BRODIN DI AUSTRALIA: RAMAH TANPA BASA-BASI
Brodin berada di Sydney pada pagi hari. Matahari cerah, angin laut sejuk, dan semua orang terlihat santai seperti tidak punya beban hidup. Brodin turun dari bus dengan jas hitam, kaos merah sleret-sleret, dan kamera tergantung di leher. Wajahnya tenang, mulut tertutup.
Ia masuk ke sebuah café outdoor dekat pantai.
Barista:
“Hey, how are ya?”
(Hai, apa kabar?)
Brodin kaget. Ia pikir itu pertanyaan serius.
Brodin (sopan dan jujur):
“I’m good, thank you. How about you?”
(Saya baik, terima kasih. Kamu bagaimana?)
Barista berhenti sebentar, lalu tertawa.
Barista:
“Good, mate.”
(Baik, kawan.)
Brodin bingung.
“Jawaban saya kepanjangan ya?” pikirnya.
Saat memesan:
Barista:
“What’ll you have?”
(Mau pesan apa?)
Brodin:
“Just black tea, please.”
(Teh hitam saja.)
Barista mengangguk cepat.
Barista:
“No worries.”
(Santai saja / tidak masalah.)
Brodin terdiam.
Ia berpikir: Apa saya bikin masalah tadi?
Ia duduk. Seorang pria bule duduk di sebelahnya.
Pria:
“Nice weather.”
(Cuacanya enak.)
Brodin mengangguk serius.
Brodin:
“Yes, very nice. Thank you for noticing.”
(Iya, sangat enak. Terima kasih sudah memperhatikan.)
Pria itu menahan tawa.
Pria:
“You’re not from here, are you?”
(Kamu bukan orang sini ya?)
Brodin:
“No. I’m Indonesian.”
(Bukan. Saya dari Indonesia.)
Pria:
“That explains the manners.”
(Pantas sopan.)
Brodin tersenyum kecil, mulut tertutup.
Saat hendak pergi, barista berkata:
Barista:
“See ya.”
(Sampai jumpa.)
Brodin (refleks):
“Yes.”
(Iya.)
Barista tertawa lagi.
Di luar café, Brodin menulis di buku kecilnya:
“Di Australia, ramah itu singkat.
Tidak perlu penjelasan panjang.
Kalau terlalu sopan, dikira lagi bercanda.
=======-
Brodin in Australia: Polite in a No-Nonsense Country
Brodin sat at an outdoor café in Sydney wearing his red Madurese T-shirt and black jacket. Everyone was relaxed. Too relaxed.
When asked, “How are ya?”, Brodin answered with full sincerity and good manners.
Too much sincerity.
People smiled. Some laughed.
When someone said “Nice weather,” Brodin treated it like a scientific observation and thanked him politely.
Australians were amused.
Before leaving, someone said, “See ya.”
Brodin replied, “Yes.”
Wrong answer. But very polite.
He wrote:
“In Australia, friendliness is short.
Politeness is optional.
And ‘yes’ is not always the right response.”
