I continue to struggle with the language which, for someone who is very verbal and thinks in terms of writing, frustrates me. I want to say things correctly, but many times, the correct way isn’t how I assemble it in my head because they are very causal here and they leave out things like references to the person you are speaking to. It assumed, so instead of asking, “Have you eaten?” you say, “Already eat?” This is missing both the reference to the person you are talking to and the verb tense which they do not have. To further confuse things, there are a lot of prefixes and suffixes that the attach to both verbs and nouns. However, in casual conversation they are optional. I actually know quite a few words, so I can construct a decent sentence sometimes.

My biggest problem is listening comprehension because to convey the same amount of information without tenses and other helper words, Indonesians need to cram more words into the same amount of time it takes to say something in English. Combined with the different speaking styles and their own accent based on regional dialects, it can be very difficult to understand even simple sentences.

It rained all last night with a lot of thunder and lightning. I don’t have a good view of the sky from the house, but the whole night sky was lit up and the rumbling thunder sometimes lasted 10 seconds. It is about 8:30 AM as I write this and the temperature is a very nice 77 which almost feels cool! I’ve learned not to trust the weather forecast which seems to always say it is raining but not a drop has fallen. All I know is that at this time, there should be a lot of sunlight, but we still have the lights on. Here is a video from last night.

One thing that you can’t help noticing here is the disparity between rich/poor, old/new, and developed/undeveloped. There are malls everywhere and most of them have a 30-story condo as part of the complex. The idea is that residents never have to leave the air-conditioned splendor to shop and eat. However, you are just as likely to find what looks to me like a slum right next door. In the photo below, you can see the modern building on the left and a very old structures on the right side of the same street.

Basically, urban planning here was an afterthought. For example, in the picture below, I had to move about 200′ before I could get and angle to capture the final letter of the name that is obscured by a tree that I assume was there before the restaurant.

Here are a couple more views of the city.

For some context, all these photos were taken in and around the area called Grogol. This isn’t even the main part of Jakarta. There is construction everywhere. Sometimes it is going so fast that projects are abandoned with the building half complete. Needless to say, it is interesting.

As you might expect, I have been thinking a lot about the differences between living in Jakarta and Honolulu. One thing struck me as my good friend insomnia was visiting me. I realized that there was no good reason to get up because there was no place more comfortable in the house than my bed. Some of this has to do with the lack of furniture in the house, but it also has to do with the fact that the bedroom is air conditioned and there are no mosquitos. Last night, I decided to get up and sit at the dining room table and doomscroll. Within 15 minutes, I had 4 mosquito bites.

We had to leave everything behind, so anything we need has to be purchased. I was a little concerned about this because 1) there is no Amazon delivery here, 2) we don’t know where the best places to buy are, and 3) the minute they see a foreigner, a vendor will immediately jack up their price 25%. Fortunately, they have their own online service here called Tokopedia. Toko is the Indonesian word for store. From the relative comfort of my plastic patio chair, I can order whatever I want. As long as I filter based on free delivery, I can get just about anything. This is the recliner I ordered that was delivered in 4 days.

Another thing to get used to is shopping for essentials/perishables. I think it is a lot like Japan, where they shop for their food each day. There are Alfamarts/Ceriamarts/Indomarets around every corner where you can get bread, milk, mosquito repellant(!), and the all-important soda. Also within walking distance are produce vendors. The only thing you can’t get easily is fresh meat. The convenience stores also have ATMs, so they are the defacto bank in the neighborhood.

Western goods are a little different. You can’t get Diet Coke, but they do have Coke Zero. Milk only comes in vacuum-sealed boxes. Bread only comes in half loaves. Another interesting thing is that many vendors have switched to electronic purchases only. They don’t take credit cards, but they have this QR code that you scan with your bank app and enter the amount to transfer.

Oh yeah, I think OSHA took the decade off, and here is what amounts to ADA compliance.

I am sitting on the patio writing this and waiting for my recliner to arrive (see above). It is about 11:00 AM and it is about as quiet as it will be until 12 hours from now. Anytime now, the traffic will start up as students go home to lunch. That will be followed by the rush hour traffic that will last until 9:00 PM. In spite of the noise, I have been able to keep up with my writing and should complete the first draft of my novel this week. 

It just started to rain, and that will keep the traffic to a minimum and hopefully lower the temperature. I’m going to take the holidays off, so you can look for my next post in the first week of 2025. Have a safe holiday season!