Jakarta, the city where I have lived my whole life. Coming from a 17-years old, that doesn't sound as mystical as it should be, but it is true. FYI, I'm only the second generation in my family to be born here. My grandparents were born and brought up in different villages of the Java Island. My paternal grandparents came from Solo in Central Java, while my maternal grandfather came from Ponorogo in East Java -beware of my inner reog. My maternal grandmother originally came from Jepara in Central Java, if I'm not mistaken, but her family moved very frequently during her youth. She finally settled in Jakarta after living in New Delhi, following my great-grandparents. After that generation, virtually everyone was born in the capital city of this beloved country. Pardon the oversimplification, but I'm not that keen to go into details.
My family is somewhat a fan of the late Ali Sadikin, former governor of the city who is considered as the best Jakarta's ever had. I just found out recently that my mom once wrote a fanmail to him, and got a personal reply, complete with his signed photograph. It's not rare for my family to refer to him whenever we start talking about what should've been done for the city, but I can't talk about that, I wasn't even born yet in his time as the governor. Duh.
Most Jakartans today will probably agree that we all have a serious love-hate relationship with the city. We love to complain about it all the time, blaming the ineptitude of the governor and the ignorance of other people for every problem facing the city. At the same time, we bask in the glorious blessings-in-disguise the city has to offer in its chaos.
Traffic in the city, despite its seemingly fatal tendencies, separates the men from the boys and the wonder women from the emak-emak. Anyone with a faint heart had better stay away from the streets. Many foreigners see it as a thrilling urban adventure. Anecdotes about swooshing and swerving through bajajs and metrominis are common from anyone visiting the city. As dangerous as it sounds -and it is dangerous indeed- it made Jakarta's drivers the bravest in the world, and probably one of the best, although obviously not in the "obeying the rules" department.
The "five-footed" food vendors selling their stuffs on street curbs, or I believe that the term hawker is far less awkward, is as normal as Chinese takeaway in the US. Regular victim of the city's public "order" office, they are an integral part of a Jakartan's life. Most foreigners from developed country are put off by its less-than-hygienic culinary methods, but hey, Jakartans don't die from eating those foods. On the contrary, if modern medicine have developed vaccines to stimulate immunity to diseases, those roadside foods have strengthened our digestive system's defenses.
Still, Jakarta leaves a lot to be desired. The city's air pollution is inhumane. The traffic jam is unforgiving, taking years out of our lives. Floods still visit regularly. A public transport system is already quite extensive, yet a decent and organized system is basically next to inexistant.
But today is Jakarta's anniversary, its 481st anniversary, in fact. Happy anniversary to our beloved city! This is not the time to rant and complaint, right? ;p
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