Life in these United States

We ended our Indonesian adventures, at least as a family, on July 4, 2012.  That was over eight months ago.  I returned for the month of October to complete a project, and I'll be back again in May for two weeks for my annual visit, but now I travel solo.

I long debated how I would wrap up our time in Indonesia.  I used this debate as my excuse for not concluding our adventure on this blog.  I never did decide, and eight months is a long time, so now it's just time to do it.

I guess it is best to begin with the question - why did we leave?  First, we always viewed the assignment as temporary.  To some extent, living in a foreign country was on my bucket list and once I had accomplished that, there was no compelling reason to remain.  To a larger degree, I would probably single out familial health concerns as the primary factor.  Our middle son's health was not improving and the medevac trip scared us.  We also have a niece, who I briefly mentioned in this post, battling a serious medical condition.  We felt the clean air and water in Arizona would help our son, and we wanted to be closer to our niece and her family to help in any way we can.  Our son has since had an adenoidectomy and is much better (and I can't believe the medevac was just a year ago!).

A logical next question is:  would we do it again?  My answer, without a doubt, is a "yes".  My wife....I think it would depend on where.  Indonesia, really, any third-world nation, is probably not in our future.  I would love to work in Europe; I've been eyeing our Spain operations for many years.  Santiago, Chile is also on my wish list.  The highest probability, though, is we won't.  I believe to do so I would have to work for a different company, and I'm happy with the company I work for now.

Another common question we receive:  Any regrets or, anything we would have done differently?  I'm not a fan of looking back and thinking about "what ifs".  I also believe we tend to more regret the things we don't do than the things we did.  I do wish we had traveled more in the region, both within Indonesia, and to nearby countries like Thailand and Australia.  Australia remains on my bucket list, so I'm sure we'll get there eventually.  When I think about why, however, our lack of travel makes sense.  We didn't travel more due to the age of our children....and the fact my wife was pregnant or nursing for the majority of our assignment.  Toddlers and infants do not make the best international travel companions.  We can travel from anywhere, however, so I don't really see this as a regret.

A final question:  do we miss anything?  Absolutely.....but not enough to go back.  We miss $20 one-hour massages, $5 hair treatments, and always having affordable childcare.  We miss the friends we made, our favorite haunts (Hacienda, Kinara, Taman Safari), and the opportunities the lifestyle afforded us.  We miss nasi goreng, gado gado, and sapi lada hitam.

But what I miss most, is my free time.  You don't really realize how time consuming life is until you've had help and then lost it.  I used to have 2 hours per day during my commute to read, watch movies my wife wouldn't watch with me (anything with explosions), or even just nap after a long day.  Now I have to drive.  The dishes, laundry, yardwork, and pool all used to magically stay clean.  My wife and I now split these duties.  As much time as we spent in traffic in Jakarta - and hated it - not having to do chores gave us so much more free time that we could dedicate our weekends to our children, have a date night twice a week, and do yoga and other sports on weeknights because we had reliable, affordable childcare.  No more.

Life is much more.....normal, now.  I drive myself to work.  My wife drives our son to preschool and walks our daughter to first grade at the school up the street, and drives both of them to their extra-curriculars like swimming and gymnastics.  We live in our old house.  We have a dog and an aquarium.  We do housework, and yardwork, and repairs.  My wife still goes to yoga on nights I can get home in time.  My exercise is walking the dog.  If we have an hour to ourselves in the evening before crashing, it's a blessing.

Time is no longer mine.  It belongs to my company.  It belongs to my family.   It belongs to our retail business and to my games.  I used to read four or five books a month.  Now I read a book every four or five months.  I used to write one or two short stories a month.  I haven't written one in the eight months we've been back.

And I wouldn't change a thing.

Just When I Thought There Were No More Stories To Tell

The month is two-thirds over and this is just my second post.  We had visitors all last week and I've been spending every available moment (riding in the car, after the kids are asleep, lunch hour) devouring the Game of Thrones books, as well as planning for our son's 2nd birthday and two Halloween parties, but I can't truly claim those as the reasons for my silence.  In fact, I'll have posts about those events soon - hopefully this weekend.

I haven't posted because we're in a routine.  A good routine.  And routine isn't exciting.  Until something disrupts it....like this week.  Here are four delightful insights into life in Jakarta:

1)  I owe what!?  My electric bill this month was the equivalent of $750 US.  My first reaction was "BullSh--".  No way.  Every month up to this point had been $200-$300.  I demanded an explanation from the electric company and from my landlord.  The landlord's person is coming tomorow, but I'm pretty sure I already have my answer.  The electric company informed us that they outsource the meter reading to another company.  That company did layoffs which included the person who reads my meter.  So they haven't read it.  They've been "estimating" for the last six months.  They finally read my meter.  Next month I apparently will owe nearly $1,500!  All because no one bothered to read my meter for six months and now they need to do a true-up. 

2)  What is my alternative?  When our guests were visiting, the toilet in the master bathroom began leaking water from beneath the floor when we flushed.  Never a good sign; especially when this is a repeat of something that happened a few months ago.  Called the landlord, who sent out a plumber.  He proceeds to disassemble the toilet, rip up the floor, and clean the pipe feeding....well, whatever it feeds.  Three days later, we're good to go.  Then I get an email from the landlord.  The plumber informed them that the pipe was clogged with toilet paper.  The landlord advised that we should not be flushing toilet paper down the toilet.

3)  This explains a lot.  A few weeks ago, when we returned from the US with our new son, we needed to complete the immigration paperwork for him.  Standard procedure we've done several times.  With the other two kids in school, we needed to find a time that was convenient.  Luckily, immigration opens at 9 AM.  Plenty of time to drop both kids off at school, travel to immigration, get the pictures taken and paperwork completed, and be back in time to pick up our two-year-old from his half-day pre-school.  That is, if they would actually take a 9 AM appointment.  We were dutifully informed that the earliest time we could schedule an appointment is at 10 AM because from 9 - 10 everyone in immigration likes to drink their coffee and read the paper.  At least they're honest.

4)  You mean, it isn't just the government?  We're having a Halloween party.  That means we need costumes.  Halloween is a very American holiday so I was surprised to find a costume store in Jakarta.  We took the forty minute car ride to the mall, found the store, selected the costume we wanted to try from the brochure and were told we had to wait.  Huh?  Everyone was eating lunch.  They would help us when they were done with their lunch.

5)  Shouldn't I get to decide that?  Tomorrow night my wife and I are going to the Latin Ball.  We had such a good time last year, we've been looking forward to this year's for several months.  I bought a fitted tuxedo, specially tailored for me, and my wife went in search of a fabulous dress.  That's right, my wife, less than three months removed from giving birth to our third child went out looking for a sexy dress.  Bold, brave....and a bit humbling.  She stopped in a store today, selected a dress, and brought it to the sales clerk and asked to try it on.  Sales clerk looked at her and said:  "No.  That dress is a medium.  You need an extra large.  It won't fit you.  You can't try it on."  Wow!  Amazingly, my wife not only didn't slap the woman, she laughed about it and left.  She did eventually find a dress somewhere else and I can't wait to see her in it.

Man I miss home.

We Found Bagels

A prominent complaint of my wife's, ever since we moved to Jakarta, is the absence of bagels.  Even Starbucks doesn't have bagels.  Of course, the local restaurants, even the chain restaurants doing business locally, cater to local tastes.  It's good business.  And Indonesians don't seem to have an affinity for eating bread for breakfast.

An associate of mine recently became a partner in a Jakartan bagel business called Bagel Bagel.  The week they opened, I purchased enough bagels for everyone on my staff to try one.  That is when the comedy began.

I watched as many of them took their first bites.  The look of sheer confusion on their faces as they bit into the bagel expecting the taste of donut and tasting, well, something much different than a donut, was absolutely priceless.  I offered up the cream cheese, in two flavors, and watched with amusement as the bagel beginners spread the cheese on top like frosting on a cupcake.  It was then I felt it appropriate to explain the finer points of bagel consumption:  cut it in half, spread the cheese on the inside, and either eat it like a sandwich or like toast.

Then the questions began:  "Is it supposed to be hard on the outside and soft on the inside?"  Yes, it is.  "Do Americans really eat this for breakfast?"  Yes, we do.  "Why isn't it sweet?"  It isn't supposed to be; it's healthier that way.  One said to me:  "This will take me an hour to eat.  It's very heavy."

I thought the bagels were delicious and ate four of them, over-consumption counterbalancing the healthiness of bagels compared to donuts.  The owners were smart to put the bagel shop in an expat community and offer free delivery in the Kemang area.  Expats will eat this stuff up!  I hope Indonesians will also begin to appreciate bagels.  I don't think they'll ever get past the requirement of rice being part of anything considered a meal.  Much like pizza, I think bagels will eventually become one of Indonesian's favorite snacks.

Week before Singapore

In our final week before moving to Singapore for two months, we wanted to show my visiting cousin more about Jakarta and pay one last visit to a favorite place of our daughter.

Saturday closed out the birthday party and the adults needed rest.  Sunday, usually our "day without staff", we instead went to Kidzania.  They've added new activities and move others since our last visit, so it was like being there for the first time again.  Our daughter tried activities she hadn't done before - making cookies and bottled water, and then did some old favorites - getting a tattoo and watching the Peter Pan play.  She wore the tattoo for well over a week.

No trip visit to Jakarta is complete without a trip to Hacienda, so after Kidzania, we took everyone there for a late lunch.  This was, amazingly, the first time we brought my cousin to the restaurant.  She's not a spicy food eater, but she was a trooper and tried the Jalapeno Poppers.

The other culinary experience we try to offer our visitors is traditional Indonesian food.  We had yet to do this with my cousin, too, so I found a day during the week that I could take a long lunch and we went to a local restaurant for traditional Indonesian fare.  We sampled Rendang (beef cooked in coconut milk and pepper spices), Sate (beef and chicken on a stick), a salad with sweet peanut sauce dressing, and a broccoli and beef dish.  The desserts were the most bizarre for our visitor.  Ever had cooked mushed banana flavored with a strong cheese?  She has.  It's a local favorite.  It has a unique taste that I can tolerate but don't truly enjoy.  When compared to the other local favorite - Durian - I wonder why Indonesians like desserts that smell like rancid trash instead of that smell sweet.

Our week ended with the reason for us remaining so long in Jakarta.  My wife is 34 weeks pregnant.  With our first son, we moved to Singapore when she was 32 weeks.  Airlines don't like pregnant women flying past 30 weeks, and we have to obtain a note from an airline approved doctor to do so.  Our daughter's school program, something she spends six months preparing for, was on 28 May.  There was no way we were moving to Singapore before she was able to perform.  Saturday was her performance, and, as always, she did great.  The theme was sea-life, and, in one of her five scenes, our daughter was a seahorse.  The underlying message of the program - which followed the travails of a great white shark trying to make friends with sea-life other than sharks - was to celebrate your own uniqueness and also not be afraid to be friends with those who are different.  Our daughter's one line, which she said when the shark asked if he could be their friends, was:  "Great White Shark, are you crazy?"

As with the prior two shows, parents, in their attempt to get the PERFECT shot of their little scion, were rude and inconsiderate of those around them.  My wife tried to take a few pictures and got nothing more than the backs of the people standing in front of her blocking her view.  She eventually joined me upstairs - a location I knew from the prior two shows was the only place to video the performance - so she could actually see.  Five must also be the age at which rivalry begins.  One of my daughter's "friends" made fun of the way she gave her line, saying she mumbled it.  What I am learning very quickly is how much kids, especially at a young age, are a reflection of their parents.  Forces me to be on my best behavior.

Already Finished

In Alaska, where men outnumber women by 14%, they have a saying for women looking for love: "The odds are good....but the goods are odd." In college I learned that Salt Lake City, Utah and Las Vegas, Nevada, are at the opposite ends of the spectrum (first and worst) for several key health statistics - alcoholism, longevity, cancer incidence, nicotine use. Living in SE Asia, I've learned a saying about Jakarta and Singapore I find very appropriate: "In Jakarta, you can do anything you want, but nothing works. In Singapore, everything works, but you can't do anything."

From rolling blackouts, to pest extermination that seems to attract bugs more than it repels them. From sporadic internet access to doctors who know less about medicine than the average Westerner. It seems there is always something wrong in Indonesia. A few of the more annoying/humorous:

1) We can never buy new shoes. I read a human interest story a few years back about a high school kid who was so large there were no commercially available cleats for him. He was playing defensive lineman, and performing quite well, in traditional cross-trainers because not only could he not buy cleats in a store, no one would custom make shoes for him. At the time, I sympathized with him. Now I can empathize with him. Shoe stores in Jakarta never have my size! One time, I selected a shoe, asked for size 10 1/2 and the guy brought me back a size 8. Because surely, in the time between me asking for a 10 1/2 and the time he came back with a size 8, my toes fell off and I no longer needed the extra 2 inches. Last week, I wanted to buy new shoes for soccer. I selected 7 different styles to try on. They didn't have my size in any of them. And don't get me started on what they have available in jeans.

2) Restaurants run out of food. This has happened so many times you eventually get used to it. On one of my first trips to Jakarta, before we were even considering moving here, I ordered spaghetti at a restaurant. They brought the food for my friend before telling us they were out of what I had ordered. I thought that was odd. It doesn't come close to some of our experiences after moving here. Three weeks ago, I did not have a breakfast to bring to work. I tried to tough it out until lunch, but at 9 AM I had to eat something. I went downstairs to the donut shop to buy a 'tide-me-over' donut. They were completely out! They didn't even have the day-old variety. From the looks of things, they hadn't had donuts all morning, and they open at 7 AM. This week, my wife went to a juice shop a few minutes after they opened and asked for a drink with blended celery. They replied "Cannot, already finished." They had just opened and did not have one of the main ingredients for the majority of their drinks! Were they going to turn people away all day? Why would they even bother to open? Baffling. I fully expect that some day I will walk into a grocery store only to discover all of their shelves are empty....and they'll still have four cashiers, three shopping cart attendants, and twelve stockers on duty.  (They are already routinely out of stock of basic things we buy like diapers and cilantro).

3) Credit cards. I have a good relationship with my American Express card. It never rejects me. It gives me points I use to buy presents. In return, I use it a lot. Anywhere I see the American Express card sign, I use my card. At two different stores - one for clothes, one for booze - I saw the AMEX symbol at the cashier counter and on one of the credit card machines. I hand my card to the cashier. At the clothing store, the cashier smiled and replied: "Cannot. Visa only." I point to the symbol on her cash register, and on the credit card machine. She smiles and repeats: "Visa only." The booze store was worse. Their reply: "Cash only." I point out the fact that, in addition to the AMEX card, they also advertise they accept Visa, MasterCard, DinersClub and cards from two local banks. "Cash only."

Despite the frustration, you have to love Jakarta. Where else in the world will you see a construction worker standing in the middle of the cement he's mixing while one coworker sleeps in the branches of a nearby tree and another urinates into the open trench with the live electrical wire? It would all be so comical if it weren't so true.

And, really, it's these idiosyncrasies that give Jakarta its charm. It's the ability to complain about what doesn't work that binds the expat community together. And isn't that the best way to make enduring friendships; by sharing in each other's misery?

Easter in Jakarta

Easter in Jakarta is always an interesting holiday. Unlike Christmas, which is widely celebrated on a secular level, much like the U.S., Easter is not a major holiday. In December, stores are packed with Christmas trees and decorations, and many of the malls will have choirs from around the city singing carols or putting on shows. While there are many expat haunts that offer an Easter brunch, finding baskets, chocolate bunnies, and any type of egg is a challenge.


This Easter also came at a time of heightened awareness for terrorist activity. In the weeks leading up to Good Friday, liberal Muslim organizations and one Jewish organization received book bombs in the mail, four in total. A few days later a lone terrorist took his own life exploding a bomb at a mosque where the anti-terrorist police prayed together, injuring thirty of the officers. On Good Friday, Jakarta police discovered more than 300 pounds of explosives on the gas line feeding the local Catholic church. The timer scheduled the explosion to coincide with the start of the Good Friday mass.

We decided to spend both Good Friday and Sunday at our home, avoiding locations frequented by expats.

Sunday morning, our son, as usual, was the first to rise. We kept him quiet in our room for about twenty minutes, hoping our daughter would soon wake up. When he began insisting on his morning milk, we woke our daughter and let them have their Easter Egg hunt.

Our daughter was familiar with the activity and ran around the house finding egg after egg. Our son had no idea what was going on. He was quite thrilled to find an egg that made noise when he shook it, and quite content to stand in the middle of the room shaking it, watching his sister run around and find more. When we opened it for him and he discovered there was chocolate inside, he was no longer interested in the noise it could make. He also lost interest in his sister's activity.

Unable to find an Easter basket, my wife found very colorful hats that we filled with green paper cut into thin strips and what few chocolate eggs we managed to smuggle back from our last trip to Singapore. As is our tradition, they both also received a small gift. The Easter Bunny has nothing on Santa, but he does like to drop a toy with the candy.

We will have one more Easter in Jakarta before returning home. I hope the next one does not require us, for safety reasons, to hide in our house.

Traffic Frustration

This event took place several weeks ago and I keep forgetting to recount it here.

Presumably in an attempt to alleviate traffic (versus line the pockets of a supporter), a major road construction project is underway near the neighborhood where we live.  The goal is to build an elevated new road over the existing road and make them both one-way (in opposite directions).  The net effect, for now, is increased congestion on the other roads.

Two weeks ago, as we were leaving for dinner with friends, we learned another effect of the construction is detours through our neighborhood.  We sat unmoving for fifteen minutes, surrounded by motorcycles on all sides, less than one hundred meters from our house. 

For a clear picture of the situation it's important to know the main road through my neighborhood is barely two cars wide (we have to pull in the side mirrors to pass each other) and there are several right-angle turns that, if not done correctly, require a three-point maneuver to complete.  Two cars cannot make the turn at the same time.  The flood of motorcycles prevented cars from moving at all in the already tight conditions.  The result was gridlock.

After five minutes, I grew impatient.  We were supposed to pick up our friends and the drive to their house, under normal conditions, should require five minutes.  After ten minutes I had a few choice words for the situation.  Fifteen minutes of not moving and I'd had enough.  I got out of the car.

When you exit the neighborhood from my house, the road heads north to a "T".  Turning left is the traditional (paved) way out of the neighborhood and requires two, right-angle turns.  Turning right will also lead out of the neighborhood on an unpaved road that leads directly through the heart of the cemetery.  Because most of the traffic were detours - and Indonesia doesn't exactly use detour signs to direct the traffic - everyone was trying to remain on the paved roads.

I marched up to the "T" intersection determined to unclog the jam.  The recognized the constant flow of motorcycles prevented cars from completing the turn.  So, I did what any good Indonesian would do.  I directed traffic. 

My wingspan is wide enough I was able to cover the entire gap between the turning car and the edge of the road.  Once I had stopped all the bikes, I redirected them onto the dirt road through the cemetery.  This had the same effect as removing a dam on a river.  Within minutes, all of the motorcycles had cleared and were on their merry way through the cemetery.  Cars started turning again, and my car was soon able to reach the intersection where it picked me up and we continued on to pick up our friends.

We waited fifteen minutes waiting for the situation to resolve itself.  Two minutes after I exited my vehicle, the logjam had cleared.

Next time I won't be so patient.

A week in the life

Life in Jakarta has finally found a normalcy.  It took two years, moving to a house, and trying dozens of different activities before we finally found the people, the lifestyle, the schedule and the activities that are clicking for us.

Last week Friday I hosted my first poker game in over three years.  For over fifteen years, dating back to my sophomore year of college, poker was a monthly event.  A time for the guys to get together and shift $20 around to each other, discuss sports, jobs and family over the course of four hours.  Between my Tuesday night Futsol and the guys I've met through my wife's friends, I have my poker group again.

Saturday we spent back at Kemang Club Villas.  Even though we've moved, our rent there was paid through April, so we can still use the facilities.  Many of our friends still live there, too.  We swam, chatted with friends, and our daughter got to play with her friend who had recently moved to China and is visiting in Jakarta for the next two weeks.  Saturday evening, we had dinner at Hacienda with two other couples to celebrate finally closing out the lease on my business in the US.  The wife of one of the couples is a month behind us in her pregnancy, and her husband plays Futsol with me on Tuesday nights, so we have a lot in common.

Even our children are getting into the routine.  Living in the museum-sized house we now call home, they have mastered riding scooters and scoot cars around the living room, dining room, and kitchen, navigating the furniture like an obstacle course.  Our driveway is big enough that I've introduced my daughter to a version of kickball with ghost runners.  She always wins.  They have play dates, they swim, they run around outside.  This is what home was like for us in Arizona.

That's not to say all is perfect.  Traffic is still a major drag on our spirits.  Anyone who has ever attended a major sporting event and suffered the time it takes to leave the parking lot knows what a trip to the grocery store feels like.  Everyone living in a big city complains about traffic.  Until a trip to the grocery store is a three hour event, well, I'm not interested in hearing the complaint.

Quality medical care is still problematic.  We've been blessed with excellent health, the occasional cold not withstanding.  But we're making yet another trip to Singapore for medical care.  During my annual physical they did a routine eye exam.  One of the tests was for glaucoma.  My test came back positive.  I sent the results to my ophthalmologist in Phoenix who agreed with the findings and recommended I get some additional tests and, if they confirm the initial tests, begin immediate treatment for glaucoma.

So on Sunday, we're making the trip back to Singapore for an undetermined period of time.  I get retested on Monday.  If the results are clean, we'll return to Jakarta on Tuesday.  If the results confirm the diagnosis, we'll be in Singapore another three to five days so I can begin immediate treatment.  Not the best news I've ever received, but, like the keratoconus diagnosis ten years ago, it's treatable and it doesn't have much of an impact on my lifestyle unless I ignore it.

A few other quick notes:

Neither the maid nor the nanny wanted the motorcycle.  One said she couldn't drive a manual transmission and she was afraid it would get stolen where she lives.  The other said it was so old she was afraid the police would pull her over all the time and harass her to confirm it met driving standards and she didn't want to have to deal with that.  So, $120 down the drain...unless I can find a buyer for $150!

We've solved the help issue....I think.  We're flying down my cousin (my father's, brother's daughter) to help us out from 12 May through 1 July.  My mom will pick up the help from there (assuming she gets back to me....hint hint).  This means I get to go to my friend's wedding in Shanghai in mid-May!  It's my first trip to China and I'm really looking forward to it, even if it is only for two days.

We've started doing yoga regularly on Wednesday nights.  I've done yoga before, but never made it part of my regular routine.  I feel great for a full 24 hours after the session.  If you've never tried yoga before, I recommend you take a class and decide if it is right for you.  I now split my Futsol and Rugby nights with a night of yoga, and we'll probably add another night of yoga.  It makes us feel that good!

Closing out the domestic drama

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.

Domestic Drama

Most people, when they hear we have domestic staff (aka - a maid and a nanny and two drivers) think we are living a life of luxury.  A cushy life.  Spoiled, pampered.

I'll be the first to admit that hired help definitely has its advantages.  But anyone that thinks it comes without complications is grossly misinformed.  To wit:

1)  We just moved to a new house.  When my wife brought her driver and our maid over for their first look, prior to our moving in, chaos ensued.  My wife was standing in the kitchen while her driver and the maid were touring the house and examining the master bedroom. Then our maid screamed.  Apparently, our driver saw ghosts in the master bedroom ("don't worry, they are nice ghosts", he assured us).  This led our maid to request that we hire her husband to be our gardener so she would not be alone in the house during the day.  Instead of hiring her husband, we'll have a blessing performed - both Christian and Muslim, to accommodate the different religions of our staff - to rid the house of ghosts.

2)  Our new house is in a neighborhood - Jeruk Purut - that an Indonesian film company made a horror movie about.  One of the largest cemeteries in the city is nearby, so it was a great location for a ghost story.  To get to our house, our staff will exit the bus at the cemetery.  From there, they either walk, or take an "ojek" (motorcycle taxi) to our house.  Of course, they refuse to walk, even though the distance is the same from their old bus stop to our old house.  They don't want to walk by the cemetery because the hantus (ghosts) will get them.  They requested a 'travel allowance' to pay for the ojek from the bus stop to our new house.  We either had to give them an additional $20/month or find new staff.  We opted for the former.

3)  Our third child (a son) is due in July.  Like we did with our first son, we'll deliver the new baby in Singapore.  Unlike the first time, family is unavailable to go with us.  Because we cannot have our current children unattended while I am at the hospital with my wife, and we have no family or friends in Singapore, we're trying to determine the logistics of child care during child birth.  Our first choice was to bring our nanny.  Of course, she's not an option.  Though she has a passport, her former employers still have it and won't give it to her.  They paid for it, so they feel they own it.  It doesnt' help that she didn't have the necessary paperwork to obtain the passport so they forged it so she could travel with them.  Our next choice was our former nanny.  Her husband won't allow her to nanny for us full time, but was open to a higher paid, 3 month assignment in Singapore.  She has a passport and is ready to go.  Unfortunately, the passport is in her cousin's possession.  Her cousin, who is also friends with our maid, is upset with her for referring our current nanny (who speaks English) instead of the cousin (who doesn't speak English) when our former nanny resigned.  Our maid has also indicated that she will resign if we hire our former nanny for the Singapore trip.  We can always bring our current maid, who is interested in the trip, but she doesn't have the energy of our nannies and, we have concerns about who would take care of the house, the laundry and my meals if she is in Singapore and I am in Jakarta.  (I know.  Many of you are saying "why can't you take care of it?"  I can, but it is cultural suicide for me to do so.  The same reason we have a maid in the first place.)


When you add domestic staff to your household, your home becomes a business.  You lose privacy, you lose familiarity, and you gain drama.  In my home I now need to deal with the same issues of personality differences, salary discussions, and performance discussions that I do in the workplace.

To a large degree, it isn't worth it.

Christmas concludes on a high note

As I mentioned in my last post, customs was holding the box with our Christmas gifts.  We did not receive this box in time for Christmas morning.  I had to make a choice:  explain to my daughter why she did not receive the only gift she asked Santa to bring her (and then give it to her later when it finally arrived) or buy her one so she would have a very memorable Christmas morning.  I opted for the latter and we spent Friday afternoon searching every mall nearby for a dollhouse.  We finally found a store selling one made with the same level of quality we were seeking.  Thankfully, they were running a special that bundled three rooms worth of furniture.

Christmas morning, I was up at 4 AM (insomnia) and the kids joined me around 7.  I carried our son down the stairs and set him on the ground.  The minute he was free from my grasp, he rushed over to a zebra we re-gifted him (our daughter never took to it) and bounced up and down on it like it had been his for an eternity.  Our daughter couldn't decide whether to run to her bike or play with her doll house - she opted for the bike first.

After twenty minutes admiring and marvelling over Santa's deliveries, we opened the gifts we received from family (the ones that actually made it to us).  Two hours later, we were finished.  I don't think I've ever opened that many presents in one sitting.  Usually, we are opening presents at three or four different events.  Opening them all at the same time is a bit overwhelming.  Looking out at all our Christmas bounty while living in such a poor country, really made me feel gluttonous....it didn't help that I spent a day's wages for my driver to have someone wrap my wife's presents for me.

The kids, however, loved every minute of it.

 

 

Christmas night, as we were preparing for our dinner, our long awaited box arrived.  Digging through the thirteen new gifts was like another visit from Santa.  Everything was in there - including the lotion.  It was nice to have them on Christmas Day, even though we didn't get them for Christmas morning. 

(Discussing our experience with one of our neighbors I learned that he, too, had a box containing Christmas gifts held in customs for nearly four weeks.  The shipping agency he used asked if he wanted to pay a fee to help expedite.  He refused.  They then told him customs was requiring an import tax.  He asked for the specific law detailing what he owed.  When they provided the law - in Indonesian - it indicated he owed nothing.  He personally made a visit to customs, asked to speak with a senior officer, showed him the law and asked him to explain why it was being held for additional fees.  Only then did they release it to him with no further requirements.  He mentioned a few other expats had experienced similar problems.  It appears there was a concerted effort by customs officers to either: 1) put a strain on the celebration of a Christian holiday; 2) use it for monetary gain.  And this is why business don't come to Indonesia.)

For us, it didn't matter.  We still had a great Christmas.

A Visit from the U.S.

With my boss visiting from the U.S. and my wife's birthday both happening this week, I have had just one dinner at home.  Interestingly, the restaurants I've eaten at each night have had a common theme:

Tuesday - the apartment
Wednesday - Social House
Thursday - Elbow Room

Friday (today), I tried to book us at Hacienda (Spanish for "ranch"), hoping to keep the theme going, but they were fully booked.  So, we're going to Benihana's instead, and breaking the trend.

In addition to the many work projects, a key topic of discussion during my boss's visit is what happens to me when my assignment completes in April.  Technically, my official assignment paperwork is open ended.  The verbal agreement we had before my family moved here was a two year commitment.  Regardless, our lease runs out on 06 April and we'll have to do something before then.

When we first agreed to move to Jakarta, the plan was I would return to my same role after my assignment completed.  That was before the economic crisis.  That was before we outsourced a large portion of our technology division.  That was before two major changes to the organization chart.  In short, a lot has changed and the job I left no longer exists.

Before we left Phoenix, and even several times while I've been here, I joked that my assignment was to work myself out of a job.  My theory was that if I did a bad job in Jakarta, they'd fire me; if I did a good job, they'd move all the work here and there wouldn't be a job to go back to.  My joke is no longer very humorous.

Where it stands today, my boss has expressed he would like it if we remained here another two years and I have told them that is not an option for my family.  I know I have demonstrated my value and I am confident we will come to a compromise that works well both for my family and the organization. 

I anticipate my final role will require extensive travel back to Jakarta, at least initially.  Although not ideal because of the time away from family, it allows us to be based in Phoenix while I still contribute maximum value to my company.

Whatever the outcome, I know two things:

1)  This has been a great opportunity.  I've grown professionally and personally as a result of my time in Jakarta.  I've learned a lot about working interculturally, Muslims, Indonesia, and myself.  I will never regret coming here.

2)  My family is moving back to Phoenix next year.  Tentatively, my family moves in January and I will join them in April, depending on the demands of my work projects.

I'll keep everyone posted as we finalize the plans.

(And, yes, I realize I still owe some pictures.  I hope to get to it this weekend).

Medical Adventures

Obtaining medical care in Jakarta can be interesting. While my own experience has been overwhelmingly positive, with a few notable exceptions, I've heard some interesting stories. Some could be communication mishaps, others are quite possibly just a different approach, then there are the incidents that are either the result of utter incompetence, or lack of training. Here are a few and you can decide for yourself:

1) Sunburn treated with acid. One of our friends is a fair-skinned woman from a country known more for cold, biting winters than for tropical summers. On a recent trip to Lombok, she spent too much time in the sun and returned with a rather severe burn. After exhausting the medical treatments recommended by other expats - Aloe Vera, hydrating lotion, pain killers - with minimal improvement, she sought the advice of the doctors at a local expat clinic. The doctor (an Indonesian national) prescribed a topical cream that she was to apply every night and leave on for twenty minutes before washing off. On the first night, she followed the directions and it started to burn. The next morning, she awoke with blistered lips and her skin more painful than ever. At the recommendation of another expat, she consulted with a dermatologist. When the dermatologist discovered that the previous doctor had prescribed a SKIN WHITENING cream (presumably to change the red skin back to white???), he told her to stop using it immediately because it contains acid and is the worst thing you can do to a sunburn. The dermatologist gave her a more suitable remedy. She called the expat liaison at the original clinic, who promptly fired the original doctor.

2) Dental scaling. Dental cleanings are typically uneventful. They scrape the built up plaque and tartar from your teeth, clean them with a paste and a spinning brush, floss between the teeth, and send you on your way. In Jakarta, the approach is a little different. The first step is the same - examine the teeth and remove the tartar. That's where the similarity stops. Instead of a brush with paste, they use a spinning pinwheel with metal fingers to "scale" the teeth. That's it. No flossing. No Xrays. In and out in ten minutes. I'll have to ask my dentist back in the US if that is very effective.

3) Eye care. I mentioned that when I was in Yogyakarta, I lost my contacts. After several phone calls with our local medical care facility, my insurance, and our internal HR people, I finally found a local opthalmologist who recognized the name of the eye disease I have (keratoconus) and said he could treat me. I contact my optometrist in Phoenix and get a copy of the prescription she gave me in the weeks before I left for Jakarta. Armed with that, I am hoping to see the local doctor, ask him to order the prescription I have, and then wait for my contacts. He had other ideas. First, he gave me a brief examination. Then, he had me sit in front of a machine that examined my eyes and printed out a prescription. Finally, instead of having me sit behind one of those fancy machines that optometrists use to do perform the "better like this, or like this" exam, he had me sit in a chair and wear very large, lensless glasses. From his briefcase, he withdrew lenses that matched the prescription the machine determined was correct for my eyes and tested my vision by having me read the chart. I couldn't. The glasses I arrived with worked better, but he was quite satisfied with what the machine provided him. He wrote me a prescription and referred me to a local optical shop to fill it.

Well, I ran an optical shop for 2 years, so I know a little about the optical industry. When I noticed that the prescription not only changed a full diopter (which is unheard of for one year), but IMPROVED, I asked him to explain it. He said that is what the machine recommended. I asked again why it would change so much in a year. He asked if I wanted to speak to the expat liaison. I said I did.

I explained my concerns. I've had keratoconus for nearly a decade and visited with several opthalmologists in Phoenix while confirming the diagnosis. They all referred me to the ONE person in Phoenix they knew of who could fit me for lenses. I told the liaison I did not expect that Jakarta would have that specialty. I also informed him that testing for any changes in the cornea is a standard part of the annual exam - at least the last 7 or so I have had. The machine required to perform this exam (it provides a topographical map of the cornea) was not in the room. Finally, because keratoconus involves a corneal deformity, and contacts are typically considered a medical necessity, and not a cosmetic improvement over glasses, it is the standard practice (and a practical necessity) to put a lens in the eye before correcting the vision. The local opthalmologist did not do this.

Long story short, I am going to Singapore on the 20th to see a specialist.

4) Treating an ear infection with massage. The title of this entry speaks for itself. As the story goes, a person I will call "Dave" went to a local doctor complaining of ear aches and problems with vertigo for several weeks. The doctor did a full examination, diagnosed an ear disorder best treated by massage and accupuncture three times weekly for several months. A colleague, shocked at the recommended treatment, insisted Dave go to an expat clinic. In fact, the colleague drove Dave there, accompanied Dave to the front desk and demanded they treat an ear infection. The clinic prescribed ear drops. Two days later, symptoms were gone.


Those are the stories. Keep in mind that for each one of those, we have dozens of examples where everything worked splendidly - and at an extremely reasonable price. Like the emergency room trip in Yogyakarta and treating the fevers and head colds I've experienced.

I sometimes wonder if local doctors dislike treating expats. I know many expats are critical and suspicious of anything a local doctor recommends. Many refuse to see a local doctor and insist on seeing an expat doctor. With experiences like the above, you can understand why. It only takes one bad experience to erase dozens of positive experiences.
 
One last note.  I intentionally am not naming any of the medical facilities or doctors involved in any of the above because defamation laws here come with jail time.  Even if the statements are true, sharing negative information is considered defamation.  So, here is my Law and Order disclaimer:  though all the stories are based on real events, any resemblance to a specific medical facility or provider is purely coincidental and unintended.

UPDATED:  Here is an interesting opinion from the Jakarta Post.

Last month's pictures

Pictures of some of the events I described over the last few weeks.

When I bowled in the company Olympics, we discovered that Spin City had the lane rails necessary for our daughter to play and decided we would go back. We did, and taught her the "between the legs" stance for bowling. She did pretty well.




Because my wife and daughter are moving to Singapore, we had to make on last trip to Hacienda before they left.



My pictures of the earthquake damage didn't turn out very well. This is the best of the bunch and is a picture of the wall outside the bathrooms behind the elevator shafts at the center of the building.



My daughter attended a birthday party for a classmate at school and ballet. We're good friends with the parents, too. The two families spend a lot of time together. At this party, we had the blowup slide, and then the ballet teacher and some of her friends performed ballet for about 20 minutes while all the children (and adults) watched. My daughter commented "They are dancing like me!"






Last but not least, my wife had a birthday on 2 September. This is a picture of the family before we left our daughter at home and went out for a spa treatment and dinner.

They don't protest like they used to

Friday was a day full of events. At 9 AM, I began looking for the protesters. They didn't show up. I received an email around 9:30 indicating it would start at 10 AM. At 10, still no one. A colleague then said they would arrive at 11:30. She was also full of information.

Protests - here they call them "demonstrations" - must first register with the police. If they don't, I imagine the police response to the gathering would not be as amenable and welcoming. The local Papuans had requested an 11:30 start time. I also learned that this is, indeed, an annual event. Typically, it starts at 11:30 and about 100 people arrive - mostly hungry college students. We give them a box lunch and they go away. It's usually completed by 12:30.

At 11-ish, we had a meeting to bid farewell to a local colleague who is taking an expat assignment in Africa. He has spent the last several years at our mine site and is looking forward to the opportunity. It is a major financial improvement for him. That, however, was not what he highlighted as the main benefit. For him, the thing he was most interested in was unfiltered internet access. His new boss is a friend of mine in the US. If the guy goes blind, I'll know what to tell his boss is the reason.

The farewell meeting took about 45 minutes, and then we gave everyone a box lunch - chicken, rice, and vegetables. I ate the PBJ sandwich I brought from home. Shortly after noon, I walked over to the window to witness the demonstration. I was very curious. Unfortunately, no one was there - not even the police. I asked what happened and was informed they had already left. I later learned from my driver that more police were present than actual demonstrators, so they didn't stay long. Must not be a lot of local support for giving Papuans a larger percentage of the mining profits.

At 4 PM, when I am usually walking out the door - especially on a Friday, we had another farewell event. Our CFO is also moving to our operations in Africa after 13 years in Indonesia. I didn't ask if he had read "The Poisonwood Bible". With an executive departure, the farewell meeting was much longer than the one for my IT colleague.

I had envisioned a brief speech thanking everyone, followed by some food and refreshments, and it would be over in thirty minutes. Nope - nothing is that quick in Indonesia.

It finally really started around 4:30. We had, literally, 30 minutes of prayers. As is the norm, first we had a Muslim prayer, then we had a Christian prayer. Speeches from four different executives thanking our CFO followed the prayers. Then they played a 15 minute video of his life in Indonesia. After the video was his speech, followed by a photo shoot with each of the departments that reported to him. I'm in one of them. By the time it was politically appropriate to leave, it was well past 5:45.

The behavior I witnessed at this event was fascinating. I'm not sure I'll ever fully appreciate the types of things that Indonesians - at least the ones I work with - find humorous. For example, the video started with a map of the world. A cartoon plane started from New Orleans and flew to Jakarta. At sight of this, the room erupted into raucous laughter. I'm racking my brain for what, possibly, was funny about that. I never did figure it out. Another surprising bout of laughter occurred during pictures. They started with the executive team and asked them all to come up front. I'd say at least 7 people around me either pretended to stand up, then turned around and laughed, or jokingly gestured for someone else to join the group. I'm not sure at what age feigning importance ceased to be humorous to me, but I know it was a long time ago.

As much as I try to understand the culture and appreciate its subtleties and nuances, I think there are just things I will never grasp, despite my best efforts. Much of it will come from frame of reference differences. Other challenges will come just from being raised as a competitive, ambitious, individualistic American. Witnessing adult professionals act in a way I think most Americans would view as childish behavior only reinforces for me how vast is the cultural divide. Sometimes, I just wish I could participate in the joke - whatever it is.

A need to feel productive

I spent only three hours in the office this morning before returning home sick. I've been sick with a head cold for a little over two weeks. My wife and daughter have both caught it, fought it, and moved on while I'm still fighting it. Struggling to speak finally did it for me. After three solid hours of meetings: 6 AM - 9 AM, I called it a day. When I arrived home I took a single Benadryl, and then slept for 5 hours straight. I'm updating my blog so I feel productive.

JOB

I'm two months into the job and I already feel like I've accomplished 80% of what I need to in my two year assignment. The remaining 20% requires repetition and time. Recognizing that I may be overly optimistic on the progress, I'm still pleased with what the team has accomplished in the last three months (I officially took over one month before my arrival). I knew this team was better than they were performing.

The big question that usually follows such a statement is: "what did you change?" The honest answer is: "Not much". To borrow terminology from the book "From Good To Great", we already had the right people on the bus, we just needed to point the bus in the right direction. I made three changes:

1) I modified the roles and responsibilities of the three section leaders. We were too matrixed in how we managed resource assignments and we were underutilizing one of the best analytical minds on the team. I made each section lead responsible and accountable for the resourced in their area of focus, and I put the person who was managing that effort in charge of solving our production support issues. The net result - less resource churn, higher productivity, and a 20% reduction in production support backlog.

2) I changed the focus. Demand management is one of the most difficult jobs a technology manager faces. We support every department in the business, who all report to a different VP, so negotiating which projects take priority often falls to the IT department - and at least one VP is always upset that they are not considered a priority. When I arrived, we had 35 people working on 30 projects. We were trying to do everything and really accomplishing nothing. Something needed to change. As we began finishing projects and starting new ones, we allocating two to five resources per project, instead of one. Over a 6 month period, we'll complete the same number of projects, but we will complete each individual project faster, so the illusion is higher productivity, and the team feels like they are accomplishing more. Delaying the lower value projects will provide the additional benefit of them dropping off the list as people find other ways to accomplish their objectives without technology.

3) I changed the measurements. We were very focused on delivery and schedules. The end result was releasing non-functioning product on time and creating a mess for the production support team to clean up. There was talk of implementing a "project warranty" - a period of time that the project team would support any issues. Instead, I borrowed from Deming and built quality into the process - better estimates, better design, better testing - and started holding people accountable for the quality of the product, not how fast they completed it. At this point, we are delivering a few weeks late (our estimates haven't included the learning curve associated with better quality), but our applications do not generate production support issues after they release. I'm willing to face my management, and my customers, with delays if I can guarantee a quality product at the end.

FAMILY

This is my daughter's final week of school. End of school in Jakarta, for expats, means return to the home country. For us, it means everyone we met has already or is planning to disappear for the next two months. Per my contract, I don't get a vacation for my first six months, so we won't be going anywhere. It will almost be like our first day here all over again where we didn't know a soul.

Next week is my daughter's birthday, and we've been concerned that there would not be anyone around to attend her party. My daughter even expressed this concern quite poignantly the other night when she lamented "I'll be in my princess dress and there will be no one here to see it." Hoping to avoid that emotionally scarring trauma, we decided to celebrate her birthday this Saturday, betting that her classmates would not be leaving the day immediately following the last day in school.

Our bet paid off - larger than we had anticipated. We went from thinking we'd have no one, to an event that looks like we'll have over 40 people including about 25 kids. We still have not received the majority of our belongings (though I did receive word they are in Indonesia's customs), so we're a little concerned we won't have enough in our house to keep everyone entertained. We have hired Gymboree to host the party, so hopefully that will be enough.

JAKARTA LIFE

In 2000, I had my first job that allowed me to connect to the company network from home. In order to do so, I had to contact the host computer and provide my credentials and a security token. The token was a randomly generated number that changed every 30 seconds. I had to carry a small, pager-like device that would provide me the appropriate number to use based on the time I was attempting to gain access. Today, technology has advanced to a degree that instead of randomly generated tokens, we use SSL or VPN or a reverse-proxy server. Well, except for here in Jakarta.

I have utilities to pay in Jakarta - cable, electricity, water, cell phone. I don't have checks, the utilities don't do auto-deduct, and none have the ability to pay online. Thankfully, much like my bank back home, I can do online bill pay through my bank. I registered with my bank - BCA - to have this feature (which cost me 10,000 Rupiah - $1) and they gave me....a token generator. Yep, in order to pay bills online I now have to use a randomly generated token like I did over 9 years ago to access a network. I guess SSL was too difficult to implement on their website.

Online banking isn't the only financial service that required me to take a few steps back in time. I'm finding that for many of my transactions, cash is the only acceptable form of payment. This is especially true of services - the Gymboree party, tennis lessons, many restaurants. Often, business that do accept credit cards pass on the 3% transaction fee to the consumer - so, cash is the cheaper way to buy goods. I prefer the US approach of including the 3% fee in the list price and charging the dinosaurs that use cash more so that I can have the convenience of my fraud protected credit card.

Finally, while service levels in general are superior to those in the US (or any western country, for that matter), repeat service is not. I like to be a regular. When I find a restaurant, a barber, a mechanic, a brand, even a car dealership, that I like, I give them all my business and am very reluctant to change - my econ professor would say I'm a 'sticky' consumer. In exchange for my loyalty, I expect them to recognize me, throw me a freebie now and then - basically, reward my loyalty. In the US, businesses do that. One place I frequented for lunch ended up buying every 3rd meal for me - so I went there a lot (until my wife said I was not allowed to be a regular at Hooters).

We've been to the Hacienda restaurant every Saturday for dinner since we found it - the last 5 Saturdays in a row. We arrive before most people have dinner (around 5 PM), so we're often the only people in the restaurant. I would think by this point they would be saying "welcome back", or at least know that we always like extra chips (that they charge us for). Nope - we're like any other bule to them. It's the only place in the city to get our Mexican fix, so I don't see our habits changing anytime soon. For now, I'll just have to live with my disappointment.

Things we miss and left to do

When you move to a new location and leave almost everything you own behind, it is interesting what you start to miss. Early on, we missed cable TV. The cable company finally arrived and rectified that issue late last week, though we still don't watch anything other than the news. Below is the list of items that we, collectively, seem to be missing most after two weeks:

1) Mexican Food. Yes, there is a 'Mexican' restaurant walking distance from our home. No, it does not taste like Mexican food. Their 'salsa' is just pico de gallo. Most of the 'spicy' food is also sweet. We also cannot find tortillas or the necessary spices at the grocery store to bring home and make our own. Cilantro would be a blessing.

2) Convenience. Nothing is easy, nothing is quick. A "quick trip to the mall" is a 6-hour event. If the location is not close enough to walk to - not that you necessarily would - then it will take at least 30-minutes unless you go when everyone else is working. Half of Jakarta - so likely 75% of Indonesia - is 20 years behind in financial transactions. We need cash in a lot more places than I had imagined. Some places take credit cards only if issued from a local bank. We can improve convenience, to some degree, by opening a local bank account - which we will likely do.

3) Being able to drive. When I was a child, I always imagined how cool it would be to have my own driver. Having a driver was, and to some extent still is, a major status symbol. It's also frustrating to have two perfectly good cars in the garage, the keys at hand, and not be able to drive them. More challenging is weighing the decision to ask someone to sit around waiting for you with the risk that you may never go anywhere versus giving them the day off and then needing to drive somewhere. It requires a greater degree of planning out our weekends. For their part, I think the drivers prefer to be on the clock getting overtime even if they only sit around and wait.

4) Electronics. Specifically, a wireless router, a stereo system that can play our MP3's, cell phones and a second TV. All of these, of course, we could obtain by visiting a local mall. But who wants to spend 6 hours buying four electronics? I have a work-issued cellphone, but we still need to buy one for my wife.

5) Familiarity. When things are easy to get to, lack of familiarity can be exciting. You get an opportunity to explore your surroundings. When everything takes forever to do, you have a strong desire to be efficient, which means you need to know where you are going and what you want to achieve when you get there. Hopefully my wife will find some opportunity to familiarize herself with the area while I - and the rest of the city - are busy at work instead of clogging the streets.

At the moment, we don't have much time to miss those items, however. There is still much to do:

1) Buy rugs for the house. Marble floors are definitely beautiful and elegant. They also cause a loud echo and are hard on the joints. We need to buy rugs for every room to help absorb the sound waves and lessen the impact when we walk.

2) Enroll our daughter in school. There is a great Montessori school abutting the compound. However, my wife and daughter will be living in Singapore for the months of September and October until our new baby is born. If the Montessori charged by the month, this would not pose a challenge. Instead, they charge an annual fee and they want it in full in advance. They are also closed in June and July. So, I part with $7,000 USD and then don't use a school for four months. Not something I am amenable to. Luckily there are several other options that we have yet to explore.

3) Buy more furniture. A dresser would be nice. We can custom make teaque, rattan and mahogany furniture here for about 1/10 the price it would cost to buy used in the US. For example, a colleague of mine custom designed a 12-drawer dresser and paid $80 for it. We plan to purchase several items of furniture that we bring back with us to the US. A dining room table, some armoires and book shelves are among the items on our list.

4) Learn more about the city. On Thursday we had hoped to do some shopping. However, everything was either closed all day or did not open until 11 AM. Of course, we didn't know this until we arrived - 90 minutes too early. This afforded us an opportunity to drive around the city. We discovered some museums, botanical gardens and other buildings that we want to return to and visit. We have much left to learn about Jakarta. The only real way to do it is grab a map, a local guide, and just get out in it.

Touring Kemang

My family and I are really going to like living in the Kemang area. It is an amazing amalgamation of Western stores and restaurants, Eastern stores and restaurants, and uniquely Indonesian twists. Kemang has a central shopping district that would rival any open-air mall anywhere else in the world. It is more urban than what most people expect from a mall, yet quaintly familiar.

I started the day sitting in the back seat of the car, so I missed some good picture opportunities (and finally felt too cramped). When I finally moved to the front of the car, I started taking pictures. The first three pictures below are on the main street leading in Kemang. You'll see some familiar company names, none of which I actually visit. In addition to those, there was a Burger King, a Cold Stone Creamery, a Circle K (2, actually) a McDonald's (open 24 hours and with a drive through!) and Coffee Bean and Tea Company.







The area of Kemang definitely caters to the Expat community. There are two grocery stores that deal exclusively in imported groceries. I didn't venture into either of them, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of that claim. Purportedly, these are the stores you go to when you want to buy American food - Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, for example. There is also an Indonesian grocery store that, in addition to carrying traditional Indonesian brands, carry a lot of Western brands. This store borders the complex in which we will live so is likely where we will do most of our shopping.

Since I was in Kemang, I took the opportunity to visit the shopping center that borders our complex. As I mentioned in my last post, I have been craving a Burrito, so I went to "Amigos", the Mexican restaurant on the second floor of the shopping center. I ordered a Margarita and a beef burrito with red chili sauce. It was quite good and really made me feel like I was sitting in a restaurant at home.

I was pleasantly pleased with everything I found in this mall. In addition to the Western grocery store and the Mexican restaurant, we have a small furniture store, a bakery, and, my favorite, a book store full of English language books. As much as I hope to learn Bahasa, I still want to read my books in English. The below pictures are the shopping center outside our complex, the security to get into the complex, one of the International schools and an Oriental rug shop.









Two other things I have found common in areas that cater to Expats instead of the locals. First, you see more white faces than Indonesian. What surprised me, was the number of languages spoken. The foreign companies I am aware of in Indonesia that would import Expat labor are either British, Australian or American owned. What has surprised me is the number of French speaking foreigners, and German speaking foreigners I have encountered. From my other international travels, I know that most large cities - Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, New York City, Hong Kong - are a tremendous mix of global travelers and residents. Those are all industrialized countries, however. Jakarta has always reminded me of Mexico City, and I did not encounter such diversity there.

The other, less appealing, aspect of these areas is the price. My lunch cost me $16. An ice cream cone I bought this evening at the Baskin Robbins near my hotel cost me $4 for 2 scoops. I am accustomed to paying $3-5 for a meal when I'm outside the hotel, so $16 while not a shock for a similar meal in the US, was a definite shock for prices here in Jakarta.

The rainy season lived up to its name today. Half way through my tour of Kemang, the skies opened up and the rain did not stop until early this evening. You hear a lot about cities that are always overcast - London, Seattle - and the dour attitude of the people who live there. They are often accompanied by high suicide rates. What's interesting about the cloudy skies here - they don't seem overcast. I've only seen blue sky during the day once on this trip, though the mornings are often clear. Despite the lack of sun, I would not recall this trip as three weeks of overcast skies. The absence of rain has been more noticeable than the absence of sun.

Another thing I am finding to be uniquely Jakartan - if not Indonesian - is everything is in some state of construction. Whether it be a sidewalk that seems half finished (see below picture), or an empty lot between two newly constructed buildings, cranes towering over the skyline, or scaffolding on an existing building to create a new visage - everything is under construction all the time. The only thing I haven't seen is road construction - I can't imagine what traffic would be like if they were doing road repairs.

Wednesday - Long Day, Good week

Very long day for me. I still haven't quite adjusted to the time as much as I thought I would have. I'm waking up before my alarm every day. Monday and Tuesday I was up at 3:30 AM and 4:30 AM, respectively. This morning I was up shortly before 5 AM. Worked out well, though, because I was scheduled to have a meeting with my management in Phoenix at 6 AM local time. When I logged on to check my email before leaving the hotel, I saw the meeting was cancelled. My driver was already waiting for me downstairs, so I went to work anyway. Normally, if my day starts at 6 AM I like to return home around 4 PM. Today, I had another meeting with Phoenix at 8:30 PM local time (6:30 AM Phoenix), so I ended up arriving at the office at 5:45 AM and leaving the office at 10 PM. Like I said, very long day.

This has been a very productive three days. Monday, I met with all of the Superintendents who will be reporting to me and discussed my vision for the organization. We have had several discussions on the products we support out of Jakarta, current issues, and I've sat in on some of the weekly meetings. Tuesday, I had several project specific meetings and a brief meeting with our Indonesia CFO - whom I report to administratively while on assignment here. In the afternoon, we had a meeting with the full team (all 35 people) and informed them of my new role.

Today's focus was coordination with the team in Phoenix, design sessions on new projects we want to start, and follow up on some projects I want to close out on this week. I did take a small break in the morning to finalize a very important detail of my relocation - where we'll live.
On my last trip, I toured several different apartment and housing complexes in Jakarta. We settled on Kemang Club Villas. Visit the site. Kemang is the part of Jakarta where most of the expatriates (westerners) live. There are international schools, western grocery stores, and a lot of cultural events and attractions. In fact, I only heard English spoken on the compound. This particular compound abuts the US Embassy and complies with all US Embassy security standards and protocols.

Today, I visited three of the floor plans. On the website, first click "Click Here", and then click on the "Homes" tab. The top has a few pictures of the compound and some of the interiors. The bottom portion of the page has the floor plans. I looked at Type A, Type B and Type D. Initially, we were thinking we wanted Type D because all of the rooms are on one floor...then I saw it in person. I've stayed in timeshares that were more spacious, and I wasn't thrilled with the fact that the elevator was not secured.

I had seen a Type A floor plan on my last visit, and really liked it. However, as you can see from the layout, the Master Bedroom is on a different floor than the other bedrooms. We can always make Bedroom 2 or 3 the Master Bedroom so we can be on the same floor as our toddler, but those rooms are tiny. Not sure they would hold a Queen, much less the King we are used to.

The Type B floor plan has similar issues with the Master being on a different floor. However, Bedroom 3 is spacious enough to act as a Master, while Bedroom 2 could be for our daughter. Ultimately, this is the floor plan we have decided to move into. Below are some pictures of the interior.

Terrace:


Kitchen:



Skylight:


Bedroom 3:



Bedroom 2:



Shared Bathroom:



Bedroom 4:



Master Bedroom:



Family Room: