Ok, so no-one ever arrived in Jakarta and expected there to be a well-stocked Super Valu with a clean and colourful fruit and vegetable section. Or a neatly displayed meat counter hygiene certificates hanging on the wall and your reflection on the glass, a dairy corner that’s brimming with freshness and dry foods aisles logically…
Many people associate Indonesia with white sandy beaches, tropical greenery, and long afternoons resting in hammocks with polite natives delivering fruit cocktails to your private cabana on the beach. Also part of the image of this idyllic surrounding is that you take up yoga and practice sitting cross legged on your handcrafted wooden porch and…
The key quality necessary to become a content expat is having the ability and openness to adapt. As people we have to adapt a little all the time, economics, children, health problems, marital issues, aging parents etc., all teach us that life doesn’t always go the way we may have planned. Our stringent opinions on…
Prior to arriving in Jakarta airport, I understood that I had a good overall perception of what Jakarta promised. I had a loose list of assumptions and expectations. I assumed that all capital city airports were more or less the same. Marble floors, brushed stainless steel, glass walls, clean lines, Starbucks, Costa Coffee, air conditioning,…
If you ever find yourself immigrating to Indonesia, make sure to take every opportunity to make the 13 million hours of necessary travel time as pleasurable as possible. To dilute the effects of the travel time and to incorporate the processing of entry visas to Indonesia, the chosen route to Indonesia was, Dublin – Dubai…
Back in the 1840’s and 50’s there was a mass exodus in Ireland of young people forced to leave the country due to the economic devastation. Thousands of young people were leaving Ireland in an effort to escape starvation and avoid poverty, as young as fifteen they boarded the Coffin ships, filled with hope for…
Having left Abu Dhabi and waiting for a spot in Indonesia to be cleared away for our arrival, life continues in limbo in Ireland. Temporary accommodation, temporary schooling, temporary after-school activities and temporary living makes one look at a move to Indonesia as a positive. Initially I welcomed the additional time in Ireland, delighted that…
It was literally hours before I was due at the airport to return to Abu Dhabi when I got the phone call to say that there was a strong possibility that we were getting transferred to another country. Slow to invite disappointment into my life, I hesitantly asked as to where the new location…
Having recently spoken about expat wives and husbands, it is only natural that I give “expat kids” a mention. Now referred to as Third Culture Kids, you’ll know if you’re raising a TCK, as there are 10 basic signs. 1. He flew before he had teeth and he needed an exit visa before he was…
thereluctantemigrant 