It's always exciting to awake and find The Jakarta Post hanging outside my hotel room with my article duly published. I've been writing my Green-Watch column since 2007 and have notched up nearly 100 articles. There is something magical to see one's work in print. Today's is about my visit to the mangrove forests on the East Coast of Java.
I know that your father can relate to this, having had a by-lined article published in the Wall Street Journal when he was interning for the Brussels bureau of the Dow Jones Newswire in 2006. I was very proud to see him in print at that time. Who knows. By the time you read this, your father may be an accomplished journalist.
Today I continued my series of meetings with environmental non-governmental organisations here with my client who is a major plantation company based in Sumatra. It's most interesting but very demanding work, because there are significant tensions between the two sides. But my job is to try and help the parties find common ground. I must confess to have done quite well today, which ended with a very pleasant meal in the delightful French restaurant at the Mandrain Oriental hotel with the president of my client's comapany.
Grandpa Jonathan
Jakarta, Indonesia
