Culture #3: The Light-seeker-hang-out Style

I was on the back of motorbike when I realized something: People are like a moth, they love to gather around the light. 

Why did I say that? Because, I passed a modern mini-market and I saw some people sitting in front of the shop, right under the bright white light of the lamps of the mini-market. The other day, I went to the mini-market (also at night) to buy a box of juice and I noticed that there were chairs in front of the mini-market. All the chairs were occupied with people who just bought some drinks and snacks and were eating it there. Yeah, just like a moth in the night, some people also like to be around the light.

People hang out in front of modern mini-market

In my opinion, this light-seeker habit is related to Indonesian hang out habit. Indonesian loves to talk. We can spend our time just to sit and talk for hours, socialize with other people. We really love to be relaxed and do nothing important. This kind of habit, we call it as 'nongkrong'. 

Well, one day, I went to a cafe with my friends. This appointment was planned so we could do our project. However, we only talked about the project in the first our. The rest hours, we talked about anything besides the project, like: someone who is sitting next to us, the killer lecturer in university, the new films, travel destination, and even the economy and political condition in Indonesia. Yes, we stayed there for hours and the projects wasn't done :D So, we had to set up next appointment. But still, first hour we did the project and the next hours were spent for nongkrong.

Back to the light-seeker habit.

So, some people choose places like cafe or restaurant to hang out or nongkrong. But, if you are not prosperous enough, go to cafe for so many times could be a bad decision for your personal economy life.

"But I still want to hang out with my friends...," cried somebody. 

Okay, okay, let's find a way for low budget nongkrong. Ah! there it is! The mini-market! :D

Eventually, the mini-market becomes the alternative hang out destination. With the growth in the number of modern mini-market, this kind of place is easy to find because it's almost in every neighborhood. Modern mini-markets are open 24 hours so people can sit and talk as long as they want. Plus, there are no waitress who will politely shoo you away because there's no other customer waiting for the seat. It also offers friendly cost: you can just buy a bag of chips for 4.000 rupiah and talk for 4 hours with friends. Thirsty? You can easily go inside the mini-market and grab a bottle of mineral water. Some mini-market also provide free wi-fi. What a nice place to nongkrong!

Thus, many people like becoming a moth. They are attracted by the light from the mini-market and spend their time hanging out with the other light-seeker...

picture source: http://images.malesbanget.com/mbdcposts/2012/08/Seven-Eleven.png