Between Friends

Not long after I first arrived in Melbourne, My partner started inviting me to meet his friends. I remember Sinyo took me to meet his friend Roni Ambon at his house, not far from where we live. Then Sinyo started introducing me to other friends and since then we socialized a lot with Sinyo's friends who quickly became my friends too. They started inviting me to visit their house for lunch, afternoon coffee or to spend the weekend chatting with them.

One of his friends, Bambang and Wayan lived in Melbourne since 1974, invited us to stay at their big house in Roville and the next day they took us to the farmer's market and lunch in an Indonesian Restaurant there. Very interesting!

I started to feel comfortable hanging out with them. they are so friendly to me. gave a lot of advice on how to live in Melbourne with him. through them, I get to know my partner better. I was really looking forward to meet his friends.

We also invited His friends to come to stay for a day or two. Usually, the one who stays is Budi. Budi came to Melbourne with his family in the late 1980s. I enjoyed being with him because he was always reading the news about what was happening in the world so the three of us could chat for hours. At that time we were still living at Bentleigh which had 2 bedrooms and a bathroom that we shared.

I also have a number of regular friends come to visit. Eveline and I are both from Ambon and we live in Depok, attend the same school, and attend the same church even though she is a few years younger than me. We are more than just friends, we are more like family. In 2016 Evelyn married Luke and has been living in Melbourne since that.

I introduced Evelyn to Sinyo the same way Evelyn introduced Luke to me. the two of us used to see each other when Evelyn was on Evelyn’s day off. He works in a government office. During a holiday like New Year, the four of us met for New Year's lunch and then continued with an afternoon coffee at St. Kilda.

As a couple, we are invited for a Christmas lunch, a Christmas party at the Indonesian consulate, or an Eid lunch party, We enjoyed delicious food, good music, dance, and met Indonesian friends.

JOINT STATEMENT OF THE SOCIAL ASPECTS OF OUR RELATIONSHIP