Within the first week of my arrival in Pontianak at the start of 2015, it was immediately apparent that ethnicity was a salient issue embedded in everyday conversation in the city. This realization arose from a brief conversation between myself and one of the Chinese Indonesian teachers at Pontianak Protestant Kindergarten (PPK) where I began my fieldwork. This teacher, Wendy, had generously offered to collect me from my accommodation on her way to work and drop me back on her way home. During one of our daily commutes, Wendy asked me about the other residents at the kos where I was staying. She posed the question as follows: “orang apa di sana? ([W]hat (kind of) people are there?)”.