{key sarcasm} A really awesome thing happened today. {/sarcasm} Our maid, Sri, who has been really great for many months, said she was returning home to her new husband. No worries, we said, do you happen to have a friend who’d like to work? In fact she did. The friend came and has been working with us for about four days. She smiled, said good morning every day, and seemed overall quite content. We pay quite well, aren’t the leastRead more
Posts filed in: Expat Experiences
First week back
Back in Jakarta. Clear head. Stress reduced. Repackaged. Despite rolling into Jakarta’s smog and absurd traffic within minutes of landing on Saturday, I was surprisingly able to maintain a positive outlook. The summer away was the perfect drug for starting fresh. I’m going to try my best to view Jakarta with the fresh eyes that I had over six years ago, and ‘go with the flow’ to the best of my ability. I used to be able to observe evenRead more
Returning to Jakarta; returning to reality
In little more than 12 hours, we’ll be departing for Jakarta once again after having spent 2 months in the States, traveling around six states. It’s been a wonderful summer; a much needed respite from the craziness and speed of Jakarta. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed each and every day, and fortunately, were able to visit much of the extended family. Brief summary: Our first two weeks were spent in Michigan, followed by over a month on a gorgeous lake in EasternRead more
Small world
I’m sitting in Starbucks yesterday working on my laptop, when this big dude walks over to me and says, “Excuse me, are you Brandon from JavaJive?”. It took me a second to realize that, ya, indeed I guess I am. I’m not used to people connecting those two words face to face apparently. My first instinct was to think,”Ah sh*t, what’d I do now?” (have had more than a few blurry evenings with the boys and more than a coupleRead more
Bule Gila atau Bule Bodoh
I believe I’ve captured the Bule Gila (or Bodoh?) award for the week. Tonight, after working 4 hours straight at a cafe on reports (after 9 hours at work), I picked up Novita and the maid from the front of the mall. After the maid finished loading some items into the car, we drove off. We were well down the street, when Novita turns to me, “Where’s Sri?!!??”. I exclaim, “Where IS Sri?!?”. I hit the brakes and pulled over.Read more
Keeping dry
How’s that umbrella workin out for ya buddy? Well, I’d love to come out with some dramatic story about our struggles to survive through the floods this year, but I’d be fibbing more than a little. After my previous post, (as I was watching the canal in front of my work flood over its banks) we were safely ‘evacuated’ to the Kristal Hotel (three bedroom full suite). I spent the weekend swimming in chlorine, not sewage. We decided things wereRead more