Language is a tool for me to express myself. And choosing English doesn't mean I stop being an Indonesian. It simply means I am better in communicating my stories and thoughts in one language over the other.
It's like a musician opting to write a song for guitar instead of piano even though he is able to play both. It's like a painter wanting to use crayons over watercolors. It's like a video editor preferring Adobe Premiere instead of iMovie; a programmer using Python instead of Java; a singer specializing in country instead of rock and roll songs.
Living in Melbourne, I still go to the Indonesian film festivals. I went to see Nicholas Saputra during the Australian tour of Ada Apa Dengan Cinta 2 last year. I still eat iga bakar (grilled beef rib) and ayam penyet (fried chicken with spicy chili) here regularly, and converse with my family and friends in Indonesian.
I am proud to be bilingual. Living in another country has made me realize that we are different, yet similar. It teaches me empathy, and enables me to connect with even more people instead of limiting myself to communicate only with those who speak my native tongue.
And it doesn't mean that I choose one over the other---it means that I get to embrace both languages and use them in different aspects of my life.
Perhaps there will be a day when I can express myself well in written Indonesian. Perhaps there will be a day when I can so eloquently pour my heart into words like Aan Mansyur in his poem "Batas". But until that day comes, I will continue to share my stories in English, while eating chocolate-cheese martabak(fried pancake) and drinking a teh kotak (carton of tea). (kes)
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Marcella Purnama is a blogger who splits home between Jakarta and Melbourne. Despite excelling in all things scientific, she went to study arts and stumbled into writing. After graduating from her bachelor's program, Marcella worked as a content writer in both nonprofit and corporate settings before throwing in the towel to get a Master's in Publishing and Communications. Read her words at marcellapurnama.com.
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