Mission

Mission #1: To visit every district in Indonesia by Dec, 2011.

One of the benefits of my job in Indonesia is the requirement to travel to remote areas where my clients are based. One of my key goals is to experience the food, sites and people in each district of Indonesia during my stay.

Sumatra

• Aceh– Banda Aceh
• North Sumatra – Medan
• West Sumatra – Padang
• Riau – Pekanbaru
• Riau Islands – Tanjung Pinang
• Jambi
  
• South Sumatra – Palembang
• Bangka-Belitung – Pangkal Pinang
• Bengkulu
  
• Lampung – Bandar Lampung

Java

• Jakarta – Jakarta
• Banten – Serang
• West Java – Bandung
• Central Java – Semarang
• Yogyakarta Special Region – Yogyakarta (city)
• East Java – Surabaya

Lesser Sunda Islands

• Bali – Denpasar
• West Nusa Tenggara – Mataram
• East Nusa Tenggara – Kupang

Kalimantan

• West Kalimantan – Pontianak
• Central Kalimantan – Palangkaraya
• South Kalimantan – Banjarmasin
• East Kalimantan – Samarinda

Sulawesi

• North Sulawesi – Manado
• Gorontalo
• Central Sulawesi – Palu
• West Sulawesi – Mamuju
• South Sulawesi -Makassar
• South East Sulawesi – Kendari

Maluku Islands

• Maluku – Ambon
• North Maluku – Ternate

West Papua

• West Papua – Birds Nest, Sorong, Rajah Ampat
• Papua – Jayapura

MISSION#2: Be conversational in Bahasa Indonesia by Dec, 2011.

Languages have not traditionally been a strong point for me. But that’s going to change. Bahasa Indonesia is supposed to be an easy language. I am modeling the examples of people I know who have rapidly learned new languages and my strategy is as follows:

• Focus on practical vocabulary that matches my personal interests - I am not bothering to read about something that I would not read about in English. I am using Bahasa Indonesia as a vehicle for learning more about my areas of interest.

• Immersion - My next 2 week holiday in 2010 will be in Yogyakarta where there is a language school that specialises in immersive education. I’ve met several expats in Jakarta who have gone and come back bilingual.

Mission #3: Dive Indonesia’s Top 5 dive spots in 2011.

I got my Padi open water diver certification when I was 15 and haven’t exactly notched up a lot of dives since then. With close friends and collegues who are master divers and being able to travel remotely for work, I figure it would be a real waste not to get some good dives in.

Here are the sites recommended to me:

1)  Rajah Ampat

2)  Komodo/Flores

3)  Bunaken Island (Outstanding!)

4)  Bali/Lombok

5) Ambon

(If you have any other recommendations, please drop me a note).