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I’ve been sitting on a bit of a secret. I haven’t wanted to discuss it in public. I haven’t wanted to make it Facebook official. I haven’t wanted to really admit that it’s real. 

But it is real. It is official. It’s happening. 

We’re moving.

We’re leaving Jakarta, my heart home, my love, and going to Shanghai, China. We’ll be touching down sometime in late May. 

This has been lying dormant in my subconscious for some weeks now, but every time I’ve thought about putting it down in words, I instead looked away. And while I’ve been putting on this false front during the day, at night I’ve been lying in bed awake for hours on end, worrying about what’s to come.

But now, I’m sitting in hotel overlooking this great city that soon will be our home, it’s pretty real. We’re moving. 

The move shouldn’t really have come as much of a surprise. Our typical cycle is three years and then pack up and go. We’re three-and-a-half years into our Jakarta sojourn, so it’s time. But, still, we thought we were safe for another year or two. The corporate powers that be wanted us in Jakarta for a while longer. But then, completely out of nowhere, the needs of the company changed, and so we needed to change too. 

So, we’ll pack up, we’ll say good bye, we’ll get on a plane and we’ll rebuild our lives in a brand new city.

And this is no great tragedy. Shanghai is one of the world’s great cities: there’s a rich and diverse population of international residents; a food scene that inspires and surprises; arts and culture and music; sidewalks and subways; parks, playgrounds, pork products; cheep(er) wine; cafes and street level shops; tree lined streets; real neighbourhoods; and amazing schools. It has everything that Jakarta lacks, really.  

On paper, Shanghai is a real step up. 

But, not in my heart. 

Jakarta, for all her failings, all her stinky sewers, broken sidewalks, corrupt officials, and infuriating traffic, Jakarta feels like my one true love. Jakarta is my heart home, the place that feels like me, the place where I feel most like me. 

So, Jakarta, I’m so sorry to go. You will, always, be where my heart resides. When we leave I know that I’ll weep. But I also I know that I’ll be back.