The Small Town of My Birth

One of the sights in my small town. Photo is mine.

I was born and raised in a small town, Lhokseumawe. To this day, I still live here, married and have a happy little family.

The small town where I live is nicknamed the Petro Dollar City because in its heyday there were big companies, such as Mobil Oil, Arun LNG Oil, Fertilizer Company, and others. In the past, I often saw a lot of activity in these companies. Big cars often went in and out, and tank ships from other countries often docked at the harbor. Many of the workers in these companies came from outside our town, which caused social jealousy. Local workers are often used as unskilled laborers. Local workers also have the potential to operate machinery. The existence of these companies has also been unable to make a difference to the welfare of the people here.

In 2001, I went to university in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh Province. I felt a different atmosphere from my hometown. There were many places I could visit to cure my boredom. It's different from my small hometown, because there aren't many entertainment venues that we can visit. Tourist attractions in Banda Aceh are always crowded, causing traffic jams.

During my time here, my horizons have expanded. I met many people from other regions who have different languages and cultures. I made friends with them and respected each other's culture and language. This is where I began to understand the different dispositions and characters of people.

From the two cities I have lived in, I concluded that living in the city is far from peaceful. The noise of vehicles, traffic jams, high pollution, are things that we commonly encounter in cities. Urban people also have a variety of different characters. Urban people tend to have low concern for the social environment, meaning that urban people are more individualistic or selfish. I think almost all urban people have these characteristics.

This is very different from the character of rural communities. From 2009-2015, I worked as a teacher in a rural area. The character of rural communities is more familial. Rural communities are communities that like to work together with other community members. If we are not involved in these activities, then we will be ostracized. If there is a wedding party, then rural communities will help each other to make the wedding party a success.

Well, back to the question about urban and rural, if I could have the opportunity, then what should I choose. To be honest, I sometimes don't feel at home in the countryside. I would still choose to live in the city. My reason is the ease of access to some public facilities, such as hospitals. In the city, we can also easily get the things we need. That is why I choose to live in the city.

Although I live in the small town of my birth, if I had the opportunity to move to another city, I would choose to live in the capital of Aceh province, Banda Aceh City. The city is about 280 km away from my hometown.

Thank you for stopping my blog.