While this 6-year-old girl was filling my tank with gas, I told her "kamu syantik" which was supposed to mean "you're pretty," but I think it actually means "you pretty" in broken Indonesian.
Either way, it put a slight pursed-lip smile on her face.
In Bali, everywhere except for the capital or a really big city, this is what I've seen for "gas stations:"
(I love how gangster she looks in this hat.)
The gas station where this little girl was funneling gas into my bike was what I'd consider "fancy."
I mean just look at it:
It costs me about 20,000 to go from empty to full ($1.36) and a tank lasts me 1-2 weeks depending on what I'm doing.
It kind of makes me never want to have to drive a car again.
Anyway, now for the big question:
What do you think about 6-7-8-9-year olds working?
This is actually a big debated question, and maybe you have no opinion on it because maybe you've never seen kids working before.
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I've seen it a lot. My neighbor boys in Guatemala worked a lot.
In Nicaragua, little kids tried to sell me snacks when I was on the bus.
In Colombia, kids tried to sell me gum at 11 pm.
I read a news article once that said in Colombia, if the kids don't sell a certain amount, their parents will beat them. I don't know if it's true or just the news being news and stirring up stuff.
But I will say I've heard arguments on both sides of the coin.
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I know some of these kids go to school AND work...
.... and are proud to help out their families, and it's a cultural value for families to help each other. I know a lady who sold fish in Costa Rica before school as a kid and she said it gave her good work ethic.
I know other times, these kids don't go to school and they only work because their families are so desperate for money that they feel there is no other choice.
I'm just curious what you guys think about it! It's an interesting topic!
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