Page 126 - 60/20

COMMEMORATING THE 60/20 ANNIVERSARY 126

James W. Castle

The World of Business

PART 2

I was in the Peace Corps in the The Fulbright experience was a real turning
Philippines before I came to point for me. I went to Bandung in 1977 to
Indonesia in the 1970s. One do dissertation research for a history PhD at
thing about the Philippines Cornell University, but at the end of that year
is that when you went there I realized I liked Indonesia better than I liked
as a young, inexperienced studying history and I decided to stay. To
American in those days, it was support myself, I started freelance reporting, and
easy to think you understood it this eventually led to my entry into the world of
because of all the similarities: business because there was more demand for
the Coca-Cola signs and the articles on business than on politics or culture.
Catholic church and so forth. It It was ironic. I had come out of America’s 1960s
took a long time to realize you counterculture; I had the beard, the long hair,
had no real idea what was really and I was anti-business, pro-George McGovern,
going on. But the moment I all that. But after I started freelancing and
arrived in Jakarta I knew I had interviewing business people, much to my
no idea what was going on. It surprise I found that I really liked and respected
was just so different. Indonesia them. They seemed to be the only foreigners
was more opaque, and to me it here who really had a good idea of what was
was more interesting to try to going on. They really had to operate and succeed
figure it out. People were very within the society, hiring people and training
different. Here they are much people, and they faced real labor and regulatory
more formal, and eventually problems. These people gave me information
I came to like that; I think about Indonesia at a level that I had never heard
perhaps because I am a formal before.
person myself.