FALEIXO's CSC Journey

There is so much to write about that I don't even know how to start! Well, maybe with the summary of my week before getting to the weekend trip!

Terry, Sergio and I already worked with BPPT Team in the definition of the Current State Design of the organization, mapping the process flowcharts and going through process documentation and interviews. Last week we had very productive team brainstorming sessions in order to identify the most important goals for the next few years, as well as the main current issues and obstacles of the organization. My Lean Six Sigma skills, combined with Processes and Controls ones, have been really helpful for this project! The plans for this week is to have one more brainstorming session with all BPPT Coordinators, having them work on the main proposed solutions for each issue and obstacle. The interactions with Indonesians (with the help provided by our translator, Bapak Prima) have been challenging, interesting and I feel that each day I learn something that will help me not only in my professional life, but also in my personal growth.

Besides the daily job routines, what I have been doing during the week is Brikam Yoga at a place with a very great ambiance: full of waterfalls and relaxing music (called Svarga Emotion Sanctuary), as well as traditional Indonesian massage sessions. I'm really taking advantage of Indonesians' ability with hands for massages!

Noooooooow, talking about the best time: the weekend!!! The fun already started at the client's office on Friday. BPPT Team implemented a very interesting activity among the employees: every Friday, there are free gymnastics classes in the office garden for one hour! And it is a very common action provided by the government offices in Indonesia, which I found very inspiring. And of course I did not miss it!

Friday gymnastics at BPPT

Myself trying to follow their gymnastics rhythm

Friday gymnastics at BPPT

Bapak (Mister) Adang and I after the gym.
For some reason, I loved the colors of his gym clothes! =)

On Friday afternoon, 8 of us (Terry, Sergio, Karen, Victor, Trupty, Nitin, Manuel and I) took a flight to Jogjakarta, a city located 400km from Bandung.
David, Yolande and Maej (ABV Manager) decided to explore Bandung's surroundings.

Karen, Victor, Trupty and I in the plane

Terry, Sergio, Nitin and Manuel

The sky was really cloudy and the plane was really small, which made me feel a little freaked out during the flight! I think the turbulence experience on my way to Jakarta from Dubai in February really changed my feelings about flying. I hope I can improve that soon!

Lion Air airplane

When we got to Jogjakarta, we took a 30-minute shuttle to Ruma Palagan hotel, one more Indonesian place full of nature, waterfalls and great environment. I used the hotel's decoration as my own personal Indonesian style customization!

Myself using hotel decoration for the picture

(by the way, this shirt is called Batik, a traditional Indonesian cloth that deserves a special post someday in the future!)

Trupty and Victor having ginger tea at the hotel

The guests at Ruma Palagan (translated as "War House")!

On Friday night we just went for a quick city tour at Malioboro Street, the most famous one of Jogjakarta, where the popular market is located. Shopping time started! We had dinner at a good local restaurant called Legian. An important highlight I'd like to make is that even the smallest restaurants in Indonesia have a very different and special decoration for me. Most of them have candle lights, golden details and nature all around! Simply beautiful.

Karen and Terry at Malioboro Street

Sergio and I at local market

Our dinner at Legian restaurant

Specially for my love Javier, the local beer picture, Bintang!

On Saturday we woke up really early in order to enjoy the day as much as possible. We rented a driver for the entire day, so at 6:30AM we were already leaving the hotel. Oh yes, this team has a wonderful ability of waking me up early! Our first stop was one hour later, at Borobudur Temple. Borobudur is the largest and most famous Buddhist temple in the world. The temple was built over a period of 75 years in the 8th and 9th centuries by the kingdom of Sailendra, out of an estimated 2 million blocks of stone.

The place is incredible! A local guide helped us interpreting some of the thousands of symbols represented in the temple structure. What also called my attention was the nature around it. There must be almost 2 kilometers of pure nature all around the temple. And this combination of men's art, together with natural beauty, is what I most admired at this place.

Borobudur Temple

Borobudur Temple surroundings

A local worker at the temple. My best picture of the day! =)

Our team wearing the local batiks required by Borobudur Temple

Borobudur Temple: closer view

After one more hour drive (oh yes, traffic makes all the places very distant), we went to downtown Yogyakarta to visit the Kraton Palace, the primary "house" of the Yogyakarta Sultanate. The sultan (who is the spiritual leader of the Muslim community) and the royal court have their traditional seat there.

The palace consists of a number of buildings, such as audience halls, museums, and the residence of the sultan and the queen. Tourists are allowed to visit most of the surroundings, except for the building where the sultan and his family live. What called my attention was the respect that people have for the sultan. We could see a lot of people praying on the floor, having their hands directed to the Sultan's main place. The local guide who shared with us the history of the sultanate was really proud of working for the Sultan.

The Palace Entrance

Kraton's Palace

Karen and I at one of the Yin Yang representations

Kraton's Palace Museum picture

Prayer with his hands directed to the Sultan's House - awesome shot by Sergio!

Their symbol of protection

We had lunch at a traditional Indonesian restaurant. There was a man and a woman playing instruments similar to sinophones - very relaxing and calm music.

Keeping the non-stop rhythm of the day, after lunch we went to the Taman Sari Water Castle, the place where the forefathers of the current sultan used to go for swimming and relaxing. The place has 3 pools: one for the children, one for the sultan wives, and one for the sultan himself (who selected which of the wives would share the pool with him at each time).

Trupty, Karen and I at Taman Sari

Taman Sari (Princess Bathing)

We also visited a batik factory (and shopped!), having the opportunity to experience the manual process to create a batik cloth. Sergio shared a little bit of each step of the process in the CSC Indonesia 4 Team's Blog post.

Already sweating and tired at 4pm, we still had energy to go to the last temple of the day: Prambanan. I'm glad we could make it, since it was my favorite spot of the entire day! Prambanan is the largest and the most beautiful Hindu temple site in Indonesia.

According to Wikipedia, "The temple compound, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the largest Hindu temple site in Indonesia, and one of the biggest in Southeast Asia. It is characterized by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple architecture, and by the towering 47-metre-high (154 ft) central building inside a large complex of individual temples"

I felt like I was in one "Lord Of The Rings" movie, simply unbelievable! I felt very lucky for having the chance to be in this place. Positive vibrations were the great output of this excellent trip!