SHANKARI´S
BALI RETREAT

You will be surprised how quickly you can fix a date with somebody. Going out and meeting people is a favorite past time for young Indonesians.

Cari cewek - looking for girls and cari cowok - looking for boys is the name of the game. In fact most young people hanging out in shopping centre are not after shopping at all.

Music cafes and discotheques are also popular hang outs, especially for the cewek nakal and cowok nakal 

New Words

Call me

You will find that young Indonesians give out their phone numbers easily, especially mobile phone numbers. Going out with friends and fixing dates on the phone is the normal evening programme for many.

Nomor telepon kamu berepa? - number telephone you how much? - What is your telephone number?
Nomor telepon saya 38222000 - number telephone I is  38222000 - My telephone number is 38222000

Please refer also to the chapter Numbers

Nanti kamu telepon saya, ya? - later you telephone me, yes? - Call me

Come and see me

In Indonesia meeting a boy or a girl does not always mean having a date as a westerner would understand it. A man or a woman who is not used to westerner live-style is likely to show up for a date with an entourage of friends and relatives.

On the other side a date with a more experienced person will most likely take a promising turn surprisingly soon...

Nanti sore mau ketemu saya? - later evening want meet me? - Shall we meet this morning?
Mau ketemu  dimana? - want meet where? - Where do you want to meet?
Di rumah saya? - in house my? - At my place?
Boleh - may - Alright

A rather direct request is, when brought forward at the end of an evening:
Mau ikut sama saya? - want come with me? - Do you want to come with me?

If you get a boleh as an answer to this question make sure you have read the chapter very friendly talk before.

Time and date

The word jam followed by the number of hours indicates a time.
jam dua - hour two - two o'clock

Indonesia like most countries uses the 24 hour time format (from 0:00 to 23: 59) but in day-to-day conversation the 12 hour format is more common.
jam berapa sekarang? - hour what now? - What time is it?
jam dua puluh - hour twenty - Twenty hundred
jam dua puluh, itu jam delapan malam tidak? - hour twenty, this hour eight night no? - Twenty hundred, that is eight o'clock p.m. isn't it?

A time past the hour is expressed by lewat - past; for times before the hour use kurang - less
jam tiga lewat sepuluh menit - hour three past ten minute - ten past three
jam empat kurang tiga belas menit - hour four minus thirteen minutes - thirteen to four

Setengah - half - is used to describe a half hour before the hour.
jam setengah tujuh - hour half seven - half past six

Number are explained here

To tell a date of the month use tanggal in front of the date:

Saya pergi ke Inggris tanggal enam belas - I go to England date 16 - I'll go to England on the 16th

Test

Fill in the right word

1. How do you ask somebody if he or she wants to come (home) with you?
     Mau        a) ikut          sama saya?
                     b) nakal
                     c) nikah

2.  You fancy Yani but you haven't really met her yet. But you know Yani's friend and you want her to introduce       you to Yani. What do you tell her?
    Saya mau a) cari          Yani
                        b) cinta
                        c) ketemu

3. You ask Yani if she has some time at 19:30
    Nanti ada waktu jam   a) setengah delapan
                                             b) setengah tujuh
                                             c) tujuh malam

4. Yani hates you. But because she's a nice girl, what will she respond to question 3?
    Nanti saya a) nakal
                         b) main
                         c) sibuk