| Name: |
Belinda
B |
| Nationality: |
Australian
British |
| Current
Location: |
Indonesia
Jakarta |
| Date
Moved to this Location: |
March
2003 |
|
| Other Countries
Lived In: |
New
Zealand |
| |
Australia
England |
|
| Type
of Expat Woman: |
Professional |
|
|
| |
| |
|
I am a Qualified Accountant/ Business Analyst.
Educated in New Zealand, lived and worked in IT in London for 5
years, met my husband (a Kiwi in London), got married, moved to
Brisbane, bought a house, settled down………moved
to Jakarta 2 years later and are still here. My husband left the
company we originally came up with and has gone out on his own,
contracting. We live here under our own steam. We do not have a
company supporting us or paying any of our living costs anymore.
I struggled here at first having given up my career to move to Jakarta
to follow my husband’s work opportunities. Children haven’t
happened so I decided life was too short to have a career that didn’t
‘smoke my tyres.’ I didn’t need to earn a living
at the time so took the wonderful opportunity to change my career
and follow my passion of interior decorating and design. I have
been on work experience for the past 18 months and am now chasing
projects on a commission basis.
I have been given a wonderful opportunity by a friend to join her
in her business and we have a great time designing bed linen, accessories,
decorating villas, hotel and spa projects both locally and Internationally.
My plan is to gain as much experience during my time here as I can,
so that when we leave (and we will leave one day!) I can take my
portfolio and my contacts and start my own business wherever we
end up. I am a good example of how Indonesia can provide you with
an opportunity to re-invent yourself and your career. The standard
of education here in Indonesia is very low. Good education is a
luxury for only the very wealthy here. Anyone with a good education,
common sense and the will to try will be snapped up by local companies,
both expat and Indonesian.
- Negotiate a car and driver in to your employment
contract (Taxis no longer safe at night.)
- Negotiate accommodation and an agent
to help you find some in to your employment contract if your company
doesn’t already have a house for you (very time-consuming
exercise.) If single, best to move in to a serviced apartment.
- Contact your local national women’s
group as soon as you arrive to get books and tips on how to set
yourself up and what to expect. (E.g. ANZA (Aussie/Kiwi), BWA
(British), AWA (American) etc. Usually only open during weekdays
and work hours so you will need to take a day from work to do
this but I recommend it as a valuable source of information
- Join clubs, go to wine dinners, wine courses
(yes drinking features here a bit to get you through the frustrations!),
language courses etc to meet people.
- Bring patience and your best micro-management
skills. Leave behind ranting, raving, shouting, cajoling, the
power to assume anything and any expectations you may have……none
of them work here and no forms of western expectations are met.
Murphy’s Law rules, as does the will of Allah.
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My Web Site Recommendations |
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None Given
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