I have been thinking of writing articles about Indonesia and Germany (in English) too. So, here I would like to start from translating one of German article I have written and that my blogger friends asked for. 

To see this story in German, please kindly click: zum ersten Mal im Flugzeug: Ich habe so getan als ob ich schlafe

Indonesians always have something funny to tell. I have met Nata in Hamburg. She had worked as an au pair in a German family (in Hamburg). When we met for the first time, I immediately realized that we would understand each other very well (because we both are one crazy person in two separated bodies). In fact, after that, we were very often arranged to cook, eat, tell stories about our life and love. We are also sometimes canoeing through the canal in Kellinghusenstraße together with the other Indonesian friends. The canoe belongs to her host family, but Nata could use it freely. Together with her and 2 other friends we went very courageously (for the info: we can not swim and had neither life jacket nor swimming pool, to Nata’s host family, of course, we said that we can swim). Oh, no, Indonesians are tricky, aren’t they?

This story is my favorite story that Nata told us. The story is about her first time on the plane from Jakarta, Indonesia to the Netherland. Before working as an au pair in Hamburg, she had already worked as an au pair in Holland for a year. In December 2012, Nata was for the first time on the plane. From Bandung, where she comes from, she actually hardly travelled, moreover by plane, she had never done it before.  

Her flight had flown from Jakarta. From Bandung, she, her family and her friends went by car. A middle east airline company has been booked by her host family. Alone and nervous is a combination that sometimes happens when you have to be somewhere for the first time. This also happened to Nata.The first plane has only flown to Dubai. It took 8 hours from Jakarta.

In the plane, Nata had done something incredibly ridiculous.

“I was so hungry, but I always pretended to be asleep when the stewardess passed the food,” Nata told us. 

“Why? Couldn’t you ask the stewardess to bring you a meal!” said Putri.

“That was not the problem!” answered Nata.

“So what?”

“I was afraid that I had to pay the food!”We laughed at her. 

“It was my first time, I thought it would be like on the train or on the bus, where we have to buy a meal on board.”

“Why didn’t you ask?” I asked. 

“I was shy, every time she came to me, I was pretending to snore. Damn it!! It smelled of food after all, everywhere. I was really hungry, I could neither eat nor enjoy the time because I always had to pretend that I’m sleeping, I could not even watch a movie. “ 

“Haven’t you even got water?” I asked again. 

“Yeah, sure…but … well … When I was on a plane from Dubai to Amsterdam, a stewardess had put the water and a portion of food on my table, and it smelled of curry.”

“Well then, you did have something?” 

“No, I didn’t get anything, I was afraid when I got off, she would give me a bon which I had to pay. That’s why I didn’t grab them!”

“Ohhhhh … Nata!” 

“And you know what? It took me 24 hours to finally get to my host family!” 

“And you finally got food, didn’t you?”

“No, even though I was almost dying, I told them I was not hungry!” 

“What the hell did you do? Why ???” 

“I was shy!!!!” 

Although Nata is not a Javanese who is always so shy, she is much, much too shy. She can actually speak English well, but she was so nervous and frightened because that was her first time on the plane.

This is Nata when she could finally eat

Do you have a funny travel story to tell? 

Salam

Indra 

By the way: This story has been approved by Nata. She has even picked her own picture and asked me to post in this article. After living in Europe for 3 years, she returned to Indonesia and married. She now resides in Bandung (West Java) with her Indonesian husband.

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