Welcome Dinner at the Lara Djonggrang (Jakarta, Indonesia)

It is been a while since I wrote about my assignment in Indonesia. I am back in Manila for more than 3 months, but the memories are fresh like it was just my dream last night. I am looking at some pics this morning and I thought I would write again about this series/assignment. It is timely because our favorite noon-time show is now in Indonesia - Eat Bulaga Indonesia! But yeah, the hosts will be locals and not our favorite TVJ and dabarkads. Just the same it is good news!

It is timely because my friend is also sent for Corporate Service Corp assignment (he is in Kazakhstan now), and seeing his photos with his team makes me miss my team too! AND, the nicest part is, someone from UK sent me interview questions about my assignment in Indonesia. I am so touched because he didn't just sent me interview questions, but also wrote about me! You can read about it here.

Now, this post is about where we left off. I think after my arrival in Hotel Kempinski and a quick tour in Jakarta, we met up with the IBM Indonesia Country Manager. He basically just welcomed us and discussed about the business. I know, it is not everyday that I get to sit down with a country manager of some company, so I felt really privileged to be in the room (I will write more about our interaction with him during my next posts - hopefully that would come soon).

The main hall of Lara Djonggrang

After the meeting, and photo sessions, time to head to Lara Djonggrang. We already knew we were going to this place based on the schedule we received weeks before our departure. I made a little research and the pictures made me so excited! There would be non-stop photo sessions! I was thinking.

On our way to the restaurant, one of the welcoming staff shared with me the legend of Lara Djonggrang. It felt like listening to stories of Maria Makiling. But the story tells us the love and respect for parents.

Entering the place made me feel like I was put on a spell. It is enchanting. The lights are dimmed, and the place is truly exotic. Designs and details everywhere. I didn't know where to look, I lost focus, and completely forgotten about taking pictures. I lived the moment.

To know more about my enchanting dinner and the scrumptious food from Lara Dyonggarang, click Read More..

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Arriving in Jakarta, Meeting the IBM CSC Team and Staying in Hotel Kempinski

I am home (in Manila) for a week now, but I still think and remember the great memories and experiences I had in Indonesia with my team - and all other people I met in Jakarta and in the island of Makassar. Most of the time, I find myself checking our Facebook Group for updates - posts, comments, likes, any activity from any of the team member. I miss them so much - and it is really hard to go back to my life. "Reverse Homesick" is what the CSC alumna calls it - and I am feeling it now.

People think that we had a holiday - but it is all hard work, especially for me, who had never done such type of a job. Our team had fun, that's the truth - but we just made sure to make the most of the experience - and that means sleepless nights, sleepless weekends and sleeping in the road.

I didn't find time to blog real time/timely during assignment (although I have some blogs here), but I just want to share my experience - so here I am, opening blogger and writing this post.

Let's start with my departure - or should I say, arrival in Jakarta. It was my first time to travel alone - in another country. The only thing that was keeping me secured is the fact that I was heading to another Asian country - if things get worse, I can always book a flight back to Manila. But of course, ABV and IBM took care of everything - and that made me more secured.

My flight was at 7:00 in the morning, and the night before, I was packing and re-packing - ensuring my luggage weight did not go over the allowance. I told myself that this time around, I would travel light and just bring the essentials (I would talk about my luggage more on the next post). I registered a new blog (check it here) for the IBM CSC assignment and published two entries on it, but decided to publish everything here - since this blog  feeds through the CSC site.

The Philippine Airlines (PAL) brought me to Singapore then to Jakarta. On our way to Singapore, I was seated next to a guy from USA and his girlfriend (Chinese) - they are on their way to Singapore for vacation. How nice it is to travel with your loved one? What is sweeter, the guy was reading a book about Chinese culture.
 

The aircraft that safely brought me to my assignment

To know how I met my team in Hotel Kempinski, click Read More...

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IBM CSC Team Indonesia 3: The People from Different Countries Who Changed and Inspired Me - You Guys Are Missed!

Blog written/started on April 7th - Saturday


I am sitting here in seat 06B of Philippine Airlines aircraft bound from Singapore to Manila. It's all over now. It is funny that I almost missed my flight - probably it just showed that I am not yet ready to go home.

It seems like only yesterday when I boarded the flight to Jakarta, and it was my first time to travel alone. Now, I am heading back home - with swollen eyes, dry lips and sad face. I cried alot, and it seems like I was the only one who cried. I admire how the rest of the team can control their feelings. "Don't break the seal.." - is something that I learned from Jessica (USA) - but it seems that she was the first to break hers yesterday.

I would be the first to arrive back in my home country, but most of them will be on vacation - so the CSC memories might soon be overshadowed by new memories, new pictures, and new people. Before, I dread the day that I would be heading for assignment - because I didn't know if I would like the people, if I would do good in my assignment, and if there are new things to discover because Indonesia is alot like Philippines. But after one month of being on assignment, I realized it was the people who made the difference.

To know more about the people who changed my life, click Read More.. 

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Meeting/Presentation with "Green Team" in the Hospital

Seems like everyone in the team had a great day today. Nitu (India) and Sabine (Austria) - working for the Marine Conservation Team had a village tour and witnessed a local wedding. Marcelo (Brazil) and Jessica (USA) working for the Library and Archives Group attended a story-telling contest. Cheryl and I met up with the "executive" Green Team and some doctors of the General Hospital of Makassar this morning. I am glad that the meeting went okay and everyone is so engaged.

We first started with introducing IBM. We shared that IBM stands for International Business Machines. For them to better understand IBM, I told them that they must have encountered the brand when shopping (one of the things I love!). Most of the POS (point of sale) are products of IBM. But now, IBM is not just focused on hardware, but is also doing other businesses such as consulting.

To know how the meeting went, click Read More.. 

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Working in the Team Room with Interpreter & Lovely Dinner at New Dinar

I thought we would finally get the chance to visit the hospital again but no, we were not allowed to go out of the hotel because of the same reason. Some of my teammates got to visit and meet with their clients. For Cheryl (USA) and I, we had to stay in the hotel and work on our presentations.

Our interpreter got a call from the hospital and advised that the director will send a memo to the hospital's "executive" team to meet with us tomorrow morning. We spent the day working on our decks and we are so glad that our interpreter, Lia is so nice to help us with our deck's translation to Bahasa Indonesia. What is amazing about her is that she just did not translate the texts but also created a new Powerpoint presentation complete with animation. I should be ashamed of the presentation that I did - especially that I claimed that I can make fireworks with it.

I, Cheryl and Lia in our Team Room

 (we got another room in the hotel to serve as our common room)

 

 See how many Powerpoint presentations opened in my ThinkPad

To know how my day went yesterday, click Read More..

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Something New for Lunch and Learning an American Dance

We are on house arrest. For two days. Per IBM Security's advised, we need to stay in the hotel for our safety and security. There had been demonstrations in Jakarta and Makassar, and students are participating in rally against fuel price hike.

We were working in the lobby and caught the news update..

 
We had to stay in the hotel again yesterday and today (although some of my teammates got to the client sites). I and my partner, Cheryl (USA) stayed in the hotel and worked on our presentations. We received a call from the hospital this morning and the staff are actually waiting for us. I kind of miss them - the giggly, happy employees of the General Hospital of Makassar.

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Working from Hotel, Creating a Team Dance and Getting to Know Brazil

Work from Hotel. That was our status yesterday, and I guess it would be the same for today. ABV advised us to stay in the hotel because of the demonstrations happening around the city (due to fuel increase).

I am kind of worried and nervous about our assignment because we still need to meet up with the Hospital Director and our contact person, interview more department heads and check out the department's facilities. On the other hand, I am glad that we had to stay in the hotel yesterday because - well, it is the time of the month again. Perfect timing. I was so worried it would come during the weekend when we visited different diving spots and visited an interesting island. I should blog about it today.

To know what I did yesterday, click Read More..

We had lunch at a very good and affordable restaurant within the area. Too bad, I didn't bring my camera. But I had this Calamares (Fried Squid) with Butter and Soy. It is crunchy and chewy at the same time. I like it!

In the afternoon, we had our team meeting in which we planned our common presentation (the one that we will present to our team once we are back in our home countries). I can't believe that we only have one week to finish our assignment and present to our clients. I found out that there are other activities lined up for us. In less than two weeks, we would need to pack our bags and take different flights back. The thought makes me sad.

Before the meeting starts, Cheryl (USA) gave their little presents from Yogyakarta.

Girls got bracelet and flip flops!

And boys got musical instruments! How lovely!

After the meeting, time to do our afternoon exercise! Nitu (India) once again lead the session. I have attended a couple of afternoon sessions, and I am really surprised that I can now reach and touch my feet - while sitting - legs stretched. Again, we couldn't control our laughter whenever we would do the Aaaah... ooohhhh.. mmmm.. breathing exercise especially when Marcelo (Brazil) will join. We just love his deep voice!

After the Yoga session, time to do the dancing exercises. We danced to the tune of The Real Slim Shady with each of us doing the dance step and everyone would follow. It was the first time that Cheryl (USA) joined us and she really is such a cool lady! I did the otso otso dance and I said it is a Filipino Dance. Now they don't want to believe me!

We then started choreographing our Team Dance. I know we got a lot to do for our assignments, but this team got tons of creative ideas and we still think of more things to do.

I haven't really shared that I am quite observant about people's mannerisms, and I have "validated" another one today - from Marcelo (Brazil). "Hm.. Hmm..?!" He always says that - whenever he will say Yes, whenever he will ask something (he will just point at it, and say "Hm.. Hmm..?!". When I told him about it, he said he never realized it!

And since I am talking about Marcelo - time to get to know more about Brazil. I really wanted to visit the country, and I really wished that my assignment would be in Brazil. He showed me the pictures of his place - where he lives (nice view of mountains and blinding lights from the city, with beautiful lakes); the feasts and festivals which he calls "fantasy" (probably because most of the people come in costumes); and of course, the food!

I wish I got time to get to know the other countries too and blog about them.

I also shared with them my pictures from the Philippines - Boracay, Batangas, Palawan and Ilocos. It was funny when Arun (India) said that that woman in the pictures is not me! I am not sure if I should be offended. Haha.

Anyway, I finished the day with KFC chicken (I know, I am addicted!) and working on a few more decks for our presentation.


Working from Hotel in Makassar,

Ruth
#ibmcsc #teamindonesia3

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Working @ Red Bowl Restaurant & Cafe

I can't believe I am still up at this hour. I had coffee (and shrimp, squid and Gado Gado) from Red Bowl where Cheryl and I "worked". We worked on the presentation for tomorrow and sort of organize the data that we had collected from interviews we had with hospital employees.

It was actually nice of the staff from the Red Bowl that they actually waited for us to leave. They were like sitting (some of them standing) in the dining area and just let us finish our thing. No one turned off the lights, or the air conditioning unit. We just know they had to leave because they got their bags and things ready. They even provided us with extension unit so we can plug our ThinkPads. I rarely experience such kind of service. I like it!

Anyway, the main reason why we went to Red Bowl is because of the food and the place - it is very quiet in there and it is just perfect for brainstorming and working. Here are some food we had tonight..

Gado Gado  

One of my favorite dishes in Indonesia. 
It is made of fresh vegetables and tofu with peanut sauce. 
It has a perfect mix of taste (spicy) and texture (crunchy crackling)

 

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In a Japanese Restaurant in Indonesia with Americans, Brazilian, Indians and Mexican

I learned new words/phrases last night. But they are not the ones which you can use in daily conversation. I don't want to share the things and the phrases my team and I learned last night. I would rather that you learn it from the locals than in my blog. ;)

Anyway, we had Japanese food last night. I am not really into Japanese food but this restaurant called Shabu Tei really offers good rolls - however, I am not very impressed with the service.

Want to know the kind of food the restaurant serves? Click Read More..

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Charades, Pizza, Indian Birthday Party and Busca Vida

A blog series about my in-country assignment to Makassar for IBM Corporate Service Corp.

Follow along http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/corporateservicecorps/

Pizza! That's what we had last night, after almost a week of eating Indonesian Food. My tongue is literally on fire! But we also had chocolates and (they) had alcohol.

It was a productive day yesterday, I think. We had a meeting with the Vice President of the Local Hospital. At first he was pretty upset because we came without interpreter. What really surprised me is that not a lot of people in the island do know/recognize IBM. They always associate the brand with computers and machines. I know I am not the most techie person but I am working for IBM, and I am proud! We have to explain that IBM also does consulting services and we are volunteers who want to help their hospital to Go Green - or should I say Go Greener.

Before the meeting we tried to understand the hospital's organizational chart. It was fun doing charades and trying to understand functions with the help of Muslim employees of the hospital.

Click Read More to find out what happened during the day...

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What Happened During My Last Day in Hotel Kempinski

Blog written on 3/11/2012 at Hotel Kempinski, Jakarta, Indonesia 
Follow along at http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/corporateservicecorps/

A lot. A lot has happened today. This is our last night in Hotel Kempinski and no one wants to leave the place. I suddenly dreamed of being an Expat who always stays in luxurious hotels and do business; but then again, we are not on a holiday, and I am not even an Expat. We are here for the purpose - and that is to be immersed in the community to better understand its needs and challenges - and to be able to help. But that will come in the next few days. For now, all I can say is - I love the hotel room! The amenities and the automatic toilet bowl!

And I have to say that the hotel got the best breakfast offering (even our ABV partners think so!). It beats the grand dinner or lunch buffet offerings in Manila.

Only here have I seen sushi being served in the morning. They use avocado for the California Maki though instead of Mango.

Please click Read More to know what I did this day..

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Waiting for Departure at Terminal 2 (Manila, Philippines)

I am sitting here near the boarding gate and I am sitting alone. This is the first time I am traveling alone and I missed my travel buddies. We usually have coffee while waiting for the boarding time but I don't think I will enjoy coffee this morning especially that all I want is to catch some zzz's (which reminds me, I forgot my chic sleep mask!)

The stores have not opened yet.. It is too early. I was actually planning to buy some items.

I am finally here and I never thought I would make it. Last night, I was struggling packing my stuff ensuring that I wouldn't get that dreaded sign - excess baggage! I changed luggage twice and even removed some stuff, including essentials because I thought that I was 20 kilos in excess of the allowance - when I was actually looking at the pounds measurement instead of kilogram! And I am just using a normal weighing scale. How I weighed my luggage? Well I weighed myself first then carry the bag. That's the most clever way I can think of since I don't have that portable digital luggage weigh gadget that my friend have. Anyway so I got through check in process and immigration smoothly. My luggage weighed 19 kilos so I only have 1 kilo left for my souvenir and shopping. I am glad that they didn't question my handcarried bags. I am sure it would exceed the allowed 7 kilos - that is a good thing but I am now worried about my shoulders and back.

I am still cannot connect to the IBM network. While packing and re-packing last night, I got my friend who served as an IT support trying to help me out connect - configuring the DNS settings, TCP/IP and all other settings - we still failed. Anyway, thank you Stephy!

My third line manager (who has been my inspiration to apply for the IBM CSC) told me to take alot of pictures during my assignment. My friends know that I looove pictures, and I love to have my picture taken. It is just too sad that there is no one to take my picture now. Look at me, I am sitting here alone - I am wearing the chiffon pants my mom made, pink Marilyn Monroe (I love Marilyn! And I hate that I missed the Marilyn Monroe film last week!) top and slips-ons (so it would be easy to take off during the Immigration check - alot actually struggled with their sneakers and high heels! ;)). I even had my hair cut. Would I look like a typical tourist if I ask the man beside me to take my picture? ;)

I asked tatay (dad) to take a picture of me and nanay (mom) before I went inside the airport - and mom being the impatient and worrier that she is just said we had enough pictures and that I need to hurry up and check in. She is not that sentimental, I know. Or probably she already got used to going to airports and sending her kids. I was actually surprised that there was no drama when I went inside. However, I saw them waiting and watching me (while I checked in my luggage, paid the terminal fee and went through the Immigration) from outside - and I wish I took a picture of them.

Anyway, I will see them again in a month. For now I need to enjoy this trip so I have a lot to share with them once I am home. Ending this post before the battery goes dead.

Blogging from Terminal 2, NAIA Philippines,

Ruth

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I am Flying to Makassar in a Few Hours!

Starting this new blog dedicated to my assignment to Indonesia for the IBM Corporate Service Corp. I actually did a lot thinking on what blog title to use and finally decided on this - after all it is about me, about the island of Makassar, my experiences and my journey.

Per our Vice President for Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs, "It’s not just philanthropy, it’s leadership development and business development, and it helps build economic development in the emerging world.”

We will also have a team picture like this! ;)

It is not the first time that I going out of the country, but I find it hard to do the packing. Like in the previous trips, I wanted to bring the whole closet - I feel that I might need an extra dress, a cute top, the pretty hat I bought in Beijing, the new swimwear sets I hoarded during a midyear sale, and lots of other things including my favorite nail polish. But I obviously cannot bring everything. There is such a thing as baggage allowance and I want to pack like I am a prepared woman who knows about planning and strategy. Besides I want to save extra space for stuff I want to bring home from the trip. What makes packing so difficult is the consideration of the country's culture and religion.

I only have a few hours to prepare and I am still anxious about the baggage allowance.I would like to think I have finish all the tasks that I need to do (e.g. settle credit card bills, prepare gifts for my team - I am meaning to do some accessories but I am out of time, etc).

What frustrates me is that I cannot connect to our intranet connection and I spent 1.5 hours with an IT support only to have my concern be escalated to Tier 2. I missed the call last night and I need to listen to the recording before I leave.

Anyway, I really cannot believe this is happening. I am leaving in a few hours.

I have to log off now and spend the remaining hours with my mom (and my baggage).

Please come back and follow me on this journey.


Blogging from Manila,

Ruth

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