Pen pals in Indonesia

For a great many Indonesians, Indonesian is not the language they grew up speaking at home. It is the national language, used in school, on television, in government and between people from different islands, but at home a pen pal may speak Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, Minangkabau or one of hundreds of other regional languages. Your pen pal may already juggle two or three languages before English comes into it.

That makes Indonesia an encouraging place to look for a language partner. Indonesian is written in the Latin alphabet, spelling is close to how words sound, and verbs do not change their endings for tense or person. Learners often find they can read simple letters sooner than they expected. "Selamat pagi" (good morning) is a safe opening; plenty of pen pals will then happily mix in English and correct your Indonesian in return.

An archipelago, not a single place

Indonesia is made up of thousands of islands spread across three time zones, from Sumatra in the west to Papua in the east. Life in central Jakarta, a village in East Nusa Tenggara and a university town in Yogyakarta can feel like different countries. The equator runs straight through, so there is no winter or summer in the way readers in Europe or North America think of them. Instead the year swings between a wet season and a dry season, with the timing and intensity varying by island. Ask about the rain rather than the temperature: it is usually the more interesting answer.

The school year runs from about July to June, split into two semesters, and holiday dates vary by province. Mornings start early, and motorbikes carry everything from school runs to deliveries.

When the calendar fills up

• Idul Fitri (Lebaran) ends the fasting month of Ramadan. Millions of people travel back to their home towns and villages for it, a journey known as mudik, and families visit relatives and ask each other's forgiveness. The date follows the Islamic lunar calendar and moves earlier by around eleven days each year.
• Independence Day on 17 August brings flags on every street and neighbourhood games, including races to eat a krupuk cracker hanging on a string and teams climbing a greased pole for prizes.
• Nyepi, the Balinese Hindu new year, usually falls in March. On Bali the island goes quiet for a full day: no traffic, little light and even the airport closes.

Indonesia officially recognises several religions, and public holidays include Christian, Buddhist and Hindu days as well as Islamic ones, so the calendar is fuller than many visitors expect.

Bali is not the whole picture

Many people abroad know Indonesia mainly through Bali. Bali is one island with a largely Hindu culture of its own, and it is not typical of the country as a whole, most of which is Muslim. A pen pal from Medan, Makassar or Surabaya will have a very different week to describe, and is likely to have been asked about Bali before. Curiosity about their own island will go further.

For ideas on asking good questions without leaning on clichés, see learning about a country through a pen pal.

First questions to try

• Which language do you speak at home, and which one do you use with friends?
• How does your family celebrate Lebaran, or the holidays that matter most to you?
• What happens in your neighbourhood on 17 August?
• When does the rainy season arrive where you live, and what changes when it does?