From EconomicTimes:
Indonesians were eagerly awaiting the arrival Tuesday of US President Barack Obama for a 24-hour visit to a country where he spent part of his childhood.
Many Indonesians fondly call Obama "Anak Menteng", or "Menteng Kid", after a Jakarta neighbourhood where he lived from 1967 to 1971 after his mother married an Indonesian.
A group calling itself Friends of Obama was throwing a "homecoming" party Tuesday to welcome the return of Obama, once known among his childhood friends in Jakarta as Barry.
"We want to wish him 'Selamat Datang' (welcome) to Indonesia," said Friends of Obama chairman Ron Mullers, an Indonesian-born American.
The party is to be attended by Obama's elementary schoolmates and feature dancing and singing as well as an Indonesian-American buffet, he said.
A replica of a statue of Obama as a 10-year-old would be on display at the event. The original is located at Obama's former elementary school in Menteng.
Obama has twice cancelled trips to Indonesia this year because of domestic preoccupations, and many Indonesians were wondering whether he would make it this time.
"We are hopeful and worried at the same time," Hasimah, the school's principal, was quoted as saying by the Antara news agency.
"We were very enthusiastic to welcome Obama, and his cancellations deeply disappointed us," said Hasimah, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
Indonesians were eagerly awaiting the arrival Tuesday of US President Barack Obama for a 24-hour visit to a country where he spent part of his childhood.
Many Indonesians fondly call Obama "Anak Menteng", or "Menteng Kid", after a Jakarta neighbourhood where he lived from 1967 to 1971 after his mother married an Indonesian.
A group calling itself Friends of Obama was throwing a "homecoming" party Tuesday to welcome the return of Obama, once known among his childhood friends in Jakarta as Barry.
"We want to wish him 'Selamat Datang' (welcome) to Indonesia," said Friends of Obama chairman Ron Mullers, an Indonesian-born American.
The party is to be attended by Obama's elementary schoolmates and feature dancing and singing as well as an Indonesian-American buffet, he said.
A replica of a statue of Obama as a 10-year-old would be on display at the event. The original is located at Obama's former elementary school in Menteng.
Obama has twice cancelled trips to Indonesia this year because of domestic preoccupations, and many Indonesians were wondering whether he would make it this time.
"We are hopeful and worried at the same time," Hasimah, the school's principal, was quoted as saying by the Antara news agency.
"We were very enthusiastic to welcome Obama, and his cancellations deeply disappointed us," said Hasimah, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
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