Something in the way it moves

Since Thursday, my main mode of transportation has been on the back of a motorcycle. It's fucking rad. My first ride on Thursday was probably the most exhilarating moment I've had in a long time, I almost cried inside my helmet (which is also pretty rad looking). Granted, I'm just the passenger (bike being driven by my uncle's driver), I've officially fallen in love with transportation via motorbike. Perhaps I'll start saving money for a Vespa back home. In any case, my sweet new helmet is probably my favorite Indonesian souvenir so far, even if I don't get to use it when I go home.

Riding on the back of the motorcycle, it was the first time I really felt like I was a part of the city and not just observing it like an outsider. Most people my age and working the same type of job that I do can't afford cars; they usually ride motorbikes or get by taking public transportation and taxis. By riding a motorcycle, I'm kind of sampling the life I would have if I was really a Jakarta resident. Since my uncle is leaving soon for 3 weeks, I've had to figure out an appropriate mode of transportation for while he's gone. Taking his car would require me to pay for gas, which is about $50 US every 4-5 days. I brought a sizable amount of money with me, but that's a lot of cash when you calculate it over 3 weeks. By taking a motorcycle, I'm spending a bout $15 US a week, a much more economical amount by my standards.

It's weird to feel like a foreigner but not be treated like one by Indonesians; because I don't look distinctly foreign (read: white), people usually approach me by speaking Indonesian, to which I usually reply with a confused, slightly worried look. In certain places, like work or malls, I can get by with English. Even after making some flashcards, I haven't been catching the language as quickly as I'd like to. Oh well, about 7 more weeks to go anyway, and I don't expect to be fluent by then. I had almost the opposite experience while in China two years ago; most people could tell that I wasn't Chinese Chinese by the way I dressed and my accented Mandarin. There, I felt extremely foreign despite looking Chinese.

Last night was an adventure, both good and bad. I went to the final day of the Jakarta Fair, a month-long celebration of the city where people can buy stuff,watch performances and eat good food. A good deal of it is actually held indoors, but I was there to do a wrap-up report of the event. Accompanying me was Nofia, a Jakarta Post reporter who is actually one month younger than me. She helped translate interviews and we had a lovely time together. The bad part? Getting totally jacked by a taxi driver on the way back to the office. Asshole got miserably lost and charged me more than twice what it should have cost for the trip.

It's strange seeing someone my age (22) already employed at a well-regarded newspaper. In fact, the Jakarta Post has spent the last several days interviewing people for 10 new reporting positions. My journalism friends will surely marvel at this: 10 open reporter positions. When the hell has the Seattle Times or the P-I even had one open position for reporters?? The hiring process that the JP employs is interesting too. Nofia, who previously worked in human resources at the Phillip Morris-owned cigarette company Samporo, was hired after going through a writing test, an interview with the editor in chief, and a psychological test (quite common for most jobs in Jakarta, I'm told). Afterward, the hirelings underwent a year of training: 3 months of instruction and 9 months of field work at a specific desk in the newsroom.

It's an interesting if not perplexing difference to American newsrooms, where internships, clips, references and (most importantly) connections will likely land you your first job, and usually not at a nationally renowned publication (unless you're a total prodigy). Most of my co-workers here didn't study journalism in college, let alone a writing-related field. Nofia majored in international relations, which is actually quite applicable. Iwan the Webmaster and another reporter I met (name escapes me) both majored in engineering, probably one of the least applicable majors to journalism.

Perhaps my future job does lie in a foreign country. Seeing as the JP is still a growing newspaper by many standards, it seems natural that they would be expanding their staff right now.

My plans for this week? Making time to work out (I joined a gym last week to keep myself fit and occupied), fleshing out a story idea about a non-profit organization championing human rights and medical rights, and seeing the new Harry Potter movie.