29. Rumah kedua Ku. By Dhina Ramadiani

29. Rumah kedua Ku. By Dhina Ramadiani

 

Hi, there. I’m Dhina, from Jakarta, Indonesia. Actually, my full name is very, very long. It has 19 letters. So, my friends and family just call me Dhina. 🙂 I am a preschool teacher and have lived in Fujian for 7 years!

 

When I was a kid, I often dreamed of a place full of red lanterns. One day, when we were passing through North Jakarta, I saw those red lanterns. I told my dad that this is the place I often dream of. My dad said that this place is called Chinatown. From then on, my family would drive to the Kota Tua (Indonesian for “old town”) neighborhood in Jakarta every weekend to eat Chinese food. My father had many Chinese Indonesian colleagues at his company. They would often joke that I looked Chinese, and that maybe one day I would go and live in China. They suggested that I study Chinese. Before I came to China, I didn’t know any Chinese cities besides Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. And even though I had been interested in Chinese culture since I was a child, my impression of it was limited to the Chinatown in Jakarta.

 

Amazingly, my dreams came true. I started studying Chinese at university in 2005, and in 2007, I became part of the first cohort of exchange students to go to Fujian Normal University. While I was studying in China, I was lucky enough to meet my future husband. He is from Zhangzhou, and at the time, I didn’t even know where Zhangzhou was. Because he was studying in Xiamen, I decided to pursue my graduate studies at Xiamen University after graduating from undergrad. I also had the opportunity to get to know the beautiful little city of Zhangzhou, which is next to Xiamen. After I graduated, we left China, but we came back after we got married. I can’t believe I’ve already been living here for 7 years.

 

China has really changed a lot over the past few years. I still remember that when I first came here, transportation was somewhat inconvenient. Roads were under construction everywhere, and some roads were full of potholes. Now, transportation has become very convenient, especially now that we have trains, and it has made life even more convenient. For example, the closest Indonesian consulate is in Guangzhou, and the train has made it very convenient for me to go there whenever I need to handle some formalities. I’ve also noticed that more and more foreigners are choosing to live in Fujian.

We had always wanted to have children. In 2016, we moved to Zhangzhou, a cozy little town, and in 2017, we had our first child.

 

But for me, China has already become a home away from home. I was lucky enough to meet a lot of friendly people, and they helped me a lot. I still remember the first day I came to China to study. I was sad because I missed home. Now, I not only have my own family, I also have good friends. Every weekend, they always take me to fun places, and I often make Indonesian food for them. Because of the pandemic, I can’t go back to Indonesia. When I talk to my family on the phone, they always complain that I have forgotten a lot of vocabulary (indeed! I’ve even started thinking in Chinese sometimes).

 

My father came to Zhangzhou several times before COVID. We drove around and arrived at a place called the “Shengwu building”. It was very remote. The staff there invited us inside. We saw an exquisite window carving, and my father quickly recognized that it was in the Javanese style. My father was amazed that the two countries were able to overcome huge distances and engage in cultural exchange. I miss him a lot at the moment. I hope that the pandemic abroad can end as soon as possible, and I hope he can come to Zhangzhou again to see how it has changed. I also hope that more Chinese people will be able to visit my home country: Indonesia.

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