some people i met in jakarta

A very precious resource we all seem to take for granted sometimes: people.

There is always a spark for me to come to Jakarta, a city where I would be pleased to stay longer to work or do a lot of activities (despite its pollution, air quality, sanitation, and heat issues). I agree that Jakarta is a promising city. At least for me, it offers opportunities to grow, learn, observe, live, have fun, be financially secure, and fall in love with everything the city has.

How privileged it is to find hundreds of opportunities weekly, such as art exhibitions, sharing sessions, health care festivals, cooking classes, activities that support your hobbies, or just doing nothing—sitting down in a park while sightseeing the huge and tall buildings that remind you, “Okay, I need to work hard and own that building,” hahaha.

Thanks to my scholarship, I had the chance to visit Jakarta and its top-tier people last May 2024. Thanks to my social enterprise, Kiddos Smile, which let me visit the other side of Jakarta—the rural part that taught me about life in Kedoya, West Jakarta, earlier this May. Thanks to my side work as both an assessor and volunteer, which let me visit Jakarta again, to detach myself from Malang city, to fulfill my bucket list: meeting the people I need to see in real life before a big life transition—my departure to the USA.

As an observer, it always brings me joy to listen to someone who has inspired my life.

My Project Team (sy-nm-nz)  

A happy moment when you finally connect both projects to fix a bigger health issue! Vibing with these people in terms of social activities. A scholarship application is the bridge that brought us together. We care deeply about health literacy. My project team, other than the Kiddos Smile team, His background as a nurse working in a multinational company gives me the insight that healthcare workers can do more than just work inside a hospital. His knowledge and background as a nurse are his basic foundation to take more leaps. His team and my team see the other side of Jakarta which is heartbreaking. How dare some children sacrifice their education because they need to focus on securing their lives? No one tells them that education can also secure their life for a longer period. This is happening in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia; how about in other cities?

It is always nice to take care of each other using the knowledge we have, especially knowing that less than 5% of Indonesians have a bachelor's degree (which reminds me that I have the privilege). Luckily, our project ran smoothly, even though we only met and discussed online. But I can say that if the person is right, anything could happen. It’s nice to see the collaboration between multiple roles of healthcare workers!

My Leader (vi)  

I've learned a lot about adulting tips from my leader in this branding and marketing company (my side hustle). Always inspiring talks because I only talk about these topics with her (yes, she is a lot wiser than me). She is experienced enough in that field, which is why we have weekly online meetings. We always talk about work, and we chat almost every day about work. But meeting offline? So many insights from her! From planning the next stop for work, considering starting property investment, talking about our aging parents, to being a lifelong learner as a dentist/scientist/researcher. Anyways, she is originally from Malang and works in Jakarta which is something that I consider in the future. I suggest you meet your aspiring boss in person at least once.

My APDSA Peers (la-th)  

Always ambitious meet-ups with them! We talk about projects, the annual congress, and how being a dentist graduated from a reputable university in Jakarta. Yes, we compare our schools for good. We have worked online since 2020 and only had 2 or 3 chances to meet together offline. Seeing them grow always inspires me. I guess we have unfinished business—the ideas we’re planning for the future. I hope we have enough time to make those ideas a reality (it’s always extra with APDSA peers). I also learn about the generosity of their alumni. It can be seen that their alumni support their juniors very well, triggering you to learn more and achieve more. One of them preparing for the national examination, and one of them preparing for the dentist specialist examination. Good luck to both of you!

My Internship Senior (ra)  

It’s funny how I met this doctor and her child in her hometown in Jakarta. Super random. She was my supervising dentist back when I did my internship in Kalimantan. It turns out we became good friends since she’s the friend of my friend's husband, who is my senior in the Indo-Dental Student Organization (re: PSMKGI). Her interest in continuing her studies, either as a specialist or for a master’s, also binds us together. Since I like kids a lot, her kids are always a mood booster! Happy to have a short reunion with them! Need to talk and discuss more about scholarship applications. Other than that, it gives me an “internship session” to become a mom/caregiver/kindergarten teacher—haha, how to deal with kids. I learn a lot from her. Anyway, see you next time, doc!

My Scholarship and Uni Application Hunters (fa-nh-sa)  

It was also unexpected that I decided to meet them. When I first told them about my visit, they came up with an itinerary. How lucky I am! Our trip consisted of clay creation until 10 pm at Taman Ismail Marzuki, art hopping at Wisma Geha, and Rubanah Underground Art Gallery. My mind is at peace. I ended up at the Patjar Merah event too because of them! And I tried one of my comfort coffees in Jakarta, which is Canggu Bakehouse. I learned about my friend's persistence in trying to secure her scholarship after four trials, and she plans to re-enroll for her master’s degree this fall for the 2025 intake. It is a long journey, and I admire her dedication. She is indeed a hard worker, working from 9 am to 9 pm. It feels like dentists should never complain after I saw her. My other friend is trying to change her strategy by securing the school first, then the scholarship. Maybe it is a good idea to focus on only one university in a scholarship essay. Many options and many opportunities can lead them to reach their dreams, and they are persistent people! I love the energy.

My AIESEC Teammates (da-sd-bs)  

I didn’t expect meeting them after AIESEC would be so good. I feel calm and not afraid to be judged, and it is insightful! As my sister told me, friends outside your faculty are friends for life who have the same interests, purpose, and vision. We are marketing-bonded friends; yes, that field is what bonds us. University and scholarship applications are what bond us again for now. I learned how their knowledge is implemented at their work, and how they deliver their knowledge to benefit others in their roles at startups. I never had this kind of conversation with any other circle.

My Blue Jays Gang  

First time meeting my Blue Jays gang to discuss housing, packing, departure, and tips to survive while in Washington-Maryland. Lucky us to have one of our seniors who spilled a lot of tea about studying and playing hard during our studies. Some of us are Swifties and plan to book concert tickets, haha, but I will think twice about that. Anyway, see you in Baltimore!

My YSEALI Peers (al-sf-aj)  

It was a coincidence to meet them because it was beyond my plan. First thing first, I wanted to meet my YSEALI senior, who I conducted an online event with back in 2022 but never met in person! Fortunately, my Persiapan Keberangkatan friends are one of the participants of our online event from 2022 (who is a YSEALI alumnus too!). I didn’t expect that our event could inspire her to apply, and now she has become a YSEALI alumni too. I got insights from another senior about hustling while you can because we love money, haha—no, we don’t want to work until we are old. So, being a hustler is one way. It’s fun to meet these risk-takers who are brave enough to jump into different fields, not just the field of their bachelor’s degree.

My Long Lost JHS-SHS Friends (dr-ks) 

Meeting my junior-senior high school best friends in Jakarta and seeing them working passionately while grumbling and complaining about their work? Hahaha, that was super fun! It was fun back then when I visited my friend's house, and their nephew was a cute little kid. Now they tell me that their nephew will enter university. Dang, so old. It was also a mind-blowing conversation where we talked about our future lives, careers, and other plans during a one-day mall trip to Neo Soho, Central Park, and Taman Anggrek Mall. My friends are just my friends; they are the same as when we first met in junior high school in 2011. Even though we only meet once a year or once in four years (for KS), we’re still vibing!

My #SeeYouonTop Friend (sa) 

This was also an unexpected trip! Never did I ever think to visit Garut, but she is such a good friend. My act-of-service soul was very happy because of her existence. I learned about Garut—the city, the leaders, the university, the local people, the foods, and the daily activities of the Garut people. After the tour, I feel like I know all about Garut! Haha. The pool and zoo inside the mall, the leather industry, goyobod, and Sundanese food—I know them all. One thing I cannot adapt to is the language. Wow, they speak so fast and smoothly, so it’s hard for me to catch what they are saying. The weather, the mountains—I love Garut a lot! And of course, thank you for sparing your time while busy with several patient appointments.

My Penpal (mr)  

We first met offline in Balikpapan. Didn’t expect that we would click because of a lot of things. I’m not sure if we ever saw each other back in 2019, but we were at the same event. He was a committee member, and I was a participant. Again, scholarship and university applications are some of the topics that bond us. Along the way, after the internship was over, job applications, and self-development kinds of things always sent us to a monthly online meeting. I just realized that we have had a monthly check-up/online meeting since the first month of this year. Got a chance to visit Jakarta while he just came back from Kalimantan; meeting offline was a good idea. We met in one of the dessert cafes in South Jakarta that had fine-tasting desserts (i think it tastes good). Fun fact: we wore black tops, the same color jeans-trousers, and black shoes, coincidently. Then I remembered our first informal meeting in Kalimantan—we both also wore white tops. Hilarious. We both enjoyed talking or walking so much that during the 4-5 hours meeting, but we missed taking a picture together and just took pictures of our surroundings. Overall, one thing I always learn from our meetings is to just focus on both of our stories while talking and not talk about someone else unless we can learn from it. It is close to what Muhammad SAW said: we should say nothing if we don’t have anything good to say (Thanks for always reminding me to be a good Muslim haha). I got a lot of insight into how Jakarta-Tangerang Selatan dentists think. I learned about their career opportunities, their eagerness to learn and upgrade their skills, and how to not be easily manipulated by co-workers. Need more time to talk about other topics with you!

My sister from another blood (sk-pk)

It was unexpected to meet them! We met separately because of PK’s mom's birthday party, so she couldn't join us together. Again, at the dessert cafe in South Jakarta, we had many conversations about PhD, research, and how it feels to be a student in Japan. From her story, it is indeed a long journey. Going back to Indonesia is a blessing in disguise for her. We shared our experiences of not being FOMO, being ourselves, even though we might be different from the majority stream of our society. As long as we understand what we are doing and it's good for our surroundings or doesn’t harm others, go ahead. She’s so cute, giving me small gifts from Japan that will, of course, be very beneficial for my future journey in the USA (re: tolak angin and fresh care).

Another friend of mine is also a super kindhearted person. We never met before, we knew each other from PSMKGI and had been speakers at the same event. She’s super smart, being one of the most outstanding students at her university. Meeting her, I feel like I am my parent’s kid. She came with her mom, giving us ice cream :”) We talked for a couple of minutes since it was near my departure to another city. I got some insight too about the privilege of being a Jakarta graduate dentist who will have a future career there. The pathways are better, and that’s the privilege (compared to non-Jakarta graduate dentists). She’s passionate about being a dentist while looking for other opportunities to grow her skills, knowledge, and network at the same time (proven by several activities that she joined). I love that spirit!

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So many people I want to meet, but to be realistic, time constraints only let me meet these people. I hope to meet other friends to get some insight from them, hopefully shortly. Meeting with them has grown my mindset and soul. I hope I can carry the takeaways from those conversations into my future journey.

Lalu ada hal dalam bahasa Indonesia yang ingin aku utarakan. Semakin bertambah usia, akan semakin paham bahwa jarak yang memisahkan serta aktivitas masing-masing yang mengharuskan pertemanan tidak selalu bertemu setiap hari, itu tidak apa-apa. Rasa percaya dan doa yang terucap tulus dari hati sudah cukup untuk membuat rasa tenang, masing-masing. Aku dapat membayangkan rasanya, saat bertemu mereka akan sama-sama hangat, walau hanya pertemu sesekali saja, dalam hal teman. Memiliki dan dikelilingi orang-orang yang saling mengupayakan satu sama lain itu adalah hal luar biasa yang harus selalu aku syukuri. 

With Love, 

Nabila (dalam momen ingin membawa apa yang ada di Indonesia termasuk orang-orang di dalamnya ke Amerika huhu, tapi mari belajar ikhlas dan percaya dengan rencana terbaik dari Allah SWT). 

Life is already hard, relationships should be the least of our worries. With the right people, it will work