WA: [Thank] you everyone to come in this weather to listen to my story. I think we arrive in the same year with [inaudible words] in 2013. I was married with an Australian man and then 2013, I think the shop is close on Sunday but Saturday is only half day. That’s also make me like cocktail shop because in Indonesia the supermarkets up until 10 o’clock at night time.

Also, I couldn’t find all the Indonesian ingredient here. So we have to travel to Perth, so we have to buy a lot of stock. And even I asked my friend like do need these and that, I normally posting on Facebook, who wants something from Perth, so I can buy it for them. So yeah, that’s a bit challenging for me.

Like I love Bunbury, don’t think wrong because I fall in love with this city and they’re this small town. But yeah, food, family in Indonesia is a really big thing and important. We cannot separate with that. So when I was born in Sumatra in a small, very small village and I grew up, actually I grew up in [inaublie words] when I’m studying there.

And then whenever I come back to visit my mom, which is once a year, at that time, I just can afford 1 year to come to see my mom. And then what we do, the first thing actually is to just gather in the kitchen, that’s our special place, which is mum will cook everything for us and then a lot of us we can just sit there all day and then listening to the story of my other sibling and my neighbors come join us, something like that.

So family is really important. So when I heard my husband didn’t get along with our only daughter, I was shocked. And I blame him because I said, no, you have to try harder, you know, because in Indonesia you can actually – I cannot angry to my mum, not allowed, its forbidden, not allowed swearing of my mum, not allowed. So I have to just say yes to my mom or even though if I can say something but in a nice way.

And I was upset to my husband because why you don’t have, you know, like the relationship with your daughter and blah blah blah and but they said that. Yeah, but you don’t know that story. But I was thinking I just like, is this just give me like, shock culture like because in my family only one day we got, I when I angry to my brother, I allowed only one day.

So the next day I have to be smiling and hugging, cuddling with him. So that’s our – our families really important for us. So I’m a bit like, whenever people talk to me about their oh, I haven’t talked to my daughter and haven’t talked to my mom for thirty years, I said, what, what, it’s just so, so different and so that’s so different.

But I do understand now when I’m I live like almost ten years now. So I do understand because we had different culture. And also, one day my husband took me to his friend party, which is barbecue, of course, but I was a starving 3 p.m.. They didn’t even asking for eatin first because they just drinking a lot.

In Indonesia, we just straight to eat or they can drink, some Indonesian still drinking alcohol, so they can drink and then eating. But in here we just drink, drink, drink, drink and i’m starving. And then when I eat, no rice. So i’ve been starving all day and then there is no rice, there’s just like and then my other my husband said yeah, that’s because we only did barbecue.

You should tell me, next time when I go to party of your friends, I have to eat first. So that’s, after that I have to eat first and then go with him or I pack something for myself. Yeah. So yeah, that’s that’s the difference between here and and in Indonesia. But yeah, now I do understand that because food is important for you too, of course.

But you like drinking also, so you like, like conversation while you drink. So that’s different. So now when we have party, like example at my house, so I have to make like the western one and then the Indonesian one. So then the Indonesian, we are just sitting at the dining table and then all the Australians just at the back, they chating and drinking and we just eating all the time.

So yeah, that’s the different story. So I come back again with the food, we have also,like this is something that I brought up with, like in my family, every woman have to cook. You have to, so and then, even when I was live with my aunt, my aunty and when I did something like, I don’t know how to cook, I was like 19 years, no 18 years old and I cannot cook at all.

And then she just angry at me and then she showed me every day. She just trained me in the kitchen. And then how to chop this from [inaudbile words], normally, I just chop whatever I want, like Chili first or something. No, they have, she said that there is step that they have to chop from the garlic first and [inaudible word] and then chili and the other thing and I don’t know, I said, so yeah.

So a bit like, I don’t really like cooking when I was young, but now I regret it because I should get a lot of things from my grandma and my aunty who, who, the one that always like cooking, but I miss all of them because they already pass away. So I was thinking that if I listen to them, maybe I will have to say like, like I can cook better now, something like that, so yeah.

So and, I still remember one of them, even in one of the region, in province, provinces in Indonesia, if you are want to marry someone so you have to show to your future mother in law how you, how to say, if you can like grinding the chili using the mortar and pestle, but it’s not doing the mortar by so like here, but we have like a round stone and then you have to do like this while you sitting on the ground or something like that.

So and then the chili have to be really, really how to say like, fine. And then no [inaudible word] at all, [inaudible words] like just gone. That means, then you ready to marry. That’s in one of province. So yeah but in, my family, my grandmother always said that if you want to marry, you have to know how to cook, because otherwise, you know when you’re not make your husband happy, the tummy, then he will go somewhere else, something like that, you know?

So she always scare me with that thing. And as it, but I don’t really get it. And then I didn’t because I don’t really like cooking at that time. I started love cooking when I was thirty years old, which is very late and i don treally like cooking because in Jakarta you can just buy something, you don’t need to cook.

It’s just it’s cheaper buying than you have to cook yourself. So I started at, when I was 30. I have to manage every one of resorts in Borneo, in Kalimantan, Indonesian part of Borneo, and then our guest is European and I don’t know. And then one of the, it’s not chef, is just cook, she’s a local and she’s not appear, she is not come that day and I don’t know how to cook so I have to call my aunt, called my mom how to make this one, how to make that, because I don’t know, I was about to cry because I don’t know how to cook.

I don’t know how even the basic thing. And then they told me, like I just calling them every day, everytime I cook what I have to do. Okay, you have to buy this, buy that. Okay. But I know, I was lucky because when I was a kid, my mom actually always asked me to get something like, Could you please pass me the coriander or pepper or something like that?

So I just like, bite them so I know what is it? So actually I know all the herbs, which is maybe 20 more than 20 herbs. I already know that, but I don’t know how to cook with and then studied that, when I succeed cooking something for the guests and everyone happy. And then, then I just realized that, okay, I have to learn how to cook now seriously.

And then yeah, everyone happy and then started on that day, I just love cooking whenever I feel depressed, I just cooking. Cooking is everything for me now, so it’s like part of my healing. So yeah, I just enjoying it in the kitchen. Okay, thank you for listening.