Jakarta Tales Vol 2 (contd)

WORK

Work's been going great. So far, so good. As I've said earlier, it's a small agency and my role is big so am enjoying the pressure, the repsonsibility and the authority. And I love lunches at Mirasari... that's a nice traditional Indonesian restaurant opposite my office. In fact, we often have client meetings there... hehe. There's the option of sitting down and eating on a low table like the Japanese do and that's what I love the most!

Anyways, my colleagues are great and I'm already in the process of driving people to perform, be accountable and consolidate our key accounts. Have had meetings with all clients and they've all been great. It's funny when they try to speak English because it's as bad as my Bahasa but some Chinese do manage to speak it well.

About the language, believe me people, I'm lost in translation. Firstly, the Indonesians are a very proud people and they love their language so they prefer not to talk in English. Secondly, most of them don't know too much English! But that's the fun and challenge of going to a non-English speaking country and this is what I love. Everyday, I read one page of this "English-Bahasa" phrase book and apply whatever I learnt during work, travel, etc. And it works, my Bahasa is improving slowly although i can't figure out the grammar yet.

The learning here is the way communication works. It's opening up my mind so much and making me think so much more about people, their psychology and how things can either vary from country to country or be the same. At times, we feel we are right in our own ways and thoughts but that may not be true for someone in another country and at that stage, its a question of choosing between your thoughts and respect for the other person's culture and feelings. Customisation is the key. There are so many times when I try and tell my colleagues that this is how things should be done. But a second later, I realise that it might be different here and I should check on that first. If there's no problems, then go ahead.

At work, my colleagues who don't understand English make an effort to use Bahasa words that I know or use colours, sign language, write or simply ask someone else to translate. In return, I speak English slowly, I speak broken English at times or simply cut out the unnecessary words like "a, and, the, is" because for them, every word means something to be interpreted. I also use symbols, hand movements and actions and a little bit of Bahnglish (Bahasa and English) which draws everyone into splits of laughter and gives all of us a moment to unwind. This has also made me realise that I need to be crisp, precise and short with my communication since things need to be translated at times for me, meetings do take longer and tasks or info could get misinterpreted.

But the most fantastic language barrier-breaker is the way our office driver and office peon understand me. They don't speak English at all. Yet, they never make a mistake when I give them an instruction or try to explain something that needs to be done. Strange, how we think only words can express our thoughts and translate them into actions.

Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better AIESEC internship!

The week was hectic but fun too. Had to work on a brand plan for a "natural detox drink" brand so stayed in office all night on Thursday and went home at 8am the next morning. We all did, actually. And the meeting couldn't have been better! And Friday night was one long party!!


More on that later...