October 6, 2015 edition
Driving her small car to work every morning, Evie feels quite at home zigzaging through the traffic jam, "just like back in Jakarta," she said, heading towards the prestigious El Colegio de Mexico, which has been her place of work for almost two decades. But for a twist of fate, Evie would have been teaching at a university in Tokyo, Japan, in 1997. Instead, she flew to Mexico City on the other side of the world, and what was to have been a three-year posting turned out to be an indefinite stay. "I fell in love with the place," said Evie, explaining her reason for staying on.
In 1966, Evie was lecturing at the faculty of literature at the University of Indonesia, when department head Prof. Sapardi Djoko Damono, opened up the opportunity to teach Indonesian language in Tokyo and she had signed up. But then came the offer to teach for two years in Mexico, starting immediately. She was only given one night to make a decision. Evie decided to take it, rationalizing that she could still work in Japan in 1998, after her stint in Mexico.
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More Horizons articles in other editions
September 8, 2015 edition
Indah Morgan's visit to Indonesia last August was a busy one. She not only attended the Indonesian Diaspora Congress in Jakarta and a related event in Yogyakarta organized by the Javanese diaspora, she also traveled to Bandung in West Java, to Semarang in Central Java, to Banyuwangi in East Java, and to Lampung in Sumatra.
Despite the destination-filled itinerary, Indah was not on vacation. This former global coordinator of Immigration and Citizenship Taskforce of the Indonesian Diaspora Network met with former migrant workers, activists and even government officials, such as the regent of Banyuwangi. "I discussed with him the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community," said Indah, 49, at one of the side events of the Indonesian Diaspora Congress. "Indonesia sends skilled workers to other countries not just as workers, but also as envoys of tourism, culinary expertise, education, and culture. My dream is that the government will adopt more people-to-people diplomacy for Indonesia," said Indah.
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August 25, 2015 edition
Kaboel Karso was busy at the Javanese Diaspora Conference held in Yogyakarta on August 15-16. He was one of the panelists who shared their stories of living abroad, while trying to preserve their Javanese cultural roots. "There were people from 14 countries yet there was a strong sense of common identity among them," said Kaboel, who saw the gathering not just as a forum to exchange ideas but as a deep reservoir of rukun, or brotherhood to be harnessed.
Kaboel Karso, 58, is an ethnic Javanese from Suriname, a Dutch colony until 1975, located just north of Brazil, along South America's Atlantic coast. His concept of Javanese culture sounds different to that here. He eats saoto rather than soto (soup), and bami, with French-style vermicelli, instead of bakmi (noodle). And he is as likely to croon pop jawasongs in creolized Javanese 'that you can dance to' similar to the kroncong (Portuguese-style Indonesian music) more familiar to Indonesians.
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August 4, 2015 edition