Bureaucracy Update

A quick update on the paperwork. The second day I was doing paperwork, I again started at RISTEK where they said I should have gotten a letter to get my KITAS (paperwork) from immigration in Pontianak on Borneo, not in Jakarta. Maybe the Jakarta immigration will give it to me, but they doubt it. And they say they sent me to the wrong (further away) immigration office in Jakarta. They give me more letters. I go back to the immigration office hoping it works out. When I get there, they direct me to a window in the downstairs madhouse to pay at. I have to block out others trying to cut in front of me and hand in my slip and my money. I am directed to another window where I eventually get my receipt. Back to the first window. Directed to a small office. In there, they take my photograph twice each with two different digital cameras and take my fingerprints. I pay them as well. Back to the first window. Directed into a back office where I sign my name in 8 places. Told to come back the next day. I go to the main police office which is all the way across Jakarta. Taxi drops me off at the wrong entrance so I wind up having to walk around the building and eventually am directed to the right office. Given a form (in both Bahasa Indonesia and English) to fill out. Asks my religion. In Indonesia, everyone, citizen and guest, has to be one of five religions: Muslim, Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist or Hindu. Each of the five are equal under the law, but you must be one of the five; it’s even on Indonesians’ government ID cards. It also asks for every country I’ve ever visited. Fill it out and drop it off along with more money and a copy of all of my documents. Told to come back the next day. Head to the Forestry Ministry. This is the nicest ministry in Indonesia. Beautifully landscaped, large, modern, with a parking lot full of beamers and Lexuses. And, given their official salaries, you know where the money for those cars is coming from. It looks much nicer than the Oil Ministry even. Am directed up to the 8^th floor. Find the right office. The woman takes one look at my paperwork and tells me to come back after I get the paperwork from Police and Immigration. Head back to Immigration hoping the paperwork is ready this afternoon. No luck. Next morning: Start at 8:15am at RISTEK again. Get my official researcher card and a few other documents. Immigration at 9am. Pick up my KITAS at one window and my passport at another. Motorbike (ojek) over to Police. Pick up my Travelling Permit at a different office on the 2^nd floor. Over to the Home Affairs ministry (similar to FBI) back all the way across Jakarta. Turn in all my paperwork. Get a letter saying I can pick up my real letter the next day at 4pm. Back all the way across Jakarta to the Forestry Ministry. Up to the 8^th floor. She looks at my paperwork and tells me I need to go myself to make copies down on the 1^st floor. Find the back office with the copier. Wait 15 minutes for those in front of me to be done. Get my copies made. Back to the 8^th floor. She looks at my paperwork. I need to wait for the real letter from Home Affairs. But at least this time she took a copy of all the rest of my paperwork. If I get my Home Affairs letter to them the next morning, maybe it will even be ready that day (of course Home Affairs says it won’t be ready until 4pm). I head back to RISTEK where there is some more confusion, they make copies of my paperwork from Immigration and Police and they make me sit down at a computer and write out a document saying I won't export samples without the appropriate agreements signed by the university I am working with and a man named "Pretty" at the Health Ministry.

After this, I go to the backpacker area, Jalan Jaksa, to buy plane tickets to Pontianak in Borneo. Apparently because their Independence Day is approaching, all the cheap seats are full. I pay more than I should have to and have to fly Sunday instead of Saturday. Then I go to Carrefour where I eventually find silica gel beads next to the Glade plug-ins. Ah the fun of having lots to do in a developing world capital. On the bright side, I went with my advisor and another guy who works in Indonesia to a Steakhouse/Tavern last night where they serve steak raw with a hot cooking stone so you cook it as you eat it. It was too expensive for me (I had fish and chips) but it was still kind of fun and the live music was cool.

Well time for me to head back to the Home Affairs Ministry and see if I can get my letter to drop off at Forestry. I also have a meeting with some scientists in the afternoon (maybe I can actually think about science for once since getting here!).