Week one

On Thursday the 17th of June the big moment was finally there, my plane took off and I was going to Indonesia. The flight had a duration of nearly 14 hours, which gave me the time to relax. This was definitely necessary after the last couple of exhausting preparation days. During these days you are constantly faced with the fact that you do not return home for several months and therefore are not allowed to forget anything. This can be very stressful, but so far I have managed to keep everything together.

Once arrived at the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta I was immediately overwhelmed by the heat. It was like stepping into one big sauna. I can tell you that jeans and luggage are not really comfortable in such case. This was only after the sunset, I could not even imagine how it would be in the afternoons.

On the airport the Witteveen+Bos’ driver, Asep, was waiting for me. After a brief introduction he brought me to my apartment. During our ride I got introduced with the phenomena called ‘Traffic in Jakarta’. This consists of overtaking on both sides, constantly humping horns and driving side by side with four vehicles on a three lane road. On top of that are the motorbikes who are everywhere, like one big swarm of bees. They also seem to have a sort of competition on who can carry the most on one bike. The record, so far I have seen, is a complete four-member family with a huge Flat screen TV. What is next?!

I have planned to use this week for orientation. This includes getting about, overcoming the jetlag and learning some Indonesia. Understanding the language and be able to communicate will be very import during my interview sessions. The goal for my research consists of discussing my subject and set-up with my local supervisors.

Sampai jumpa,


Wim