Jakarta

after spending three days in Jakarta, i finally met my bed again. I have a story with Jakarta that makes me fragile and vulnerable (oh, drama!) while being in there! I most certainly do not get along with Jakarta. Well maybe when i was a kid, someone almost kidnapped me for real. Or maybe when i was in junior high school, there's someone who suspiciously offered me to be a teenage star. Or maybe it is because  jakarta has 9.607.787 people in it. Or maybe Jakarta is the most polluted city in Indonesia. Or maybe, Jakarta is the setting that a lot of low quality delusional sinetron took place. Or maybe i saw it on TV, Jakarta is much meaner than a step mom. Or maybe, people just easily get lost in that big city. Or maybe, there's too much skyscrapers blocked my sight. Or maybe, the people are not as nice as people in Bandung. Or maybe because it is simply superhot. Or maybe it is the social construction that has infected my mind. Or maybe it's my crazy mind. I don't know for sure but in my mind Jakarta is detestable. It's enough to be the ultimate reason i can't go to Jakarta alone.

But as wise men say, life goes on. It means, someday sooner or later i have to be friended with that malevolent smirking Metropolitan town. But Amstrong said one step from a man, one giant leap for humanity. I took it to the heart. I must step out! So i took my first serious errand to go there.

It happened in October. I had to collect some data and interview my informants to finish up my skripsi about corruption. I had to come to Jakarta. Like it or not. Ready or not. Happy or not. But at that time, the only choice i got was "going to Jakarta to get it all so that i can have final examination sooner in January" or "changing the object of my skripsi and starting it all over, by that time, i could have final examination in the next 8 months approximately". Due all respect to my ancestor and the nature, i will be damned if i chose the latter. So i came to Jakarta, i collected data and interviewed people at Foreign Ministry Department, KPK, Transparency International Indonesia, ICW. I made it one day and came back alive. I did it! They should make a trophy for this achievement. But truly, i finished my business in one day and came back with happiness and warm-feeling filled up my chest. If i had throw a speech for this success, I would thank God of course for giving me such a bravery. The awkward moment is i took a train to go there and i took travel shuttle car to go back to Bandung. And you know what? i almost threw up on the way back! in the travel car! when i told this story to my mum, she said, "Kamu mah kampungan. Jakarta kayaknya terlalu gede buat kamu." Well yeah, i am proud to be a village boy   \m/