A great way to practice when learning a new language is to keep a little diary. Write down a basic description of your day, your experiences, and your feelings. If you forget a word along the way, check your dictionary or an online one. Read it over, correct any mistakes, and practice saying it out loud. The best time to do this is early in the week, when you can think about the weekend (akhir pekan). I always enjoy talking about the weekend in Indonesian early on in the week and find it to be a great time to practice the language. Here’s a little reading activity about my weekend, followed by vocabulary and an English translation.

Indonesian

Bir gratis!

Akhir pekan lalu sedikit membosankan. Jumat malam saya dengan teman-teman pergi ke Sanur, karena sebuah bar ada bir gratis. Kami minum bir sambil bercakap-cakap.

Minum bir setelah kami pergi ke Rumah Sanur. Di sana ada konser jazz. Konser jazz ini juga gratis. Kami senang sekali, karena mahasiswa tidak ada banyak uang.

Saya suka berenang.

Pada hari Sabtu saya pergi ke gym. Latihan setelah saya berenang, karena rumah saya ada kolam renang. Sabtu malam, teman saya mau datang ke Bali, tapi dia tidak bisa masuk pesawat di Hong Kong. Paspornya hanya ada keabsahan lima bulan. Saya sangat marah dia tidak bisa datang ke Bali. Malam itu, saya tinggal di rumah minum sedikit bir sambil menonton TV.

Pasar pantai bagus sekali!

Pada hari Minggu, Sanur ada pasar pantai. Saya pergi ke pantai sebelum, di kamar saya bekerja sendiri. Saya dengan teman saya ke pasar pantai itu. Di sini ada makanan, minuman, dan musik. Saya makan kari ayam dari India. Makanan India enak sekali!

Malam itu, saya tinggal di rumah. Saya memasak nasi goreng dan minum sedikit teh manis. Saya makan malam sambil menonton TV. Setelah itu, saya membaca dan tidur.

Vocabulary

• akhir pekan = weekend

• membosankan = boring

• gratis = free

• bercakap-cakap = to chat

• banyak uang = a lot of money

• latihan = exercise

• berenang = to swim

• kolam renang = swimming pool

• pesawat = airplane

• keabsahan = validity

• sambil = while

• bekerja = to work

• sendiri = alone

• memasak = to cook

• membaca = to read

English Translation

This weekend was a little boring. On Friday night I went to Sanur with friends, because a bar there has free beer. We drank some beer while chatting.

After drinking beer we went to Rumah Sanur. There was a jazz concert there. The jazz concert was also free. We were very happy, because students don’t have a lot of money.

On Saturday I went to the gym. After exercising I went swimming, because my house has a pool. On Saturday night, my friend wanted to come to Bali, but he couldn’t get on the plane in Hong Kong. His passport only had 5 months validity. I was very angry that he couldn’t come to Bali. That night, I stayed at home and drank a little beer while watching TV.

On Sunday, Sanur has a beach market. Before I went to the beach, I did some work alone in my room. I went with a friend to that beach market. There was food, drink, and music. I ate some chicken curry from India. Indian food is so delicious!

That night, I stayed at home. I cooked some friend rice and drank a little sweet tea. I ate dinner while watching TV. After that, I read and went to sleep.

Give it a try and write a little something about your weekend! You don’t even have to share it – just get that practice writing and reading and keep it up.