When we moved to our new house, our staff had two complaints:
1) The increased expense of having to take an ojek because the bus would not drop them near our house.
2) The presence of ghosts.
To alleviate their concerns about the increased expense I agreed to cover the cost of the ojek, about $5 per week. Then I did the math. We'll be in Jakarta for about 64 more weeks. That puts my total cost, per staff member, at $320. I determined I could buy a used motorcycle for less than that amount. Turns out, my hunch was right. Through a connection at Hacienda, I bought a used motorcycle for $70. It required a few minor repairs to make it reliable and safe - new clutch, plugs, wiring of the turn signals, etc - that cost me another $45. Our friend from Hacienda delivered the bike tonight. Tomorrow, I'll give it to our maid as a gift and inform her she will no longer receive the additional travel amount. Hopefully she won't reject it or I'll probably have to fire her.
For the presence of ghosts I took a more traditional route. It is common in Indonesia for families to bless a house before they move in. Well, we already moved in, so I did the next best thing: I had a housewarming party. We invited my staff and our friends along with their families. We had a little over seventy people attend and catered food for one hundred (guess what my lunch is the rest of the week). We also rented an inflatable jumper to entertain the kids. Prior to eating, two members of my work staff were kind enough to honor me by blessing our new home and expelling any evil spirits. We had both Christian and Muslim ceremonies to make sure all our bases were covered. Our domestic staff was present for the blessing - problem number two solved.
Just another week in the life of an Indonesian expat.
1) The increased expense of having to take an ojek because the bus would not drop them near our house.
2) The presence of ghosts.
To alleviate their concerns about the increased expense I agreed to cover the cost of the ojek, about $5 per week. Then I did the math. We'll be in Jakarta for about 64 more weeks. That puts my total cost, per staff member, at $320. I determined I could buy a used motorcycle for less than that amount. Turns out, my hunch was right. Through a connection at Hacienda, I bought a used motorcycle for $70. It required a few minor repairs to make it reliable and safe - new clutch, plugs, wiring of the turn signals, etc - that cost me another $45. Our friend from Hacienda delivered the bike tonight. Tomorrow, I'll give it to our maid as a gift and inform her she will no longer receive the additional travel amount. Hopefully she won't reject it or I'll probably have to fire her.
For the presence of ghosts I took a more traditional route. It is common in Indonesia for families to bless a house before they move in. Well, we already moved in, so I did the next best thing: I had a housewarming party. We invited my staff and our friends along with their families. We had a little over seventy people attend and catered food for one hundred (guess what my lunch is the rest of the week). We also rented an inflatable jumper to entertain the kids. Prior to eating, two members of my work staff were kind enough to honor me by blessing our new home and expelling any evil spirits. We had both Christian and Muslim ceremonies to make sure all our bases were covered. Our domestic staff was present for the blessing - problem number two solved.
Just another week in the life of an Indonesian expat.
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