Hello Gordon Boyd! The Scotsman with an American accent who plays football and surfs religiously.
Gordon Boyd
This is a very Scottish name you?
Yup, I'm from Scotland. Both my parents are Scottish, but I was born in South Africa and I grew up in Australia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
A well-traveled man. So what you brought back to Jakarta?
I moved to Jakarta with my family and went to Jakarta International School. I graduated in 1999 and moved to Sydney, Australia for the university and returned to Jakarta after. I came back because I wanted to come back - I love Indonesia! Of all the places I've lived, I spent most of the time in Indonesia, so I feel kind of home.
What do you do for work?
I work for Tide Water Operators Indonesia as a marketing manager. It is just a fancy name for a guy who is going to get contracts with oil and gas drilling managers. I've been here four years, starting originally with the company as a single distributor. I spend most of my time meeting with oil companies like Chevron and meet drilling managers or logistics guys because they are the workers of all contracts.
Do you feel you can be as active in Jakarta that you used to be in Australia?
If you can deal with to get to places where you can exercise then it is not a problem. There is a sports club in Ciputat called ISCI and you can do everything there. I played football up there on Thursday and Sunday, but the traffic is bad, so I play Futsal in Kemang or JIS on a Wednesday night.
What is this obsession Futsal?
Futsal started to become an obsession in Jakarta there are two or three years and became popular really fast. It is an out and fun to do easy. You just need ten guys or less and an hour of free time, so the guys with families at home by 7.30, or 20 hours. It is a good workout because it is non-stop for an hour.
How seriously do you take the football?
I used to play for the University of Sydney FC and Karawana which is like the New South Wales Super League or Premier League, so I was semi-pro so I guess I take very seriously!
Then why did you stop?
There's a funny story actually. I signed a contract with the Premier League team, but I graduated and had to leave because they did not give visas to the league above. There was a problem on me a diploma because of credits and after discussions, it is the university had miscalculated my credits so I had to graduate in December this year and could not stay on another year!
Bummer. Do you still play football in Jakarta?
Yes, in the Expat League. It's called the JIFL (Jakarta International Football League) and consists of 12 teams. Once a week there is a game and each team plays.
Do guys are serious?
Yeah, they actually do. If you ever go to one of those games you'd be surprised at the language and even arguments between team members. Sometimes players storm off! They get roudy enough. It's pretty competitive. There are many good players and some are even former professional who played in the World Cup. They all take it seriously. My team are mainly teachers so that they are not too bad.
And your team are ...?
The Jakarta International School team that was formed by a couple of teachers, so that the majority work for or are ex JIS JIS children like me. But you can still join even if you have no connection JIS.
If someone wanted to join the league, what they should do?
Just go to www.jifl.org where you can find bios of each team and contact managers. There is a league committee has meetings every month, so if you want to choose a team, you can consult the other teams. I advise you to join the team because it is a great way to meet people if you are new to Jakarta.
Besides football, what other sport do you like?
Surf! I started when I was 12 here in Indonesia. The best surf spot in Indonesia so far I can not tell you this, but Mentawai is the best in the world, not only in Indonesia. I used to go surfing every second weekend, but now probably once a month. Usually, Bali or Pelabuhan Ratu. There are great surf there, at a place called Cimaja which has a nice wave that breaks well and a long right turn.
So do your future plans involve sticking around?
I plan to stick around for life. I do not see myself anywhere else. Perhaps Bali in five years when I'm a little older and more mature!
To contact Gordon, send an email to gdboyd@tdw.com .