Christmas Day in Papua

       Christmas morning, the sun shines on my head as I woke up with my sleepy eyes. The mountains view in Papua is so beautiful.  I can see the beach below as the waves hit the rock bay. The horizon seems so peaceful and blue.

In Papua, we have a tradition to visit our friends who celebrate Christmas, to greet them Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday. In the afternoon, we came to Mr. Fernando’s house. It was a small house, but cozy and warm. We ate Bakso Sapi  and cookies, it was delicious. We introduce ourselves as a new employee in BPKP Jayapura. He has been working in BPKP Jayapura for 13 years, and is going to move to BPKP Medan in the early January. After that, we went to some senior’s house to greet them and have some cookies and tea.

Last, but not least, we arrived at Mrs. Elisa’s house. It was a “ruko”, three stories high. Her house was minimalist but elegant. She has a beautiful Christmas tree in the living room. We chat and ate again. Although our stomach is quite full, we just could not resist the temptation of “Ayam Bumbu” she had prepared for us. Cookies, pudding, and cakes are everywhere as we taste bit by bit, but eventually got full.

Christmas in Jayapura was fun. It was a unique and unforgettable experience. Still, I wish next Christmas, I can spend it with my families and friends.

Papua, First Week

          It has been a week I have stayed at Jayapura. My friends and I are adjusting the habits and culture here. It is quite different from Jakarta. Usually in Jakarta, we never greet strangers, but here, we must say hello to strangers to show our respect to them.

Christmas is in 2 days. Children are running and playing firecracker. Christmas songs are sang almost everywhere. Houses decorated full of colorful lights. The atmosphere is different from Jakarta. This small city reminds me of a small city in California, Alhambra, although it is 180’ way different. Jayapura is a rough city; it is dangerous to out after 8pm. Many stories of murders are told, many drunken people often make problems, and also this is an endemic area of malaria.

This makes me wonder. Why would people risk their life to work and open a business here if this place was so dangerous? Is it because of money? If it is, then I start to think, is it worth it? Those risks I mention is exclude from airplane crash and sinking boats in means of transportation I must take every month. My job as an auditor needs to travel to cities around Jayapura to assist local government in their financial reports. Land transportation is not supported to travel to those cities.

I have only been here a week. There is nothing to worry, but be cautious is important. I have made my decision to start my career in BPKP at Jayapura. Whatever the risks are, I must face it like a man! There is a long way to go. May God be with me always.

Papua, Day 1

Pagi – pagi pukul 06.00 WIT, saya bersama 14 calon auditor muda BPKP tiba di Bandara Sentani, Jayapura. Kami checkout dari bandara dan memerlukan waktu sekitar 2jam untuk mengambil bagasi, karena bagasi kami dimasukkan kedalam perut pesawat yang lain. Setelah kami checkout, kami masih menunggu satu teman kami untuk tiba di bandara, dia memakai pesawat yang tiba pukul 09.40 WIT. Saya mengamati bahwa masyarakat di Jayapura sering mengunyah Pinang, yang akan membuat mulut anda merah, semerah darah. Bahkan ada tempat sampah khusus untuk meludah sisa kunyahan pinang. Tak lama setelah teman kami hadir, kami dijemput oleh senior-senior kami.

Perjalanan dari Bandara Sentani menuju Jayapura memakan waktu kira-kira 1jam.Tak diduga, Jayapura pun bias mengalami kemacetan. Gunung-gunung menjulang tinggi dan matahari menyinari bumi Papua dengan sangat panas. Perjalanan di Papua tanpa kendaraan akan sangat menyulitkan. Setiba kami di guesthouse, kami beristirahat dan mandi, menyegarkan jasmani kami kembali.

Pada pukul 03.00 WIT, kami bersiap-siap menemui Kepala Kantor BPKP Perwakilan Provinsi Papua. Orang-orang kantor terlihat ramah dan hangat, kami disambut dengan tangan terbuka. Kantor BPKP Papua berada cukupjauh dari Kota Jayapura, cukup tinggi di daerah pegunungan. Kami  dapat melihat garis pantai Samudera Pasifik dan gunung-gunung dari halaman kantor kami.

Malam pun tiba, kami pergike Kota untuk membeli kasur dan makan malam. Harga kasur dan makanan disini cukup mahal, nasi goring seharga 30k. Ini merupakan malam pertama saya di Jayapura. Semoga hari esok dapat menjadi lebih baik. =)