Spending school holidays in style

Spending school holidays in style

With the month-long school holidays just around the corner,
many students have been planning to make them unforgettable. But
many poor families cannot afford to send their children on
holidays; these students will, as usual, stay home to help their
parents earn a living. The Jakarta Post's reporters Aloysius
Unditu, A. Junaidi, Christiani S.A. Tumelap, Cornelius Purba,
Deborah P. Hutauruk, Johannes Simbolon, K. Basrie and Lukman
Natanegara talked to students, parents, teachers and people from
all walks of life on how they would make the best of the
holidays. Related reports are on Page 3 and Page 3.

JAKARTA (JP): Yusuf, 13, sat alone on a bench outside his
classroom at the SMP 127 secondary school in West Jakarta.

He watched his classmates discuss their plans to spend a week
of their month-long holiday in Bali. Organized by teachers, the
trip will cost each student Rp 200,000 (US$82).

For Yusuf, the youngest of three children, the trip is
impossibly expensive. He knows too well that his mother, who
survives by renting out two rooms in their house, cannot afford
it.

Perhaps that's why the first grader kept away from the
discussion.

Is Yusuf sorry for himself?

"Not at all," he said. "I know I'm not as rich as my friends.
Mum has told me not to be jealous let alone feel sorry for
myself," said Yusuf, whose father died five years ago.

"Listening to their stories once they get home will be enough
for me," Yusuf added.

So, he will spend his holidays at home with his 15-year-old
brother and 17-year-old sister helping mum, watching television
and playing with neighbors like he has done ever since their
father died.

On the other extreme, children from wealthy families have many
ways to spend their money and vacations.

Inke Maris, a successful businesswoman in public relations,
said her three children would go to the United States, Australia
and Singapore.

"I left it up to them how and where they will go to have a
good time. They will go abroad instead of going to Bali and
Bandung," Inke said.

For some wealthy students in the outer islands, spending
holidays in cities overseas is also popular.

"It's time for me to spend my savings on a new dress and go
window shopping in Jakarta and Singapore for weeks in this
holiday," said Herlina of the SMA 2 state senior high school in
East Kalimantan's capital, Samarinda.

School holidays would start on June 21 and end July 19 this
year, said senior officer Hadis Hadiahnegara of Jakarta's
Education Office.

Arif Rachman, headmaster of the SMU 81 senior high school in
East Jakarta and a noted Islamic preacher, encouraged his
students to spend their holidays productively.

He criticized parents who kept their children at home because
they thought that holidays meant students were free from their
academic routines at school.

He said parents should help their children use their days off
to "learn about themselves".

"Holidays are a time for students to introspect and reflect on
their life," said Arif.

Blooming ads

For travel agents, hotels and other businesses offering
tourism-related services, holidays are lucrative

In Jakarta alone, there are 424,613 junior and senior high
school students, and many more primary school and college
students.

Many students from affluent families in other cities fly to
Jakarta, Bali, Lombok and other well-advertised holiday spots to
spend time and money.

As a result, there have been many more advertisements for
travel and holiday services in local media in recent weeks.

Operators of shopping centers, short vocational courses and
hotels have advertised and offered big discounts to attract
holidaymakers.

Stunning discounts for popular tourist and shopping spots,
such as Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and major cities in the
U.S. and Europe, have also filled the press with advertisements.

The cost of holiday packages range from $150 to around $5,000.

Operators of homestay programs, minor haj pilgrimages,
universities, religious courses, enrollment test courses and
other courses -- on subjects such as fashion, modeling,
computers, English and music -- have also advertised in many
local newspapers and magazines.

Operators of hotels and recreation centers have already
arranged "special packages" for students and their families.

Even some government institutions have offered apprenticeship
programs for students in the holidays.

About 50,000 senior high school students in Jakarta are
interested in apprenticeship programs and 37,000 students in
Surabaya are interested.

"The students will be sent to various state institutions and
private companies, such as Hero and Golden Truly supermarkets,"
said Jakarta's Education Office spokesman Hadis Hadiahnegara.

The students would get meals and transport allowances from the
companies and institutions, said Hadis.

Some of them would help clean up the election campaign
pamphlets, stickers and banners which could still be found around
Jakarta, Hadis said.

"Many students like to join these programs, particularly to
improve their skills and financially support their families,"
Hadis said.

For many parents, holiday means spending more money.

"We had just bought him a computer before he suddenly asked
for money for a week-long holiday trip with his friends to Pulau
Seribu off the Jakarta Bay," said Rizal, a civil servant, who was
referring to his only son, Satrya, a second-grade senior high
school student.

"Where can I get the money from because we also have to set
aside quite a lot of money for his youngest sister who will
enroll at senior high school next month?"

Years ago, parents simply sent children to their grandparents
in ancestral villages. But today's students prefer other ways of
holidays.

"What we need today is to spend our school holidays in a more
entertaining way which will benefit our studies and future," she
said.

Moreover, Mimiek said, visiting her family in Padang, West
Sumatra, was more expensive than having a good time in Singapore
or Australia.

A three-day package to Singapore, dubbed a shopping mecca by
most Indonesians, costs less than $200. It includes a return
ticket and accommodation at a three-star hotel on the popular
Orchard Street.

A one-way trip from Jakarta to Padang costs around $150.

That is why many students of wealthy families prefer to spend
holidays overseas rather than in villages even though every
Indonesian-passport holder must pay Rp 250,000 fiscal tax to
leave the country.

Consequently, the flocks of tourists to Singapore and
Australia every school holidays are mostly Indonesian youngsters.

But where do the less well-off students go on vacation?

Like their mates in other cities, students in Jakarta normally
go camping around nearby towns, window shopping or visiting
recreation and educational sites where entrance fees fit their
budget.

Among the popular spots in the capital are Taman Mini
Indonesia Indah and Ragunan Zoo. Other, more expensive, places
include Ancol Dreamland, Taman Safari park in Cisarua, Mekarsari
fruit park in Bogor and the Bogor Botanical Garden.

But Arie and his 10 classmates at a private Moslem senior high
school in Tangerang have an attractive holiday schedule.

"We're planning to visit at least 30 public and private
museums in Jakarta this holiday," Arie said. (team)