Adaptions

Human adaptability never ceases to amaze me. Global climate changes compel modifications in habitat and food consumption. Geologic events create disasters and destruction that test the mettle of anyone within the damage zone. Political upheavals change the composition of daily life. We adapt to it all. On a smaller scale, each day bombards us with change - subtle, like a road closure; and dramatic, like the death of a loved one. We accept each change as a natural part of living and move on.

After ninety days in Indonesia, I have adapted. I have a long way to go before I have assimilated, but I have adapted. The rented house owned by an anonymous stranger and cared for by a team of under-skilled and underpaid maintenance workers feels like home. I get the same sense of belonging when I walk in my front door that I would when I arrived home at my house in Arizona. Thinking of our home in Arizona creates a feeling of strangeness not unlike that when you return to your childhood home for a visit - familiar, yet, somehow, unfamiliar.

I have adapted, but rest assured I do not view Jakarta as my "home". The feeling is more like a vacationer who enjoys the homeyness of the hotel room after spending a day at the beach or hiking or at an amusement park. Something about being away from the crowds, apart from the noise, in a confined space that, however fleeting, you can call your own just sets the mind at ease. I feel that way about my home, my neighborhood, in Jakarta.

I have adapted and I've even begun to at least appreciate, if not enjoy, the idiosyncrasies of Jakarta life. The absence of strip malls; the fact that large grocery stores are often part of much larger mega-malls; the pungent aroma of durian that, until you have imprinted its unique odor on your olfactory senses, has you asking yourself "why does it smell like garbage in here"?; even the traffic. It all blends symbiotically into what I will remember as my "Jakarta Experience".

I have adapted to the concept that everyone I meet immediately thinks that I am rich, educated, intelligent and rich...okay, so, with the exception of "rich", this wasn't a stretch for me.

I have adapted to the fact that I will interact on a daily basis, in a professional capacity, with people who earn in a month what I often will spend on a single meal. I welcome the opportunity to play the game of haggle with someone who wants my money more than I want their product until we agree on a mutually satisfying price. By proxy and association I feel the proverbial "white man's burden" of employing staff whose family's survival is now dependent solely on my generosity. We know people for whom this is directly true, and as a bule, we feel this implicitly. I also feel the righteous and somewhat sanctimonious acrimony towards those who exploit the economic disparity to their advantage.

I have adapted to the humidity and even enjoy the refreshing coolness of the rain. I learned quickly that being this close the equator makes frequent usage of a high SPF suntan lotion compulsory. I've experienced first hand the flooding that comes with an extended downpour of torrential rain - and I can look forward to the excitement of the experience occurring again.

I have adapted to the pace of Jakarta. I've learned to get up early, work more deliberately, focus more on relationships, and get home before traffic is unbearable. I've found more time for reading (having a driver helps this), exercise, and taking my daughter swimming and to the park. We've all learned to plan on trips to the store requiring hours, and to take advantage of all the services there are to be had at fractions of the US price - dance lessons, massage, personal trainers, tennis lessons, party organizers and even medical care.

I have adapted to reading incomprehensible English. Enjoying the turn of a phrase, the erudition of well written prose, I struggled with accepting less than properly structured English....until I started writing in Bahasa Indonesia and people said my sentence structure made them dizzy. The content of the message is more important than the method of delivery. Clarity supersedes structure.

I have adapted, reluctantly, methodically, slowly to the resort lifestyle....ah, who am I kidding. This was easy! Having clothes washed and pressed the day after I wear them. A house cleaned spotless every day. Walking out my door to tennis courts, playgrounds, cafes, pools, a gym and a spa is more luxury than I typically have when I take a vacation. They really know how to accommodate expats living so far from their family, their comfort zones, the life they knew.

I like it here - great people, interesting culture, exquisite cuisine, tremendous opportunities - but it isn't home.