Klub Kembali - Your Reaction, Your Choice

Your Reaction, Your Choice

“Wow, you’re living in paradise,” is what our guests often say. They spend their well-earned holidays here in Lombok, and they’re not wrong – after all, many of us decided to make this our home after just a visit or two! What comes with living in paradise, however, is also the fact that we’re all experiencing a new and often very different culture. And it’s not always sunsets, beaches and palm trees when you have to adapt your life to a new country.

Case in point: When faced with a cultural quality that’s new or unusual to you, it’s easy to get annoyed if you don’t quite understand it. It’s common wisdom, though, that while we can’t change the culture itself, we can decide how we react to it. So, what if you turned a mild annoyance into a mild amusement? I don’t mean amusement as something that would make you laugh or a joke, but something that can serve as a muse – as a source of inspiration.

Mildly Annoyed or Mildly Amused?

For example, Indonesians have a great sense of family and community. Family members often live together or near each other and take care of each other, to an extent most Western cultures aren’t used to. That means attending family functions, such as weddings and funerals, which often take a longer time than you may have seen in the past, or caring for sick family members, be it children, parents or siblings. In a business setting, there’s a flip side to that quality: Frequently, employees need unplanned time off to attend family functions or care for loved ones, which can leave us employers feeling left alone and hanging. When you learn to expect the unexpected, however, it can act as a “muse” for your own life — prompting you to reflect if you need to give your own community some more quality time.

As with most cultures, there are admirable qualities and, of course, new qualities that take some time to get used to. This month, let’s explore some ideas that make Lombok decidedly Lombok … and what might be some new things for us all to learn. Enjoy!

Waktu Karet

“Waktu Karet” simply translates to “Rubber Time.” This is something so unique to Lombok, that even Indonesians from other islands have to get used to it! Most people from Lombok are able to truly live in the moment. So much so that not a whole lot else matters when they’re having a conversation with a friend, spending time with their families, or focusing on a single task. Personally, this is a trait I find admirable and worthy of aspiring to myself as it can be challenging when a conversation during break time takes longer than the break, or when two old friends meet for a discussion in the middle of the street, holding up traffic. But it’s also a reminder, a muse if you will, for us “efficient” Westerners to slow down and not focus so much on being productive all the time. To, literally, “stop and smell the roses,” to focus on the person in front of you right now instead of running to the next meeting or task. Last time I realized that was when I happened upon a friend of mine in the car. We hadn’t seen each other and decided to roll down our respective windows and have a quick chat. People around us on their scooters waited patiently, with no honking, no stress, just letting us do our thing. Lovely, right?

Besok and Kemarin

“Besok/Kemarin” translates to “Tomorrow/Yesterday.” This is a great example as it’s not only a cultural topic but also a language challenge. Here in Lombok, the word “besok” means not just tomorrow but it could also mean any time in the near future; conversely, the word “kemarin” means not just yesterday but could be any time in the past. As you’re learning Bahasa Indonesia, this makes talking about events in the past or in the future easy as you only need one word to denote the approximate timing of an event – but it can lead to some misunderstandings if you don’t clarify! How did I find out about this, you may ask? Trial and error: When I used to agree with tradespeople on when they could start working, it was not uncommon to hear “I’ll start the work besok,” which, as we now know doesn’t necessarily mean tomorrow. It’s not that they won’t come at all, they might come the day after tomorrow or the day after that – work will absolutely get done, just not necessarily when you may have expected it. This one was hard for a Swiss person like me who grew up in a country where the railroad apologizes for a rare three-minute delay. But it has also put less pressure on me. If I talk with my staff about doing something “besok” there is less urgency or expectation that it will absolutely happen tomorrow, so if plans change it’s not a big deal. People are more understanding of the unpredictability of life, and forgiving in case of changes. This is a good lesson to learn to reduce stress!

Kosong

Finally, “Kosong” translates to “Zero” or “Nothing.” This represents a need to remain adaptable because, as guests in shops or restaurants, you might hear the word “kosong” meaning that what you want is out of stock. Could be annoying, right? But as with other things I’ve noted, if we keep getting annoyed we’ll end up with an ulcer or a heart attack at some point! So shifting our point of view to seeing “kosong” – to turning a shop or restaurant being out of what we’re looking into an inspiration to try something new, maybe a different style of clothing that’s available in your size, or an alternative dish that you haven’t tried before. When we opened Klub Kembali, my goal was to have everything on the menu available every single day. And we sometimes did move heaven and earth to make it so. But it was a lot of stress – we’re on a remote island, in paradise, remember? So not everything will get here with the same regularity as it would in other countries. Today, I’m more relaxed about it, and my stress level has gone down A LOT. Try it some time, and be forgiving when your favorite restaurants or shops sometimes run out of stuff. It might open you up to a new option you hadn’t even considered before!

Expanding Through Culture

Moving to a different country doesn’t mean you have to become a different person. But you don’t move to a place like Lombok and expect everything to be the same, right? That would be boring. Hence, I try to use the more challenging aspects of Lombok culture as a source of inspiration, not frustration. Doesn’t always work for sure but I am getting better at it. And if you’ve had a harder day adjusting to life in paradise, let us welcome you back to Klub Kembali for a cocktail … and we will gladly listen to your story!

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Belum Nama

This month’s cocktail is inspired by another great Bahasa Indonesia word, “Belum” meaning, in essence, “Not Yet.” This is a handy word to use in Lombok as it allows for things to change in the future. In fact, when we first created this cocktail, we loved it so much that we put it on the menu before we decided on a name and “Belum Nama” – meaning “No Name Yet” – stuck. Enjoy!

Fill shaker with:

1. 2 tsp Saifana Passionfruit Jam
   1/2 oz Lemon Juice
   1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
   1/2 oz Aperol
   2 oz East Indies Dry Archipelago Gin
   1 dash Angosture Bitters
   Ice cubes
2. Shake
3. Double strain into Lowball Glass with big ice cube
4. Top with 1 dash of house bitters
5. Garnish with dehydrated lemon slice

Some notes and tips to keep in mind:

• We use passionfruit jam from our local partner Saifana. If you cannot get passionfruit jam, experiment with other fruit jams. Start with apricot jam, and work from there.
• We use two types of bitters for added complexity and balance. Top the drink with something other than Angostura, perhaps more herbal. Peychaud’s Bitters would be a good first choice.