The nerve-wracking moments before my flight to Amsterdam

On July 1st, 2021, I left Jakarta to start living in Amsterdam. I remember very well that the first time I decided to do this was around July last year. That’s when I realized that this pandemic won’t be over anytime soon and life must go on anyway. So does my plan to continue my study and find a job in the Netherlands, I had to keep working on that.

Since that, my life basically went from one list to another. List of things I have to do as part of the preparation before applying the MVV, list of documents I have to prepare for the MVV, list of things I have to do after I get the approval (including resign from my job), things I have to do while I was still in Jakarta, things I have to buy/bring, I even already prepared a list of things I have to do once I arrived in the Netherlands. So many things occupying my mind, I was pretty much stressed out and anxious most of the time. Especially because I didn’t tell many people about this plan.

There are so many things that could go wrong, but one by one, step by step, I managed to get through it.

The most nerve-wracking moments happened around my last week in Jakarta. They’re more like “After months of preparation, I better not fuck this up.”

First, doing the PCR test. My flight was around the time when the Covid-19 cases were rising in Indonesia, especially in Jakarta. So when I did my PCR test as a mandatory from KLM and the Netherlands, I was queueing with so many people who wanted to be tested as well. I chose Bumame Pharmacy, it was known as a credible and trusted laboratory/pharmacy for a PCR test. But because of the rising cases, they’re overload with samples and in the end, got so many complaints of missing deadlines. Thankfully they still managed to give my result in less than 20 hours.

If I chose other labs, I don’t know what would happen to me. Maybe I would receive my result in more than 24 hours, or worse. Because it was not just Bumame, other labs and pharmacies were also overloads with tests and samples.

Second, my negative PCR result. Yes, thankfully I was negative Covid-19. But even though I already did self-quarantine one month prior, the rising positive cases made me feel like I might get it as well. What if I had it but have no symptoms? What if I was one of the mild cases? What if my Dad brought it home after visiting the office?

Third, the antigen test. I did this just a day after my PCR test. I already registered for the antigen test at Bumame, but knowing that it was so crowded and I had to be there two hours before they open, that was pretty insane. I didn’t even want to think about how long the lab process was going to take, even though it was just a rapid test. That’s why I went to Speedlab instead.

I already registered at Speedlab two days before, but I didn’t receive any message on WhatsApp. So I went there anyway with my Dad. Unlike Bumame, there was no staff whatsoever on the spot even though it’s already their opening time. Cars already queueing for drive-thru tests, people were already coming for walk-in tests.

So basically I had to scan the QR code I received via WhatsApp to print my barcode and personal data that would be put on to the test tube. Since I didn’t get the QR code, they said I should talk to their staff there to help me. So I told my Dad to queue right after we saw there’s someone standing close to the scan machine.

When it’s almost my time, I decided to get out of the car to ask him directly. He said that I have to go to the reception to confirm my data first. So I ran there, and there were people in front of me. I looked at my Dad and his car moved forward a bit. Apparently, the drive-thru went fast.

One person was gone, then one more client in front of me. She asked quite a lot. She apparently scheduled PCR tests for 5 people. But the staff said that their lab was pretty hectic (so not just Bumame then) and the 24-hour promised result would be late to not later than 48 hours. That’s how scary Jakarta was at that moment (and it’s getting worse later on 😭).

I looked at my Dad again and he’s already two cars behind the one that was having the test. The woman in front of me was still asking. My Dad moved again, he was then just one car behind. I was so nervous. Then that woman left and I talked to the staff right away. He checked my data and yeah, I mistyped my phone number. He corrected it and bam! He gave me the barcode sticker. He said that I don’t have to scan it anymore, just give it to the guy who takes the test there.

Then my Dad’s car was moving, I ran there, got inside the car, we moved right to where the staff was, then he asked for the barcode. I gave it to him and he took the sample, and then we’re done. $^&# I was right on time.

We laughed so hard when we left the place. I mean, were we in a race or something? To make it more confusing for you, there’s a chance that I won’t even need this 24-hour antigen test because the regulation kept changing in the past 4 weeks. It could be only the PCR test result needed, it could be both, who knows? So I was preparing for the worst.

Fourth, my sister's negative covid test result. My older sister went to Bali the week before and I asked her to wait until 3-4 days before taking the test to make sure that she’s really not infected. Because of the high demand for tests and the overloaded labs (you see, there’s a chain of events here), her result also passed the promised deadline.

My flight was at 19.35 pm and at 3 pm, she informed me that she finally got the result and it’s negative, so she was going to meet me at the airport. Well, thankfully she was there at the airport because this led to the next moment.

My suitcases. I carried two suitcases and both were overweight. I was already prepared that if I have to pay then I’m willing to pay. I knew that the maximum weight is 23 kg and both of my suitcases were more than that. The problem was that one suitcase weighed 39 kg and I didn’t know that based on their regulation, the maximum weight for overweight luggage is 32 kg. So I was told to remove 7 kg from that suitcase.

Thankfully they weighed the heaviest one because the other suitcase weighed 25 kg. Otherwise, they would have checked that in first (with extra payment to be made) and there went away my chance of moving some stuff to that suitcase.

Anyway, my brother, whose math is far better than mine, said that I could just move the 7 kg (of the 39 kg suitcase) to the 25 kg suitcase so both would become 32 kg. Thank goodness! I was not ready to leave my art supplies behind. 😥

We left the check-in counter, found someplace in the corner, my sister who was still carrying her suitcase from Bali, offered her suitcase, so we exchanged the content, moved some stuff from the heaviest suitcase to the second one, weighed them again to make sure, also moved some stuff to my backpack, and then I finally had two suitcases weighed each 31 kg. So, I had to pay $200 for each of them. Oh, well. I already expected that…

What a week.

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After these nerve-wracking events, you can imagine how relieved I was when I finally walked past the boarding gate. I was still nervous about the flight because I never like flying. But, all the hard work, lack of sleep, tears, and sweats in the past year, all paid off.

How much effort I put in it though, in the end, it was my family who helped me through and through so I could be here now. I worked hard until the last minute, but I also had a little push. That’s why it was hard leaving them behind.

And just like what my parents always say, if it’s meant to be, it will be. So just do and believe. And never give up until the last seconds.