A Week of Culture Shock

Unveiling my new title

As an explorer, you have to take risks. I took my risk by taking up a job outside of Singapore. Alone and unknown of the working environments, I rise up to the challenge. Working in Batam, Indonesia ( a third-world country) - totally a culture shock for me. Overall standards in Batam are way behind Singapore. I will touch on that in a little while.

Foreigners working there at Batam are called expatriates so I'm one of them. The people there look up to us as we are better certified and knowledgeable in different areas. I felt honoured when I step into the office on the first day as they called me "Boss" or either "Pak Iskandar". There are also other Singaporeans working there.

I did manage to learn and speak Bahasa Indonesia that fluently within the week. My co-workers comes from different places of Indonesia and have different ethnic groups like the Bataks (mostly Christians), Flores, Javanese (mostly Muslims), Manado and Riau so it is essential to communicate with them using their language as majority do not understand or speak English.

My jobscope is actually to monitor workplace safety at the shipyard cum fire & rescue. I am in charge of the fire & rescue training department as I have the certificate and experience back in Singapore. I am a newbie in marine industry and also how the work is done at the shipyard but luckily I met another Singaporean expatriate, Nor Isham, who is much knowledgable and experienced in this line.

My colleague of mine is actually in his 40s and seriously I am the youngest expatriate working there at Batam. He was really a nice person and does have the same interest as me like travelling. He has travelled to almost every continent so it was great listening to his adventures.I think without him, I will be disheartened because of the work conditions here. He was my mentor who never fails to impart knowledge to me.

My trainees in training

Expenses there is really cheap. One box of cigarettes cost from S$1.50 - S$2.50. I only smoke Dji Sam Soe, love it. Fried rice or Mee Bakso only around S$1.50++. I do save loads of money.

View of shipyard

Going to the repair site can be very dangerous.Without proper equipment like safety boots and helmet can endanger you. You can also face a fine for not doing so. That is why I am here at Batam to monitor safety.

Touching on the first paragraph, I have heard lots of stories from corruption, law, system and supernatural sightings from my colleague, Isham. He has his own house and have been working in this company for 3 years. He always emphasize to me not to put too much trust on the people here as they might backstab you. The police..hmm..well, you know..I don't want to say much publicly. Most of the places here are not that well-developed. Lots of forests here and there, so it's not surprising if people see strange sightings. That kind of feeling is not felt in Singapore but at night at Batam, it is damn scary.

It's been only a week but I still have a long way to go. I will update you more about my experience when the time goes by.

2 Months of Emptiness

I do really apologize to all those people who patronise my blog but I haven't been doing my job to update my blog. You guys must be wondering what actually I'm up to right now. From my last blog update, I told you that I was looking around for jobs and I did manage to find one.

With the help of my relatives working at the airport, I got myself a job as a Cabin Data Management Technician. My office located at Terminal 1, near gate C17 pronouned as Charlie-One-Seven. Frankly speaking,it was a great job. No pressure from your superiors, working shifts and your work is own time own target. My employer is from SIAEC. My jobscope is actually to inform the technician to rectify defects that occurred in our SIA aircrafts which happened during flight. Great working environment. Most of the people in the office are males. Lots of foreigners, the Phillipinos and the pakciks and abangs are friendly.

Outside the office, you can see different types of airplanes at the parking bay. To name a few: SIA, Jetstar, Cathay Pacific and etc. In case for those who don't know, I have this fascination of planes so sometimes when I need a breath off fresh air, I just step out of the office and took some time off to just see airplanes: landing and taking-off. If I'm lucky, I get to see SIA's new Airbus the A380. When working shifts, especially night, I get to see the beautiful sun rise. For every lunch, I ate at the Terminal 2 foodcourt. My colleague, San and I would always walk back to Terminal 1 via the departure hall.

My misery: For two weeks, I made great bonds with the people in the office. Until one day, I was told to end my job as the company is taking in foreigners. It was unfair. It was beyond my control and I have to face the facts, It's no use complaining anyway.

Back to square one: I was searching for jobs again until one day I received a message from my friend who told me that there is a position for a Fire Trainer based in Batam. Teach the Indonesian people to deal with ship fires as it is a marine company. Nonetheless, I sent my resume and I got a call from the company the next day. I went down to Pandan Road for the interview at the ASL Marine building. It was quite fast for an interview as I was asked just a few questions. Guess what? I got it.

Benefits: Free food and accomodation. Working hours starting at 8am to 6pm. Workplace is just beside my quarters located at Batam Harbourfront. I was told that the quarters is like a condo and you have an own maid. There is overtime pay.It is up to my own accord whether or not to go back Singapore in every week or a month. Ferry to and fro from Singapore will be paid by the company. Salary wise = CONFIDENTIAL.

Actually right now, the company is processing my visa. They told me that it would take 2 weeks or so to be approved. The fasting month has already started and I believe I have another 1 more week before everything is done. I can't wait to find out how is the working environment outside of Singapore.

I may or may not be celebrating my Hari Raya once I got the job. I may not have time to update my blog that often. I will be missing my friends and families back home. This is what I want the rest to know.