Jam Karet?? Or Rubber Time? Not only in Indonesia

It was a cold day in Berkeley, we put on warm clothes getting ready for catching a bus number 18 to go downtown Berkeley. We checked the schedule of the bus, it was said that the bus no.18 would arrive at 4.18 pm at the bus station near our house in Yosemite street. We rushed out from the house with two backpacks and a duple bag. Kadek carried her two bags; a backpack and a duple bag while I carried only my backpack, but mine was heavy because I had my laptop inside the backpack and other electronic devices for working. Kadek's bags were also heavy because she packed for two weeks' trip to Costa Rica. I tried to help her to carry one of her bags but she said that she needed to train herself to carry heavy stuff for hiking and other physical works. 

We arrived at the bust stop at 4.15pm, which meant that we were 3 minutes early than the bus schedule. We were at the bus stop waiting for the bus who supposed to arrive in three minutes after we got there. However, the bus did not come although we saw bus No. 18 going by to the opposite direction. I thought that the No. 18 bus would come soon after seeing that bus going by. But I was wrong. We checked the schedule which was posted at the bus stop, it said that the next bus would come in 20 minutes or at 5 pm our time. We got so bored waiting and waiting but the bus did not show up either. 

Finally, Kadek called 511 to get some information on the delay of the bus and why the bus did not show up at the time of their arrival scheduled. Kadek said that the next bus would arrive in 30 minutes. We had been waiting for an hour when Kadek called. Then we decided to walk to Solano Avenue carrying heavy bags to catch the bus No. 18 heading for the Bart station downtown Berkeley.

 

As usual, when we got bored, we always put out our camera and started being narcissistic. The whole time we were in the bus stop, I had cash ready in hand $US 2,35 for myself and $US 1,5 for my daughter as you can see from the picture. I needed the cash to be ready in hand because the driver was not patient enough to wait for the passengers who were slow in sliding cash in the payment machine (whatever you call it). 

So, the conclusion I could draw here was that the "Jam Karet" or the "Rubber Time" was/is not only valid in Indonesia, but also in this very most super power organized country. However, a good thing in the US was that we could/can ask for information about the bus roundabout by calling 511 free service. Or in other word, there are some public services for everyone. But, no matter what, I got used to the chaotic transport systems in Indonesia. I found it much easier to go around any time anywhere in Indonesia. Jam Karet? Yes, I get used to it in Indonesia. Maybe because we have a motto that says,"Biar lambat asal selamat, tak kan lari gunung dikejar" or the closest English I could think of was "It's okay to be late as long as you are safe; the mountain won't move no matter how fast you chase it" .  It is great to be in the US but I still LOVE my country most.