A little while ago, I went traveling with some of my foreign friends - one from France, one from Japan, and one from China. We set off by boat because they'd all been dreaming of visiting Indonesia, especially for its breathtaking natural scenery. With its famous islands and stunning landscapes best enjoyed from the water, I'm sure you can already guess where we were heading.
We left our guesthouse at 4 a.m., walking through the quiet streets toward the pier where our boat was waiting. It finally departed around 6 a.m. While waiting, we passed the time chatting, joking, and people-watching as other passengers gathered.
At exactly six, the announcement came: the boat was ready to leave! Excited, we hurried onboard. The journey was magical - we spent most of the time soaking up the view, snapping photos, and laughing together.
Suddenly, my Chinese friend - let's just call her "Y" - blurted out, "Er bai wu!" with a dramatic pout. I thought she'd just been approached by a snack seller and was complaining about overpriced food. So I asked her, "What's wrong? Do you think the food here is too expensive? That's normal at tourist spots, you know."
But instead of answering, she burst out laughing. Then she explained: she'd seen a passenger toss trash straight into the sea. And "Er bai wu," in Mandarin, is basically a way of calling someone an idiot. She shook her head and said, "People like that can enjoy nature, but sadly, they don't know how to care for it."
I nodded in agreement - while secretly making a mental note not to ever earn the label "Er bai wu" myself!
After a full day of island-hopping, it was finally time to head back. By the time we returned to our guesthouse, evening had fallen and music was spilling loudly from the bar downstairs. The beat was so infectious it felt like our bodies were already dancing. So I invited my friends to join me for snacks, drinks, and music at the bar.
We got ready quickly, went out, and had a blast. Before I knew it, it was 1 a.m. Sleepiness hit me hard, so I told everyone, "Let's head back." Most of my friends agreed - except for my French friend, "M." Instead, she just said, "Raplapla."
I assumed she was mocking my invitation and wanted to keep partying, so I left her there and head back with the others and went straight to bed after brushing my teeth.
The next morning, though, M stormed into my room, furious.
"You left me last night!" she shouted.
I protested, "What? I asked you to come back! But you just said raplapla, so I figured you wanted to stay."
She immediately threw a pillow at me. "Raplapla means I was exhausted! Thanks to you, I had to sleep in the lobby all night!"
All I could say was, in my clumsy Javanese, "Kula mboten ngertos, mbak e?" ("I didn't understand, sis!").
