Norwegian explore Indonesia in cultural exchange<\/p>\n
By Lela E. Madjiah<\/p>\n
OSLO (JP): \"Ooooooh, Bali!\"<\/p>\n
The expression of beautiful memories and longing says it all.
\nIt is Norwegian students' most common response after spending
\nthree-months in Bali in a course organized by DNS -- De Norske
\nStudiesentra (Norwegian Study Center).<\/p>\n
DNS started three years ago and its courses are attracting
\nmore and more students.<\/p>\n
\"There were 63 students last semester, and there will be 65
\nthis February,\" course coordinator Gunnar Skjolden said.<\/p>\n
Peter Sorum set up the organization in 1992 to send students
\nto Bali and Mexico. As a young university student Sorum traveled
\naround Africa and Asia. This gave him the idea to combine
\ncultural experience with university study.<\/p>\n
At the time there were many organizations sending students to
\nother European countries and to the United States. Sorum wanted
\nto do something different. He conducted a poll and asked students
\nto choose from 15 countries, including some in Africa and Latin
\nAmerica.<\/p>\n
\"Our poll showed that Indonesia was the first choice of the
\ntop three countries which included France and Mexico,\" Sorum
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He then contacted the Indonesian embassy in Oslo.<\/p>\n
\"They were very helpful and suggested that Bali would be a
\ngood place to go because it has the necessary infrastructure like
\nhospitals,\" Sorum said.<\/p>\n
He went to Bali and met his contact, I Wayan Gunayasa. They
\nspent six months setting up the study center in Jimbaran and in
\n1993 Sorum began recruiting students. Skjolden joined DNS in 1994
\nas leader and project manager.<\/p>\n
Sorum said Bali was the perfect choice because it was a
\ntourist destination.<\/p>\n
\"It put Indonesia on the map. It's amazing that people know
\nvery little about Indonesia, one of the biggest countries in the
\nworld,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sorum believed this was because of inadequate promotion.<\/p>\n
\"Thailand and Malaysia, for example, are more aggressive in
\npromoting their countries as places to go for business and
\npleasure,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"So little is known about Indonesia that we have to use old
\ncolonial names like Celebes for Sulawesi. They even ask if Java
\nis in the same country and if the money is the same. You have a
\nlot to promote,\" Skjolden said.<\/p>\n
DNS offers three-month courses in philosophy and anthropology
\nfor Nok. 30,000 (US$4,687). This covers tuition, accommodation,
\nmeals, travel expenses and a predeparture service that includes
\nbriefings and all necessary information.<\/p>\n
Philosophy and anthropology are interesting and many students
\nare taking these subjects, Sorum said. Both courses follow the
\nUniversity of Oslo's standard curriculum because students have to
\ntake exams in Norway.<\/p>\n
The philosophy course follows a Western curriculum in which
\nstudents learn about Western philosophers like Socrates and
\nAristotle.<\/p>\n
\"They get very little of Eastern philosophy. It is interesting
\nto see Socrates and Aristotle from an Eastern perspective,\" Sorum
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Part of the anthropology curriculum is taken from Bali.
\nStudents who learn about cock fighting, for example, can go and
\nsee it in live, Skjolden said.<\/p>\n
There is also the possibility of setting up other classes,
\nlike comparative religion.<\/p>\n
\"I think it would be very interesting, because Hinduism in
\nBali, for example, is a different kind of Hinduism. In Java,
\nthere is a special kind of Islam and other islands have other
\nschools of Islam. Also there is Christianity, which is a
\nminority,\" Skjolden said.<\/p>\n
Some former DNS students have applied for scholarships to
\nstudy in Indonesia and some go to Australia to learn about
\nIndonesia, its religion and language, said Skjolden.<\/p>\n
\"They want to specialize in Indonesia and some have started to
\npick up Indonesian courses here. They want to go into Asia
\nthrough Indonesia,\" Sorum said.<\/p>\n
Activities<\/p>\n
In Bali, DNS is organized as a local foundation, Yayasan Dwi
\nNusa Semenda. Students are billeted with Balinese families in the
\ntraditional fishing village Jimbaran. Most meals are eaten in a
\ncafeteria at the study center, which is a local entrepreneur's
\nhomestay.<\/p>\n
\"Many also eat their meals in warungs (small restaurants) in
\nthe village. It's something we encourage to help small local
\nbusinesses,\" Sorum said.<\/p>\n
The center, run by a Balinese manager and Balinese staff, also
\nhas a study hall, an auditorium and phone facilities.<\/p>\n
In addition to academic activities, the students organize
\nsports and cultural activities. Volleyball and soccer tournaments
\nwith Indonesian students are organized as are Balinese dance and
\npainting courses and Merpati Putih self-defense with Udayana
\nUniversity instructors.<\/p>\n
\"We also have tried to organize student mentors from Udayana
\nUniversity for our students. At the end of each semester, the
\nNorwegian students invite student friends and village neighbors
\nto a Norwegian cultural evening with Norwegian food, dances and
\nfun,\" Sorum said.<\/p>\n
One of the most interesting experiences during the courses was
\nnine students participation in the Kirab Remaja (National Youth
\nMarch) last year.<\/p>\n
The program took the nine students and Skjolden around
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
\"I had traveled in Indonesia before, but it (the Kirab) was a
\nnew experience. I saw more of the military, the transmigration
\nprogram, and the transmigration settlements in Irian Jaya,\"
\nSkjolden said.<\/p>\n
\"It was fantastic. One of the students was on the golden
\nchariot in Senayan, greeting the President. I was on the grass
\nholding the flag,\" Skjolden said.<\/p>\n
However, not all the students completed the program.<\/p>\n
\"There were so many cultural differences, but for those who
\novercame the differences, it was a very good experience,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
DNS has received quite a good response.<\/p>\n
Already 310 Norwegian students have joined the philosophy
\ncourse, 25 have joined the social anthropology course and 29
\nteachers have joined the teachers' course in Bali.<\/p>\n
\"Even their parents are proud of the program. It's something
\nthey proudly tell other people,\" Sorum said.<\/p>\n
Trond Tjerbo, 19, a psychology student who joined a philosophy
\ncourse last semester, was impressed with the Balinese.<\/p>\n
\"They are very friendly people and I made a lot of good
\nfriends,\" Tjerbo said.<\/p>\n
He also noticed that in Bali the community was more important
\nthan the individual.<\/p>\n
Before his trip to Jimbaran, Tjerbo knew little about Bali or
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
\"All I knew was that Indonesia was a very big country and that
\nthe capital was Jakarta. When I got to Bali, I learned more by
\nreading The Jakarta Post.\"<\/p>\n
Tjerbo decided to join the DNS course because in school, in
\nthe social anthropology class, he learned about other cultures
\nand Bali was mentioned.<\/p>\n
\"The most valuable lesson I got from going to Jimbaran is that
\npeople are the same all over the world and that cultures are very
\ndifferent,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Tjerbo said he wanted to return to Bali.<\/p>\n
\"I'm going back sometime. I hope to see Sumatra and Java too,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Maria Myhr, 21, also hoped to return someday.<\/p>\n
\"I'll never regret going there. It was a very valuable
\nexperience,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Myhr learned about the DNS course from a friend who was in the
\nprogram last year.<\/p>\n
\"The program was very good. The staff in Jimbaran were nice,
\nI'll never forget them. We traveled to different places in Bali,
\ngot to know each other better,\" said Myhr who also knew little
\nabout Bali or Indonesia before the course.<\/p>\n
She said she sometimes had difficulties adapting to Bali's
\ntropical climate.<\/p>\n
\"But the people were nice, except in Kuta. Maybe because there
\nwere so many tourists in Kuta, there were many vendors on the
\nstreets. They wanted to sell us marijuana and it was annoying,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Many students also keep contact with Indonesian students.<\/p>\n
\"They develop very close friendships with Indonesian students,
\nincluding Javanese students. There are many Javanese students in
\nBali and sometimes they are more open because they might be more
\ncurious,\" Skjolden said.<\/p>\n
DNS is planning to set up a friendship club for its former
\nstudents and Indonesian students.<\/p>\n
\"The planned DNS Alumni Association will invite Mexicans and
\nIndonesians to attend youth events in Norway. We will finance
\npart of the program and will ask for financial assistance from
\nNorwegian Agency for Development Co-operation through Friendship
\nNorth-South,\" Sorum said.<\/p>\n
DNS started its first program in Mexico in autumn last year,
\nin cooperation with the University of Guanajuato. This autumn it
\nran courses in philosophy, Spanish and social anthropology.<\/p>\n
\"We firmly believe in an exchange of students, in discovering
\nother cultures. That's the main issue to us, because from a
\nbusiness perspective it's not that lucrative,\" Sorum said.<\/p>\n
The only major constraint DNS has to face in Indonesia is the
\nvisa regulation.<\/p>\n
\"The visa regulation is only two months, as compared to three
\nmonths in other ASEAN countries. This gives us extra red tape. It
\nis time-consuming to renew visas in Bali,\" Sorum said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/norwegian-explore-indonesia-in-cultural-exchange-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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