Truth is, I am scared and angry all the time

This TED Talk discusses about unconscious biases, and it made me think about my own unconscious biases, especially towards people with different racial background. Most people when asked explicitly about immigrants in their country would say that they have positive impact on the society.

But this bit on TED Talk mentioned:

“… it appears that when things get funky and a little troublesome, a little risky….”

“Who is your default? Who do you trust? Who are you afraid of? Who do you implicitly feel connected to? Who do you run away from?”

“The implicit association test which measures unconscious bias… Five million people have taken it. Turns out, our default is white. We like white people. We prefer white… When people are shown images of black men and white men, we are more quickly able to associate that picture with a positive word… than we are when we are trying to associate positive with a black face, and vice versa. When we see a black face, it is easier for us to connect black with negative than it is white with negative. Seventy percent of white people taking that test prefer white. Fifty percent of black people taking that test prefer white.”

“… biases are the stories we make up about people before we know who they actually are. But how are we going to know who they are when we’ve been told to avoid and be afraid of them?”

(Myers, 2014, 4:16)

When push comes to shove, I feel judged, not deserving to be here. I feel like I was not perceived as a human being, but a commodity that will be deported as soon as I cease delivering my function or dare to make a mistake.

Some people would say that I was different, that I am not one of those immigrants, they would say that they were referring to other immigrants. But they constantly put a blanket statement over all immigrants as soon as one individual cross the line. Suddenly all immigrants are suspects. All immigrants are deemed as evil, liars, drug dealers, murderers, and all sorts, or at the very least potential suspects by default.

I do not feel at home. I do not feel like an outsider. I feel like a convict on probation.

I feel like I must be on my toes at all times, pressured to excel, no room for mistakes or failures, because my brown skin, my foreign name, and my country-of-origin dictate that I must constantly prove that I deserve to live here.

Icelandonesia or Indoniceland?

There are not many Indonesian people living in Iceland. I’ve known about 30 of them, I think, even though data from the Indonesian Embassy in Oslo shows that there are over 60 of us currently living here.

Those 30 Indonesian people that I know, we meet regularly. Most of the times we just have informal gatherings where we stuff delicious Indonesian food into our mouth. Recently, we decided to make a formal organisation for us.

We registered our group through RSK (Directorate of Internal Revenue), set up a website, and voted board members. It was all very formal and I have been enjoying the whole process so far.

In the beginning

When I moved to Iceland in 2008, I was told not to be like most foreigners who live in Iceland, who would just hang out with people from the same country, not speaking Icelandic, not integrating to the community, and so on.

It was hard to move to a new country located thousands of kilometers away from my home, and to top it off I was instantly greeted by warnings on what NOT to do.

So, in the early days, I tried my best to integrate into the Icelandic society. I joined a short course on Icelandic language, met several new friends from different countries, ended up taking a full time study at the university, and got myself a part time job.

All the while I kept thinking, have I integrated into the Icelandic society? Am I still considered a foreigner? Can I hang out more with my Indonesian friends? Will society judge me for not integrating enough if I spend time with Indonesian people here?

After a few years

Even now I still wonder, am I a part of the Icelandic society? The only difference is, I care less about what other people think of me in terms of who I hang out with, and who my friends are.

I have children who go to Icelandic schools, speak Icelandic with everybody, and are exposed to everything that is Icelandic around them, i.e. custom, culture, and holidays.

On a daily basis, the only Indonesian exposure they get is when I speak or read to them. Occasionally, my parents would talk to them in Indonesian through Skype. Once a year we visit them and the boys will get their yearly dose of cultural immersion in Indonesia, by staying at their grandparents for 1 month and being surrounded by their relatives who speak mainly Indonesian and Javanese.

For the other 11 months of the year, it is up to me to make sure my children are not losing their Indonesian heritage. I take my children whenever I meet up with my Indonesian friends;

• So they would hear other people speaking their mother tongue.
• So they can see that their mum is not the only one in Iceland who speaks Indonesian.
• So they can improve their skills in listening and speaking Indonesian.
• So they can see that sometimes, we are not the minority.

Studying in Iceland.

 

Iceland may not be the most popular destination for further studies, but the country actually offers very unique and interesting courses. Below is just a few examples of institutes that provide formal educational degrees in the country.

Famous for its abundance of geothermal resources, Iceland is considered very advanced in its development of green energy utilisation. Since an agreement was made in the last World Geothermal Congress between Indonesia and Iceland to cooperate in the fields of geothermal, there will be a significant rise in the demand of such expertise in Indonesia in the future. Reykjavík Energy Graduate School of Sustainable System offers courses and degrees specialising in renewable energy.

Háskóli Íslands is the oldest university in the country, which happened to be celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. It offers various courses and degrees from its five main schools, Social Sciences, Health Sciences, Humanities, Education, and Engineering & Natural Sciences. In my personal opinion, the best perk about going to this university, is the no tuition fee policy! I enrolled in a BA programme and an MA programme simultaneously, and I’m only required to pay registration fee every year for 45,000 ISK (around 275 EUR). Compare that price with a regular Master’s programme in other European countries that usually cost around 8,000 EUR or more. Tis’ a bargain I’d say!

Both Háskólinn í Reykjavík and Háskólinn á Bifröst are very famous for their business studies in Iceland. Though Iceland may be the last country in your mind when it comes to business field, these universities actually provide very diverse subject of studies, including law, computer science, and engineering.

Other academic institutions in Iceland would be Háskólinn á Akureyri, Hólaskóli, Landbúnaðarháskóli, and Lístaháskóli Íslands. More information about higher education in Iceland can also be seen here.

A place to live.

Recent development on Indonesian immigration law enforced towards foreign spouses got me thinking, about a place to call home.

After having lived in Iceland for more than 2.5 years, undoubtedly I consider the country as my home (well, my second home after Jakarta, Indonesia). One of the many considerations on why my husband and I decided to live here was, “it makes more sense to do so.”

Immigration laws in Iceland is more lenient towards the spouses of Icelanders compared to Indonesian’s. I was granted temporary residency once I arrived in the country, which needs to be renewed every year for the first three years of my stay. Afterwards, I can apply for permanent residency which only needs to renewed every five years.

The residential permit allows me to work for full time, and entitles me to full health benefits. If I have any working experiences in Iceland, should I ever get unemployed in the future, I will be entitled to unemployment benefits.

The immigration law in Indonesia is pale beyond comparison with Iceland’s. At least, it was like that, until now. The new regulations passed by the Indonesian House of Representatives show how the immigration laws are constantly being reviewed and developed in order to cater the needs of Indonesian people and its residents. Though it’s still a long way for Indonesia to be able to come to the same point as Iceland, but at least now there is hope towards that direction.

I have never really given a good thought about where I would like to live the rest of my life. Because I always think it’s still way to early to pick a place to grow old in. But as our little family is getting another member, I can’t help but thinking where do I want to raise our child.

Despite being madly in love with Iceland, there is always a part of me that wants to share bits of my childhood and my first home to our children. I want them to know and experience the amazing place where I grew up, the beautiful people, the rich culture, the unbearable hot and humid weather, and all those lovely memories that cannot be obtained just by few holiday trips every year to Indonesia.

But on the other hand, raising a child in Iceland is so appealing, where it’s so safe that parents would normally leave their babies in their stroller outside shops or coffee-houses while they’re running their errands, where I could leave my car unlocked while parked anywhere, where I don’t fear for my life when walking or driving in the middle of the night (I mean, ever heard of Kapak Merah in Jakarta? /shudder).

There are only few weeks to go until the new little member of our family comes into our life, and I still have no idea where I want to raise our child.

Knitting.

As long as I can remember, I never picture myself to be a person who knits! My mum is a seamstress, and she has been sewing pretty much everything fabric-made at our parents’ house. Even at my own place now in Iceland, I still use bedsheets and bedspreads made by her. But, while growing up, no matter how hard my mum tried to convert me into sewing, it never happen. So imagine how shocked my mum was when I told her I have been knitting since I came to Iceland!

I think knitting is a very Icelandic thing. If you write “Iceland” on Google and browse through the images results, after about 50 pictures of Blue Lagoon and breathtaking natural landscapes, I’m sure you’ll come across a picture of people in Icelandic lopapeysa (wool sweater).

Knitting is so common here, that I see loads of people , be it men or women, old and young do it almost any time, anywhere. They teach knitting at schools, and knitting and sewing clubs are so popular as well.

A friend of mine had to move to Iceland due to her husband’s work, and her husband’s Icelandic company provided knitting lessons for all the expatriates’ wives once they arrive in the country.

It’s almost as if knitting is just a part of life when living in Iceland, and I think it’s rather remarkable. Icelandic people have been knitting for hundreds of years, and they’re still doing it until now. I also think that it’s just a part of being an Icelander. I may be generalising here, but I always imagine Icelandic people are very self-sufficient. For example, my husband is an Icelander, and he cooks, sews, installed the dishwasher, repaired the washing machine, put up fences around our place, and he cooks! (I had to mention this twice, because he is such a good cook!). I mean, back home in Jakarta, my mum would have other people do all those tasks for her (yes, even the cooking part).

But here, since everything is so costly, almost everybody has to be self-sufficient, and knitting is definitely one way to do it. A proper wool sweater here could easily cost from 10,000-20,000 ISK, while if you knit it yourself, the materials couldn’t cost more than 5,000 ISK. A wise person once told me, there are two things you can buy in Iceland which won’t cost you an arm or a leg, and they are lopi (Icelandic wool that itches oh, so good) and entrance to swimming pool.

And as much as I hate to admit it, knitting is actually not that bad or boring. I’m not that much of a knitter, as it usually takes me ages to finish knitting even the smallest piece. But I find the activity relaxing, and fun if you are doing it together with your friends or family members over nice cups of coffee and delicious cakes.

So, grab your needles and yarns, and start living the life, Icelandic style 🙂

Setting up bank accounts.

Despite all the hatred demonstrated towards Icelandic banks and their practices, I personally find that having a bank account in Iceland is important.

Almost all financial transactions in the country can be settled through debit cards, credit cards, and on-line fund transfer. So convenient! I have been paying all house bills, university tuition, car insurance, taxes, from the comfort of my own home, and I have on-line banking services to thank for that.

I remember the time when I had to drive my mum to some governmental bank in Jakarta to pay Pajak Bumi dan Bangunan, or some phone bills, or any other bills, which was so annoying and time consuming (don’t even get me started on the traffic jams I had to endure during those trips). I wasn’t sure if it was because my mum was very old-fashioned and computer-illiterate, or if it was because such easy on-line facilities simply does not exist.

Anyway, another thing that I find amazing in here, is that there is no minimum limit for credit card purchases! Imagine buying a hot dog for 200 ISK (around 20,000 IDR) and using a credit card to pay for it. Bliss, I tell you!

So, to all of you newly immigrants in Iceland, once you settle in the country and obtain your Icelandic ID number, rush to your nearest bank, and set up an account on your name. I assure you, it will make your life in Iceland so much easier.

Driving in Iceland.

I find the public transports in Iceland not as convenient as how most European countries are. There is a limited number of buses operating daily, with very limited routes. For example, it would take me a whopping 45 minutes bus ride from my house to town centre, which would only take me 10-12 minutes drive.

So, if you are anything like me, you’d opt for getting a car once you arrive in Iceland and drive your way everywhere.

Our Indonesian license is valid for driving in this country for the first six months since our arrival in Iceland. Afterwards, we are required to apply and obtain Icelandic driving license.

Here is the step-by-step instructions on how to apply for the driving license. Simply put, since Indonesia is not part of EU/EEA, we have to take BOTH theoretical and practical test for the driving license. Though the whole process seems to be lengthy and complicated, it really isn’t. The only drawback when I applied for my license was the fact that our Indonesian driving licences only provide information in Indonesian language, which required me to have it translated (bother, bother, bother…) before applying for the Icelandic one. So my advice to you all would be, to have all formal documents (e.g. driving license, birth certificate, etc.) translated to English if they are not already so.

If you happen to be an avid driver but for some reasons do not have your Indonesian driving licenses on hand (e.g. lost, expired, etc.), I’d suggest for you to go and get it straight away before coming to Iceland. Because once you get here, and try to apply for the Icelandic driving license, they won’t allow you to take the tests only (because you need to present your current driving license for that), but you will have to take up a whole driving courses and lessons in order to be qualified for driving tests, and trust me, not only it would be very lame, it would be very expensive as well (I think it can cost more than 100,000 ISK for the whole process, ouch!).

First things first.

 

First thing I would recommend for people who are moving to or planning to live in Iceland, is to check out this brilliant website that I accidentally found, island.is.

It’s chockfull of useful information for anyone who lives in Iceland, from general info about the country, business and industry, public services, education, housing, immigrations, etc. Basically, pretty much all information about administrative needs for a person to live in Iceland is there, and it’s available in English too!

While for you Indonesians out there who are just about to embark the journey to come here, your first and foremost requirement would be to obtain a visa. The Danish Embassy in Jakarta is responsible for issuing visas and permits to go to Iceland. Their website is very clear on visa/permits requirements and ways to apply.

Allow ample time to sort out the visa/permits before your travel date, as the application process can take a bit of time, depends on types of visa/permits applied and the completeness of documents required. So remember to always provide COMPLETE documents asked by the embassy, or else it will take a whole lot longer time to get your visa/permits issued.

Once you get all the boring administratives stuffs out of the way, next thing I’d recommend would be to enjoy your trip and look forward to coming to (in my personal opinion) one of the most amazing countries in the world. See you in Iceland!