We just had a staff meeting about bird flu. And it seems that despite the fact that chicken is one of the only things I’ve been eating since I got here, unless I take a job on a chicken farm, I’m more likely to die of stress associated with the media frenzy around the disease than the disease itself. Phew! However, they will be offering traditional flu-shots to all of us which is said to lessen the risk should the virus mutant into a human-to-human contractible form.
It’s been a busy week, and I’m about to head out to one of our island-based water sanitation projects on an overnight field expedition. We’ll be taking a boat out, stocked with piping and other project supplies, then hiking to the different sites. With a full pack of camera gear and my sleeping bag strapped on, I look more like I’m headed down the AT trail! I have fall leaves as my screensaver on my computer and daydream about the mountains this time of year, while smoldering in the 85+ degrees and 1000 percent humidity :) One would think my home state would have acclimated more me to this, but I spend most of my time outdoors (and inside as well) sweating profusely!
I had my first big media adventure yesterday, hosting a crew from one of France’s major TV networks at our psychosocial training event. It couldn’t have gone better! They were fun, interested, positive, and spent the afternoon interviewing our staff and participants. Who knew I’d be doing “international relations” here as well as media relations? I’m learning that 90% of it comes back to Southern Hospitality, so it comes pretty easily!
Other excitements of late include receiving my copy of Photoshop, which was hand-carried from the States by one of our financial guys from headquarters (who was for some reason cute and charming, or perhaps I’m in withdrawals from American boys). Also, I got the word that I can move into our new house (House #5), which I’ll be doing with another current housemate early next week. His name is Sten (pronounced “Steen”) and he’s from Denmark and about my Dad’s age. We’ll be jointed shortly be other new colleagues scheduled to arrive later in the week. My new room has its own porch and door outside and all the walls are painted a delightful yellow. I’m excited! We’re also switching offices to a new building (house, actually) next door to the one we’re all currently crammed into with Brits and Canadians, so that should be a good move as well.
I had sushi this week, which we bought at the fish market, brought it home, sliced it up and ate it, so it was literally the freshest fish I’ve ever had. Out of the tuna and barracuda, it was hard to pick a favorite! And I’ve been watching movies at night that I bought for the low bargain price of 80 cents a piece. Also, I got my first piece of mail! (A sweet birthday card from my sweet Mamaw Barton.) It looks as if it took about two weeks to make it here, which I’m learning is pretty typical. Packages are said to take between four and six weeks through standard mail, and padded envelopes are supposedly faster. I’ll keep an eye open for those of you who said you’ll be sending things and let you know how long it takes. Thanks so much!
Now, I’m off to the island of Pulo Aceh!
10.26.2005
10.20.2005
working
I just turned off the lone book-on-cd that I downloaded to my mp3 player before leaving the States. I’m rationing it to myself, only a few tracks each night, to fill the quiet space in my room with a now-familiar voice. Time is passing quickly – I can’t believe the week is drawing to a close. It’s been a good one, and busy one. I wrote a lot, edited stuff, had lots of meetings and this and that. I think if I read another concept paper or try to analyze any more matrices, my head might explode. But it’s being out of the office, turning the endless stack of proposals and plans and paperwork into tangible experiences, that I’m anxious to do more of, and am beginning to.
Last weekend I went to cover the opening of a special training my colleagues were holding for the new local psychosocial teams. All Aceh residents, and tsunami survivors as well, these inspirational individuals will act as counselors for entire communities. It’s a unique and effective therapeutic approach that I’m learning more about all the time. Activities they’ll implement range from small discussion groups for adults, separated by gender, to games, singing and art projects for kids (much like Shades of Blue). The goal is to tap in to the resilience and strength which has sustained disaster-affected communities so far, and spur them on toward the final phases of healing and recovery through positive group activities. It’s not only interesting, it’s working, and empowers people in a lasting way.
Sundays, I quickly learned, are the only semi-days-of-rest around here. And mine entailed a trip to the newly-reopened Pante Birak, which I personally like to call the Super Wal-Mart of Banda Aceh. When most of the shops here are about the size of your living room, this two-story grocery-esque store is a haven for locals and expats alike. My day was made when I found… yes, a bottle of Clorox and a roll of paper towels (which no one uses here! nor do they have rolls inside their “rolls” of toilet paper because they don’t use dispensers, but that’s another story…)
That day, though, and again later in the week, I drove out (well, I don’t technically drive anywhere, the drivers do, which is still taking some getting used to), I rode out through the tsunami-affected areas and surveyed the progress. There is still a lot of rubble, but no mountains of debris. There are sagging tents and makeshift houses, but some new structures and restored homes, and workmen everywhere laying roads, building bridges, putting up more houses, tacking down rooftops – it’s a beehive of activity – the actions of recovery in process.
One site I visited was a temporary housing community to interview a friend of one of my officemates (literally “office mate,” as in I can look over the top of my computer screen and see her across our joined desk space). Wan Maulida and her daughter’s pictures are on the Photos page for you to see, and I spent a few hours getting to know them and learning about their life there. She and all her neighbors lived in the tsunami-devastated areas and are now lumped together in a small community of three-room, oddly brightly-colored houses (we all joke that someone from South Beach picked the color scheme for all the new housing here!). Even though they agree it’s not ideal, everyone I talked to was optimistic and thankful simply to have a place to live. I watched them haul water by the bucket-full back and forth through the muddy roads to their homes, watched them (and joined them) in wiping sweat from their foreheads in the baking heat and humidity, and I saw in them the word that captures their essence – resilience. Unspoken strength is innate in disaster survivors; after trauma, functioning itself is a victory, and the people of Banda Aceh are more than victorious…
The people of Banda Aceh are also very fun! My favorite driver, a local guy in his early twenties named Hadi, has a collection of mixed cds that makes even yours truly look like a novice. It’s all bootlegged music (as is almost anything here that comes on a cd or dvd here) and costs only a dollar or two, thus I plan on coming home with a case full! So, I’m not lacking for a good dose of cruising music when the need arises. However, I’ve unfortunately acquired the nickname “Britney Spears” among the drivers, even though it’s the Gwen Steffani songs that I sing all the words to…
In addition to a good music source, I’ve also acquired another essential in my life – a friend that cooks. A media colleague invited me over for a friendly dinner, but I soon found before me the most fantastic meal I’ve had since arriving here. And “what did you have?” you may ask… Well, I’m not exactly sure because the electricity was off (a daily occurrence in Banda), so I couldn’t see what I was eating per say, but it involved chicken and vegetables and was truly delicious. A Middle East native, he even prepared Basmati rice to perfection. Yum! And when I’m not making new friends that cook for me, I’m eating peanut butter and crackers, so, no worries, I am far from starving to death.
Other highlights of the week included calling in to Carrie’s surprise 30th birthday party (yeah!! Happy day, sista!), successfully chatting with Jennifer on SKYPE (which totally works and is *free* and downloadable from skype.com), reading the awesomely encouraging posts on my blog from you guys, and peering at my condo in Virginia Beach via satellite on Google Earth. The picture print-out of my Shore Drive neighborhood is now hanging on the wall here beside me… oh, it’s the little things.
Tomorrow, we’ll be sharing a special meal with our local staff. They’re all Muslim and the month of Ramadan they fast every day from sun up to sun down. So, the evening meal and prayer is a celebratory time of sorts, especially as the month draws to a close. And tomorrow, we’ll all gather to “break fast” with them with a big dinner at one of our houses. It’s a great way to honor such a dedicated and hard-working group of people – the work here literally couldn’t happen without them!
The power is off again now, and I’m going to try to sleep before my room gets too hot… We’ve just acquired the fifth house for incoming staff, and if you wouldn’t mind, do say a prayer that I’m able to transition over to the new one… on a scale of 1 to 10, it would raise my comfort level from about a four to about a nine. All the love and prayers I’m daily feeling are much, much appreciated… thank you.
With love from Banda,
bonnie jean
Last weekend I went to cover the opening of a special training my colleagues were holding for the new local psychosocial teams. All Aceh residents, and tsunami survivors as well, these inspirational individuals will act as counselors for entire communities. It’s a unique and effective therapeutic approach that I’m learning more about all the time. Activities they’ll implement range from small discussion groups for adults, separated by gender, to games, singing and art projects for kids (much like Shades of Blue). The goal is to tap in to the resilience and strength which has sustained disaster-affected communities so far, and spur them on toward the final phases of healing and recovery through positive group activities. It’s not only interesting, it’s working, and empowers people in a lasting way.
Sundays, I quickly learned, are the only semi-days-of-rest around here. And mine entailed a trip to the newly-reopened Pante Birak, which I personally like to call the Super Wal-Mart of Banda Aceh. When most of the shops here are about the size of your living room, this two-story grocery-esque store is a haven for locals and expats alike. My day was made when I found… yes, a bottle of Clorox and a roll of paper towels (which no one uses here! nor do they have rolls inside their “rolls” of toilet paper because they don’t use dispensers, but that’s another story…)
That day, though, and again later in the week, I drove out (well, I don’t technically drive anywhere, the drivers do, which is still taking some getting used to), I rode out through the tsunami-affected areas and surveyed the progress. There is still a lot of rubble, but no mountains of debris. There are sagging tents and makeshift houses, but some new structures and restored homes, and workmen everywhere laying roads, building bridges, putting up more houses, tacking down rooftops – it’s a beehive of activity – the actions of recovery in process.
One site I visited was a temporary housing community to interview a friend of one of my officemates (literally “office mate,” as in I can look over the top of my computer screen and see her across our joined desk space). Wan Maulida and her daughter’s pictures are on the Photos page for you to see, and I spent a few hours getting to know them and learning about their life there. She and all her neighbors lived in the tsunami-devastated areas and are now lumped together in a small community of three-room, oddly brightly-colored houses (we all joke that someone from South Beach picked the color scheme for all the new housing here!). Even though they agree it’s not ideal, everyone I talked to was optimistic and thankful simply to have a place to live. I watched them haul water by the bucket-full back and forth through the muddy roads to their homes, watched them (and joined them) in wiping sweat from their foreheads in the baking heat and humidity, and I saw in them the word that captures their essence – resilience. Unspoken strength is innate in disaster survivors; after trauma, functioning itself is a victory, and the people of Banda Aceh are more than victorious…
The people of Banda Aceh are also very fun! My favorite driver, a local guy in his early twenties named Hadi, has a collection of mixed cds that makes even yours truly look like a novice. It’s all bootlegged music (as is almost anything here that comes on a cd or dvd here) and costs only a dollar or two, thus I plan on coming home with a case full! So, I’m not lacking for a good dose of cruising music when the need arises. However, I’ve unfortunately acquired the nickname “Britney Spears” among the drivers, even though it’s the Gwen Steffani songs that I sing all the words to…
In addition to a good music source, I’ve also acquired another essential in my life – a friend that cooks. A media colleague invited me over for a friendly dinner, but I soon found before me the most fantastic meal I’ve had since arriving here. And “what did you have?” you may ask… Well, I’m not exactly sure because the electricity was off (a daily occurrence in Banda), so I couldn’t see what I was eating per say, but it involved chicken and vegetables and was truly delicious. A Middle East native, he even prepared Basmati rice to perfection. Yum! And when I’m not making new friends that cook for me, I’m eating peanut butter and crackers, so, no worries, I am far from starving to death.
Other highlights of the week included calling in to Carrie’s surprise 30th birthday party (yeah!! Happy day, sista!), successfully chatting with Jennifer on SKYPE (which totally works and is *free* and downloadable from skype.com), reading the awesomely encouraging posts on my blog from you guys, and peering at my condo in Virginia Beach via satellite on Google Earth. The picture print-out of my Shore Drive neighborhood is now hanging on the wall here beside me… oh, it’s the little things.
Tomorrow, we’ll be sharing a special meal with our local staff. They’re all Muslim and the month of Ramadan they fast every day from sun up to sun down. So, the evening meal and prayer is a celebratory time of sorts, especially as the month draws to a close. And tomorrow, we’ll all gather to “break fast” with them with a big dinner at one of our houses. It’s a great way to honor such a dedicated and hard-working group of people – the work here literally couldn’t happen without them!
The power is off again now, and I’m going to try to sleep before my room gets too hot… We’ve just acquired the fifth house for incoming staff, and if you wouldn’t mind, do say a prayer that I’m able to transition over to the new one… on a scale of 1 to 10, it would raise my comfort level from about a four to about a nine. All the love and prayers I’m daily feeling are much, much appreciated… thank you.
With love from Banda,
bonnie jean
10.14.2005
nighttime
I just walked out onto our second floor balcony, and two cows were soundly sleeping in the middle of the dusty street below. Evening prayer chants echoed from distant mosques, competing with the sounds of the one visible over my neighbors’ rooftops. It’s Friday, the Muslim holy day, and it’s the month of Ramadan, the holiest of times, so there is an air of serenity in the city that’s almost tangible.
Nighttime is quiet in Banda Aceh, or maybe it’s normal here but still seems quiet to me. No TV, no DSL, no phone ringing with friends making plans to do this or that, only the persistent meowing of our house cat that literally came as part of the house, and Blake Shelton playing on my mp3 player. It’s been a good first week, and I’m settling into my new environs. The bathroom is scrubbed, the bags are mostly unpacked, I’ve learned a few phrases in Bahasa and made a lot of good connections with people already. I met a man today that could easily become a mentor – wise, kind, a veteran freelance journalist who became a PIO for a one of our cooperative agencies just to be part of the humanitarian effort. Next week, we're going to the weekly meeting of all the communicators so I can continue getting to know my peers. It was an encouraging encounter, and one which profoundly reminded me again of how much I’m going to learn here.
Speaking of learning, that’s what my first days here have consisted of – sitting with my new team members soaking in massive amounts of information about the programs they’ve been working on. There’s 12 of us now, with three others arriving this week, too. It’s absolutely astounding to see and hear all that’s been accomplished so far with just these few dedicated individuals and two dozen or so local staff. Water sanitation programs, community health and vaccinations, partnerships to build houses, psychosocial projects, cash for work cleanup and rebuilding initiatives that help local residents earn wages while restoring their own community – I’ve been dumbfounded by it all, and very proud to now be a part of the team. Granted they all work 10/12 hour days six or seven days a week, but there’s really not much else to do in Banda!
And from a few months ago, the city has changed. Yesterday, I went out to few sites to see the cash for work programs in action, and driving through areas that were once completely devastated by the tsunami, I saw something that surprised me – vitality. Places I recognized from my own photographs in January were not only cleaned of mountains of debris, they were rebuilt and bustling. Shops were open, roads were repaired. It was awesome. But my stomach dropped when we rounded a corner and a caravan of yellow dump trucks rolled toward us – the same trucks that were hauling lifeless bodies away when I was last here. We eased into neighborhoods, that though they were free of debris, consisted of ramshackle houses, pieced together with scrap lumber, all sitting amid tattered tents that had deteriorated after months and months in the hot Indonesian sun and daily rains. It was heart-wrenching, but the people… the people seemed happy.
Much, much more remains to be done, yes, but the scope of what has been accomplished so far is staggering. The debris removal alone is a task I thought in January would take years, and now, relatively speaking, it’s done, with portions even being recycled for rebuilding projects… Banda Aceh is indeed recovering, and I’m so thankful to be able to see it, and hopefully, in some way, be a part of it …
Nighttime is quiet in Banda Aceh, or maybe it’s normal here but still seems quiet to me. No TV, no DSL, no phone ringing with friends making plans to do this or that, only the persistent meowing of our house cat that literally came as part of the house, and Blake Shelton playing on my mp3 player. It’s been a good first week, and I’m settling into my new environs. The bathroom is scrubbed, the bags are mostly unpacked, I’ve learned a few phrases in Bahasa and made a lot of good connections with people already. I met a man today that could easily become a mentor – wise, kind, a veteran freelance journalist who became a PIO for a one of our cooperative agencies just to be part of the humanitarian effort. Next week, we're going to the weekly meeting of all the communicators so I can continue getting to know my peers. It was an encouraging encounter, and one which profoundly reminded me again of how much I’m going to learn here.
Speaking of learning, that’s what my first days here have consisted of – sitting with my new team members soaking in massive amounts of information about the programs they’ve been working on. There’s 12 of us now, with three others arriving this week, too. It’s absolutely astounding to see and hear all that’s been accomplished so far with just these few dedicated individuals and two dozen or so local staff. Water sanitation programs, community health and vaccinations, partnerships to build houses, psychosocial projects, cash for work cleanup and rebuilding initiatives that help local residents earn wages while restoring their own community – I’ve been dumbfounded by it all, and very proud to now be a part of the team. Granted they all work 10/12 hour days six or seven days a week, but there’s really not much else to do in Banda!
And from a few months ago, the city has changed. Yesterday, I went out to few sites to see the cash for work programs in action, and driving through areas that were once completely devastated by the tsunami, I saw something that surprised me – vitality. Places I recognized from my own photographs in January were not only cleaned of mountains of debris, they were rebuilt and bustling. Shops were open, roads were repaired. It was awesome. But my stomach dropped when we rounded a corner and a caravan of yellow dump trucks rolled toward us – the same trucks that were hauling lifeless bodies away when I was last here. We eased into neighborhoods, that though they were free of debris, consisted of ramshackle houses, pieced together with scrap lumber, all sitting amid tattered tents that had deteriorated after months and months in the hot Indonesian sun and daily rains. It was heart-wrenching, but the people… the people seemed happy.
Much, much more remains to be done, yes, but the scope of what has been accomplished so far is staggering. The debris removal alone is a task I thought in January would take years, and now, relatively speaking, it’s done, with portions even being recycled for rebuilding projects… Banda Aceh is indeed recovering, and I’m so thankful to be able to see it, and hopefully, in some way, be a part of it …
10.11.2005
arriving
After rising at 3:30 a.m. to catch the first of two flights, I made it to Banda Aceh yesterday morning a bit before noon. Still haven’t seen much of the town other than our house and the office, which are both across town from where the tsunami hit. Hopefully, tomorrow I’ll be able to get some of the local staff to take me out so I can see the progress there.
Things are going well. The house I’m living in with the program director (she also arrived yesterday and is the 2nd in command) and another older guy who’s tucked away upstairs is a huge place, and we’re expecting to eventually have two more people living here, too. From the outside it’s bungalow style with a red stucco-type roof, but walking into my room in the far back corner, I (confessionally) had an onslaught of culture shock. We’ll just leave it at, well, it’s not the Hilton, but I’m not Paris, so it’ll be just fine. The bathroom (with the water-filled basin, toilet, and shower fixture all in a 3x3 space) needs some scrubbing and what not, but after that, I’ll be set. Plus, it’s a thousand times better than 95 percent of the population here, so really I have absolutely nothing to complain about! It’s all part of the “transition”…
Everyone at the offices is so very, very nice and, again, like in the Jakarta headquarters, it’s a global compilation of people and personalities. They have all been extremely welcoming and friendly, and are anxious to help the new people adjust and find the local market and things like that. We have drivers that take us places, translators and lots of local staff who are wonderful and charming and are already trying to teach me Bahasa, the Indonesia language.
Randomly interesting things of note so far: People’s preoccupation with another earthquake. It’s a real possibility and they actually had a big one last week. The Australian guy leading the security orientation yesterday said in his Aussie accent, “Well, mates, keep ya safety bag packed and leave it by ya bed, and whateva ya do, don’t sleep naked.” So funny, but even as I was typing this there was a big tremor that lasted about 30 seconds, so it’s definitely a reality!
On another note, to cope with Mississippi Delta-sized mosquitoes, they have electronic fly-swatter type things that look like tennis racquets! It’s truly fascinating… you plug the base into an outlet and charge them up, then when one comes after you, just flip it on and swat away like you were hitting a tennis ball and it zaps them. DEAD. I haven’t tried it on a non-insect yet, but it’s gotta hurt…
They have vital dietary essentials here as well, like Diet Coke, and peanut butter and Ritz crackers, and Pringles. I’m sucking down instant Nescafe black like it was Nonfat Vanilla Latte, and not really even noticing. Locals have prepared all the meals I’ve had so far, which have been rice or noodles with fish or chicken, and cucumbers every time (interesting and yummy).
We do have a lady that’s supposed to help around the house and do some cooking, but are still trying to successfully communicate with her. She doesn’t speak English and there is no microwave, so I obviously need to learn Indonesian as quickly as possible.
Pictures to come soon when I get Photoshop, and get to get out do some more shooting, too.
I appreciate all the prayers and encouraging notes, and am just amazingly blessed to have such a support group.
Terima kasih, (“Thank you” in Bahasa)
-bonnie jean
Things are going well. The house I’m living in with the program director (she also arrived yesterday and is the 2nd in command) and another older guy who’s tucked away upstairs is a huge place, and we’re expecting to eventually have two more people living here, too. From the outside it’s bungalow style with a red stucco-type roof, but walking into my room in the far back corner, I (confessionally) had an onslaught of culture shock. We’ll just leave it at, well, it’s not the Hilton, but I’m not Paris, so it’ll be just fine. The bathroom (with the water-filled basin, toilet, and shower fixture all in a 3x3 space) needs some scrubbing and what not, but after that, I’ll be set. Plus, it’s a thousand times better than 95 percent of the population here, so really I have absolutely nothing to complain about! It’s all part of the “transition”…
Everyone at the offices is so very, very nice and, again, like in the Jakarta headquarters, it’s a global compilation of people and personalities. They have all been extremely welcoming and friendly, and are anxious to help the new people adjust and find the local market and things like that. We have drivers that take us places, translators and lots of local staff who are wonderful and charming and are already trying to teach me Bahasa, the Indonesia language.
Randomly interesting things of note so far: People’s preoccupation with another earthquake. It’s a real possibility and they actually had a big one last week. The Australian guy leading the security orientation yesterday said in his Aussie accent, “Well, mates, keep ya safety bag packed and leave it by ya bed, and whateva ya do, don’t sleep naked.” So funny, but even as I was typing this there was a big tremor that lasted about 30 seconds, so it’s definitely a reality!
On another note, to cope with Mississippi Delta-sized mosquitoes, they have electronic fly-swatter type things that look like tennis racquets! It’s truly fascinating… you plug the base into an outlet and charge them up, then when one comes after you, just flip it on and swat away like you were hitting a tennis ball and it zaps them. DEAD. I haven’t tried it on a non-insect yet, but it’s gotta hurt…
They have vital dietary essentials here as well, like Diet Coke, and peanut butter and Ritz crackers, and Pringles. I’m sucking down instant Nescafe black like it was Nonfat Vanilla Latte, and not really even noticing. Locals have prepared all the meals I’ve had so far, which have been rice or noodles with fish or chicken, and cucumbers every time (interesting and yummy).
We do have a lady that’s supposed to help around the house and do some cooking, but are still trying to successfully communicate with her. She doesn’t speak English and there is no microwave, so I obviously need to learn Indonesian as quickly as possible.
Pictures to come soon when I get Photoshop, and get to get out do some more shooting, too.
I appreciate all the prayers and encouraging notes, and am just amazingly blessed to have such a support group.
Terima kasih, (“Thank you” in Bahasa)
-bonnie jean
10.08.2005
beginning
But the birthday thing, not changing that one… oh happy day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)