Taking the Indonesian Plunge

Taking the Indonesian Plunge

August 15, 2004

Here we are in Jakarta, Indonesia, embarking on adventure # 2 of our international school teaching careers. We arrived on the afternoon of August 1, bleary-eyed from about 36 hours of straight travel, yet excited to have arrived. Our arrival was made easy by a friendly luggage porter, who whisked us through customs and out to the waiting throngs of the Jakarta International Airport. In the distance, I could see an upside down sign with the letters NJIS on it – our welcoming crew was there.

We piled in a car and took off for our northern suburb of Kelapa Gading, which means “coconut” something. We got to our house to find very sparse furnishings – luckily beds for all of us were there, with sheets and pillows, which was all I really needed in the first day. The first week here was spent setting up house and getting acquainted with the school. Poor Sam complained of tummy pain on the second morning and sure enough, as we piled into the van to head for school, Jared saw a funny look in poor Sam’s face and he hurled his breakfast all over the street, in front of the other new teachers who were waiting in the van. Jared set off with Sophia, while Sam and I regrouped at the house. After about 10 minutes, he was ready to go – what a guy! Now that we have our refrigerator stocked with YAKULT, a nasty sugary drink full of bacteria-killing bacillus which the kids LOVE, we’ve had no further problems.

Nyamuck: A fitting word, I think for mosquito. Whereas I babbled about the prolific ants in Manila, here is it an abundance of mosquitoes. They are a different beast from the kind, slow-moving creatures of Manila. There, we could grab them with one hand. Here, it is as though they can read your mind. They seem to anticipate our every move and as the hands come crashing together, the ‘nyamuck” deftly moves aside and I swear, I have heard one laugh out loud at my pathetic attempt to end its life. We could not figure out how they were getting in the house, although it is clear that they begin their lives in the nasty open sewer drain running in front of our house – YUCK! On the third day, we discovered a window which was wide open with no screen! We took care of that, but still they came. Just yesterday, we discovered yet ANOTHER window with no screen and no glass – add that to the list of items to be taken care of. The maintenance dudes have managed to lock down the opening to our well, which sits prominently in our back terrace. I could see Sam and Sophia prying it open and plunging to their deaths. The myriad of other death traps about the house are being taken care of…huge gaps in the stair railing to the second floor for Sophia to squeeze through, low railings on the four second floor balconies for her to climb over, an incredibly steep back staircase for her to fall down head-first, and more! A good chance for mom to take a deep breath and call upon the Gods of safety!

Sam and Sophia: They are settling in really well, I must say. Thanks in large part to the yaya culture of Manila, they have taken to our two “pembantu” or maids and upon being left with them, manage to have a great time playing at home and on the school playground. There are a few other kids of teachers with whom Sam and Sophia have bonded as of late, which makes the transition all the better.

Asih and Sri: Our household saviors! Asih, I am almost ashamed to say, is all of 18 years old and Sri is a mature woman, divorced, of 23. They are great! Asih speaks no English, which makes it even more imperative for us to learn Indonesian, but luckily Sri has a good command of the essentials, so we can survive day to day. I said to Jared the other day – there are not many places you can just settle into, without having to know when or where the trash in emptied – it just gets magically taken care of, along with many other daily household chores.

The other side of the coin is, of course, that Jakarta really is a third world city. The electric power supply to our house is minimal. This we discovered the other night, when the pizza delivery boy informed us, while dropping off a tasty pie, that the electric cable connected to our house was glowing! We quickly shut off all power and let Sri deal with the emergency. She deftly handled the calls to the school and the electric company. Two hours and many mosquito bites later, we were up and running again at a cost of five dollars, paid to the electric company dudes to put some tape around the wounded cable. That ought to fix the problem! Since then we have managed to blow out an entire electric socket and two power strips. Needless to say, we have also invested in two fire extinguishers and some smoke alarms, not to mention the small saw blade Jared has under his pillow, in case we need to carve our way out the doors. Every door has its own lock and key and all the screens are reinforced with iron bars, so escape from the second floor is a challenge!

Le Club Casablanca: We have sunk in a chunk of change to join this club which offers a gorgeous swimming pool, a fantastic workout room, massage facilities, a play room, yoga/dance room, tennis courts, badminton, and a small golf course. It is a five minute drive from our house and will become, I think, our home away from home.

So although school has not even officially begun, we are getting settled quite nicely. I signed Sophia up for an American-based school just down the road, which I think she will like. The folks at the nearest Starbucks already know our names (and probably cringe when they see our kids in tow – after a visit with S & S, piles of muffin crumbs are sure to litter the area!).

Unlike my first month in Manila, oh so many years ago, arriving in Jakarta has not afforded me the culture shock I experienced back then. The only differences are left-hand side driving, a foreign language which must be learned to communicate properly, and less Western products. We are definitely living a more “local” life here. MacDonalds and Starbucks cost almost more than they do at home, and Indonesian food is cheap and delicious. Most expats live about 1 hour away, although in distance it is only a few miles. Traffic here is even more horrendous than in Manila, plus the distances are greater.

It is Sunday afternoon, and I am FREEZING in the computer room at school. I’ve managed to lose my house keys and classroom key, which I’m sure will impress the powers that be. It’s time to close this installment of tales and I apologize if they are a bit long-winded.

Until the next time, selamat pagi, selamat siang or selamat malaam, depending what time it is as you read this!

Cheers - Mimi