His name is Ken Sako. I call him Sako-san. 

He’s Japanese, a young man, we don’t have a big gap of age. I think he was a fresh graduate when he came to Indonesia for the first time. Handsome, friendly, a bit funny and his English pronunciation is so good. That’s my first impression of him. He’s not my first Japanese boss, he’s the third. But I have a long experience to work with him because my previous bosses had been resigned in one year.

I never expect that he will stay and enjoy working in Indonesia (especially in his position) for more than a year. This is internally talking in our department, his position is like a curse. One who got that position will not be able to stay longer. They will get stressed, maybe because of loads of work or anything else that I don’t know. But surprisingly he enjoyed it, and this year is gonna be his over 3 years of work.

I still remember when he started to learn his job desk. I realize that he’s a quick learner for his age. He also gets along with us, not only like a boss and his staff, but it’s more of a friend with foreigners. For your information, the majority population of our department is women. 

One thing that I couldn’t forget is he went to the canteen with me. That is very memorable. Since I joined the company, expatriates in my company had never gone there. He is also very curious about anything in Indonesia. He’s super friendly, that’s what I liked about him. While other expatriates are like building the border with locals (I mean only talking about work) but he doesn’t. 

He doesn’t only talk about work in the office. He usually asks me anything, I will miss this a lot. Although he often disturbs me, I’m okay. I like to talk with him, so I can practise my English and I can know about Japan from him. And he can know about Indonesia from me, but please forgive my broken English ^^

Jan 7, 2022

His last day in the office. He has to be back in Japan. This is not temporary leave, but permanent. He will not stay in Indonesia anymore. I’m sad for sure. Not only me, but all ladies in the department are also sad. You are irreplaceable, Sako san. I know he's sad also. He said that actually, he wants to continuously stay in Indonesia, but the head office in Japan doesn’t allow it. It is an uncontrollable thing for him.

Thank you for being a good boss and work partner for over 3 years. Arigatou gozaimasu, otsukaresama deshita. Good luck anywhere you are. None of the farewells is an easy thing. People come and go, but memories stay forever. I feel sad to say goodbye, but I’m excited about your future opportunities and career. Wish you have good health. Don’t forget us and hope we will meet someday.