The 3Fs: Family, Friends and Food

 

“Hey, what are you doing this weekend?”

“Nothing”

Scenario 1: “Let’s go out and watch a movie and grab something to eat after.”

Scenario 2: “Let’s call up everyone and have a barbeque.”

Scenario 3: “I’m bored, do you want to chill at my place? We’ll call everyone and see if they are up for a movie marathon/food fest at my place.”

Scenario 4: “My family has this birthday shindig, there will be cakes and bouncers and music. You and the others should come.”

These are the most typical question and answer sessions between any Bruneians. Brunei Darussalam (“Abode of Peace”) is small, yet known for its peacefulness and tranquility. It does not have any entertainment center or any big shopping malls. It is known for outdoors and nature. That is why we Bruneians like to come up with our own fun and activities. We stick to the 3Fs: Family, Friends and Food. These three things will tend to interrelate with each other one way or another.

Bruneians are known to be people-oriented. It is our nature and has become one of our defining cultural aspects. We love being with our family and friends and we love to eat.

We work or study from Mondays to Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our only day off would be Sundays and sometimes Fridays. Exhausted from our tight schedules, we still find it relaxing to be around people. Moreover, with the most notorious places to go being located in the capital, we would not mind driving to the capital just to spend our weekend.

Though Brunei is an extraordinarily small country (smaller in size than the state of Delaware in the United States), we do welcome foreigners to come and visit and enjoy the greenery scenes, as 70 percent of Brunei is covered with forest. Foreigners always ask, “What should I do first? Where should I go? What is there to do in Brunei?” The first answer is: eat food!

What we would do without our food is beyond our thoughts. It is common to see a restaurant or food business every 5 km. Moreover it is the fastest growing type of business in Brunei. By saying this, you can actually imagine how much Bruneians love food.

Hence, our definition of fun is not by relying on amusement parks or festivals. We rely on quality time with our loved ones. Since we love eating, instead of eating alone, why not spend it with the people we love? We could spend just hours at a nearby kedai makan (food shop) just for high-tea or coffee and talk endlessly. By “we” it could be between husbands and wives, parents and their children or amongst friends. Even when doing business, business partners can have casual meetings in a kedai kopi (coffee shop) and be in a less intense environment to talk about business. That is the simplest activity there is. A more casual option would be to go out for a movie and dinner. Well-planned activities would be a barbeque or any type of get-together, at home or at the beach.

In Brunei, we do not use the word “party” that much. It is rather a “gathering” for us: people and food all together in one place. Our reason for hosting a gathering does not need to be for any big, public holiday or simply because it is someone’s birthday. Let us wheel in the barbeque stand, call up all our relatives and friends and that is just that. Nothing major, it is something small and simple just to gather people and spend a relaxing afternoon together: a day just to catch up with each other.

My friends and I are usually keen on barbeques; being in a home or at the beach. We go early in the morning, fighting over the spot because there would be a lot of people at the beach as well, and we would set up a barbeque by noon and finish late in the evening. In between, we would just play simple card games, lay back, relax and play in the water. Since we do not have high waves, we just do skim-boarding and sometimes wind-surfing. Other than at the beach, we just go for a movie and eat dinner. We see each other almost every weekend, but endless stories and jokes are to be shared that keep our bond closer.

The latest trend nowadays in Brunei is burgers: beef, chicken and lamb; you name it, it is there. There are a ton of burger stalls filling up in Brunei, each one with its own unique type of sauce or style of making, from regular size to a stack of seven burger patties in one go, and even burgers the size of  birthday cakes. We find it challenging, but very amusing to see people trying to eat a whole big size burger at once.

Other than that, since Brunei has limited entertainment opportunities, people go bowling or even practice archery for fun with family and friends. Another healthy trend is to go to the fitness center or join the annually-held jog-a-thon, walk-a-thon or bike-a-thon. The events are highly recommended for the fun of meeting and joining up with many other Bruneians and running for a healthy lifestyle supporting good causes.

For nature lovers, going on a mini hike (compared to hiking in Gwangju, Yikes!) at the Bukit Shahbandar, a tasek lama (a small hill), is an option. Go deeper into the Temburong district for camping and also for kayaking, and enjoy exploring the tropical rainforest.

I will be finishing my internship and studies by mid-June. As much as I have enjoyed my time here in Gwangju, I am looking forward to being back home. I miss my family, my friends and also the delicious food that has been calling me all this while.

This article was written by one of the GIC interns. If you are interested in getting volunteering at the GIC, please contact them here.