Hola Jose Luis Mejia and his wife Alesia Arnatovich. The newlywed couple from Peru and Belarus who met and fell in love in Jakarta.
Jose Luis Mejia and Alesia Arnatovich on their honeymoon in Peru
How did you meet?
My wife, Alesia, is a professional classical pianist and I saw her playing in a five star hotel in Jakarta. I pursued him for six months, he ignored me all this time, and finally we got married last month!
Congratulations! Where did you tie the knot?
we married in Lima, Peru as there is no embassy of Belarus here. The closest is in Vietnam! In addition, wedding officials here in Jakarta said it was too complicated to marry two "blood cells" and told us to do so "in your own country." So we did and had a beautiful honeymoon to Machu Picchu!
what are you doing here in Jakarta?
I am a black writer as a Spanish teacher at JIS. I am a teacher all my life and I have published 20 books of poetry of children in Peru. My latest book is a collection of poems under 140 characters each, which was inspired by and wrote in Jakarta and I dedicated it to my wife.
Have you found very different Indonesia to Peru?
There are many similarities between the populations of these countries. Peruvians like to be in groups, sharing food, time of action, the people are friendly and you feel at home. It is just fine here, too.
Do you feel the impact of Ramadan living here?
Alesia lived in Bahrain for two years, which is a strict Muslim country, so compared to what Indonesia is extremely relaxed. You really felt he was Ramadan in Bahrain - everything was closed, the windows covered with black curtains, but here we have not felt the impact so. If you drink and go to bars you might feel, but we do not, it's irrelevant.
The society here is very open and you can literally find what you want. Being non-Muslims in the largest Muslim country in the world, we did not feel that it is Ramadan, which shows that this country has a lot of tolerance for other religions. The only thing you'll notice are the sleepy taxi drivers!
Have you both feel settled here and plan to stay a while?
I think that this country is you reject immediately or you stay for more than two years and continue to live here. To an outsider, it is a very pleasant life, you feel comfortable and safe, and we are not in danger. I think we will stay for at least two or three years. Take traffic and Jakarta is the best place to live in the world
For more information on the books of Jose Luis and concerts to come from Alesia, if you please visit:
http://www.arnatovich.com
http://www.joseluismejia.com