Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Kadang saya bimbang memilih antara ikut festival desa atau resepsi pernikahan teman. - Sometimes I am torn choosing between joining the village festival or my friend’s wedding reception.

kadang = a bit more concise and slightly more formal or neutral
kadang-kadang = very common in everyday speech, can sound a bit more casual or emphatic

In this sentence, you can say:

Kadang saya bimbang...
Kadang-kadang saya bimbang...

Both are natural and correct. The meaning doesn’t really change; kadang-kadang just feels a bit “stronger” or more colloquial.

Is bimbang a verb or an adjective? Why isn’t there “to” like “to choose” (e.g., bimbang untuk memilih)?

bimbang is an adjective meaning uncertain / torn / undecided / hesitant.

In Indonesian, it’s very common to have:

[subject] + [adjective] + [verb]

without adding anything like to / for / about.

So:

Saya bimbang memilih...
literally: I [am] undecided choose...
natural English: I’m torn about choosing... or I’m unsure which to choose...

You could also say:

Saya bimbang untuk memilih...
Saya bimbang dalam memilih...

These are grammatically possible, but in everyday speech saya bimbang memilih is simpler and sounds very natural.

What’s the nuance of bimbang compared to bingung or ragu-ragu?

All three are about not being sure, but with different flavors:

bimbang:
torn between choices, emotionally or mentally stuck
→ like “I don’t know which to choose; I’m in two minds.”
bingung:
confused, don’t understand what’s going on
→ like “I’m confused; I don’t get it / I’m lost.”
ragu-ragu:
hesitant, doubtful, not confident to decide or act
→ like “I hesitate; I’m not sure I should do this.”

In this sentence, choosing between two events, bimbang is a good choice because you’re torn between two options.

Why is it ikut festival desa and not pergi ke festival desa?

ikut literally means to join / to take part in / to attend.

ikut festival desa ≈ join/attend the village festival
pergi ke festival desa ≈ go to the village festival (focus on the going)

Both are correct, but:

ikut emphasizes participating in the event
pergi ke emphasizes the movement to the place

For social events (parties, ceremonies, festivals, meetings), ikut is very common and natural.

Does festival desa mean “village festival” or “festival in the village”? How is it different from festival di desa?

festival desa
literally: village festival
→ a festival that belongs to or is organized by the village / about the village
festival di desa
literally: festival in the village
→ any festival that happens to take place in a village (location focus)

In practice, for something like a regular local celebration, festival desa is typical and sounds like “the village’s festival” or “the village festival”.

In antara ikut festival desa atau resepsi pernikahan teman, why is it antara ... atau ... and not antara ... dan ...?

Both patterns exist but are used slightly differently:

antara A dan B
= between A and B (just stating two things)
Example:
Ada perbedaan antara festival desa dan resepsi pernikahan teman.
There’s a difference between the village festival and my friend’s wedding reception.
memilih antara A atau B
= choose between doing A or B
Here atau (or) makes the choice explicit:
- memilih antara ikut festival desa atau resepsi pernikahan teman
  to choose between going to the village festival or (going to) a friend’s wedding reception

So with memilih (to choose), antara ... atau ... is natural because you’re choosing one or the other.

Why can pergi or menghadiri be omitted before resepsi pernikahan teman?

Indonesian often omits repeated or obvious verbs if they are understood from context.

The structure here is:

memilih antara ikut festival desa atau resepsi pernikahan teman

The verb ikut (join/attend) is clearly linked to the first option:

ikut festival desa

For the second option, the verb ikut is understood:

(ikut) resepsi pernikahan teman

If you spell it out fully, it would be:

memilih antara ikut festival desa atau ikut resepsi pernikahan teman

That’s also correct, just a bit more repetitive. The shorter version is completely natural.

What exactly does resepsi pernikahan teman mean? Is it “friend’s wedding reception” or something else?

resepsi pernikahan teman literally breaks down as:

resepsi = reception
pernikahan = wedding (the marriage ceremony/event)
teman = friend

So it means:

a friend’s wedding reception
or
the wedding reception of a friend

Possession (friend’s) is often implied in Indonesian simply by putting teman after the noun phrase. If you want to be more explicit, you can say:

resepsi pernikahan teman saya = my friend’s wedding reception
resepsi pernikahan seorang teman = a friend’s wedding reception (emphasizing “a friend”)

Why is there no word for “my” in teman? How do Indonesians know it’s “my friend”?

Indonesian often omits possessive pronouns when the relationship is obvious from context.

teman = friend / a friend / my friend / their friend (depends on context)

In this sentence, resepsi pernikahan teman is naturally understood as:

a friend’s wedding reception or my friend’s wedding reception

If you need to be clear, you can add a pronoun:

teman saya = my friend
teman kamu = your friend
teman dia = his/her friend
teman mereka = their friend

But in casual, natural Indonesian, people often leave it out when it’s clear who is being talked about.

Where can kadang go in the sentence? Is Kadang saya bimbang... the only correct word order?

kadang is quite flexible. These are all grammatical:

Kadang saya bimbang memilih antara ikut festival desa atau resepsi pernikahan teman.
Saya kadang bimbang memilih antara ikut festival desa atau resepsi pernikahan teman.
Saya bimbang memilih antara ikut festival desa atau resepsi pernikahan teman kadang. (less common, feels a bit awkward in this exact sentence)

Most natural are:

Kadang saya bimbang... (adverb at the start, very common)
Saya kadang bimbang... (adverb after subject, also very natural)

Putting kadang at the end is possible in some contexts but not very typical in this kind of sentence.

Why is it saya and not aku here? What’s the difference?

Both saya and aku mean I / me, but they differ in formality:

saya: polite, neutral, standard; used in most spoken and written contexts, including with strangers, in formal situations, and in textbooks.
aku: more intimate / informal; used with friends, family, or in relaxed contexts; also common in songs and poetry.

In a textbook-style example sentence like this one, saya is more typical. With close friends, someone might naturally say:

Kadang aku bimbang memilih antara ikut festival desa atau resepsi pernikahan teman.

There’s no tense marker. How do we know if it means “Sometimes I am undecided” or “Sometimes I was undecided”?

Indonesian generally does not mark tense the way English does. The sentence:

Kadang saya bimbang memilih antara ikut festival desa atau resepsi pernikahan teman.

could be translated as:

Sometimes I am torn about choosing between... (present/habitual)
or
Sometimes I was torn about choosing between... (past, depending on context)

Time is usually made clear by context or by adding time words:

Dulu kadang saya bimbang... = In the past, I sometimes was undecided...
Sekarang kadang saya bimbang... = Now, I sometimes am undecided...

Without such words, the sentence itself is time-neutral, and the listener infers the time from the situation.