I Will Miss My Friends in Jakarta

Enjoying a night out at the mall

As my time in Jakarta draws to an end, I think of all the people I have met who have welcomed me with open arms and smiling hearts.  I can't help but get a little melancholy.  I have spent half a year here and have made friends with quite a few people.  It's easy to do in Jakarta.  The people are kind and friendly.

Friendly colleagues

The professionals I have met on this project have made an impression on me;  their desire for a successful project has reminded me of when I was in corporate and how the pressures and the timelines were constantly in the background of the daily grind.   (I'm not saying I still don't experience that pressure as well, but it's different for me as an artist compared to when I was a stock trader or a Project Manager in Marketing.)  I see the challenges this team faces and it amazes me that they can keep the project moving forward.   They handle the pressures with grace and a desire to do what is right and in the end, they have produced a beautiful estate for their client.  Projects like this are always difficult because they go on for a long time and sometimes you just don't see a light at the end of the tunnel, especially when there are so many changes and so many people/contractors involved.

Always time for a photo!

I walk through the mansion and look into the faces of young people who are putting food on the table for their families while providing beauty for their patron and I think of how I will miss them.  The bright joy and the hard work.

Even my competitors are friendly!  Nomura has been kind with advice and Riko has become a good friend.  Wow!  We all know that this isn't about someone taking work from another; its' about working together to deliver the best product possible.  And if today, our client feels like hiring Riko for this, or Deeba for that, well, we are all cool with it.  We are professionals...good people.

Has there ever been a moment when you take a "mental snap shot?"  A time that you will remember for the rest of your life?  I have had these moments and they usually mark change for me.  Today, I was walking across the Grand Hall and heard all the activity from the creaking of the scaffolding (two stories high) where Paul Strong was painting another one of his masterpieces, to the sound of men in a room down the hall yelling and laughing (I have no idea what they were saying!) while installing wood paneling.  Approaching my apprentice, Iden, painting out another niche that I am to repaint (changes, changes, changes), I thought, Remember this moment, it is a part of you now.  After all, aren't we a compilation of the experiences we've had in our lives?  Now, Jakarta and its people are a part of me.

Fi Fang and Deeba
 at Christmas

Me and the Drivers - Protectors

Maria!  

A thank you dinner for Iden, my apprentice,
and Ghofire, my driver - we went to Potato head!

I will never forget this experience and hope it is a door opening to additional opportunities in this city that I have come to enjoy.  And if not, well....I will just have to start taking my bi-annual vacations in here - in Jakarta (and bali, too!  :)