Initial Encounters in Jakarta

One of the best things about arriving in Jakarta during the holiday period is the lack of traffic. I am pleased to say that in the last two weeks, I have had limited experience with Jakarta’s infamous traffic gridlock.

The week I arrived in Jakarta was the week of Eid al-Fitr (the end of Ramadan). Not only was traffic quiet, but so was the office. I arrived at the Asia Foundation (TAF) to a pretty much empty office space because many of my colleagues had taken leave to go back to their kampong (village) to celebrate with their families. My first meal in the office was actually an American-style lunch of pizza shared with the few of my colleagues who were in the office, from one of the few eateries still open during this week of Eid. Thankfully, many of the food outlets in Jakarta’s malls have remained open during Eid, so there have definitely been food options for me as I settle into my temporary normalcy in Jakarta.

Indonesian food has been incredible! I’m glad to be experiencing authentic Indonesian dishes after my forays into the cuisine back home in Singapore. Being Southeast Asian cuisine as well, The food here rings so much closer to food from home than the food in the U.S. does. It has been comforting to find that food like Ampela (gizzards) and Ayam Ceker (chicken feet) are more commonplace here than I ever expected!

More and more people have been trickling in as this holiday season comes to an end, but work (for me at least) continues to be slow. The Program Peduli team at TAF that I am interning with, is going through a period of transition. Peduli is a Government of Indonesia initiative designed to promote social inclusion as a pathway out of poverty. The program was supposed to end in 2016, however, it has since been extended to 2018. The change in the program has resulted in changes in personnel, and during these two weeks alone, the office has already said its goodbye to three people. As I watch the way my coworkers interact, I am struck by their exuberant warmth towards each other. There is a deep friendliness and closeness between all of them, and it is unlike any other place I have ever worked in.

I have seen this open amiability amongst other Indonesians that I have met outside the office as well. Over the weekend, my colleagues tell me that locals tend to spend their time at any one of Jakarta’s countless sprawling malls. In search of other options and hoping to indulge the perpetual tourist that I am, I signed up for a free walking tour in Kota Tua, Jakarta’s Old Town. The tour was equal parts interesting and insightful, but my greatest takeaways were the conversations that I had with people I met on the tour. Surprisingly, despite the nature of the tour, I was only one of two bule (foreigner — usually those of European descent, but I hear that it applies to me too!); everyone else were Indonesians living in Jakarta. They were all incredibly kind to me, and they would attempt to engage with me despite their struggles with English and my own pitiful Bahasa.

Us on our walking tour of Kota Tua!

They even took me out for lunch after the tour and over our meal, I learnt so much from them about topics ranging from differences in Indonesian and Chinese dialects, to conflicts between Indonesian indigenous people and environmental protection groups, to the presence of Emma Watson-esque “book fairies” in Jakarta, to the problem of extremism in Indonesia. Ultimately, these are the moments I enjoy the most from being in a new place — the encounters with the people, and hearing the stories and perspectives that I would have never heard otherwise. Knowing that I was unfamiliar with Jakarta and the de facto traffic rules that come with the city, my companions also went out of their way to walk me to the main road, and to stay with me until they could flag a taxi for me. I am extremely grateful for their unabashed thoughtfulness and their willingness to spend time with this rather ignorant bule.

The nearly empty road is hardly a good representation of Jakarta’s traffic, but amidst the speeding ojeks (motorcycle taxis) and blatant flouting of traffic rules, I really appreciated the kindness of my companions in braving the tumultuous road conditions to help me get a taxi in this unfamiliar part of town.

Of course, my time in Jakarta so far has not been without its problems, Certain security concerns led me to move from the apartment that I was previous living in. The area I was living in made me uneasy but fearing that I was over-reacting or misreading my instincts, I spoke to some locals and asked them about the location of my apartment. After hearing their own concerns and worries about the area around my apartment and the dangers that it may pose to me as a young woman living by herself, I decided to move. The ordeal of having to find a new place to stay, and to move out of a place I was just beginning to get used to, definitely occupied my time throughout my first week in Jakarta, and it was also far from how I was expecting to spend my first week in this new place. That being said, having listened to my own instincts and to the advice of those who have lived in Jakarta longer than I have and who clearly know the city better than I do, I am glad that I made the decision that I did.

Additionally, language issues have proved a problem for me during these last couple of weeks. Beyond the few Malay words that I have picked up from back home, I essentially know zero Indonesian. While people at the office do speak English, as should have been expected, they are much more comfortable speaking in Indonesian to each other be it during meetings or in casual conversation. I think the fact that this came as a surprise to me, also speaks a bit to the sheer sense of entitlement that I had upon my arrival in Indonesia. I assumed that despite being in Indonesia, where the national language is Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian), and the country speaks more than a thousand native languages outside of English, my fluency in English would be enough to get me through my time here. My non-existent Indonesian is preventing me from getting to know Jakarta, and even TAF fully, and at current my greatest regret is that I had not taken the time before my arrival to learn enough of the language to converse with others. Thankfully, I still have a good month and a half left of my time in Indonesia, and a guide to Indonesian at my disposal. Hopefully, the next time I write, that guide will have been put to good use!


Written by Nicole Wong’18, International Relations major, FSI Global Policy Intern at The Asia Foundation in Jakarta, Indonesia.

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We provide placement, mentorship and a stipend to students engaging in off-campus internships at international policy and international affairs organizations. For 2018 and on please visit: https://medium.com/freeman-spogli-institute-for-international-studies/fsi-students/home

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FSI Internships

We provide placement, mentorship and a stipend to students engaging in off-campus internships at international policy and international affairs organizations. For 2018 and on please visit: https://medium.com/freeman-spogli-institute-for-international-studies/fsi-students/home

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