March 9, 2009

Sometimes it's hard being an Indonesian

I've just noticed that it has been 3 weeks since my last post. As usual, my excuse is that work has been hectic. But I've also been using the little free time I have getting all the documents ready for my Schengen visa application (I'm planning to go to Europe for a 2-week-holiday this May).

Being a diplomat's daughter, I've never applied for a visa myself. It has always been taken care of by the foreign affairs department.


But now that I'm holding a green passport (an Indonesian diplomat passport is black), I have to go through the whole visa process, and it just hit me how complicated the whole thing is! It's not just a "fill in an application form & wait" process.


What surprised me (you can really tell I'm a newbie at this!), I have to also prepare :
- Last 3 months bank statement (certified by the bank)
- Proof that I have already booked a flight
- Proof I have a place to stay (which means I have to book a hotel already)
- Proof I have bought travel insurance
- Recent photograph (white background, 3.5 cm x 4.5 cm, 70% of the photo is your face)
- Proof that I have paid the service charge at Standard Chartered bank (yes, it has to be Standard Chartered)
and a few other ID documents...

And all this, while it's not even 100% certain I'd get the visa!

My friend told me that besides of the terrorist issue, for us singletons, we're also a bit disadvantaged because they think that once we arrive in Europe, we'll try to get a job...or even try to find a bule and get married (!) in order to stay.

This really makes me sad...it's as if all Indonesians are living here by force and we'd all jump if the chance comes to live abroad.


On the other hand, I can't blame them entirely. Indonesians tend to worship anything that even has a hint of being "foreign".

That is why I was really happy to read in the newspaper that at this year's Java Jazz festival, before the beginning of each show, the national anthem was played. Just a small reminder that we should be proud of being an Indonesian, we should love Indonesia. If we don't, then who else will?

I hope this post is not too serious. I just needed to get it off my chest. My next posts will be back to the light topics that will (hopefully) make you fall in love with Indonesia ;)

Btw, Doain gue dapet visanya dongggg ! :(

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

What an interesting entry. In Malaysia, it is a little hard to apply for an American visa, especially if you are a guy and a Muslim...and we have to pay a non-returnable sum of US$100. So if your visa is not approved then you cannot get your US$100 back!

Si Intan said...

Ipiiitttt, one thing from me..get me cute little souvenirs hehehehe

Crey said...

gudlak yaaaa pitt....

Fitri - saya turis... said...

@Syafique : Yes, US visas are also difficult to get for Indonesians. Is it also difficult to apply for a Schengen visa if you're Malaysian?

@Intan : hahaha...of course lah tannn...

@Crey : Thanks ya Crey....yg mau honeymoon ke Lombok juga goodluck ;)

Anonymous said...

My sister-in-law had a pretty easy time getting Visa to visit us in US but another friend of mine, her mother was wanting to come here to help with the birth of her second child and has been repeatedly denied, despite the fact that she has been here before. Try and figure that one out. They probably have a wheel in the back office of teh US Embassy with "Approved" and "Denied" on it and for each application they spin the wheel and record the result.

Fitri - saya turis... said...

@Matt : That's so puzzling...I've read that there are lots of cases like that..I hope I'll get my Schengen visa though :(

Anonymous said...

Fitsssi, Its me again, Diane. gw susah bo mau leave a comment so I use anonymous instead :P. Iya fit, we should be proud of our country. Kalo bukan kita siapa lagi? iya gak. Emang sich susah-susah gampang being an Indonesian tapi tetap aja the vibrant of kota jakarta tetap membuat gue cinta my country. Kayaknya kalo gue nikah nanti, gue akan maksa suami gue mencintai negeri ini seperti gue. Ini situasi bila suami gue bule ya hehehehe (ngarep dot com).

Unknown said...

Yupps fit I just read your artikel here. It's hard being an indonesian I am totally agree for that, but also I am proud of being an indonesian here in europe who is not married with bule ( yesss!) especially when I work as equal as "bule" and normally I am only the indonesian.Nice!

Fitri - saya turis... said...

@Diana: eh di...gue baru ngeh bo elo ninggalin comment hehe maappp...yakin gak mau tinggal di india aja? haha
@Swas: Ciee...you go girl! nanti gaji elo euro, inget2 gaji gue masih dalam rupiah jadi traktir gue tiket ke eropa ya hehe

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