Indonesian Festival—Keraton 2015!
Guest Post by Andrea Tamara, FIUTS Student Blogger
One of the countless perks of being an Indonesian and studying at University of Washington is the yearly Indonesian biggest event—Keraton!
Every year, Indonesian Student Association of University of Washington (or ISAUW) creates an event where everyone around Seattle can come and experience our culture from Indonesia. And for Indonesian students in Seattle, this is the perfect event for the homesick. On Saturday, May 2, the event has approximately reached 8,000 people—woah, now that’s what I call a crowd!
I volunteered as one of the photographers in the event. I remembered the atmosphere as I stepped in to the Red Square—the sun was heating up, everybody involved was running busy from one corner to another, I started to notice the smell of Indonesian food—Nasi Padang, Indomie, the scents that makes me feel like I’m home! I was pumped up right away, despite the fact that I have to work under the sun for the next 4 hours.
The event started and the music started to play. There were students coming from different colleges, singing the songs that are familiar to my ears. The tunes that made me want to sing along with my friends, the songs that reminded me of the memories back home—these are the moments that made me wish I was home at that second. I have always wished that Indonesia and Seattle was the same place, and this event somehow made it come true!
I met lots of my old friends. And by lots—I mean every-time-I-turn-there’s-someone-I-know lots. It was fun and frantic at the same time, a lot of laughter and a lot of running around (a lot of photos too), a lot of catching up with old friends, and it feels like 6 hours just flew by. Before I know it, the streaking heat from the sun has set. The heat that made me feel like I was back home slowly faded. It was somehow sad that it was over, because the feeling where I was truly belong felt like it has fade away too.
The event was so lively, and I almost wondered why. Was it the food? Was it the music? Was it the fact that I was frenzied with my volunteer work? I glared at the moment and I realized—it was the people after all, that made me feel like I’m back home.
There is something in the chatter of people, in their warmth and welcoming gestures that made my day. We always have this culture of gathering together and just catching up all day long, and I think that’s what made this ambience so familiar and gratifying. Completed with homemade food and heartening music—it couldn’t get any better than that. It was definitely one of the days I will remember in Seattle.
I have to admit that I’m still homesick, but I must say that I feel so much relieved after the event. The craving for Indonesian food has been filled and the longing of gathering with old pals has been eased. It was really fun and I will be looking forward for Keraton 2016!
Andrea Tamara is the FIUTS Spring Quarter student blogger. Click here to learn more about Andrea!
Interested in being a FIUTS student blogger? Contact Ellen Frierson at ellen@fiuts.org.