Janis in Jakarta

After 28 hours of flying, one bloody nose and one broken suitcase, I am home. I got off the plane and, right on the other side of security, was my husband holding a bouquet of flowers. We hugged and kissed and both cried. I know, totally corny. And Matt, trust me, women find that sensitive side very sexy. I have to say, I am well aware that it’s not every husband who would have been so supportive of this experience and I’m pretty lucky I got one who stepped up to the plate (although, his record while I was away is not without a blemish, he did lose one kid once but fortunately got her back in due time).

After a delay due to my damaged luggage and some haggling with US Air, we headed home. I called my sister who has been traveling to work every day with a pair of underwear and a toothbrush in her briefcase just in case my girls needed her and she had to hop a train to Philly for some triage. Jill was the one person in the world who knew exactly what to say to me when I had hit my lowest point during the trip. Man, was I glad I called her at that moment when I was in tears!

We arrived at my house and there was my dad standing in the driveway. Joe Fratamico, the guy who taught me that experience always outranks “stuff” and that giving is so much more fun than getting. If I hadn’t drawn Joe’s name in the parental lottery, I never even would have considered applying for this program. It was so appropriate and so “Joe” that he was standing there waiting for me.

I was surprising the kids with my arrival a day early so I couldn’t get into that house fast enough. I walked in to the kitchen and there they were eating breakfast. I whispered a little “psssst,” and they turned around a just stared That moment was the last time my body remained untouched by a human being under the age of 9 for the entire day. It was awesome. They were so cute and just clobbered me with hugs. When I managed to pull away I looked around the kitchen. There were two posters, one from my kids that they had fortunately prepared in advance and one from my wonderful posse of friends. Just like the one they made sending me off, this one had “Welcome Home Janis” written in Indonesian. In addition, there was a bouquet of tulips and the makings for mimosas. These girls know me SO well. They also know I never could have done this without them. These beautiful women were there with me every second of the way and stepped in for every occasion when I couldn’t be there – the school show, Easter Sunday, sleepovers, field trips and “fake Mommy” dates. My grandfather used to tell me that if you could look back on your life and know you had one true friend, you should consider yourself blessed. Somehow, I got way more than my share Gramps, and don’t think I don’t know it!!

Mom was sitting in the living room. The woman who wrote me scores of corny notes and continues to do so to this day but who never welcomed any lack of confidence with a hug but with a virtual kick in the rear. Traveling so far for so long was only possible because she made me jump and believe the parachute would always open -and if it didn’t, I’d better be prepared to pick myself up, dust myself off and jump again.

I stayed awake until 8:30 then fell asleep in one twin bed with my two girls while Matt was out grocery shopping for the makings of my chocolate chip pancakes for Mother’s Day. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy.

Thanks to everyone who’s followed along on this crazy journey with me and to my boss and team at IBM who made it possible. Ann, Heather and Tisha, you carried more that any one person should and I am forever grateful for it.

It’s 4AM and I’ve just go to sleep. I just can’t wait to see what follows this story – I’d better make it a good one!!

It’s all right to have butterflies in your stomach, just get them to fly in formation.
-Dr. Rob Gilbert

Today was the big day! The culmination of our of our hard work over the past three weeks and the whole reason we were here. We presented two versions of our final report today. First we met with Bapak Sutanto, the deputy governor of Transportation. We spent more than an hour with him, taking him though a detailed version of our findings and recommendations. He responded very favorably and asked questions. The only concern we had – and we had it later with the governor- were the “next steps” they were giving us. We sort of tap danced around it a bit since we are all leaving tomorrow and there is a new ESC group that will come to Jakarta to continue our work in 4-6 months. In the meantime, if they want any support from IBM they will have to pay for it. I do hope the local office follows up as I think there is opportunity for them to continue the momentum. The first set of pictures are from that less formal but more intensive first meeting.

We then went back to the office for about an hour and gave out some token gifts to the IBMers, staff from ABV and translators who have been so good to us over the past 23 days. Hubert said it best when we were talking about what a mess the traffic is and he said, “but the people here are always smiling!” It’s so true. I don’t think I’ve ever been around people who smile more than the Indonesians. Horrible traffic, corruption, poverty and more natural disasters than most of us see in a lifetime and they smile all the time. It certainly helps you remember what truly makes you happy. Hubert remarked today that he is headed home to the land of people who don’t smile. I can say the same for the US now that I can compare it to Indonesia. In NYC, if the light changes and you don’t take off out of the shoot immediately, the guy behind you leans on his horn. Here they sit for hours to go few miles and there are no honks at all – unless you are about to hit someone on a motorcycle!

There was a press release distributed prior to our meeting at 11:30 with the Governor of Jakarta. I’ve copied it here (there is a bit of “Indo-nenglish” as we’ve dubbed it so be mindful that it was translated):

IBM Executive Services Corps Maps out Smarter Traffic vision for Jakarta

As part of a year-long, global celebration to mark its centennial, IBM is including Corporate Service Corps as one of 100 ‘Icons of Progress’ – significant company accomplishments during the last century. To mark IBM’s centennial, the company is highlighting its leading role in transforming business, science and society, while also predicting advances for the next century.

So, on to meet Governor Fauzi Bowo or “Bapak Gubenor” as we were told to call him. He was very late and we were worried we would have less then 5 minutes with him. We were escorted into a big room, the Governor sat at the head of the room, we sat along the sides (the Indonesians are very big on where-you-sit protocol) and, after a short statement by the IBM Consulting Leader, we launched into our roadmap for the city. Neil did the introduction, Hubert talked about Intelligent Transport Systems, Zanell discussed our recommended governance model and I presented the recommended communications/PR program. Peter ably ran the laptop (I say ably because in the earlier meeting, he wasn’t quite as “able” and summed up the recommendations. The Governor then took his time providing very positive feedback and sharing with us the issues they are facing. The PR program was the biggest hit as it was truly a net new idea and one on which they hadn’t focused. The bottom line is: if they don’t engage their citizens, they will not see any real change. So much is dependent on the behavior of the people of Jakarta. Clearly both the Governor and Sutanto would have preferred our assignment was much longer as they have a long way to go – I suppose it’s a good thing when you leave them wanting for more. At the end of the meeting, Widita, the IBM Consulting leader, presented the Governor with a beautiful statue from the ESC and Neil presented him with the 100+ page deliverable we had created. Then, on the meet the press.

The Governor made a statement summarizing our findings very well, it was in Bahasa, but we could interpret enough to know that he didn’t miss a trick, summed up our report and introduced us all. There are a few pictures from the press conference where I am right next to the Governor. I had to answer a few questions afterward but nothing major.

As we sat at lunch after it was all over, Neil said, “If we had been offered this as an ending 3 weeks ago, we would have bitten if off,” or something very English like that that meant: if we knew that this was the ending before we started, we would not have turned back. It was all that we could have hoped for and more. As expected, I even got a little weepy when I said good-bye to the IBMers from Jakarta, especially Santi.

So, the adventure is nearly over. I leave for Hong Kong tomorrow at 3PM. I have no regrets and know that I have just written a huge chapter in my personal history book. The decision to come here literally felt like someone was pushing me out of a plane. I was so scared yet committed to follow through. I feel so good about what we’ve done here and I’ve learned that I can live with a constant ache for my family yet still embrace the moment for all it’s worth. I’ve seen a part of the world that I had never even imagined and I’ve met remarkable people who have touched me and taught me so much. I’ve learned to be a consultant after years of marketing consulting services and I know more about traffic solutions than I should. It’s such an odd feeling now that this adventure is over and I am about to go back to my ordinary life. It’s the end of something that was so exciting and it’s a bit hard to let go but the smiles that will greet me in 2 days will remind me that my life at home is far from ordinary – it’s actually one of the best there is. I’ve also added a Japanese toilet to my Mother’s Day Gift list so I hope Matt and the girls have done their shopping….

I’ll post just once more after I am safely back in my home!

Selamat Jalan Jakarta!!!

In 10 hours we’ll be making our final presentation to the Deputy Governor of Transportation and in 14 hours we will be in front of the Governor of Jakarta then the media. This is the big show! All the work we’ve done culminating with our recommendations to the Jakarta government. We did a bit of dry run with the Central Government today and it went very well. I think we underestimated our good thinking as we started to get tired of our own advice -fortunately, seeing some heavy weights who report to the Vice President of Indonesia taking copious notes gave us the much-needed mojo! This time tomorrow we will be enjoying our last night together as a team and our last night in Jakarta – and, hopefully, celebrating our success….

After we finished our work, Zanell and I did some shopping for the two women who have been the greatest help to us, Santi and Hartini (my new mentee). We found the perfect gift – a charm bracelet with a car charm on it. As soon as we saw it we knew it was perfect and would forever remind them of their support for our Smarter Traffic work here in Jakarta. I brought some other gifts from home to give to our translators and some of the other helpers. They are getting Hershey Bars, Jelly Belly’s and Yankee Candles – and a couple of other tchatchkes we dug up.

I surprised to even see myself writing this, but I have 2 nights left and I’m actually a little bit sad. I’ve really enjoyed working with this team and I’ve never seen 5 completely different people work together so well. We really respected each other’s opinion and valued each other’s strengths. It was a working experience so different from any other I’ve known. I will also miss the people I’ve gotten to know from Jakarta, most especially Hartini and Santi. I so hope that our lives come together some time again, either here or in the US. I’ll compile more thoughts tomorrow when I post my final blog entry from this side of the international date line, but know, it will be with a bit of a tear in my eye. Who’d a thunk it??!!!

We woke up to a new day and a new attitude – thank heaven! Peter and I met with the head of the MRT – which is the Jakarta agency responsible for the development of their new subway/train system. This guy impressed the hell out of us and there is no doubt he has the solutions to Jakarta’s massive traffic problems. Only problem is,the first corridor is not in operation until 2016 and the whole project is not complete until 2024!! In the meantime cars will outnumber road capacity within the next two years so that ain’t the answer we were hoping for.

We finished our presentations and head back to the Jakarta Presidential Palace tomorrow for a dry run with the Central Government team overseeing the transportation issues for the President (SBY). Then the final event is on Thursday. We present to the Governor of Jakarta fom 9-10 followed by a press conference, where my media training has designated me the spokesperson for the team. I’ll have to make sure someone sends me the press clippings!

As for the other happenings around town, the ASEAN leaders are all coming to Jakarta for a summit this weekend. The Sultan of Brunei is already here and staying at the hotel next door and there are leaders in the Kempinski where we are staying as well. We’ve always had to pass out bags through an X-ray machine and walk through a metal detector but now, given the death of OBL and the ASEAN leaders bopping around town we have armored tanks and army and police all over the place. Our hotel is right in the center of all the action and is where all the major demonstrations take place so the crazy security actually makes me feel a bit better about things. I need to get the Sultan to move across the street so I’ll know we’ll be protected (plus I can ask him for details about the wedding…).

Anyway, this crazy security thing is now a part of my “story.” Just another chapter to tell the grandkids about! 4 more nights of sleeping in my fluffy hotel bed, heated toilets seats and having my bed made every day….there are some things I am going to miss!

Selamat Tidur – Good Night!

The greatest mistake you can make in life is continually fearing you will make one. – Elbert Hubbard.

Well, it had to happen. Probably the worst day of the adventure so far. Started with my inability to hold it together on the phone with the kids in the AM – I’m just worried about the kids now that we are in the homestretch. I know this is trying on them even though they’ve been great and Matt has had the patience I wish I had more often.

Anyway, after the tough call, I found out about Osama Bin Laden and, immediately, all the fears I had about coming over here were realized. I knew the threat to Americans abroad would be significant and I know there are extremists here (and everywhere) who are looking for an excuse. I know he was a bad guy, but I would never celebrate the death of any human being. I have taught my kids that gloating is bad, that you win with grace and lose with dignity, that you are no one’s judge and jury and we are all God’s children. I’ll stand by that and let this be a teachable moment for my kids. Anyway, as expected, we received an alert from the US Embassy in Jakarta to be extra vigilant for fear of retaliation against Americans. We’ve been advised to stay in our of hotels and avoid any mass gatherings or demonstrations. I’ve got 6 days to go and 3 flights ahead of me – I don’t think I will let those kids go after I land.

The day then went from bad to worse and we hit a bit of a bump in the road as a team. It was bound to happen. We are on the last lap and it all comes down to our presentation on Thursday. As you would imagine, there are differences of opinion on how we present the final deliverable and my distractions did not help matters at all. I’ve committed to coming back to the office tomorrow with my “A” game and I’m sure everyone else will as well. Someone once told me that if two people have the same opinion, one of them is irrelevant so we’ve guaranteed our relevancy – that’s for sure!

Onward and upward – a room service Wagyu burger, chocolate shake and a good run at the gym tomorrow should provide much-needed fresh perspective!

Until then….

Only as I am aware of the present will I have the opportunity to be fully alive – Anne Wilson Schaef

Another quote from my “Seize the Moment” book – I’ve dog-eared nearly every page to capture the feelings and personal goals I have for this trip. Anyway, that one hit home for me today.

We all went to Bogor today to the Presidential Palace. There are a few throughout Indonesia, one in Jakarta (where I had a meeting last week and another coming up this Wednesday), one in West Java, one in Bali and this one in Bogor about 45 minutes outside of Jakarta. There may be more, but I’m not sure. Anyway, Bogor palace is where President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (known as SBY for obvious reasons) spends his weekends but we were lucky enough that he stayed in Jakarta to celebrate his son’s engagement so we got to inside. We are also lucky enough to know Santi Diansari, who is very well connected and got us a tour of the inside. Santi is the Muslim woman married to the Hindu man who is a member of Parliament representing Bali who has the 9 year old daughter who made me cry. Got it? She used to work for the Indonesian President and now she works for IBM as their head of Government Relations. Anyway, she and her daughter came with us today and her “pull” got us where few have been. We saw the office that was used by President Sukarno, the first President of Indonesia (in 1945) and later by the dictator, Suharto. We saw amazing works of art that had been gifts from other heads of state and saw the very modest bedrooms where Condoleeza Rice and President George W. Bush and his wife Laura slept. Condi slept on a twin bed in a room with little else besides the bed and a TV. There was a piano right outside that room that we played around with that I’m sure she must have played as well. George and Laura’s room was equally modest but with a double bed. We all remarked that our rooms at the Kempinski Hotel were so much nicer.

The grounds of the presidential palace were also amazing and there are tons of deer and Banyan trees along with little lakes and fruit trees. The pictures can not begin to capture just how lush the property is. We took so many pictures there but we are not permitted to post any that we took inside the palace so you can only see the exterior shots and a couple that I took of the inside from the outside.

The one thing I realized at the Bogor Palace as we were taking the tour was that as much as I ache for my family and miss them so much, I never would have been able to do a tour like that with two little kids. It was a fascinating day and it was only as interesting as it was because because I was able to focus totally and completely on what we were seeing. When I was at Matt and Allison Cook’s house yesterday we were talking about Bali and the older son, Liam, mentioned the water park they have there. I didn’t didn’t even know there was a water park but I sure, if I had visited the island with the girls. It’s probably all I would have seen! Instead, I got a day-long tour of Bali with the rice terrace, plantation, volcano and art village that I otherwise never would have experienced. It was nice to be aware of another upside to this wonderful experience I have having.

In the palace pictures you will see a shot of Sarah and Anna, they are our hosts from Australian Business Volunters (ABV) and they have been so good to us. In addition, you’ll see many shots of the people and the city outside of the presidential walls. Much like Jakarta, there is a great deal of pollution and poverty but also some very happy people.

We ate at a traditional Indonesian restaurant where, thankfully, Santi ordered food for all of us to share. As you can see from the pictures, while we may not have known what we are getting from the menu, there was nothing left to mystery once it arrived – head and all! The 3 Indonesians all ate their food with their hands, as is tradition. It’s either hands, chopsticks or a fork and spoon. No restaurant we have been to yet has given us a knife. It does make cutting a bit tricky but we’ve managed. They are also not big on napkins at all – kind of odd for a culture who eats with their hands but I think they just go straight to the sink and wash up. No need to keep wiping your hands if you are just going to eat with them again. I took pictures of Anna and Santi’s daughter, Kalinga, eating with their hands. Another funny thing was when Santi asked, “does anyone want the fish head?” I thought she was joking until her daughter said, “can I have the eye?!” And down went the fish head, eyeball and all. Same thing for the chicken head. The Indonesians chowed them down. All I could think of is how I have to beg my 6-year-old not to pick out every piece of parsley or onion from a meatball and this kid was begging for the fish eye and eating the head of a chicken.

After the restaurant and a long traffic-filled trip, we went to a Hindu temple where I wanted to purchase a Balinese outfit for my girls. After some tough bargaining, we were about to go into the temple. In this temple you do not need to wear a sarong, only a special sash. As I was getting ready to put my sash on, there was a bit of girl talk and I was told I could not go in the temple. You’ll see from the picture of the sign exactly why. Some rules are taken very seriously and that was one of them….oh well!

We ended the day at a local pub watching the Arsenal v Manchester United Football match. Neil follows Arsenal with a religious fervor and they were up when I left them to come home and call the kids. I am certain I will know the results as soon as I see Neil tomorrow so I pray Man U went down big. Fingers crossed!

Anyway, it was a really fascinating day – one for the memory books as this whole trip has been. 6 more nights and I will be on my first flight towards home. I have done a fair bit of shopping so we’ll see just how much I can fit into my two suitcases – packing will not be fun. This is a big week coming up for us but one I hope will get us to a very successful and happy ending.

Until tomorrow….

Almost forgot – I’ve eaten all kinds of fruit I’ve never heard of on this trip including durian, lychee, mangosteen and rambutan. There is a picture of the rambutan in the photos below – strangest thing I’ve seen but absolutely DE-LISH!

You may need a hanky for this one…

Great day today. We visited “Batavia” or Old Town Jakarta today, it’s the oldest section of Jakarta with historical buildings, museums and a big square. It’s also very run down and not a great place to go at night, hence our late morning/lunchtime visit. We were celebrities again here. As soon as we entered the square we were individually surrounded by school children asking to interview us – I should mention, not only did our Western-ness stick out because of our looks and Peter’s Red Sox cap, but we were all wearing bright teal IBM shirts that probably glow in the dark – not exactly inconspicuous, at one point I spotted Neil 100 yards ahead of us in the middle of a huge crown thanks to the day-glo shirts. Well, this time we were actually asked to sign our names multiple times as they interviewed us about where we were from and what we thought of Jakarta. Their English was very limited as they all asked us the exact same questions but did not understand any that we asked them. You’ll see multiple pictures below of the “interviews.” We were all also asked to take pictures with them. It was hilarious.

Peter, Sarah and I went to a puppet museum in the square which was really great. The puppets were from the traditional Indonesian Romeo and Juliet story with a happier ending. Shinta and Rama, thankfully, end up together in the end but not after some major challenges in the middle. The man who runs the museum even put on a special 5 minute version of the 9 hour show for us. He even threw in reference to Obama when they got married and were planning their honeymoon – very cute. We enjoyed him as much as the story he told.

We then had lunch at Cafe’ Batavia. It’s a very famous old restaurant on the square and the walls are covered in pictures. The food was great but we loved the menus. They were framed with one side a (sometimes racy) picture from the movies and the other side had the menu. When we ordered our food, they just hung it back up on the wall.

From Batavia we headed through the rain and flooded streets to the Foster home we were to visit with the IBM Jakarta team. We had requested a charitable event we could participate in, in addition to the work we were doing for the government, and this home had been requesting some support. It’s not an orphanage as we originally thought, but a home for children whose family can not care for them. Many have lived there for 7 or 8 years and they consider it home. I took quite a lot of pictures. It’s so sad that these children are better off here they then are at home when the see the conditions in which they live. I can’t imagine what kind of conditions their families are living in. The home is mostly for girls, ages 5 – 18 and they were all so beautiful – inside and out. After I made a bit of a speech (translated by our interpreter) the IBM Jakarta leader made a speech and the kids then sang us two songs. I’ve posted the video. It was hard to hold it together and their voices were amazing. It was truly the high point of the day.

We then spent time playing computer games with them and Zanell judged a coloring contest. Hubert and Peter then unveiled the computer that was a gift to the home from IBM Jakarta. It was really a great day.

My day ended with a trip outside the city to have dinner with my brother-in-law Dan’s brother Matt. Dan is married to my husband Matt’s sister Nicole and his brother (also named Matt) and his family live in Jakarta. He is on a 3 year assignment with Coca Cola. Allison and Matt live in an unbelievable home with their two adorable sons Liam and Gus. Such polite, cute and well-mannered little boys. I really enjoyed their company. They are living the high life here in Jakarta, as many ex-pats do with a huge home, a driver and cook and a maid. I also got to enjoy the traffic again as it took my an hour each way on a Saturday night to go about 15 miles. Thank heaven for their driver!

Today we are off to the Presidential palace in Bogor – I can’t believe this is our last weekend day in Indonesia. I’ll be in the air one week from today. Can’t wait to see Matt and the kids!!

More soon. Love, janis

In Indonesia “Casual Friday” is “Batik Friday” so Batik we did. We had our first client presentation today and thought it was a nice homage to the local culture. Turns out, it was a good call. Of the 12 or so clients who were in the room, at least 10 were wearing batik and the main client even commented on our dress. SCORE! The meeting went well too although we did lose a couple of attendees about 1/3 of the way through – I mean, here we were speaking English for quite a while and, if their English skills are not super strong (which most are not) they got tired and started texting. This was made even more difficult by the fact that they had to hear it spoken with 4 different accents. I’m sure they were exhausted! Next go-around we learned more pictures, less words.

Our meeting was scheduled to start at 7:30 and go until 9AM. In true Indonesian style, we started at about 8AM and some people were still arriving at 9AM. It was pretty funny when they were asked to comment on what we presented even though we had finished before they got there. I wonder if they fix the traffic problem if that lack of punctuality will still be tolerated.

Another interested thing about the meeting, as soon as we were all seated we were served sweet tea and given a box of what looks like danish some sort of bun. Some of the Indonesians were eating it while we presented. After we were done, I checked it out: some green balls with coconut that were VERY sweet (there was something gooey inside), a rice thingy with curried meat inside and what I thought was a danish of some sort but it also had some spicy meat in it. They were all very small but it was such an odd meal for us at 8AM. Needless to say, we gave them to our translators for their breakfast.

Another interesting tidbit with regards to the Indonesian culture, when someone meets you and shakes your hand, they then touch their heart. It’s such a lovely gesture and means that they cherish the meeting in their heart. They also very often put their hands together, as if in prayer, and bow a little when saying good-bye/thank-you/I’m sorry, again, quite a nice thing to see and it just makes you feel good. These gestures were quite frequent as people came and went from the meeting room.

Later in the day, we met with our new proteges from Jakarta. We will be their mentors from afar after we leave. I’m so looking forward to taking on a new mentee, especially one from Indonesia. I will be Hartini Haris’ mentor – Hartini is the country marketing manager for Indonesia and she and I hit it off great. We all had shabu shabu together which was one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten -even after mistakenly taking the food from the spicy side of the pot. Oddly enough, I still ate it, my palate must be changing!

I have to say, one of the most interesting things for me here has been all the Muslims I have gotten to know. Until I came here, I don’t believe I had ever met anyone who was Muslim. At least not that I was aware of. While Indonesia is primarily Muslim, it is not a Muslim state and strives to stay that way – embracing all religions – but making a belief in a God a tenet of their democracy. In fact, this was in the Jarkarta Post just last Thursday, “Apart from its label as one the most corrupt nations in Asia, Indonesia is ranked the most religious country in the world. A recent Reuters poll ranked Indonesia, before Brazil and Turkey, as the country with the highest number of people believing in God.” Regardless of the religion, Indonesians take their faith very seriously and are very devout. Despite all the terror warnings over the Easter weekend, all the Christians I have met went to church on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, no one stayed home. A Muslim women just today told me she is not afraid at all of the terror warnings and when it’s her time to go, it’s her time to go. It’s a level of comfort that comes with a deep faith. Conversely, another Muslim women I have gotten to know very well, did opt out of taking her 9-year-old daughter to the Justin Beiber concert on Saturday night. That, she thought, was way too dangerous!! The poor girl would have been trampled by the screaming tweens!

I so wish every American could spend some time with people who are so different from us but yet so similar at their core. When I hear moronic politicians being asked if they would appoint a Muslim to their cabinet if they were president and they quickly say “no” to pander to the extremists within their own party, that frightens me more than anything right now. They are then complicit in breeding a culture of hate similar to the one they think they are fighting. It was appalling before and even more so to me now. One way I know I will be forever changed from this experience is that level of understanding I never could have had otherwise.

Anyway, I’m off my soapbox now and off to bed – tomorrow will be the old city or Batavia as they call it and then a visit to the orphanage. I came loaded with gifts from the $1 section of Target so I hope they go over well!

Oh and by the way – rest assured I did not miss a minute of the wedding. I just wish Wills would have sat up a bit straighter and held her hand or something – these two have to be the real deal – I mean what was more Cinderella than seeing them get in that carriage and head to the palace. Incredible!!! You’ll see a photo of 4 of us with the wedding in the background at the hotel bar.

Peace out….

Well, it seems there has been a bit of press surrounding our arrival in Jakarta as I was sent more that 20 press clippings regarding our project. Here is a sample:

IBM Executive Service Corps in Jakarta
Traffic jams in Jakarta? That’s old news. Several programs have been implemented to easy the traffic in this city — three-in-one, TransJakarta, and adding and widening roads. But, none of these initiatives can effectively solve the traffic problem in Jakarta. This time, IBM’s team is collaborating with the Jakarta Municipal Government to try and tackle this problem.

The IBM Executive Service Corps is a variant of IBM’s ongoing Corporate Service Corps pro bono community service program and often called a “corporate version” of the Peace Corps. Since its commencement in 2008, the program focuses on transportation, public safety, energy, education, healthcare, water resource management and economic development. The program conducted in collaboration with the Jakarta Municipal Government is part of IBM’s Centennial

The best part is when they call us a “team of experts!” I know my husband is laughing out loud right now.

Anyway, today we met at the Indonesian version of the White House – pictures below – it was pretty cool, even more so since we saw the cars and security ready to receive the President and Vice President and, as we were leaving, they went speeding by us! It was a great meeting meeting as well with the Vice President’s team assigned to oversee the improvement of Jakarta’s traffic problems. It’s very interesting to see the Federal versus Provincial Governments battle it out up close and personal. Jakarta wants more help and more money from the Federal Government and the Federal Government wants more action from the city and believes they should find the money on their own from the private sector. It’s gridlock 101 here.

We did get to do some shopping here today, at the Sarinah, the oldest department store in Jakarta. I’ve never seen so much batik and I’ve never seen so little I wanted to buy! I did have fun in the crafts section though and could have come home with so many carvings and dolls and puppets and pictures, if only I had 3 homes to put it all in. I included some pictures of the batik. Tomorrow will be interesting since it’s “Batik Friday” and EVERYONE wears it to work. I did buy a $6 scarf I can wear as a headband as an homage to the local culture for our client meeting tomorrow. All 3 of the guys on the team now have a batik shirt and they will be decked out like the natives tomorrow. I’ll be sure to post a picture.

In the pictures below, you’ll see the work of us “experts” on the white board, the “white house” visit, the floors and floors and batik at Sarinah and, my absolute favorite – the motorcycle car pool. It’s so funny because you can’t get rich people in cars to carpool, instead they pay the illegal guys to jump in with them in the 3-in-1 zones but the guys on the motorbikes pile themselves 4 high! We’ve even seen them zooming through town with the babies on their shoulders. They almost never wear helmets and we’ve seen the person on the back riding side saddle and texting. It’s hilarious.

One more thing about Jakarta – we did hear about “Jakarta Time” when we first arrived and have experienced it first hand many times. Case-in-point: our 2PM meeting today with the IBM Jakarta Local team started at 2:48. I don’t even think the first person arrived at the office before 2:15 and then the rest just dribbled in after that. And there were not profuse apologies, it just was what it was. Such a change from the IBMers in the States who ping me for a 2PM call at 2:01 PM and ask me if I’m coming (you know who you are)!

Selamat Tidur – time for bed for me – big client meeting at 7:30 AM tomorrow. We are hoping all goes well as we pitch our first round of recommendations!

Hi All – this will be quick since I totally forgot to blog last night and we are running off to a meeting at the Presidential Palace (ooh la la!) Not much to report other than a bit of an emotional moment that crept up on me. A woman we’ve been working with from IBM came into our conference room with her beautiful 9-year-old daughter yesterday and I lost it. It totally took my surprise but the tears welled up in my eyes so quickly I didn’t think I could control an all out sob. I never would have expected it and I get choked up thinking about it, even now. The little girl is coming with us on Saturday so I’d better prep myself for it!!

That’s all for now – I promise a more robust post tonight! Miss you all!!