Last week's Friday I was asked to be part of this assignment, the conditions were very strict, I should decide during the weekend, and start one week later. Due to the short notice, I was not sure whether it was or not a good idea. But after deep analysis I finally took the decision and arranged all the appropriate permits according to our corporate governance guidelines.
By Sunday afternoon everything was arranged and it was agreed that I would take charge. This implied a hard travelling, rescheduling of activities, and restructuring of my time schedule and responsibilities back home, and all worked out nicely. This is the beauty of having the IT infrastructure that allows to work offshore.
I am writing this diary as an experiment, so see how my point of view evolves and keep track of my working habits. Will these be greatly affected by being in such a non disciplined culture? Being immersed on a different environment has always strong influence on ones own behaviour, but until what extent?
So far I know what to expect, Semarang, where I will stay, is ugly, unorganized, with huge social differences, and many times people try to cheat foreigners, specially taxi drivers. On the other hand most of the people is friendly, nature is superb, and there are plenty of opportunities to get to know all the country. A land of contrasts, I would say.
As in any developing country these characteristics have a strong impact on a person coming from abroad, and it is possible that at the beginning I will not like it, but eventually I will start linking it very much, and this diary should keep track of this change.
Now I have about 13 hours left for travelling. Alex, my friend in Indonesia, has suggested me to take a nap for the whole trip, LOL, and to wake up just before landing in Kuala Lumpur. From there we'll see.
