Friday, December 16, 2011
Friday, December 09, 2011
Tropicais Tracy: Home is Where the Journey Takes You
Every time someone from a foreign country asks me where I'm from, I find it easier to say that I'm from Bali rather than from Indonesia. Luckily, some people know a little bit more about Indonesia — yet their imagination tells them that Indonesia is full of beautiful beaches (true) and full of jungles (half true) and full of orangutans (I wish!). Then when I say Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia the image they get is probably more in keeping with what Jakarta was 500 years ago.
I forgive their ignorance and really wish I could play along and offer them some dramatic stories about the jungle of Jakarta, just to jokingly confirm their mistaken ideas. But my conscience reminds me "thou shall not lie," and I want to keep that commandment close to my heart. So I explain what Indonesia looks like these days. I can totally see their disappointment. I've heard similar stories from an expatriate friend; people were shocked to hear that she was living in "the jungle" of Jakarta. To clear up the confusion, she created a photo album on her Facebook page dedicated to Jakarta for her foreign friends to see. One day I happened to read some of the comments below the photos and laughed imagining the facial expressions of these people seeing Jalan Sudirman, the huge malls and the rest of the great architecture of Jakarta.
Jakarta is a beautiful city. There are approximately 10 million people living in this megapolitan, and every workday approximately 1.1 million more pour into Jakarta from neighboring cities. Every year, more and more people come to live, study and work in Jakarta. Most of the people who live here are not really locals. The global village of Jakarta is famous for making your dreams reality: the city of hope, the city of bright futures. There have been plenty of stories about poor people who showed up in Jakarta and turned themselves into successes.
But this is also a city of tears. One of the famous songs my grandmother loves to sing is dedicated to the poor workers who wash up on Jakarta's shores. The lyrics go, "Sapa suru datang Jakarta, sandiri suka, sandiri rasa," which roughly translates as, "Who told you to come to Jakarta, I do it because I like it and I alone will feel it." An Indonesian proverb says: "As cruel as a step-mother can be, Jakarta is worse." But this doesn't scare anyone from coming to Jakarta, including me, Tracy the brave. We are in one pot, full of diversity, from entertainment, politics, business, tourism etc. And yet there is unity, everyone is pursuing dreams. I would love to say that Jakarta is the city that never sleeps, just like my other favorite city, New York.
But Jakarta can be a ghost town sometimes. It's not as spooky as the billboards for Indonesian horror films (trust me, I'm not a fan), but it is a ghost town for around three to four days a year at Idul Fitri time. This is when non-Jakartans leave to return to their hometowns, and this is the best time to ride around the city: no traffic, a little more speed, and plenty of parking spaces — heaven!
In my journey of being a world citizen, people often asked, "Where do you live?" I responded, "I live in my suitcase, city to city, country to country, home is where my heart is." When people asked, "Where is home for you?," the easy answer was Bali. But most people wouldn't settle for that, mostly because they don’t think I look like a local. I have to explain that my parents lived in Bali, Mom was mixed Kalimantan and Menadonese with even more diversity in her ethnicity, and Dad is from Rio de Janeiro. With that I often remember what my Brazilian grandma used to say: "You are so blessed to come from two paradises: Bali and Rio de Janeiro." Indeed I'm blessed.
Living in the city of Jakarta is not easy. We need to learn the written law and the unwritten law, we need to adapt, we need to be flexible and to stay firm, we need to learn the skill of life, to enjoy life, to see opportunity beyond all difficulties, to learn how to release tension and stress, to enjoy the ride even though we may be stuck in traffic.
Life is full of small and big adventures, a wonderful journey that everyone must take to arrive at the destination. I constantly need to learn to enjoy the views, the people and the places here in Jakarta. While focusing on the destination, I'm enjoying the journey.
By: Tracy Trinita.
It has been published on: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/jakartajungle/tropicais-tracy-home-is-where-the-journey-takes-you/438446
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