadpole fashion” like you used to see me back then in Jakarta. And pardon me if those jackets eventually fly back to Indonesia with their price tags still on. Because it is highly unlikely -and against my favour- that I’d suddenly become a supervisor within these 18 months, ha ha =)
Note:
- For the gents, it is true though, that the dress code is quite formal. If you can get away with short-sleeve shirts in Jakarta, here you must grope further into your long-sleeve drawer. And don’t forget your shiny patent leather shoes. Putting on a tie all day is pretty common, too.
- Summer is really a fascinating time for fashion studies. Look at the way the ladies dress (do so with your shades on, ho-hum)! Some just have no clue they look downright hideous, I can tell ya!
Better Ways to Answer “How are You?”
(Melbourne Notes - Written in 2009)
I never thought my supposedly smooth transition will be crippled by such a trivial thing as everyday how-are-you’s. I coped gracefully with bigger things: the new job, the language, the cold (imagine a tropical creature journeys in winter), the settling-in, the food. But in the first weeks, there were always those awkward seconds before I could respond to a simple “How are you?”.
I believe it is cultural! We do greet each other with a genial “Apa kabar?” (how-are-you equivalent in Bahasa), but certainly we don’t apa-kabar each other every 5-minute! In Indonesia, if you see them & interact with them on a daily basis, a nice good-morning and an occasional “hi” every time you bump into them will be sufficient. But in Western culture they fire on with how-are-you every time they set eyes on you. Or so I felt.
Then followed the awkward seconds in which I struggled for an answer.
It was hard for me to respond readily because I could not tell if they sincerely wanted to know how I was or if it was just something mechanical; something meaningless that did not demand meaningful answer.
If I were honestly feeling low, should I just say it? Would they care or would they brush it off? If they cared, I might have to elaborate. But would I care to? I’m not someone who could just pour my heart out to a perfect stranger.
But if this whole how-are-you thing is just mechanical, why bother answering it anyway? Could I just brush it off?
See? All these “philosophical” questions passed through my mind every time a random, well-meaning person asked me that simple “How are you?”. And if I was an idiot for taking three days to realize that the office has no tea girls, I must have been a bigger idiot for taking three WEEKS to get it into my system that I shouldn’t worry about the (in)sincerity of the meaning; I should just take it as a cultural thing and produce a prompt “Good. Yourself?” with a genuine smile, both in the ups and downs of my day.
So I got over it now. You can how-are-you me every 5-minute and I wouldn’t bother. Except that now I’m feeling a bit bored with the words good/fine/well as universal answers. Surely there are better ways to respond to this standard greeting! “Never been better”. “Still hangin’ on”. “Getting there”. “Fabulous”. “Sensational”. “Like sunshine!”. "Living my dreams". Oh, I can invent other things and heaps of them. So you’ll be surprised the next time you fire your “How are you?” at me! :)
PS:
This is something that happened during my Uni years, when I was a part-time Bahasa teacher in Jogja. One of my favourite students, a British diplomat, came to me and idly asked me to translate “Mustn’t grumble” to Bahasa. “Why would you need to say ’mustn’t grumble’ anyway?”, I was sincerely curious. “Alternative answer to how-are-you”, he said. NOW I know what he meant. “Good” is just sooooooo boring! :)
Labels: culture, melbourne
Eating Out vs Eating In
(Melbourne Notes - Written in 2009)
CBD & suburbs are filthy with excellent eateries scattered around most tauntingly. I mean it, Melbourne is a superb place if you’re into walking and eating (& wine!). Is it good news? Yes, but not always to me.
Being a Muslim in a predominantly Christian country is a challenge. True, halal butchers are not so hard to find and there are halal eateries in the city, but sometimes (just sometimes!) hovers the temptation to taste that dish so famous in that renowned restaurant everyone’s been showering with praises… but you can’t since it’s not halal-meat. Sure you can go anyway and order some seafood or veggie stuffs if you insist. Then you see the aforesaid dish come floating about to the next table and it smells so good you literally drool. You look at your own dish and you ponder. Temptation is in the air!
So you know that you can’t always eat out, because even if they are cheap, the choice is limited. And they’re not exactly cheap, mind you. Regular lunch in a tiny eatery will cost you around AUD 8, drinks excluded. Dinner set is around AUD 15/pax by a struggling student’s standard. Desk-jockeys like me are expected to go to better restaurants/bars; there goes *extra* AUD 20/pax, desserts excluded. Ridiculous when you try to convert everything to Rupiah.
And when you know you can’t always eat out, you find yourself face to face with the cooker.
Yes, cook your own food. I never dreamt of having to do that. In Jogja (God bless this peaceful place!) food was dirt-cheap and there were food stalls galore just around every corner; cooking was simply deemed unnecessary (and more costly if you’re cooking for one). In Jakarta it wasn’t so cheap, but I lived on a street renowned as a culinary haven; it was downright stupid to try and cook on my own when so much better food was at my disposal. And now Melbourne: an apartment with lovely, modern, convenient kitchen that beckons me to challenge my culinary quotient. So I cook. Yes.
It is not that hard, really. Especially after a raid to Laguna (an oriental grocery shop) and be amazed by those tall shelves of INSTANT condiments. I know I will survive Melbourne, and will definitely survive my kitchen challenge! Even a culinary idiot CANNOT lose when the logistics is just colossal. So I cook. Yes.
Labels: eat, melbourne
