Gossip, true or not true....
It is so amazing when you started talking to old friends and what they perceive of you or what they have heard about you.
Most of the perception is about how you were when you were in school and what you had done after school.
I was tempted not to justify myself of the gossip that was going around about me.
I keep telling myself that it is actually not true, and as long as I think it's not true, then it would not bother me as much.
But, somehow, it gets in my nerves, when some people said the same things about it.
There was time when I moved to Indo after finishing my undergraduate and post practical training.
I was working in a shipping company at first but, decided that it wasn't for me.
So, I applied for a position at one of the largest distributors of computers in Jakarta (ME), and fortunately I got the job.
ME had a bunch of exhibitions all over Jakarta.
I used to be involved to help with the marketing and sales of the products and oversee some of my staff.
One day, I met a friend, a long time friend from elementary/junior/high school.
We met at one of the exhibitions sponsored by ME.
We got into talking about so many different things, trying to catch up.
For some reasons, conversations got into drug usage.
How America is so big on that, and I was asked if I ever use drugs in the US.
I shook my head and said no.
And that person said "Come on, you were in the US for such a long time, it is impossible for you to not use drugs, you have so many chances and access to it."
I was a bit stunned and shocked at the same time.
Is that what people think about foreign students in the US?
Yes, people drink and have fun at the bars, but that's normal, and that's legal.
And if you call alcohol "drugs", then almost everybody is a druggie.
But I am sure the context is not alcohol.
The context here is "ecstasy", "marijuana", "cocaine", and whatever else they call it.
I have never even been close to any of those things until I went to the exhibition I mentioned above.
I had the urge to go to the bathroom and one of the girls wanted to go together.
You know how bathrooms in Jakarta like, they are long hallways and I have heard horror stories about girls getting raped or kidnapped there.
So, to me, it only made sense she wanted to go together.
We went to the bathroom, and she went into the toilet with me.
I was kind of confused, I had to go urinate, and I didn't feel comfortable anybody being there.
So, I asked her to use the other bathroom, but, she put down the toilet seat and told me to wait a second.
She sat down, and she pulled a thin paper like tin foil and Rp.500 and started rolling the Rp.500 bill.
She put some substance, some white powder, on the tin foil and started lighting a fire from underneath the tin foil.
She took the Rp.500 bill and started snorting the powder into her right nose.
I was so stunned that I didn't know what to say.
She looked at me and she handed me over the Rp.500 bill and the foil.
I took a step back, and I politely declined.
I told her, “Thanks for the offer but it's not my cup of tea”.
She kind of insisted I should try it, but, finally she gave up knowing I wasn't interested at all.
So, she went out and I could finally use the bathroom.
When I went outside and talked to the "friend" again, I told him my story.
And he laughed and said that I did it, and told me to just admit it.
Well, I guess, we had some kind of "Lost in Translation" moment.
But of course I didn't take it to heart, I figured that was just a joke and he would not start any stories about me like that.
I also mentioned that with entertaining clients you get offered so many different things including ecstasy, alcohol, and marijuana, and karaoke.
Apparently, some people have that kind of a life style. When you have the money and access to any of those, you can do it, if you cannot resist the temptation.
As usual, I always politely declined, although somehow, it affected my sales targets.
They would give their business to people who would like to have fun with them, instead of a party pooper like me.
I have dignity and I did not have to sell myself to sell a few darn computers.
I like to do things the right way, and with procedures, based on what I learned in school.
And of course based on the values your parents taught you.
It seemed like from the conversation that the “friend” just assumed that I am one of those people. And since then, words went out that I used to doing "tripping" (the context they used for people who like to do ecstasy)
Well, when one person had mentioned it, I just ignored it.
And when there was another that said it, I just cannot stand not saying anything.
I feel like my reputation is being jeopardized. And people do judge you by what other people are saying.
Somehow I just cannot let it go on.
Buy yet, what am I to do?
Most of the perception is about how you were when you were in school and what you had done after school.
I was tempted not to justify myself of the gossip that was going around about me.
I keep telling myself that it is actually not true, and as long as I think it's not true, then it would not bother me as much.
But, somehow, it gets in my nerves, when some people said the same things about it.
There was time when I moved to Indo after finishing my undergraduate and post practical training.
I was working in a shipping company at first but, decided that it wasn't for me.
So, I applied for a position at one of the largest distributors of computers in Jakarta (ME), and fortunately I got the job.
ME had a bunch of exhibitions all over Jakarta.
I used to be involved to help with the marketing and sales of the products and oversee some of my staff.
One day, I met a friend, a long time friend from elementary/junior/high school.
We met at one of the exhibitions sponsored by ME.
We got into talking about so many different things, trying to catch up.
For some reasons, conversations got into drug usage.
How America is so big on that, and I was asked if I ever use drugs in the US.
I shook my head and said no.
And that person said "Come on, you were in the US for such a long time, it is impossible for you to not use drugs, you have so many chances and access to it."
I was a bit stunned and shocked at the same time.
Is that what people think about foreign students in the US?
Yes, people drink and have fun at the bars, but that's normal, and that's legal.
And if you call alcohol "drugs", then almost everybody is a druggie.
But I am sure the context is not alcohol.
The context here is "ecstasy", "marijuana", "cocaine", and whatever else they call it.
I have never even been close to any of those things until I went to the exhibition I mentioned above.
I had the urge to go to the bathroom and one of the girls wanted to go together.
You know how bathrooms in Jakarta like, they are long hallways and I have heard horror stories about girls getting raped or kidnapped there.
So, to me, it only made sense she wanted to go together.
We went to the bathroom, and she went into the toilet with me.
I was kind of confused, I had to go urinate, and I didn't feel comfortable anybody being there.
So, I asked her to use the other bathroom, but, she put down the toilet seat and told me to wait a second.
She sat down, and she pulled a thin paper like tin foil and Rp.500 and started rolling the Rp.500 bill.
She put some substance, some white powder, on the tin foil and started lighting a fire from underneath the tin foil.
She took the Rp.500 bill and started snorting the powder into her right nose.
I was so stunned that I didn't know what to say.
She looked at me and she handed me over the Rp.500 bill and the foil.
I took a step back, and I politely declined.
I told her, “Thanks for the offer but it's not my cup of tea”.
She kind of insisted I should try it, but, finally she gave up knowing I wasn't interested at all.
So, she went out and I could finally use the bathroom.
When I went outside and talked to the "friend" again, I told him my story.
And he laughed and said that I did it, and told me to just admit it.
Well, I guess, we had some kind of "Lost in Translation" moment.
But of course I didn't take it to heart, I figured that was just a joke and he would not start any stories about me like that.
I also mentioned that with entertaining clients you get offered so many different things including ecstasy, alcohol, and marijuana, and karaoke.
Apparently, some people have that kind of a life style. When you have the money and access to any of those, you can do it, if you cannot resist the temptation.
As usual, I always politely declined, although somehow, it affected my sales targets.
They would give their business to people who would like to have fun with them, instead of a party pooper like me.
I have dignity and I did not have to sell myself to sell a few darn computers.
I like to do things the right way, and with procedures, based on what I learned in school.
And of course based on the values your parents taught you.
It seemed like from the conversation that the “friend” just assumed that I am one of those people. And since then, words went out that I used to doing "tripping" (the context they used for people who like to do ecstasy)
Well, when one person had mentioned it, I just ignored it.
And when there was another that said it, I just cannot stand not saying anything.
I feel like my reputation is being jeopardized. And people do judge you by what other people are saying.
Somehow I just cannot let it go on.
Buy yet, what am I to do?