If Jakarta is the lowest-rated city, then Bandung is the overrated city.
The legendary classical novel by George Orwell that showed about poverty in two famous city in Europe; Paris & London narrated in the tramps diary called Down and Out in Paris and London — has affected me and my point of view thru my own city, Bandung.
Orwell begins his story in Paris where the ‘I’ as the main character’s first met with poverty. In Paris Orwell pictured the life of working class where he told the story of didn’t find jobs, having cruel co-worker, 18 working hours, and pushed by the boss. Orwell told story about life behind 5-star restaurant that maybe we already knew what’s actually going on behind.
I’m having relationship with girl who work at coffee shop in Bandung. If in that era Orwell shows Paris is the city known by its restaurants then Bandung is known by its coffee shop. Everybody wants to work in restaurants in Paris, everybody is after it. In Bandung, everybody wants to be a barista because they can hanging out and working at once.
There is one tale that Orwell wrote and is happening in my real world. That is the tale of his life working in restaurant as a writer, and the story is:
“Fool! Why do you wash that plate? Wipe it on your trousers. Who cares about the customers? They don’t know what’s going on. What is restaurant work? You are carving a chicken and it falls on the floor. You apologise, you bow, you go out; and in five minutes you come back by another door-with the same chicken. That is restaurant work,”
The story reminds me of once my girlfriend told me the story of scene that happens in the kitchen. Where the cook didn’t wash the food materials before cooking , the cooks are wearing underwear while they’re cooking, and the waiters eat the food before it is served to the guests. More or less, close enough with Orwell told in that scene in the restaurant. In case, real events depicted in the novel are a source of beauty for the readers themselves. Especially for me.
Orwell’s portrayal about Paris and London has given us healthy comparison between what we saw and what actually is going on there. And the journey from the ‘I’ in that novel continue to London, the city where he belongs to.
I see Bandung is quite pictured again in this story in London. Where everybody is lazy, jobless, running to and fro, up and down in the city but gain nothing. People in here have much philosophy but zero action. The way we think when we hear Paris or London is same when people hear about Bandung; beauty.
Orwell depicted London with the city filled with tramps and life at dormitory or charity building. The ‘I’ in the story arrived in his hometown and get along with London’s tramps and beggars. If you read the story that ‘I’ told you, maybe you will wonder and having big questions in your mind that how can famous city known by its Queen’s family and filled with gentlemen having lots of tramps and beggars.
And that’s also happening in my city. My city is known with its beauty and creative people, nature tours, humble citizen, and fresh air. But if you live for long time in here you’ll find that this city is overrated. The city didn’t deserve the noble in other people’s head.
Bandung is a city where parking-ramp-thugs are job in here. Everybody is lazy and didn’t want to go to work. They just want having breakfast in the morning with their fries and cigarettes after that, they continue to cover their body with blanket. No wonder we find thugs in every corner of this city. Because that’s the easy way to gain money without an effort.
No wonder why this city is called ‘the city with thousand thugs’
Orwell story ends when his loaned money from his friend is left-over. And he told his readers that it’s just the beginning. And that’s really just the beginning from many masterpieces he made.
From Orwell, I can learn that wandering around many regions can give us a different perspective, healthy insight, and real story behind what we have seen or heard. From him also we can learn that stereotypes are not the real type to describe some places, people, or country.
