Cheesy Indonesian TV

While I was cutting Hugo’s hair tonight, we were watching an incredibly cheesy Indonesian show. It went something like this. There was a girl who lived with her aunt and her grandma. The grandma is quite ill and needs a lot of help. The aunt is a rebel with a tongue ring. They have no money. The girl has a friend who is a boy, but as we didn’t start watching at the very beginning I’m not sure what that is all about. But apparently he sold his motorbike and gave the girl 5 million rups so that she could pay the rent on the house she lives in with her grandma and aunt. Here when you rent a house you usually have to pay one year in advance. There was another story line going on at the same time. There was a rich couple with a teenage son. He was bored with his new car and wanted to exchange it for another one. His mom says no, but his dad says sure, tomorrow we’ll go exchange it. The story jumps ahead to the next night and the mom and dad are in their room and the mom is worrying about her son. The dad figures he’s just hanging out with his new car. Then they get a call from the hospital that he has died. The dad is distraught, this is his only child. Jumping ahead again, somehow he meets the young girl from the other story line and thinks she’s beautiful. He wants her phone number but she explains that she doesn’t have a handphone or a home phone. He quickly calls one of his helpers and orders him to buy a cell phone and bring it over. He gives the phone to the girl. She’s rather confused about what he wants and doesn’t take the phone at first, but he persuades her. When she is home her aunt finds out about the phone and figures that a rich guy could sure help out their situation. She makes a date for her neice to get a ride home from school with the guy. In the car the guy gives the young girl an expensive necklace. The aunt sees dollar signs and forces her to meet with him again. He gives her a ring and asks her to marry him. His wife has followed him and sees him walk the girl into the house. She’s understandably angry. At home he tells her he wants to marry this girl because she can give him a son and his wife can’t have kids anymore because she is too old. The wife goes to the young girl the next day with a bottle of acid. The aunt sees it and wrestles with the wife and acid spills on the aunts face. The young girl runs into her grandma’s room and the wife follows. The wife sees the grandma and they realize the truth. The girl is the wifes daughter! Yikes, never saw that one coming. They hug and cry and the girl is so happy to have parents again. The guy comes into the room and joins them in the hug. Then you see them all in the bedroom in their traditional garb, long shirt, skirt and special hat for the man, long white robe and head covering for the women and they all pray together. The hilarious thing was that throughout the entire show they kept playing the song “You are everything and everything is you…”
What a story! The sad truth is that polygamy is legal here and according to the Koran, you are allowed to have up to 4 wives if you want. I personally haven’t met anyone in a polygamus marriage, but some friends from school have. Also, my neighbour Ibu Umi has been actively pursued by a man that is already married with children. But she has no interest at all in becoming someones second wife…. Can’t blame her….