Job Discussion Forums

twinkle85 · Joined: 19 Jun 2009 Posts: 5 Location: UK

Hello,

I am a 24 year old female from the UK. I will be moving to Jakarta in Aug to teach with EF Swara for a year.

Just wanting to get advice and meet people before i leave!

Hope to hear from someone soon!

SamanthaB · Joined: 21 Apr 2009 Posts: 18 Location: Seattle, WA

We'll be at EF Cengkareng. We arrive on the 24th of July. Have you recieved your placement yet?

twinkle85 · Joined: 19 Jun 2009 Posts: 5 Location: UK

Hello,

Nope i still dont know yet i shall let you know when i do though!

ljb · Joined: 12 Feb 2009 Posts: 41

Hi all

I work in Jakarta and would be happy to answer any questions you have about living in the city and the things you can/can't get here, things you might want to bring with you - especially from a female perspective.

You are welcome to PM me.

twinkle85 · Joined: 19 Jun 2009 Posts: 5 Location: UK

ljb · Joined: 12 Feb 2009 Posts: 41

I can't PM you either.

Maybe others could add to this list if needed:

Spray deodorant such as Impulse - hard to find here
Tampons
An unlocked phone able to use in another country, you can buy a SIM when you get here
Western size clothes (14+) are hard to find and/or expensive
Shoes for size 41+ are hard to find
Larger underwear is difficult to find
Some rupiah for your first few weeks
Clothes for men generally no problem
Longer sleeved clothes for working and for areas where you desire more coverage than a vest top.
Although it is hot a fleece or something is always useful for colder areas of Indonesia

In terms of your diet I see no problem with a vegetarian diet here, although you may not get a wide variety of food I am sure you can be creative in the kitchen. Plenty of Tempe and Tofu available but do be aware there is no food segregation in restaurants etc so you may find you have to compromise. I am not a vegetarian so maybe someone else can add something here. Seasoning, herbs and spices are available here, some of them freely and others in western supermarkets (can be pricey).

We do have bookstores here but I always think they are an expensive commodity to buy here so maybe bring some with you if you have room.

Have asked some of the teachers here and they have nothing else to add but I will post again if anything comes to mind.

:)

twinkle85 · Joined: 19 Jun 2009 Posts: 5 Location: UK

rayman · Joined: 24 May 2003 Posts: 427

Some things I always bring back with me after each trip to Australia;

* sunscreen - available but expensive
* honey - available but expensive
* wine - available but expensive
* cotton tips - for cleaning ears i find the Indonesian variety too small - or my ear canal too big?

ljb · Joined: 12 Feb 2009 Posts: 41

Good thinking Rayman, yes the wine is very important.

I have to say though did you know that Vaseline Intensive Care do a sunscreen for 25,000 factor 30 and it is excellent!

:P

rayman · Joined: 24 May 2003 Posts: 427

I haven't yet seen that sunscreen ljb. Thanks for the tip. I'm guessing you shop at Ambassador/ITC. Could I pick it up from the Century chemist or one one of the cosmetic stands there?

ljb · Joined: 12 Feb 2009 Posts: 41

Believe it or not I buy it from Starmart but I have seen it in Carrefour and super indo but it sells fast, female section with the lotions and body creams not in the sunscreen section. Not seen it in Century.

I want to buy it all so they keep producing it, it saves me a fortune..

rayman · Joined: 24 May 2003 Posts: 427

Only an elevator ride away. Fantastic. Tucked away in the female section would explain why I've never come across it!

Vertumnus · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 142 Location: Indonesia

Just a couple of things:

As suggested, bring rupiahs. If you bring American dollars, you need to make sure they are flawless and the F series is still the best series (I believe), but I can't remember which specifically.

Flawless means not folded, dog-earred, torn, stapled, written on or otherwise damaged. If you try to exchange such money, you'll either get a reduced rate, or be refused outright (although not all changers will refuse it). Do not exchange money with someone standing around the airport, as I've heard about scams where a "police officer" will come and take it as counterfeit.

Vegetarian food is not as common here as I'd like. Indonesians generally LOVE eating meat, unless they're from a small village where meat is still a luxury, and even vegetarian dishes like cap cay (said: chahp chahy) often have meat and seafood added, or even eggs. Indonesians are also obsessed with frying food, despite the health risks (they often don't know).

There are dishes like karedok, cap cay, gado-gado, urap and more that are supposed to be vegetarian, but it always wise to tell them NO meat, seafood or eggs should be added. I have, quite often, been successful at requesting that such things be substituted with vegetables, mushrooms, tempe or tofu, although I recently had a negative experience where they were cheapskates and mostly just added chili peppers. You can say: "Tolong ganti daging, telor dan hasil laut dengan sayuran, jamur, tempe dan tahu. Saya vegetarian." (the g is a hard g, not j)

Hope that helps.

-D

Marquess · Joined: 05 Feb 2009 Posts: 165

I worked there two years ago and got ripped off something chronic. Watch out.

laughing_magpie06 · Joined: 14 Sep 2006 Posts: 282

I never worked there but had an interview with them once. The guy who interviewed me was a fellow named Gusti who looked like one of those shady characters in an Indonesian sinetron. He was reading questions off a sheet of paper and asked things that weren't at all relevant to anything.
I didn't get that job and found out not long after that they are about the worst EF franchise in the land. A big sigh of relief.