No, I am not kidding. I am dead serious. I know it is not even enough to pay for one (short) cup Frappucino in Starbucks, Jakarta or to buy lunch in Tokyo or to watch movie in the Waterfront, Capetown ;-). Well, it may be enough to buy lunch in an average restaurant in CBD area in Jakarta. But that’s only for one day or 2 days if you don’t mind eating in the basement!
Okay, here are some additional, relieving facts. Let say you do not have to pay for accommodation, food, medical and transportation (simply because you are not supposed to go out ;-)) but you have to use that Rp 30.000 for everything else: soap, toothpaste, detergent, clothes, underwear, entertainment and all other daily necessities. Is it still impossible to do? I know very well that some of you would think so. I do think it is impossible (for me) to do that.
But some people, I mean real people, have been doing it in this real life! And they survive so far. I’ve met them alive ;-). They are my students in Rumah Bina (Prep School) of Pieter Van Diepen Seminary, Sorong. Being the priest candidates, I guess they are expected to lead a very modest way of lives. They must learn to survive each month with that little amount of money. I found out later that most Catholic priest candidates must actually undergo the similar situation. It is part of their education or training process. Some told me that at least those candidates in Sorong do not have to pay for anything. In some place, the priest candidates actually have to pay some fees or pay penalties if they later decide to discontinue their education in seminary.
Alright, I know some of you might say, “hey, they should consider themselves lucky because there are so many people who do not know what to eat for their dinner tonight or do not have a place to sleep at night.” I know, I know. Still, it is quite new for me to learn that someone could actually survive with Rp 30.000 per month. I suppose with that amount of money one could only afford a very basic lifestyle. But isn’t a basic lifestyle enough? Really? I don’t know.
One thing for sure I suddenly feel so very rich.
4 comments:
Rich and poor, they're all relative, aren't they? Human being has great flexibility in adapting to new environment, so I'd say yes, I think I could live on such limited means (only under 'faktor keterpaksaan'). But the question is, would I want to live such a basic lifestyle if I knew I had the choice of living in Tokyo where just being alive is costing much more than 30 ribu/day (insurance and all)? Maybe not. At least not at this point of my life.
it's good to know you are teaching at seminary. what subjects do you teach your students? philosophy? religion? finance (eg: how to live on rp. 1000/day, or how to invest that money)?
yes, of course i cannot survive with 1000 rupiah/day here, even for a very basic lifestyle.
Wow... impressive.
Who decided on that sum?
thanks all. with this posting, by no means i'm suggesting that we should live with rp 30.000/month. haha ... of course, who would want to live with that amount of money?
i'm just trying to potray a different lifestyle that actually exists.
it reminds me of martin, an old english man that i met years ago while doing meditation in bali, who struck me with his serenity and asked me that question: how much clothes, stuffs do you think you need in order to live?
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