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