(8 days left…)

The other day, I wrote “18 days left”.

Well, I was wrong. I’ll be leaving sooner … !!! All these things have made me feel a bit sentimental in some way, but come on, nothing’s gonna change. It’s only a matter of a different “status” (that I’m no longer an employee of the company)–but I could come and visit everyone anytime. We’re only 15 minutes apart (by taxi). And I could just “pop-up” at UHAMKA when everyone’s having lunch. ^_^ I’ll be missing all of you!!!

Anyway, I wrote this blog in English for Chris’ sake. ;p I came to the office early this morning and found a message from him on my FS inbox. I felt guilty knowing that he had tried to read my blog but he couldn’t understand it, simply because it is written in Indonesian. Sorry, Chris … never thought that a crazy American like you would want to visit my blog. Hahaha.

When Jonte told me that he was going to come home, I thought Chris would go along with him. But then Jonte showed up all by himself. And when I asked him,”Where’s Chris?”. Jonte said that Chris didn’t come along because he was afraid to be kidnapped by some terrorists or militants. Oh, Chris … come on. It is more likely that you’ll be kidnapped by some agressive Indonesian girls who are hysterically attracted to American guys!;p

It’s amazing how you come to love this city when you’ve spent years in it. When you’ve become a part of it.

A friend of mine who loves to speed told me that he was so bored driving in Melbourne because he couldn’t “pursue his maximum potential”. ^_^ You don’t deal with crazy ojeks or bajajs or the orange devil (metro mini) in Melbourne. Driving in Melbourne is less-challenging, so he said.

Someone should invented a playstation game called Jakarta Crazy Streets. Probably it could be imported to European or American countries, mainly to help everyone who will have to stay in Jakarta–for business or personal reasons. A Jakarta-based driver knows exactly how to drive his car in Melbourne, or Dedham. But a Melbourne or Dedham-based driver lost their skills when they hit Jakarta’s traffic for the 1st time. Hopefully, the game could help them… a little.

About 2 months ago, there were Daniel, a Deutsche guy who served as an apprentice in our company. Before he left us, he said we should add some contents in our “city-guide” machines. About lost and found. About what should you do if you lost your wallet. Or your laptop. Or your mobile phone.

Everyone at the meeting room laughed. Cause there is an unwritten rules stated: If you lost something in Jakarta, the only thing you can do is pray. If you don’t believe in God–an atheists or sumthin’, then … well, there’s nothing left for you to do. You can always punch the wall in anger, but there’s no point in doing such a stupid thing.

But still, I love this city. The adrenaline-rush when you have to jump off from the bus (because it doesn’t really stop to let people get in and off. It just move slower). The traffic-jam that allows you to view some more details on those billboards with interesting themes.

The food stall with its cheap & delicious foods served from grossy “kitchen-like” area (just make sure you don’t look at how the plates and spoons are washed, and I promise you, the taste will be delicious).

I love the short story collection titled THE EXPAT by Kirk Coningham, which captured Jakarta and its maddening characteristic precisely. These are stories of the city from a viewpoint of an expat… probably I should send one copy of it to Chris.

hanny

If you made it this, far, please say 'hi'. It really means a lot to me! :)

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Hi. I'm HANNY
I am an Indonesian writer/artist/illustrator and stationery web shop owner (Cafe Analog) based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I love facilitating writing/creative workshops and retreats, especially when they are tied to self-exploration and self-expression. In Indonesian, 'beradadisini' means being here. So, here I am, documenting life—one word at a time.

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