Life in Lombok
It has been a little over six months since I started working in Lombok. A growing fetus has most of his/ her organs developed near completion at this age. I have told myself repeatedly that I would try to write at least once a month but to be honest it has been quite challenging to find leisure time to write. I spend most of my days either working in the hospital, riding my motorbike around the island, or home doing chores. I started my job right in the middle of a pandemic, so you could imagine the amount of work that needed to be done. My working schedule doesn’t follow regular workdays, on average I work for four consecutive days then have two days off. Those four days are then divided into two morning shifts and night shifts. Prior to this job, I had never had this type of working schedule. But I have to admit that the schedule is not so bad. I have grown to enjoy it.
When I came here, I didn’t know about alot of things. I got confused when people told me about Mataram and Lombok. I thought the city I lived in was Lombok. Yes dumb. I live in Mataram, which is the capital city of Nusa Tenggara Barat. Few weeks before arriving here, I typed in my hospital address and was shown pictures of empty streets. Not trying to be dramatic but being almost a year away from a big city to work in Timika (Papua) then to move to another “allegedly” small city was not really in my agenda. To my surprised, this city is not actually that small as what I pictured in my head. Within five months, I have moved around three times. I booked a house from AirBnB near my hospital and lived there for three weeks. Then moved to a rented room for three months. Then finally found another house to rent.
Also, I bought a Kawasaki as a birthday present. I remember when I was in high school, there was this girl that I liked. I didn’t actually like “like” her but you know gossip spread like wildfire in high school. The word finally reached the girl and she said, “I don’t want to go out with someone who doesn’t have a Kawasaki.” Back then, riding a motorbike to school was a big deal for the boys. You know, for the sake of boosting the pubescent fragile boy ego. Now that I own one, it makes me laugh every time I remember about that girl. When I don’t work, I make time to drive around the island. One of my favourite spots so far is Merese hills. Have you ever seen Teletubbies? The hills resemble those in the tv series. You know, those then add some wild water buffalos. The beaches near the hills are absolutely breathtaking.
The hospital where I work now is a part of network hospitals in the nation. There are nearly if not more 50 hospitals and clinics under the name. I was given scholarship from the parent hospital back when I was in medical school. As a return, I have been signed into a contract to work for the hospital for a little over 2 years. My first day of work was December 1st and also the first day for my 3-month probation. The fact that I am still working in hospital means that they like me enough to let me stay. To this day, the one thing that I am most grateful is that I have been blessed with amazing coworkers that have helped me a lot in many ways. Truly an amazing blessing.
I still remember when I received the phone call about my assignment. I was on vacation in Nusa Penida with my friends when someone from the parent hospital HR called me. I knew that call was going to be about my placement. To be honest, I actually applied for a position in Jakarta or Bali. However, I was told that there was a vacant position in Lombok that needed to be filled immedietly. After the phone call, I looked at the map to search for Lombok. From the position I was standing, Lombok was only about 63 kms northeast. I told my friends and they told me that on clear days, Lombok could be seen from where we were at the time. There was a relief that I finally got a job offer, and then there was a panic. There was a tumultuous amount of feelings in my belly. I finally got my dream job.
Getting my dream job is not about making money on my own. It is more than that. I had dreamt of being a doctor ever since I was very young. Growing up as an only child, there were only three people revolved around my tiny universe. I had my grandpa, grandma, and my aunt. Mom was still in medical school at that time. My only one friend was my aunt. She didn’t like very much since my “sudden” presence took all the attentions. See why I like attentions? Blame my childhood. I remember the many occasions where we would fight over things like foods and money. Years later, patches here and there, we have grown to be bestfriends for each other. Her kids are like my own children. The downside of being relocated kilometers away from them is that I would miss them a lot. I do. Everyday I think of them.
Socially speaking, I have grown from an introverted little kid to be an extroverted man. Fully extroverted might be a stretch, but I could confidently say I am mostly extroverted than introverted. I love making friends and getting to know new things. It comes naturally for me to go to someone and be like, “Hi my name is Will. Yours?” Being too friendly has never become a problem for me. I know there were time when people thought I was faking it. But trust me, I would not approach you if I decide that you don’t vibe well with my energy. And that rarely happens. Thankfully. I make people laugh. I make people smile. I make people comfortable around me. I make people mad at me. I make people sceptical about me. I make people interested. Those are generic feelings that everyone has. Doesn’t it?
Coming to Lombok also meant that I had to put a pause on my dating life. Sadly, the people I had my interest were either in Jakarta or in Bali or somewhere not close to me. And we always met last days before I left. It happened at least three times in the last five years. Was I sad? Of course. If Adele and I had ever met, we would have written at least five Grammy-worth love songs. I have yet to encounter anyone interesting in this island. Not even someone that I could take out for coffee. This is a new territory for me. But I am an optimist. If there is a Will, there must be a way to get a date. Can I hear Amen?
This year I am turning 30. Looking back, there is not a single thing that I regret. It took me 10 years to get to be a doctor. It was a long path to get to be where I am today. But I can confidently say that it was worth it. I learned my lessons and I am much much stronger academically, socially, as well as emotionally. Few years ago, I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish before I turned 30. Obviously being a doctor was on the top of the list. On the second place was to be able to speak more than two languages. This year I have decided that I will be learning a new languange. I have not decided which one but it would be between French, Dutch, or Spanish. Sitting on the next list will be to travel more. But I guess I need to wait it out until this pandemic is over. To all my soon-30-year-olds- out there, let’s get to 30 with confidence, maturity, and a tons of accomplishment. So here I am six months later since I boarded on the place to come working as a physician in Lombok. I tend to stay here as long as I need to be. I am thankful that my coworkers are the best. Some were a little rough around the edges in the beginning, but as we spend more and more time together, I could say that we are getting the hang it.
