The Life of Warteg Attendant (2)

I Must Be a Successful Entrepreneur (en)
8 Juni 2009 - 16:36 WIB
Adrian Syahalam - translated by Jimmy L Simanungkalit


Haji Noto plans to expand his business by opening a new warteg (a food stall)branch around Duren Tiga area in South Jakarta. “Probably in July,” Rahmat, one of Haji Noto’s workers, says.

For most warteg workers, educational degree becomes an important factor in deciding the amount of salary they will receive. “Most of the workers here are the graduate of Junior High School (SMP). Some of them even only graduated from Elementary School (SD),” Rahmat says, bluntly.

So, it is normal when many of warteg workers came and went away. “We can’t force them to stay. Well, it depends on the workers whether they feel comfortable or not. They probably didn’t feel homey, so they chose to go back to their hometowns,” Rahmat explains in his Tegal dialect.

However, that condition doesn’t affect Sofia. That young woman who wants to be a successful entrepreneur doesn’t want to give up in what she has been working on. The fourth child of seven expressed her thought by writing it in a piece of paper saying, “I don’t want to be pompous. I love to have a night shift because it is more relaxed.”

Sofia, who is a fan of a singer, Monica, has a daily activity: wakes up at 8:00 p.m., then cooks rice and other food stuffs. When unoccupied, she listens to the music from her petite cell phone, although she doesn’t quite sure about her future. (E2)

Photo: Kurniawan Tri Yunanto.