John Falch, better known as uncle JC. After years of radio and television celebrity here, he wrote a book and call it quits now Jakarta.
Tell us about yourself.
I am a redneck Jacksonville, Florida. To continue my studies, I moved to California when I was 19 and got a great job, working for a Hollywood production company that produces television shows and concert tours for some of the great artists of the 70 and 80: the Carpenters, Lionel Richie, Cher and many more. It helped me get rid of my southern accent.
How did you get here?
By the mid-1990s, I taught at the University of California, Riverside, when an old friend wrote and told me how much pleasure he felt in Indonesia and I had to join. So I did, gullible me. I had originally planned to stay only a year, but somehow fever Jakarta infected me; I could not leave and I could not explain why.
Any memories stand-out in Jakarta?
In May 1998, I am successful manager / owner of an English school in Roxy Mas. Built everything from scratch and I was very proud. The morning after the shooting of students at Trisakti University, which was just down the road, I went outside to the parking lot for a cigarette. I looked up to the sky and saw a huge black cloud. "Hmm, it looks like rain," I said to satpam. He shook his head. He was burning Glodok. The big riot began. An hour later, I was running for my life. In fact, I took a bajaj mad dash to the US Embassy. When I got inside, I was greeted by a teenage Marine.
"My God! It is a riot there! "I was screaming.
" Riot? "He said," I know nothing about any riot. " He called for his superiors to see what to do. The embassy has allowed me to use their pay phone. That was the extent of their support. God Bless America.
My school got demolished. The rupee was worthless. We closed. I was about to leave Indonesia then, but I had a radio show. I loved doing it and it was extremely popular. I felt it would be bad karma if I just left. So I ended up teaching at other schools and to the radio show every night for an additional 14 years. These are my best years in Jakarta. Later I accidentally ended up on television and has become a celebrity. Haha. I did that for two years until I decided that the Indonesian television was not for me.
Why is that?
Indonesian artists are among the best in the world. But unfortunately, the money goes to one person: the owner of the show or station. All the shows are produced on the cheap, with the artists themselves, who usually provide their own costumes. Perhaps the greatest sin is that 99 percent of emissions are produced without a real script, just an overview. So what you see on television is mostly improvised without repetition. Sometimes it works, but mostly not.
You played George W. Bush and Tony Blair on Republik Mimpi, which was a revolutionary spectacle, political satires.
I'm really proud of this show. This was the first and the best political satire on Indonesian television. We had brilliant imitators. We harassed for daring to mock the country's leaders, but everyone loved it. It was one of the very few intellectuals shows on television until he got off the air.
You recently wrote your first novel, The Yellow Bar, which sells well online. What is it?
is partly based on my Filipino father crazy and terrible act of childhood experiences during World War II. His family were forced to become slaves in their own home for Japanese drivers, who later became suicide bombers. The book turned out much better than expected and has received good reviews. I put it on Amazon and other sites in eBook format and myself approached by a publisher. I am now working on a second novel.
Is Jakarta no influence on your writing?
is simple. My maid cleaned the house; I wrote a book. Maybe I would not have had time to do anything if I had lived in the United States. I thank Jakarta, and Yanti, for this too.
Jakarta How has changed over the last 17 years?
When I arrived here, all the news was controlled by the Suharto clan. The newspapers have been allowed to have only 16 pages. Censorship was a fact of life. There were only three television channels and very little advertising. I usually take the bus Patas 101 then; it was new, clean and comfortable. I see that it still works, but it does not look too good. Flash Forward 2013: Marathon traffic is destroying this city. I think most of us to stick close to home after work these days. It is simply not worth hour trip for two to his favorite restaurant, so we choose a nearby location, usually a mall, so we can get multiple tasks done. It is a pity, for shopping centers have no authentic Jakarta. I miss Kota Tua and Blok M.
You go back to the States for a while, after so many years here. The last thoughts?
Well, it's been a wild ride, better than Disneyland. Floods and riots. endless buffets and great adventures. I have very few regrets about my time here. I met some of the nicest people on earth, and some average one too. To everyone, thank you for the memories, keep a stiff upper lip, and enjoy the sambal. Jakarta can not be a paradise for tourists, but it is still one of the few places on earth where you can be a cowboy, pirate, inventor, author or artist without anyone tell you you can not. Imigrasi except, of course!