In search of Bahasa Indonesia and Eric Lundqvist...
In search of Bahasa Indonesia and Eric Lundqvist...
More and more Swedes are discovering Indonesia. Some of them
are going to Bali as charter tourists and some are traveling
around all parts of the country as backpackers.
And then there are some that decide to live here for a longer
period. One example is Lennart Hildingsson, a 43 year old
journalist from Halmstad, a small city in the south-western parts
of Sweden, who, together with his wife Emilie Wellfelt (a
journalist and photographer) and their four year old son Josef,
left Sweden in August last year and headed for Yogyakarta.
Lennart, what made you and your family decide to settle down
in Yogyakarta for a year?
Well, my wife and I have been interested in Indonesia for
several years and have been traveling a lot here. So, after some
consideration we decided to go to Indonesia to study Bahasa
Indonesia.
What could be a better idea than to study the language where
it is spoken? We also wanted to further enhance our knowledge of
the country and its people. I think that sometimes the media in
Sweden doesn't really have sufficient knowledge about the
developments in Indonesia. I hope that when I go back to Sweden
can contribute, as a journalist, to a clearer and broader picture
of Indonesia.
How have things been going so far?
It's been really good. We are both studying Bahasa Indonesia
at the Gadjah Mada University and in addition to that we are also
studying the language a couple of hours a week at a private
school.
Josef spends three days a week at an Indonesian nursery
school, so after 10 months in Indonesia he speaks Bahasa
Indonesia quite well. We also have got to know a lot of
Indonesians here, both from the university and from the
neighborhood where we live. Besides the studying and the
socializing with new friends, I also try to get some time to
search for information about Eric Lundqvist.
Excuse me for interrupting here ... Eric who?
Eric Lundqvist. He was a Swedish forester and writer who lived
in Indonesia from the 1930's until the beginning of the 1960's.
He worked and traveled in various parts of Indonesia. During
his last years in Indonesia he worked as a professor of forestry
in Bogor.
He then went to work in India for a couple of years. He never
returned to Indonesia since he was declared persona non grata by
the Soeharto regime.
He published, from the end of 1930 until the last years of his
life, numerous books, both fictional and non-fictional, about
Indonesia. Through his writing he became a quite well-known
chronicler of Indonesia and its people, in Sweden. He died in
1978 in Sweden.
I am trying to conduct research about his life and work here
in Indonesia. Hopefully this will result in a biography of him. I
would, therefore, like to get in contact with people here who
have met Eric Lundqvist through work or in other contexts. Anyone
who wants to contact me in this matter can do so by sending me an
email to: lennart.hildingsson@hallandsposten.se
Finally, what images of Indonesia will you bring back home to
Sweden?
We have got to know a lot of people and have become good
friends with them here in Indonesia. Of course, it will be hard
to leave all of our new acquaintances.
I have also experienced the developments in the Indonesian
society since coming here in August and these experiences will
probably be very constructive for me in my work as a journalist.
Once back in Sweden I will really miss the positive curiosity and
the care that many people here show toward each other and also
toward new people.
I feel, similar to what Eric Lundqvist expressed in his
writing, that Swedes really could learn from Indonesians in this,
as well as other, aspects.