The Beginning
I arrived in Jakarta wild-eyed and exhausted after a 29 hour journey across the globe. Talk about jet lag! When I stepped off of the plane, my only concern was getting through customs and into a cool shower and bed. But let me start from the beginning.
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The journey over had been a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. After indulgiing in what would be my last familial embrace in my Mother's (and Bestie's - Shout out to D-Money!) arms for the next 8 months, I eagerly entered the TSA line, leaving behind air kisses, waves, and everything\everyone I know and love most in this world.
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The first flight to L.A. was happy - mesmerized by what's to come, I jammed to my music unbothered. In L.A., where I am sure I had passed Ty Dollar $ign on my way to get my bording pass, I slowly but surely began to realize how different things will be when English was replaced by Chinese and American faces (and colors) began to fade away.
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Now on the 14+ hour flight to Guangzhou, China, emotion overcame me. I sobbed silently in my window seat as I witnessed the plane take me far, far away from home. I had never wanted my Mommy and the comfort of my home so much in my life!!!! Even remembering that moment now, 4 days into my trip, I tear up. I felt so alone physically, culturally, and emotionally. It did not help that the flight had no wifi, so I wasn't even able to find comfort in mobile communication. I sat with those feelings (not entirely by choice), uncomfortable with my decison to leave for the first time, I scolded myself, "Why the hell are you doing this??! Why did you think this would be a good idea??!" Sorrow, regret, and fear was all I felt until I fell asleep.
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In the aiport in China, I was relieved to feel land under my feet, but incredibly tired, sweaty, and stinky. I lamented the idea of boarding yet another flight to Jakarta. We really need to develop teleportation devices. Anyway, the flight to Jakarta was shorter, but I fell ill, vomiting on the floor next to me upon landing (good thing I had the row to myself!) and later vomiting again in the back of my cab (sorry, my guy!). Apparently, travel can take a lot out of you! With a 11-12 hour time difference, it took me 2 days before I was comfortable enough to explore the city.
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I arrived at my host families' place, extremely grateful to them for allowing me a space in their beautiful home! A beautiful and lively Muslim family, I quickly became friends with my host family and consequently, I began to feel at home. My host and I clicked almost immediately, realizing our commonalities in our love for education, social justice and Japanese Anime. Our conversations were impactful, as we discussed similarities and differences between and within our countries. We talked religion, careers, family, womanhood, politics, colorism, racial tension and police brutality in America, environmental justice and so forth. I was also thankful to have similar conversations with her sister, who happens to be a physican in residency for Psychiatry. Seeing as I am passionate about mental health and moving towards a career in clinical psychology, this could not have been a more serendipitous meeting. Being in a home amongst physicians, architects, financial advisors, and midwives, I couldn"t have been more inspired to make something of myself in this world and make a difference.
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Jakarta
The first thing I noticed about Jakarta was its beautiful tropical greenery making space for itself in such a bustling, concrete jungle of a city. Everywhere you look, there are people moving about to their destinations whether by car, bus, rickshaw, or scooter. Scooters are quite common here and this surprised me. On any day, you could easily what seems like hundreds of bikers entangled in traffic, bobbing and weaving between cars, seemingly following their own rules of the road entirely. It initally frightened me to witness just how close drivers come to colliding with one another (and pedestrians). But it seems that locals are used to it and consequently, know how to stay alive on the road.
The next thing I noticed was the beauty of a truly active multigenerational neighborhood. Just as you see and hear the child-like pitter patter of feet on the concrete accompanied by shrill bouts of laughter by the children, you hear teens chattering, older hustlers selling their products and street food, tiny babies babbling, and older people conversing. It seems that everyone lives in harmony - communal when they want to be and individualistic at the same time. I was told that the individualistic nature of Jakarta is a more recent social phenomenon, partly influenced by the city's move toward modernization. As American businesses become numerous and housing infrastructure push for high rise apartments over traditional housing, traditonal Indonesian culture in Jakarta is becoming a thing of the past. It still amazes me how far my own country's influence reaches and transforms communities thousands of miles away. I suppose there is always a cost to modernizing, but I am unsure if this is considered a good or bad thing for locals. In this way, I was reminded of my time in Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar.
Previously unbeknownst to me, Indonesia has one of the world's largest Muslim populations and Islam is the major religion here. I'll never forget waking up to a beautiful call to prayer sung in perfect intonation by what sounded like a child of only elementary school age. I love sitting out on the balcony listening for the calls and watching Muslim women style and profile in their Islamic wear, riding a motor scooter to their destination! Too bad ass for me! haha! I am so grateful to be immersed in a society that is predominantly Muslim, as I feel I finally get an unclouded perception of Islam, one that is benign, loving, and unlike the hateful, one-sided rhetoric one receives back home. It is here that my purpose for travel was reinforced. I not only travel for personal liberation, I travel to challenge what I know and to shape and re-shape my perception of the world.
Since arriving here, I have had the pleasure of attending no car day in the city's center, where children and adults alike enjoy relief from the horrendous weekday traffic. Music can be heard as people bike, play badminton, soccer, or just walk along the road. There was food everywhere and hustlers selling cold beverages, clothing, and baby rabbits! I was accompanied by my host family this time and they got to witness me get sucked into a street performance of "What"s up" by 4 non blondes!
My next outing was solo and boy was it an adventure! I went from West Jakarta to East Jakart by bus to visit Taman Mini Indonesia, a park that chronicles traditional Indonesia with life-sized replicas of traditional Indonesian housing from all over the country. The park was divided in parts from traditional Bali, to Sumantra, to West Papua, etc. There were also mini museums tucked around the park and a big man-made lake accented the middle of the park. Later on I learned that the lake is meant to model the entire country of Indonesia planted in the middle of the Indian Ocean! I didn't know this as I scanned the entire park in a cable car.
On arrival of the park, I intended to walk alone, glad to be venturing solo for the first time. But the heat and an insistant older man pushed me to let him drive me around the park on a scooter. He turned out to be decent company and also volunteered to be my personal photographer, though not without a price of course! I wanted to get informed about the history of Indonesia at my own pace, so in a way I regret taking the scooter around. At the same time though, the information was written in Indonesian, so I couldn't read it anyway. I enjoyed my day out, but Jakarta has traffic from hell! On the way back, the wonder and excitement had worn off as I attempted to bus back to my side of town during what seemed to be the equivalent of rush hour back home. Two buses and several severe traffic jams later, I had finally arrived at my host's house exhausted, drenched in my own sweat, and disillusioned with the city as a whole. I didn't like that what was supposed to be a quick day trip turned into an entire 7 hour ordeal, with most of that time spent in transit. I was ready to leave this town. I figured if it was this hard for a traveller to get around and explore then I should probably move on. I am more of a nature girl anyway. I need my peace and greenery.
WIll I leave Jakarta earlier than intended? I am not entirely sure. I feel like there are still hidden gems here, but my affinity for hustle and bustle to this degree is nilch. Moving on the greener pastures may be the best move for me.
Mommy and Me!