Things I will miss if I move back to the US:

• My immediate-big-crazy-obnoxious-families of course – do I need to say more?!
• The authentic Indonesian foods – Most definitely, I will find myself hunting for the right ingredients at an Asian Market or ordering it online with a more expensive price tags of course then slaving away in the kitchen, just for the sake of satisfying the craves of the delicious food from home.
• The beauty salons – There is no way in the world you can get a 2 hours hair spa treatment plus arms massage (sometimes back if you have my ‘guy’!) for $4! Let alone a 2.5 hours of spa treatments (full body scrub, massage, steam, and soaking in a really relaxing special mixture bubble bath for $20 something bucks in the US. Of course there are more upscale places with higher prices than my usual homey place but these are all way cheaper compare to the ones in the States.
• Available helpers – again at a fraction price tag per month than the hourly basis the US have. Did I tell you how much I love our company’s driver? He’s the best ever!
• Cheaper cost of living – of course it’s depending on the kind of lifestyle you opted for but for us it’s way cheaper to live here than back in the US.
• Blue Bird – No, it’s not Big Bird’s far relative! It’s the best cab company in Jakarta! They have the best polite drivers who will not take you for a detour in hoping to increase the meters, the taxi is always clean, some even come with Debit/Credit Card swipe machine and GPS. How cool is that?!
• Delivery Service – here you can have just about anything deliver to your door! No kidding! From bottled water to your own pedicure-manicure. I was shocked to say the least after finding out McDonald in the US doesn’t do delivery LOL.

Things I will not miss about Jakarta:

• The corruption – Yes, sure it makes it easier when you can pay your way around (for some that is) but I hated it especially when you have to deal with paperwork, then some of these money hungry people will starts asking for money or make it difficult when it ‘suppose’ to be an easy procedure. Ehm, such as registering our marriage here which deserve a post of its own, maybe at some other time. Things are very slowly improving tho’ with them cracking up these corruptors and their cronies but it will take years and years for it to be fully corruption free.
• The pollution – sometimes I just miss seeing a clear blue sky! From air pollution down to the noise, I guess it’s just part of being the capital.
• The traffic jam – My back pain is worst from sitting for hours at a time being stuck in the mad crazy traffic of Jakarta and I don’t think I will ever drive here.
• The heat – For a country who have two seasons Jakarta, for me it’s HOT and HOTTER. Talk about heat rash?
• Mosquitoes – These little buggers not only bug me but also Lil’ A. One bite on him and it will get so swollen that a nurse once insisted it was an ant bite! I guess he inherited that from me because mosquito hates me and so am I. People here would call someone like me as ‘sweet blood’ because these little annoyances will bite the heck out of me but not everyone else.
• The size – Who says size doesn’t matter?! If you live in Jakarta, heck yeah it matters! For someone who is 5’5” and ehm 150lbs with a pretty well endowed rack, it’s a pain-in-you-know-where to find the right clothes for me here especially one that I like. If you are a typical petite Asians women then shopping here can actually be heaven because your size will be available in just about every corner with cheap price tags. Hated these size label of S, M, L sometimes XL or XXL if you are lucky enough. One thing I failed to understand is why they would call it “All Size” whenever I ask around because it will definitely never fit on me! Either I have to halfheartedly departed with a large sums of cash to get the right fit from a more upscale imported store or try my luck on Ebay or shed these pounds, the later sounds a lot harder

I guess you can say I have a love-hate relationship with this city.