Norwegian explore Indonesia in cultural exchange

Norwegian explore Indonesia in cultural exchange

By Lela E. Madjiah

OSLO (JP): "Ooooooh, Bali!"

The expression of beautiful memories and longing says it all.
It is Norwegian students' most common response after spending
three-months in Bali in a course organized by DNS -- De Norske
Studiesentra (Norwegian Study Center).

DNS started three years ago and its courses are attracting
more and more students.

"There were 63 students last semester, and there will be 65
this February," course coordinator Gunnar Skjolden said.

Peter Sorum set up the organization in 1992 to send students
to Bali and Mexico. As a young university student Sorum traveled
around Africa and Asia. This gave him the idea to combine
cultural experience with university study.

At the time there were many organizations sending students to
other European countries and to the United States. Sorum wanted
to do something different. He conducted a poll and asked students
to choose from 15 countries, including some in Africa and Latin
America.

"Our poll showed that Indonesia was the first choice of the
top three countries which included France and Mexico," Sorum
said.

He then contacted the Indonesian embassy in Oslo.

"They were very helpful and suggested that Bali would be a
good place to go because it has the necessary infrastructure like
hospitals," Sorum said.

He went to Bali and met his contact, I Wayan Gunayasa. They
spent six months setting up the study center in Jimbaran and in
1993 Sorum began recruiting students. Skjolden joined DNS in 1994
as leader and project manager.

Sorum said Bali was the perfect choice because it was a
tourist destination.

"It put Indonesia on the map. It's amazing that people know
very little about Indonesia, one of the biggest countries in the
world," he said.

Sorum believed this was because of inadequate promotion.

"Thailand and Malaysia, for example, are more aggressive in
promoting their countries as places to go for business and
pleasure," he said.

"So little is known about Indonesia that we have to use old
colonial names like Celebes for Sulawesi. They even ask if Java
is in the same country and if the money is the same. You have a
lot to promote," Skjolden said.

DNS offers three-month courses in philosophy and anthropology
for Nok. 30,000 (US$4,687). This covers tuition, accommodation,
meals, travel expenses and a predeparture service that includes
briefings and all necessary information.

Philosophy and anthropology are interesting and many students
are taking these subjects, Sorum said. Both courses follow the
University of Oslo's standard curriculum because students have to
take exams in Norway.

The philosophy course follows a Western curriculum in which
students learn about Western philosophers like Socrates and
Aristotle.

"They get very little of Eastern philosophy. It is interesting
to see Socrates and Aristotle from an Eastern perspective," Sorum
said.

Part of the anthropology curriculum is taken from Bali.
Students who learn about cock fighting, for example, can go and
see it in live, Skjolden said.

There is also the possibility of setting up other classes,
like comparative religion.

"I think it would be very interesting, because Hinduism in
Bali, for example, is a different kind of Hinduism. In Java,
there is a special kind of Islam and other islands have other
schools of Islam. Also there is Christianity, which is a
minority," Skjolden said.

Some former DNS students have applied for scholarships to
study in Indonesia and some go to Australia to learn about
Indonesia, its religion and language, said Skjolden.

"They want to specialize in Indonesia and some have started to
pick up Indonesian courses here. They want to go into Asia
through Indonesia," Sorum said.

Activities

In Bali, DNS is organized as a local foundation, Yayasan Dwi
Nusa Semenda. Students are billeted with Balinese families in the
traditional fishing village Jimbaran. Most meals are eaten in a
cafeteria at the study center, which is a local entrepreneur's
homestay.

"Many also eat their meals in warungs (small restaurants) in
the village. It's something we encourage to help small local
businesses," Sorum said.

The center, run by a Balinese manager and Balinese staff, also
has a study hall, an auditorium and phone facilities.

In addition to academic activities, the students organize
sports and cultural activities. Volleyball and soccer tournaments
with Indonesian students are organized as are Balinese dance and
painting courses and Merpati Putih self-defense with Udayana
University instructors.

"We also have tried to organize student mentors from Udayana
University for our students. At the end of each semester, the
Norwegian students invite student friends and village neighbors
to a Norwegian cultural evening with Norwegian food, dances and
fun," Sorum said.

One of the most interesting experiences during the courses was
nine students participation in the Kirab Remaja (National Youth
March) last year.

The program took the nine students and Skjolden around
Indonesia.

"I had traveled in Indonesia before, but it (the Kirab) was a
new experience. I saw more of the military, the transmigration
program, and the transmigration settlements in Irian Jaya,"
Skjolden said.

"It was fantastic. One of the students was on the golden
chariot in Senayan, greeting the President. I was on the grass
holding the flag," Skjolden said.

However, not all the students completed the program.

"There were so many cultural differences, but for those who
overcame the differences, it was a very good experience," he
said.

DNS has received quite a good response.

Already 310 Norwegian students have joined the philosophy
course, 25 have joined the social anthropology course and 29
teachers have joined the teachers' course in Bali.

"Even their parents are proud of the program. It's something
they proudly tell other people," Sorum said.

Trond Tjerbo, 19, a psychology student who joined a philosophy
course last semester, was impressed with the Balinese.

"They are very friendly people and I made a lot of good
friends," Tjerbo said.

He also noticed that in Bali the community was more important
than the individual.

Before his trip to Jimbaran, Tjerbo knew little about Bali or
Indonesia.

"All I knew was that Indonesia was a very big country and that
the capital was Jakarta. When I got to Bali, I learned more by
reading The Jakarta Post."

Tjerbo decided to join the DNS course because in school, in
the social anthropology class, he learned about other cultures
and Bali was mentioned.

"The most valuable lesson I got from going to Jimbaran is that
people are the same all over the world and that cultures are very
different," he said.

Tjerbo said he wanted to return to Bali.

"I'm going back sometime. I hope to see Sumatra and Java too,"
he said.

Maria Myhr, 21, also hoped to return someday.

"I'll never regret going there. It was a very valuable
experience," she said.

Myhr learned about the DNS course from a friend who was in the
program last year.

"The program was very good. The staff in Jimbaran were nice,
I'll never forget them. We traveled to different places in Bali,
got to know each other better," said Myhr who also knew little
about Bali or Indonesia before the course.

She said she sometimes had difficulties adapting to Bali's
tropical climate.

"But the people were nice, except in Kuta. Maybe because there
were so many tourists in Kuta, there were many vendors on the
streets. They wanted to sell us marijuana and it was annoying,"
she said.

Many students also keep contact with Indonesian students.

"They develop very close friendships with Indonesian students,
including Javanese students. There are many Javanese students in
Bali and sometimes they are more open because they might be more
curious," Skjolden said.

DNS is planning to set up a friendship club for its former
students and Indonesian students.

"The planned DNS Alumni Association will invite Mexicans and
Indonesians to attend youth events in Norway. We will finance
part of the program and will ask for financial assistance from
Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation through Friendship
North-South," Sorum said.

DNS started its first program in Mexico in autumn last year,
in cooperation with the University of Guanajuato. This autumn it
ran courses in philosophy, Spanish and social anthropology.

"We firmly believe in an exchange of students, in discovering
other cultures. That's the main issue to us, because from a
business perspective it's not that lucrative," Sorum said.

The only major constraint DNS has to face in Indonesia is the
visa regulation.

"The visa regulation is only two months, as compared to three
months in other ASEAN countries. This gives us extra red tape. It
is time-consuming to renew visas in Bali," Sorum said.