Waktu kecil, saya pernah ketiduran di pos ronda saat menunggu Ayah selesai ronda, dan semua orang menertawakan saya.

Yes. Waktu kecil means when I was little or as a child.

It is a shortened, natural way of saying something like:

• waktu saya kecil
• ketika saya masih kecil

In everyday Indonesian, the subject is often omitted when it is already obvious from the context. So Waktu kecil, saya... is perfectly natural.

Pernah shows that something happened at least once before in the past.

So:

• saya pernah ketiduran = I once fell asleep accidentally / I have at some point fallen asleep accidentally

It does not simply mark past tense. Indonesian does not have tense in the same way English does. Instead, words like pernah, sudah, sedang, and context help show time and aspect.

Ketiduran means to fall asleep unintentionally or accidentally doze off.

Comparison:

• tidur = to sleep
• tertidur = to fall asleep
• ketiduran = to fall asleep unintentionally / by accident

So in this sentence, ketiduran suggests the speaker did not mean to sleep there.

This ke-...-an form often gives a sense of something happening beyond one's intention or control.

Yes. Di here marks location, so di pos ronda means at the guard post or in the neighborhood watch post.

So:

• ketiduran di pos ronda = accidentally fell asleep at the pos ronda

This is very natural Indonesian. Many verbs can be followed by di + place to show where something happened.

Pos ronda is a small neighborhood security post or guard post, common in Indonesia.

It is connected with ronda, which refers to neighborhood night patrols. People in a neighborhood may take turns doing ronda to help keep the area safe. The pos ronda is the place where they gather, sit, rest, or keep watch.

So this sentence has a cultural context that may not have a direct one-word equivalent in English.

Because ronda is being used in two related ways:

• pos ronda = the patrol post / guard post
• selesai ronda = finished doing the patrol

So the first ronda is part of a noun phrase naming the place, and the second refers to the activity itself.

This repetition is completely normal.

Ayah means father or dad. It is often capitalized when used like a name or direct family title, similar to English Dad.

So:

• menunggu Ayah selesai ronda = waiting for Dad to finish the patrol

If it were being used more like a common noun, lowercase might also appear in some contexts, but capitalized Ayah is very common when referring to one's own father in a personal way.

Saat means when or while.

The phrase breaks down like this:

• saat = while/when
• menunggu = waiting
• Ayah selesai ronda = Dad finishes / is finished with the patrol

So the whole part means:

• while waiting for Dad to finish patrolling
• when I was waiting for Dad to finish the patrol

In Indonesian, menunggu Ayah selesai ronda naturally means wait for Dad to be done with ronda. You do not need an extra word like until here.

Because selesai can function very naturally before an activity to mean finished with that activity.

Examples:

• selesai makan = finished eating
• selesai kerja = finished working
• selesai ronda = finished patrolling

So Ayah selesai ronda means Dad is done with the patrol.

Menertawakan means to laugh at someone/something.

Comparison:

• tertawa = to laugh
• menertawakan seseorang = to laugh at someone

So:

• semua orang menertawakan saya = everyone laughed at me

This verb uses the suffix -kan and takes a direct object, in this case saya.

In this sentence, semua orang is best understood as everyone.

Literally it is all people, but in natural English the best translation is usually everyone or everybody.

So:

• semua orang menertawakan saya = everyone laughed at me

Saya is neutral and polite, and it works well in standard Indonesian.

Aku is more casual and intimate. A speaker could say aku in a personal story, but saya is often chosen in textbook Indonesian, formal speech, or neutral narration.

So this sentence sounds natural and standard with saya.

Yes. Several alternatives are possible:

• Waktu kecil = when I was little
• Ketika kecil = when I was little
• Sewaktu kecil = when I was little
• Waktu saya kecil = when I was little
• Ketika saya masih kecil = when I was still a child

They are all understandable, though the tone may vary slightly. Waktu kecil is simple and natural in everyday speech.

The sentence is built like this:

• Waktu kecil = time setting
• saya pernah ketiduran di pos ronda = main event
• saat menunggu Ayah selesai ronda = what was happening at that time
• dan semua orang menertawakan saya = result / what happened afterward

So the full flow is:

As a child, I once accidentally fell asleep at the neighborhood watch post while waiting for Dad to finish patrolling, and everyone laughed at me.

It is one long sentence, but the commas help separate the background information from the main actions.