Some people go abroad to study. Some of them come back to work in Indonesia. Some of them decide to stay and build their career out there. Some of them never graduate at all, but nevermind that. I hear different comments about them:
- "Oh, good for you! Always better to live abroad, there's nothing for you in Indonesia anyway! Everything sucks here!" (this is from Indonesians who complain constantly about living in Indonesia, but stay in Indonesia anyway)
- "Why don't you come home? You're Indonesian! You have to give back to your country, contribute to your homeland, develop the business here and create jobs for the people blah blah blah..." (this is from the hardcore patriotic people who think that the only way Indonesians can contribute to Indonesia is by staying in Indonesia)
- "You're not coming back? Cool! I'll go visit you next holiday, make sure you take me to that red light district in Amsterdam.... errr, whatchamacallit again?" (this is from those whose friends decide to live in the Netherlands, and have heard too much about the red light stuff in Z-e-e-d-i-j-k)
Anywayyyy... whatever the reason, it's always a gutsy move to decide to live outside of your home country. It's gutsy enough when people decide to study abroad. It's even gutsier when they decide to work there straight after graduation. But you know what the gutsiest is? The gutsiest move is this: moving out to another country and starting over, bringing spouse and kids, leaving a perfectly good career that has been built for many many years in Indonesia.
A very dear friend of mine did this. He had very valid reasons to go, of course. He's one of the most sensible, reasonable people I know, so I don't doubt his judgment at all. In fact, he made me think, "If he's leaving, and he's one of the most sensible guys I know, then what am I doing here?" (but that's another story).
So, the next question, "What would you miss the most, aside from friends and relatives and food?"... the answer, "The fact that everything here is 'aturable'." Yeah, that I can understand. The so-called 'home team advantage', something that we can always count on, here in our home country. No matter what problem you have, no matter how bad it goes, there's always someone in our social circle who can do something somewhere sometime somewhat, to help us out, to bail us out, to make everything OK again. And that's an assurance that no insurance company can provide anywhere in the world.
And he was ready to leave all that, and venture into the unknown in a foreign land.
It's been awhile now, almost a year in fact. Keeping in touch thanks to all those gadgets and technologies and Internet connection. I can imagine all the challenges he was (is) facing there. I can imagine all the choices and considerations he has to make. I can imagine the careful planning for everything. I can imagine the nagging feeling of uncertainty... the combination of excitement and fear that fluctuates with time. I'm not saying that you don't have to face all that when living in Indonesia, but when you live abroad as an expatriate trying to make a decent living for your family, those things are multiplied by at least 100. And despite all that, he pushes through. And for that, I salute him.
I told him that, time and again. But I guess he'd never know just how much I admire him for his strength and tenacity and faith. So here's the blog post dedicated to you, my gutsy friend. You are the true living example of the adage "no guts, no glory". Keep going. You are an incredible person, and with the guts you have, you will reach glory.
Faith rules.
