This is how we are here
Hi, some time ago there was a friend from outside Indonesia asking me, what is the life of people in your place? asked me. Actually it's a bit strange if I tell you about our life here because we are mostly not the type of people who like to talk about how we live, but let me try to write as short as possible.
Habit
I will start with habits, because in my opinion, with us knowing the habits of others it will be easier for us to understand each other.
Starting in the morning, the majority of Acehnese people are Muslims so getting up early to do dawn prayers has become commonplace, before the sun rises, we already wake up and carry out activities at home, after dawn prayers then the next activity is to recite, clean the house, the yard, and breakfast. There is also no breakfast at home but breakfast at the coffee shop, coffee shop in Aceh also provides breakfast such as savory rice, rice cake, cakes such as risoles and others.
In the morning we cannot do other activities if we don't bathe, soaking our whole body with water in the morning is a must for us, we will not be comfortable if we only wash our face and brush our teeth, so bathing in the morning is also our habit.
A general habit of Aceh people in morning is drinking coffee, actually not only morning, but also afternoon, evening and even night, so the best place to socialize and the most common for us is in a coffee shop.
So it's no wonder Aceh itself has a regional title with a thousand and one coffee shops, because almost all activities can be done in the coffee shop.
After breakfast, we arrived at work, many professions were carried out by us, as bank employees, soldiers, police officers, civil servants, businessmen to parking attendants, all worked.
After working time is over, we will go home and get ready to take a shower again, afternoon bathing is also a must for us, because gathering with family with a body that is smelly and sticky due to sweat certainly does not make us and the family comfortable to linger. the tropical climate makes it very hot during the day here, we sweat easily.
At night, we usually gather with family, but we also often socialize with friends and colleagues in the coffee shop, we usually talk about work, politics, philosophy and other things that we think are necessary, and go home afterwards.
We usually give greetings when visiting others houses (even when entering their own home), meeting people, and shaking hands. Using the left hand (greeting, doing activities and so on) is very rarely found in Aceh, we consider people who use the left hand to be rude. We nod when we agree and shake our heads when we disagree, pointing with the left hand to the speaker is deemed rude and is considered to be harassing the other person, burping in public is considered rude, long time looking at the opposite sex is considered harassment, drinking and gambling violates the law syariah and will be sanctioned, Aceh is the only region in Indonesia that has sharia police and is implementing sharia law.
Culture
Actually, there are so many cultures that develop in Aceh, such as khanduri maulid, khanduri blang and so on, these events are commemorated at certain times and there will always be food at every event, all the food available is traditional food types and of course Nusantara rich spices (very delicious).
The most awaited thing is the celebration of Eid al-Fitr, all families gather at home, the Acehnese culture is wandering and they will return home when Eid al-Fitr arrives, bringing souvenirs from overseas for relatives in a village and enjoy typical dishes of Acehnese made by mom (mak), a very beautiful day and worth looking forward to every year.
There is also a makmeugang day in Aceh, a makmeugang or meugang day held one day before the month of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, traders will slaughter their best cows and on that day and sell them, the husbands will be busy preparing shopping such as beef, spices for cooking (rendang, kuah mirah, kuah puteeh, and other spices), the wife at home welcomes her husband and immediately prepares her dishes to be enjoyed with a family. On this day makmeugang actually the honor of the men as husbands is at stake, because the husband will be very embarrassed if at his home did not cook beef on that day, (actually there are many stories on the day makmeugang, but I will write another time) that is hereditary culture until now still preserved.
Education
The government requires each child to attend school until the age of 9, in Aceh in general formal school level.
- Kindergarten, 1-2 years (ages 4-6 years)
- Elementary school, 6 years old (6-12 years old)
- Middle school, 3 years (ages 12-15 years)
- High school, 3 years (ages 15-18 years)
- University, 4-7 years (ages 18-25 years)
There are also non-formal schools like,
- Traditional boarding school
- Course and guidance
- and several others (I forget the name)
In Aceh, almost all children received scholarships up to university level, but in my place (Aceh Jaya), in fact all children received scholarships, there were also special scholarships abroad and all had an opportunity to take part in the selection. Each child has the right to determine where he wants to go to school, so the existence of a scholarship provided by a government makes parents less concerned about the cost of education.
Indeed there are also children who are unable to complete their education up to university level, more due to the large unexpected costs that must be incurred by students, such as the high cost of renting a house, the high cost of food and so forth, or it could be because he does not intend to complete education at a higher level. Men and women have the same rights to get education in Aceh so do not be surprised if you find a civil engineer carrying out land measurements is a woman.
Food
There are various types of food here (Aceh) and all are rich in taste, in Indonesia and Malaysia who is not familiar with Aceh noodles? the majority of aceh dishes have spicy, salty and sour taste, if you are a connoisseur of satee then we have a special satee of Aceh, which is satay Matang, which is made from beef and lamb, you can also enjoy aceh curry goat curry that is famous up to northern Sumatra, or if you don't really like a lot of spices so we also have a typical Acehnese cake which is adee made from cassava and flour with a sweet taste.
Harmony between communities
Aceh was once engulfed by a prolonged civil war and ended in 2005 in Hellelsinky. At present Aceh has become one of the examples of religious harmony in Indonesia. In addition to Islam, Aceh is also inhabited by followers of other religions such as Christians, Catholics, Hindus, Buddhists and Konghuchu, but we have continued to live in peace and harmony, since 2005 or before, there has been no conflict between communities caused by religion.
The Acehnese community is very open to newcomers, we care about the humanitarian crisis in any country, as some time ago it was stated that Acehnese fishermen helped the Rohingya refugees to land in Aceh, even when many countries rejected them (Rohingya refugees), we (Aceh) with proud to welcome them and make them like brothers. Aceh does not care about skin color, language, nation, ethnicity, religion, and sex, Aceh is always ready to help if needed. We like to help anyone.
