I wore a uniform almost everyday from when I was five until I was eighteen. I liked the predictability of what I was going to wear and it made getting ready easy every morning. With that though, those formative years of creating outfits for school and building a personal style were never there, and I think I see that as an adult. Getting dressed in the morning stresses me out, picking the combination of shirts with pants and shoes is a challenge, because for thirteen years, I’d put on a white blouse and a skirt (or dress) and get on with my day. Enter Peace Corps service, and here, both students AND teachers wear uniforms. Rejoice! Everyday is a different outfit, so here’s a look at my week and the choice outfits I have the pleasure of wearing every week.
Monday: the Khaki Pantsuit
Ah, the infamous khaki pantsuit. I’m sure many of you have seen this. Every Monday, every Indonesian school holds upacara, or flag ceremony. Growing up, Americans know a similar ritual, standing up every morning, putting your hand on your heart and reciting a pledge to our flag. (I’ll never forget explaining this to my professor in Berlin, and her saying “That’s some East Germany s**t”). Take nationalism a bit further, and you have students lline up and perform a semi-militaristic ceremony as the flag is raised for the week. For this, students wear blue skirts or pants, white shirts, ties and a hat. Teachers wear gnarly khaki uniforms. At first I was not about it. As I mentioned, I’m not the most fashionable, given my long period of predestined daily outfits, but these are something else. However, once I got to site and I had to stand with the fifty other teachers without khaki, I thought it would be helpful with integration. Flag ceremony is serious for all involved. I’ve been nudged by fellow teachers to stand a certain way, to have my arms and hands placed soundly at my side. It’s essentially a military procedure, with marching, lines, commands and responses yelled in unison. It’s a practice without an American counterpart. There’s nothing really like it back home.
That's bike chain grease on my thumb, I had to fix it before heading to school...
Tuesday: Matching school batik
In Indonesia, independence, and sometimes self expression, is superseded by community and uniformity, which explains why uniforms are more popular here. On Tuesdays, all the teachers wear the same batik pattern, fostering that sense of community in my school. We’re all teachers and staff; we wear the same thing.
Wednesday: Black pants, white shirt
Not entirely sure why we wear black and white on Wednesday. From Sarah,“My cp said this ‘It is a rule from government. According to me because our president likes wearing white and black’” LOL! My counterpart, Bu Binti, said “Instructed by Pak Jokowi [the President], but I don’t know why.” So the President prefers black and white, sweet, I’m cool with it.
Thursday: BYOB (Bring your own batik)
Rather than each of us wearing the same batik and to totally contradict the statement I made about uniformity for Tuesday, teachers have free reign on what they wear on Thursday. I rotate three of my batik blouses.
From the Batik Guild, “Batik is both an art and a craft, which is becoming more popular and well known in the West as a wonderfully creative medium. The art of decorating cloth in this way, using wax and dye, has been practised for centuries. In Java, Indonesia, batik is part of an ancient tradition, and some of the finest batik cloth in the world is still made there. The word batik originates from the Javanese tik and means to dot. To make a batik, selected areas of the cloth are blocked out by brushing or drawing hot wax over them, and the cloth is then dyed. The parts covered in wax resist the dye and remain the original colour. This process of waxing and dyeing can be repeated to create more elaborate and colourful designs. After the final dyeing the wax is removed and the cloth is ready for wearing or showing. Contemporary batik, while owing much to the past, is markedly different from the more traditional and formal styles.”
Batik is a fundamental aspect of Indonesian cultural identity and social fabric (haha, pun intended). Couples usually wear matching batik, schools are proud of their matching patterns, and as you might’ve guessed, I love it. I have three batik blouses, two batik skirts, a batik cardigan, and two meters of fabric waiting to be tailored.
Friday: Track pants, sometimes.
Every Friday morning, my school holds senam pagi, or morning exercise. Think zumba or aerobics. This was a weekly ritual implemented by my old principal, who left my school in January. As the semester has gone on, the idea of getting to school on Friday at 6am has gradually faded and less teachers have gone, including myself. It’s not something I’m not comfortable doing, as teachers forcibly take me to the front of the group, with both male and female teachers commenting on how I would move. Not great. While I went the first several weeks this semester to please teachers, I thought about boundaries and decided to stop. Not my thing. But during those times that I would go, I wore the school red polo, track pants and sneakers. A total gym teacher look. These days, I just wear a professional shirt with pants with the other teachers that also skip senam.
When I’m not at school, which would be at home, I change straight into a t-shirt and yoga pants. I’d rather be comfy when I’m home, and that’s what I like wearing. Since I’m home, I can have my elbows showing, but when I’m in more public spaces, my elbows have to be covered, as does my bum (long sweater or shirt covering it). Java is majority Muslim and is a conservative place.
That’s a look into my week, clothes edition. It’s interesting to make connections to Indonesian culture and society just by looking at what people wear, but it shoes how clothes are the tip of the cultural iceberg!