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I'm meeting the President of Indonesia


Ordos

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My Dad owns a company that runs a sugar factory in the province where I live. The government of Indonesia is giving the company an award for sustainability. Due to scheduling conflicts, my Dad asked me to go Jakarta and the Presidential Palace to represent him and collect the award. President Joko Widodo will be presenting the awards to myself and other companies with projects in other provinces. After the ceremony, I've been told that I will have lunch with the President. I will be given a 30 second to 2 minute window to talk to the President. I'd love to say something political to him, but I have a script and need to say something about the company to him. 

The highest ranking politician I've ever met before now is the former Prime Minister of Latvia Indulis Emsis. This will be my first sitting head of state. I'm getting myself a new set of formal clothes and a haircut.

Does anyone here happen to have met sitting heads of state and/or government and have a picture on the wall of your home shaking hands with the said head of state and/or government?

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On 11/10/2017 at 11:30 AM, Ordos said:

My Dad owns a company that runs a sugar factory in the province where I live. The government of Indonesia is giving the company an award for sustainability. Due to scheduling conflicts, my Dad asked me to go Jakarta and the Presidential Palace to represent him and collect the award. President Joko Widodo will be presenting the awards to myself and other companies with projects in other provinces. After the ceremony, I've been told that I will have lunch with the President. I will be given a 30 second to 2 minute window to talk to the President. I'd love to say something political to him, but I have a script and need to say something about the company to him. 

The highest ranking politician I've ever met before now is the former Prime Minister of Latvia Indulis Emsis. This will be my first sitting head of state. I'm getting myself a new set of formal clothes and a haircut.

Does anyone here happen to have met sitting heads of state and/or government and have a picture on the wall of your home shaking hands with the said head of state and/or government?

I think you should wear the splash party tshirt underneath your new boss threads

 

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On 11/12/2017 at 3:01 AM, chuck norris 42 said:

One of my mature age  students almost ran over a Young John Howard with his car, John Howard was the Prime minister of Australia ,

 

As someone once said: What a story!

Funny responses... I thought the subject of this thread was uncontroversial enough.

Anyway, I just got my new batik shirt and a haircut. The award ceremony was postponed for a few days, but I will get information when it the new date is announced.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 12/6/2017 at 0:04 AM, Relic said:

Tell him to relax a little. Also,  make sure to get water damage in your Indonesian passport visa. They really like it when you do that. 

I have no idea what you are talking about.

I just got back today from Jakarta. The bad news: they downgraded the event. Instead of receiving the award at the presidential palace, they held the event in the Department of Labor. And on top of that the Vice President handed out the awards instead of the President. The Vice President is a man I have very little love for (I won't bore you with Indonesian politics). I really did not want to go after I learned that it was not the President handing out the awards, but the government had already paid for my hotel room and plane ticket. The government would also pay for my meals. I couldn't let taxpayer money go to waste.

When my company's name was announced, I had to walk onto the stage and accept the award from the Vice President and shake his hand. It took all my acting skills to hold a neutral look on my face because I really did not want to be there. If I wanted to, I could have spoken to him for over a minute. As he handed me the framed certificate, he asked me what my company makes. I told him. He did not hear me at first so I had to speak up. Then he said congratulations and I shook his hand and walked off the stage.

Other government officials attending the event were two cabinet ministers, three governors and several deputy governors. It was an event attended by many people of secondary importance.

At the hotel on the night before the event, I was handed an envelope full of cash which were to cover my expenses while I was in Jakarta. After the event, I went to a Starbucks at a nearby mall. I spent taxpayer money on a green tea frappe! 

Anyway, that's my story. It's unfortunate I couldn't go the the Presidential Palace and meet the President. But I did get free meals and I still had spare cash after I got back so the government PAID me to receive an award! So I still got something out of it.

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37 minutes ago, larrytheimp said:

I love that they just handed you a bunch of cash, too, for the per diem or whatever.

The hotel room, plane ticket and meals within the hotel dining area were already covered. The cash was to cover transport to and from the airport and everywhere else which consisted of taxi rides often caught up in traffic congestion as well as meals outside of the hotel.

I would have went to see a movie, but there was nothing good on in the nearby theaters.

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On 09/12/2017 at 0:48 PM, Theda Baratheon said:

I really want "I spent taxpayer money on a green tea frappe!" on a T-shirt, maybe a badge or a bumper sticker for when I finally pass my driving test 

“I met the Indonesia (vice) President and all I got was this lousy frappe”

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