Hey,
Today I have decided to give you a quick description about the country I am going to write about this semester.
The Republic of Indonesia is a Southeast Asia country. With its 17,500 islands, Indonesia is the greatest archipelago of our planet. It is the fourth most populous country of the world (after China, India and the United States): in 2009, the population was estimated around 240 millions inhabitants, including 12 millions in the capital city Jakarta. The Republic of Indonesia shares land borders with Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and East Timor. The current president is the democrat Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
The Republic of Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim country. 87% of the population is Muslim. The biggest mosque of Southeast Asia is in Jakarta, facing the cathedral. The Istiqlal mosque can greeted over 120 000 believers.
The Indonesian currency is the Rupiah (as a guide, 5 000 Rupiah is worth 4 euros).
The Indonesian climate is hot and humid. The wet season lasts from November to April and January is the wettest month with an impressive average of rainfall per week. There are floods regularly in Jakarta. September and October are the months when the highest temperature are recorded. The average temperature in Indonesia is 30°C.
The official language is the Bahasa Indonesia (also called the Indonesian) but over 250 dialects are spoken throughout the country.
To conclude, I’m going to give you the different ways to say hello in Indonesian:
The morning, you have to say “selamat pagi”.
At lunch time, you will say “selamat siang”.
During the afternoon, you will say “selamat sore” (you have to say [soré]).
And at night, you have to say “selamat malam”.
The Bahasa Indonesia is a very simple language. I never take lessons, yet after a month I was able to have a simple conversation with a native speaker. Pronounce the words just the way they are written!
That’s it for today!
Take care,
Claire
And don’t forget to come and continue your discovery of Indonesia soon!
Well-presented article Claire. Could you possibly quote your information source(s) at the end? I don’t think it’s a problem to use information from encyclopaedias etc. in bog posts, but it’s always best to cite them so we’re safe from any potential copyright issues.
So can you speak Bahasa Indonesia well? I wish I spoke better Cantonese after living so long in HK…
p.s. “general information” about Indonesia – “information” is always singular in English, as far as I know.
Some of the information of this article come from a touristic guide of Indonesia I’ve got. I can speak Bahasa Indonesia but as properly as before because it’s been a while since I didn’t practice!! You’ve been living in Hong Kong? How long? The indonesian is a pretty simple language! You can learn it very fast! Cantonese seems much more complicated…
Wow cool, I wish I could say I had forgotten my Cantonese. Instead, I have to admit that I never spoke much anyway, and I think I’ve forgotten what I did know now! And I was in HK for……. 12 and a half years!! Haha so maybe my excuse can be that it’s a very complicated language 😉
Do you go back to Indonesia? It must be great to go back sometimes and keep in touch with the culture. I suppose you went to an international school while you were there?
That’s so cool! I wish I had the opportunity yo go to HK! I didn’t have the chance to go back to Indonesia (it’s been 4 years since I came back to France!) but I’m saving money for it! Yet, I still have contact with some of my indonesian friends, which is very pleasant! I went to a french school in Jakarta and my little brothers studied in an australian school!
Have you been in Bali? I stayed here 2 weeks. Nice place.
I have been 4 weeks in Malaysia too. Malaysian people speak the same langage than indonesian people and I can’t be able to have a conversation with anybody!!! You’re very strong Claire!!!!
Have you got pictures about Jakarta, java,…?
Terima kasi
Of course I’ve been to Bali! That cannot be ignored! I was easier for me to learn bahasa because I needed it every day while I live in Indonesia!! I stayed a week in Rome a few years ago and I was just able to use the basic words… You don’t really need more when you are in holidays!
I have many pictures taken in Indonesia, too many to them on the website!!!!
You should change the title of your blog! From ‘Indianesia Blog, Another WordPress.com Weblog’ to Indianesia Blog, to ‘know everything about it and daydream all Monday long’ 😀