Why I'm home

I feel as though I owe a blog post to everyone who has followed me for the past four months.  So here is an explanation of what happened:

In October I accepted a position with EF (English First) Indonesia to teach English in an EF school for adults.   I was very excited because EF has a mission to carry education to the world, a mission that I am very much motivated with.

EF let me know that they were arranging my visa and I made travel arrangements, expatriation arrangements, and got all my papers in order.  I rehomed all of my furniture, sold many of my possessions, including my vehicle, and quit my employment.  I bought a new wardrobe based on the dress code that EF emailed to me.  In all, I invested close to $10,000 in purchases and losses (my car was the big loss).

Just as I was beginning my travel, EF sent me an email to let me know that my teaching visa would not be ready, but that they had arranged for a business visa so that I could enter Indonesia.  On a business visa, I could attend meetings, orientations, and trainings, but I could not teach, have a contract, or receive a salary.  EF let me know that they were working on my teaching visa and that I should expect to receive it in 4 to 6 weeks.  In the meantime, I would still receive my salary.  Upon my arrival, EF presented me with a contract to sign.

Although I was not teaching to violate my business visa, I was still scheduled to work 5 days a week and asked to produce lessons after my training was complete.  I had the choice to work remotely or at the school, and wanting to look diligent, I opted to work at the school.  I later opted to work half at the school and half remotely, and finally completely remotely, but I will get to that below.

Asian custom is to avoid delivering bad news, so rather than give someone disappointing information, they will simply not communicate at all, or give ambiguous answers.  With us, they continued to say “4 to 6 weeks” for our visas, no matter how unrealistic that timeframe was.  Three months into my contract, I was again told “4 to 6 weeks” and at that point I started aggressively searching for employment elsewhere.

EF told us to lie to immigration officials, should we be questioned, on numerous occasions.  Lying to a government official, especially in a foreign country with a biased legal system made me very uncomfortable.  We asked the possible repercussions should we be discovered in a lie, but the question was evaded. 

Some of the other teachers were stopped by immigration officers at their apartment complexes and questioned.  I was stopped by my neighborhood policeman once, but I just played very stupid, asking him a lot of questions about himself and then buying him dinner.  I was lucky.  We were all questioned at the airport on visa runs (leaving the country every 60 days is a requirement on a business visa), and on my way back from Bangkok, I was held for about 15 minutes.

If I was caught violating the terms of my business visa, I could have faced up to 5 years in Indonesian prison and/or deportation.

The worst part of this whole process was the fact that EF knew what they were doing, or asking us to do.  Five days before I boarded a plane to expatriate, two teachers at one of the schools were caught teaching on a business visa by an immigration search.  The teachers were detained and had to leave the country for a week.  Four days later, and only upon the insistence of one of the deported teachers, EF informed my school that the teachers on a business visa could no longer teach.  The company had planned to let us continue teaching.  Two months into my contract, we learned that preparing lessons and attending social activities were not allowed on a business visa, so we stopped doing that as well, even though the company didn’t seem too happy about this.  Once, while I was still going to the school every day, I received a text message instructing me not to come to work because immigration was at the school.  This was when I began to work remotely.

Thus began the waiting game.  I spent my days sitting in my 9’x9’ kost room (which was all white, down to the bed comforter), lovingly referred to as my sensory deprivation tank.  I binged on tv series, read books, and made myself walk to the gym at least 4 times a week.  Not working was very hard on me and I found myself becoming depressed.

For the first two months my salary receipt read “salary,” but after pointing out to EF that we were not allowed to receive a salary and questioning whether immigration could use the receipts against us, I received a receipt marked “allowance” and one marked “reimbursement.”

A week before I fled the country, my supervisor attended a meeting where an upper management employee said that our contracts were no longer valid.  Since my contract was the only thing guaranteeing my monthly salary, this was a final straw, even though I had already accepted a new position in the US.

So, that’s why I’m home.  In short, not working was slowly killing me, I was violating my business visa by receiving a salary and having a contract, and I could face serious consequences should I be caught.  My time in Asia was not a total loss, though.  I gained some new skills, saw some amazing things, and had a great experience (minus my employer).  I will miss many things about Jakarta, cold showers, rats, and bugs aside.

Merry Christmas from Jakarta, with some photos from Bangkok!

Merry Christmas from Jakarta!  It is officially the night before Christmas here - it's dark, and I can hear the call to prayer echoing through the halls of my kost.  (Usually I can't hear it so loud, but the university is on break and many of the students who live at my kost have gone home until the new year.)  The call to prayer happens five times a day and can be heard in any part of the city, which is an interesting contrast to the Christmas decorations that can be seen all over the malls.  The MUI, the Muslim Ulema Council (basically the Indonesian Muslim clerical body that makes all the rules for Muslims in Indonesia) just declared that Muslims can wish their Christian friends "Merry Christmas," which is a nice reminder that I am living in a society very tolerant to religion.

My Christmas plans aren't very detailed, and that is okay with me.  I am having dinner with a coworker tomorrow for Christmas.  The next day, I will be cat-sitting for a different coworker while she goes on a visa run to Singapore.  On Saturday, the 27th, I will finish my cat-sitting and head straight to a television studio where I will be a diner on a reality television show!  They needed bule for the show, and I fit the part!  I'm not allowed to post anything about the show, so that's why I'm being vague, but after the show airs in January, I'll make sure to write a blog post about being behind-the-scenes on a reality cooking competition. 

I spent the last week with the flu, and I barely had the energy to walk to the corner to buy water and noodles, let alone concentrate to write a blog post, so my Bangkok photos are a little dated, but I wanted to share them with you.  You can see them below.

I started my day by taking a taxi to the Grand Palace.  I had heard about scams where tuk-tuk drivers will tell you the Palace is closed, so I was aware that this happened; however, as I approached the entrance, a man stopped me and explained that my capri pants were too short and I couldn't enter during the special ceremony.  I would have to come back around 1:30.  I didn't even think anything of it.  I let him shoo me into a tuk-tuk that promised to let me see the city and come back when the ceremony was over.  About 2 minutes into my tuk-tuk ride, I realized I had been scammed.  Overall, it wasn't a horrible detour.  I only spent the equivalent of $3 on a 1.5 hour tuk-tuk ride.  That is my driver, Toa, in the yellow polo. 

The scam is that the drivers receive a commission if you buy anything at the stores they end up bringing you to.  I did buy a scarf at one store, but I realized later that I could have gotten the same scarf at a night marked for cheaper.  All-in-all, it's not a bad way to spend a couple of hours, and I wasn't on a schedule, so I wasn't out much.

The Grand Palace was beautiful, and requires at least two hours to walk around and see everything.  The details on the buildings are so amazing; words really can't describe how serene and picturesque the property is.

By this point, I was starving, so I ate some green curry before moving on to Wat Pho.

Wat Pho is the Giant Reclining Buddha.  The property is also very quiet and serene, and the Buddha was magnificent.  The size is amazing.

After Wat Pho, I walked to the river and ate some Pineapple Fried Rice before walking about 30 minutes to Khao San Road, or the backpacker's road, where I looked around some shops.

I took a tuk-tuk back to my hostel.  The ride to the Grand Palace from my hostel was 100 baht, but the tuk-tuk driver told me 500 baht when he stopped.  I laughed in his face, gave him 100 baht, and walked away.  (Make sure if you ever travel to Bangkok, to ask the reception at your hotel what you should spend on transportation.  Thankfully, I had done that.)

The next day, I went to Snake Farm, which was right across the street from my hostel.  The zoo of snakes serves to educate people about snakes and to research anti-venom medicines.  I was actually very glad I went, even though I am disgusted and frightened by snakes.  If you find yourself in Bangkok and have an extra couple of hours, this is something I would highly recommend.

Overall, Bangkok was very amazing and a much-needed respite from noisy, dirty, and congested Jakarta.  Two days was not long enough, and I hope to return in the future!

Merry Christmas, y'all!

From the Big Durian to the Big Mango...LIVE from Bangkok!

Here I am, in Bangkok, or the Big Mango, as it's fondly known as.  Funny to come here from Jakarta, or the Big Durian, as it's infamously known as.  Ironically, I like durian and I'm not a fan of mango, but LET ME SAY that I LOVE BANGKOK.

I think it was time for me to get out of Jakarta for a minute.  I found myself in awe, looking from the window of the plane, to the clear view of the city of Bangkok at night - with headlights moving down streets.  There is no smog or traffic jams.  When we landed, the plane taxied to an actual terminal, and when we queued for the taxis, there was no confusion.  In fact, everything was logical, and clean, and friendly.

My cab driver from the airport was friendly, too, and spoke somewhat good English.  He had no idea where we were going, though, and admitted more than once that he needed glasses.  He had to turn around three times, bringing the meter to 200 baht instead of the 150 it could have been.  In Thailand, you have to give the driver a 50 baht service fee, so I counted out 250 baht.  He got pretty angry, yelling "No tip?"  Tipping is not mandatory and should not even be expected.  I think he expected me to tip because I'm American.  He was very confused why I told him to stop at the hostel instead of the 5-star hotel down the road.  The driver actually tried to stop at every swank hotel on the way for me.  He kept saying, "You are American.  You can stay here."  In the end, I just walked away from him.  Not only did he run up my meter, but he received his service fee.

My hostel is called Thrive! The Hostel.

It's pretty nice, and I splurged for a private room, but as you can see from the photo, there's no room for more than a bed.  I'm standing between the sink and the toilet with my back to the door.  There is a shower over the toilet, in standard Asian fashion.  Those curtains open to windows, and I'll let you know what is outside them once there is daylight.

The neighborhood is typically Thai.  There are a lot of hostels on my street, but some advertise special services.

The best part, though, was my dinner.  I know, I know.  I'm supposed to eat all sorts of amazing Thai food now that I'm here.  And I will.  But tonight, y'all?  Tonight, I'm not in Indonesia anymore.  Funny thing is, without the pollution and the trash and the traffic and the noise, I almost feel like I'm in America.

That?  Why, that's tomato soup.  Soup.  Not sop or soto, soup.  And that second thing?  Why, that's a friggin' sandwich, y'all.  Two pieces of bread grilled with...wait for it...ham.  Pork.  Pig.  Not smoked beef, not salted tofu.  Ham.  With bread.  And cheese.  And see those fries?  They get...wait for it...

Salt.  On the table.  That I can use.  For my food.  And...

Awww yeah.  'Murica.

A rat actually ran across my table during dinner and I kind of wanted to give it a hug.  That's how I feel about Bangkok.

Tomorrow I'm off to see all the temples a visitor to Bangkok is supposed to see, and maybe a market or two.  No matter what, I'm in love with this beautiful city and I can't wait to show you more.

Update (including food stuffs for Michaela)

It’s time for just a basic life update.  Everything has been crazy busy.  I can’t officially work yet because of my visa, so I haven’t been doing much, but somehow I seem to still fill all of my time.  Here’s what’s been going on:

First, I moved from my temporary kost to my permanent kost.  My employer put me up for my first 30 days at a kost called Avia Residence.  I really grew to love the neighborhood, but the location was not convenient.  There were also some amenities that I wanted that the kost lacked.  It was very safe, but could have been cleaner.  My room had a queen-sized bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and an aircon (air conditioning is just called “aircon” here).  It also had a toilet and a shower, kind of all-in-one, so I couldn’t take a shower without soaking the toilet.  Also, there was a bit of a drainage problem, leaving about ½” of standing water in the entire bathroom every time I took a shower.  Needless to say, I wore sandals in the bathroom ALWAYS.  My new kost is called Urban Estindo Residence.  I had the option of moving to an apartment or a kost, and I chose kost for a few reasons.  Basically, what I am giving up in the space provided by a 1-bedroom apartment (my kost room is 9’ x 9’ including the bathroom and closet), I am gaining in maid service, laundry service, linen service, free breakfast, and savings.  This kost is just about as far away from Mal Taman Anggrek as my last kost, but now I have access to a pedestrian bridge.  The walk to work is only about 15 to 20 minutes, meaning I’m also saving about $4 to $5 a day on cab fares (not to mention that I am not contributing to the traffic problem). 

Like I said, I can’t officially work because I don’t have my KITAS, only a business visa, but I still hold hours every day because it adds some normalcy.  On a business visa I can still attend meetings, trainings, and observations.  I also spend my time preparing lesson plans – not for my school to use, but so that I have some ready once my KITAS is obtained.  I was holding hours in my center, but I’ve decided to hold them at Starbucks or at home instead, so as to be less conspicuous. 

A normal day looks a little like this:

1)  Wake up naturally or in violent spurts from about 7:30 to 9:30.  Indonesians are LOUD and the walls here are very thin.

2)  Check emails and watch the news – I like Aljazeera or BBC, but I do have CNN, MSNBC, and Fox. 

3)  Get dressed in my gym clothes and pack some work clothes, my computer, and my hairbrush in my backpack.  Check my wallet, and make sure I have about 200,000 IDR (about $16) on me, just in case.

4)  Walk to Mal Taman Anggrek and head straight to the 4^th level (which is actually the 7^th floor) to go to the gym to work out for at least an hour.

5)  Take a shower at the gym (hot water!) and get dressed.

6)  Head to the food court (also on the 4^th level) for some lunch.  The food court is basically just food stalls that are rented out by street vendors on a permanent basis.  I have some favorites, including gado-gado lontong, 

kweitiau goreng sapi,

sop ayam nasi,

kuo tieh panggang,

    

and babi rica-rica padang.

My lunch at the food court is about 50,000 IDR, but for that I'm paying for aircon, running water for sanitation (assumedly), and TWO Diet Cokes from the drink vendor.  I have to purchase coupons from the coupon desk, buy my meal and drinks from different stalls, then turn in my remaining coupons for a refund.

7)  Head to Starbucks to work, or to my Center if I need to print something or get a reimbursement.  Hang out for about 3-5 hours.

8)  Walk back to my kost, usually stopping at the Indomart for water and sometimes a snack.

9)  Do some additional work or personal work (language study, reading, etc.).

10)  Walk down the street to pick up dinner from one of the street vendors.

11)  Change into pajamas and watch a movie with dinner.

12)  Chat, Skype, or catch up on social media and emails. 

13)  Fall asleep around midnight.

This isn’t the most gratifying arrangement, and I really can’t wait to actually start doing the job I was hired to do, but things could be a lot worse.

I miss everyone, and I’ll try to post another update soon…