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TIL Obama from ages 6 to 10 lived in Indonesia and can speak Indonesian. (en.m.wikipedia.org)

submitted 1 month ago by someguy3@lemmy.world to c/til@lemmy.world

31 comments fedilink hide all child comments

At the age of six, Obama and his mother had moved to Indonesia to join his stepfather. From age six to ten, he was registered in school as "Barry"[31] and attended local Indonesian-language schools: Sekolah Dasar Katolik Santo Fransiskus Asisi (St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Elementary School) for two years and Sekolah Dasar Negeri Menteng 01 (State Elementary School Menteng 01) for one and a half years, supplemented by English-language Calvert School homeschooling by his mother.[32][33] As a result of his four years in Jakarta, he was able to speak Indonesian fluently as a child.[34] During his time in Indonesia, Obama's stepfather taught him to be resilient and gave him "a pretty hardheaded assessment of how the world works".[35]

In 1971, Obama returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham. He attended Punahou School—a private college preparatory school—with the aid of a scholarship from fifth grade until he graduated from high school in 1979.

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[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 78 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I found this story googling.

I met Barack Obama at a State Department reception early in his presidency. A colleague who wanted to test his skills at Indonesian asked him, “Mr. President, did you know that in Indonesia they still call you 'anak Menteng'?”

“Anak” means “child of” and Menteng is a neighborhood in the capital of Jakarta where many of the country’s elite live.

President Obama quickly answered. “Oh, saya bukan anak Menteng. Saya anak Menteng Dalam.” (Oh, I’m not a Menteng kid. I’m a kid from Inner Menteng.”)

In Indonesia, this roughly means “I’m from the back streets where the workers and servants live.” The US equivalent might be “I’m not from Park Avenue. I’m from the alley behind Park Avenue.

https://www.quora.com/Could-Obama-speak-Indonesian I know Quora is not a primary source, but I'm just googling.