Salary was enough

During my stay, I received the same salary as similarly qualified Indonesians, which meant that I was paid roughly the equivalent of £A8 a week—hardly a princely salary, but sufficient when you eat Indonesian food. I did not exactly thrive on the food—basically rice, with very little meat—but I suspect that was as much a matter of my taste and temperament as of the nutritional value of the food.

For accommodation I lived in one of the Civil Service hostels, or with Indonesian friends. Much of the time I was the only English-speaking person in the household, so I was forced to learn Indonesian quickly to make myself understood. Learning Indonesian is fun and hard work—and it brings a reward out of all proportion to the labour involved. Indonesians are surprised and delighted to find a Westerner who can speak their language, for few Europeans ever take the trouble to learn it properly.

The first reaction of Indonesians to the Scheme is one of surprise, and probably doubt. Most Europeans there receive large salaries and thus, are cut off from the Indonesian people, on whom they often look down to some extent. So it often takes Indonesians some time to believe that an Australian volunteer graduate actually lives under the same conditions as they do, and that he really prefers it that way.