Celebrating Indonesia Independence Day

by Ye Xiaohui (Michael) – China

August 17 is the Independent Day of Indonesia. In this national holiday, we were invited to attend the flag ceremony in the city square. In the early morning, we got up and waited in front of the house. This was the one of the few times that Afif wasn’t late, hehe.

We wore Batik, which is the colorful traditional shirt. We saw hundreds of people gathering there including the soldiers and the government officers and the students. It was a little bit like Chinese ceremony, just fewer people. We felt honored although we were seated at the edge of the audience seats. There was a chorus there singing songs all morning. It was really hard.

After that, we went to church with host mother and sister. It was said that it was the first day for Christian’s fast month so it was important for them to go to church. It was the first time I went to a church, not for visit. The church was very different from the one that I had imagined.

The building and the decoration inside were not so Christian as the ones that I had visited. What surprised me most was the pray part. The priest was not a kind old man wearing black clothes and glasses. He was a guy good at pushing the people up. They first pray, and then sing songs and then put their wish in a box. Many people cried there. How fantastic the religion is.

But they gave me an idea that maybe I could use the music. I asked Marisa to write new lyrics for a famous song. The lyrics were related to environmental protection. Today I taught the junior high school students this new song, I thought it was a good idea.