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.