Add to Del.icio.us

January 2007

click image to enlarge

Goodbye China, Hello Indonesia and Bali

Well, it's amazing the way the world works. I've often said that if you want to go from point A to point B, sometimes you can not go in a strait line, but must go to point C first. Well, I'm off to point C!

We had a new teacher join us her in Shanghai from Wall Street in Thailand and he happened to mention one day that the people that owned that franchise were expanding into Indonesia. Of course my ears perked up and I got the email of the CEO in Thailand and sent off my resume and a nice cover letter explaining who I was and my connections to Indonesia and inquired about when and where they were going in Indonesia. Long story short (a little), we exchanged emails and the CEO was here in Shanghai the week before Christmas for a Wall Street event and we met for breakfast and had a nice interview/dialog.

Jump to Dec 31st and after a few emails and offers made/rejected/made/accepted, I'll be leaving Shanghai Feb 1^st.

Yanti and the kids are all set to fly back on the 16^th of January.  The kids have had an incredible experience that they'll never forget:

1. First ride in an airplane

2. First time out of Indonesia

3. First time to a new culture (China)

4. First time to live someplace higher than the 2nd floor (we're on the 14th floor here)

5. First time to see so many really tall and modern buildings

6. First time to see a Chinese wedding

7. First time to see their Pappa perform a wedding

8. First time to see Chinese ethnic dances

9. First time to see an incredible Chinese museum (with 8,000 year old artifacts)

10. First time to ride in an elevator

11. First time to ride in a subway

12. First time to ride in a double decker bus

13. First time to see trees lose their leaves (in Indonesia if a tree looses it's leaves, it means it's dead)

14. First time to eat Chinese food (real Chinese food)

15. First time to eat pork

16. First time to see their breathe (they call it seeing smoke come out of their mouths!)

17. First time to be really cold

18. First time to wear long underwear; shirt; sweater; coat; gloves; ear muffs; boots; gloves; and a hat!

19. First time to wear Chinese dresses (Chi Pau)

20. First time to learn another language (besides English)

They've certainly seen some incredible sites while here.

I had spoken to my manager that I was in contact with the Wall Street Indonesia people, just so he'd know.  But, I felt really sad about giving him my 30 days notice.  The center director and he have both built a team of people who really seem like 'family'.  We work well together; help each other; and have been very successful here - reaching our goals month after month, leading to bonuses every month I have been here.  I hope to help establish this same kind of team work in Indonesia. 

So Yanti & the kids go back next week (Jan 16).  She'll get them into school and see about her starting at the local university.  Plus, she'll start getting everything ready for my return two weeks later( Feb 2).  I'll only have about one week in Bali, then Yanti & I will fly to Jakarta.  We'll work together to find me a nice apartment near the school; get me setup with whatever I'll need; then I'll start work on Feb 12 and the school is set to open on the 21st.

Then Yanti will head back to Bali and get a few things ready to ship to me in Jakarta - my computer; a microwave oven; kitchen supplies; etc.  With her help it should be an easy transition.  Our plan is that either I'll fly (1 hour) back to Bali once a month or they'll fly to Jakarta.  Of course, I'll miss them all, but I'll be very busy and they will be too.  Since we want to build a house in Bali and live there, we felt it was better for the girls to continue their school there :-)

The apartments in Jakarta are about the same price range as here but you get so much more - pool; fitness center; spa; etc.  So, I'm looking forward to going to the gym several time a week (NOT kidding).

Coming up:

Yanti & I are planning on return to California in August.  I've put the last of my belongs in a storage unit there and we want to get it all out of there.  So, we'll have a few garage sales; give some things to charity; give some things to friends; give some things away; and take a few things back to Bali with us; the rest we'll store at my brother and sisters garages until we can move it back to Bali.

I'll be great to see my friends and family, as it will have been more than a year since my last visit (Feb. 2006).

top

<= Previous  Back to Bali =>