A lone tree
Friday, September 30, 2005
Shake Shake Shake!
Earthquake #8
Magnitude? 5.4
Date? Friday, 30 September, 01:12:25 AM local time
Epicenter? 60 miles WSW of Banda Aceh or 5.209°N, 94.475°E
What was I doing? Sleeping
This shaker was for a good 2 minutes. Looks like I'm getting used to these things, I went right back to sleep and almost forgot about it this morning.
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
"Javanese Chicken"
I just found sliced ham, salami, pepperoni, and proscuitto at this place called Caswell's. It's a coffee shop with locations in Jakarta and Bali. They've just opened their Banda Aceh branch and the manager is Australian. He had just received the goods this afternoon and hadn't priced them yet, so I will be going back tomorrow. The owner called the the pork products Javanese Chicken. And this chicken doesn't have the flu!
This just totally made my day.
This just totally made my day.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
More on Food
I haven't written about food for awhile.
There is this little meat shop name Blangrakal not far from my office that stocks western food products. The owner keeps a clip board and adds to the list as customers request different products. Of course, for this service, he charges US (if not higher) prices for the stuff. The prices have gone up even more as the Rupiah has been losing its value. A can of S&W Red Kidney Beans was priced at Rp. 18000 last week (about $1.80). A box of Barilla pasta is about $3, Kraft Italian Dressing is $3.80. I've never lived in a place where inflation was a huge problem. I remember in Olney's Econ 1 learning about inflation and example she gave was that businesses spent more money on updating its menu constantly to adjust to inflation. I can really see it here. The menu in restaurants are always covered with little white stickers - with new and higher prices. Back to the kidney beans, to avoid paying twice as what I'd pay at Safeway, I ordered an entire case of 24 cans from Medan for about $1.20 per can. That will last me awhile.
Indonesians, with Acehnese in particular, love sweet stuff. They put gula (sugar) in just about everything. The most common condiment here is kecap manis - it's this thick sweet soy sauce with chili in it. They put it over plain rice and just about everything else. Traditional Acehnese coffee is black with LOTS of sugar or condensed milk. I have also been told that the Sprite in Indonesia has 4 times the sugar as a can of US Sprite.
There is this little meat shop name Blangrakal not far from my office that stocks western food products. The owner keeps a clip board and adds to the list as customers request different products. Of course, for this service, he charges US (if not higher) prices for the stuff. The prices have gone up even more as the Rupiah has been losing its value. A can of S&W Red Kidney Beans was priced at Rp. 18000 last week (about $1.80). A box of Barilla pasta is about $3, Kraft Italian Dressing is $3.80. I've never lived in a place where inflation was a huge problem. I remember in Olney's Econ 1 learning about inflation and example she gave was that businesses spent more money on updating its menu constantly to adjust to inflation. I can really see it here. The menu in restaurants are always covered with little white stickers - with new and higher prices. Back to the kidney beans, to avoid paying twice as what I'd pay at Safeway, I ordered an entire case of 24 cans from Medan for about $1.20 per can. That will last me awhile.
Indonesians, with Acehnese in particular, love sweet stuff. They put gula (sugar) in just about everything. The most common condiment here is kecap manis - it's this thick sweet soy sauce with chili in it. They put it over plain rice and just about everything else. Traditional Acehnese coffee is black with LOTS of sugar or condensed milk. I have also been told that the Sprite in Indonesia has 4 times the sugar as a can of US Sprite.
Friday, September 23, 2005
Got a Spare Cow?
I looked for cows today.
Fasting for Ramadan starts October 5. Fasting occurs from sunrise to sunset, but people eat more and spend more during the month than at any other time of the year! There is a common saying: Cari setahun, abis satu bulan, earn for the year, gone in a month
A unique tradition in Aceh is the celebration of meugang. Meugang falls 2 days before October 5 where extended families gather to eat and drink together, Acehnese stress the importance of meugang as it shows a family’s sense of togetherness – and particularly the pride and esteem of the head of the family, usually the father. If the father can’t provide the family with meat – especially beef, which is relatively expensive – his esteem will fall dramatically. Families simply must have at least 2 pounds of meat at this time or meugang is considered meaningless.
A few days ago, we realized that our villagers were really upset because they couldn’t get cows or beef for meugang. With this being the first Ramadan after December’s tsunami, many villages have been living off of donated rice, noodles, and canned sardines. Where the heck are they going to get a cow? So for most of today, I was on the phone calling NGOs and other donors to see if they can provide cows (for slaughtering) to our communities. Each cow or water buffalo costs $800, coupled with transportation, the total of each cow comes to a little less than $1,000! The governor’s office estimated that they will need 859 cows for families living in IDP Camps (Internally Displaced People). They currently have commitment for 111 cows. Gotta find 748 more cows. And even if an organization does have money budgeted for cows, I think it’s going to be really difficult to find them in Aceh this time of the year. Cows are hot in Aceh!
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Finally!
After 4 trips to the Governor's Office and 3 trips to the Police Department, I finally have my ID card! (Refer to earlier post for background)
Too bad it expires in a month!
Too bad it expires in a month!
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Kelapa and Kepala
In Indonesian, a kelapa is a coconut and kepala is your head. Needless to say, a lot of beginners to the language (as well as some veterans) mistaken one for another.
This afternoon, I went out to the village of Miruk Tamen in the Darussalam district of Aceh. My boss was in town and wanted to check a village that he hasn't been to in awhile. We checked out their vocational training center and then the 30 hectares of rice paddy and 3km of irrigation we helped to clean up. On the way back to the car, my boss comments on the plentifulness of coconut trees. One of the villages immediately asked if we wanted some, while the other started to climb up one of the trees with a big-o machete. He hacked down about 15 coconuts from the tree, quickly slithered down and started hacking away the skin of the young coconuts with his big-o machete. Within minutes of the coconuts hitting the ground, I was drinking out of one.
This afternoon, I went out to the village of Miruk Tamen in the Darussalam district of Aceh. My boss was in town and wanted to check a village that he hasn't been to in awhile. We checked out their vocational training center and then the 30 hectares of rice paddy and 3km of irrigation we helped to clean up. On the way back to the car, my boss comments on the plentifulness of coconut trees. One of the villages immediately asked if we wanted some, while the other started to climb up one of the trees with a big-o machete. He hacked down about 15 coconuts from the tree, quickly slithered down and started hacking away the skin of the young coconuts with his big-o machete. Within minutes of the coconuts hitting the ground, I was drinking out of one.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
My Saturday
I think it was Choiboy who said, "I think you should blog about your typical weekend." My reply was, "it will be really boring, like - wake up, breakfast, read, study Indonesian, watch movie, lunch, nap, go shop for food, watch TV, read, and sleep" This is especially true of weekends when I'm the only person in the house. Chris is in Australia, celebrating his 60th.
But in reality, that's typically my plan when I wake up on a Saturday morning, but somehow, I always get hijacked into do something else. Like yesterday...
I was able to stay on track for the first 4 tasks. Then I went over to the office and ran into Arman and Mirza - 2 of our Community Facilitators. They were waiting to take this woman from USAID's Jakarta Office on a short tour of our villages, since it was her first time in Aceh. So I ended up going out with them. First we went to lunch and then to 2 of our villages - Lumpuuk and Gurah. You see that picture in my profile with the big coal barge on the road? Well, Poof. It's gone! See pic below. They emptied the barge of its content, jacked it up, and inserted heavy duty circular balloons under the barge and slowly rolled it out to sea. All in the last 2 days! Crazy stuff!
Back to my day. I got home from the villages around 4pm and sat down to watch a documentary on baby penguins on the National Geographic channel when Arman and Mirza came by and asked if I wanted to go with them to Aceh Bangkit and meet the other Facilitators there. The Bangkit is like the Aceh version of the State Fair, minus the rides. The Fair complex is made up of lifesize models of traditional Achenese houses from across the province. Inside these houses, each of Aceh's 21 Regencies demonstrate arts and crafts, natural resources, etc from that area. This year's fair is different because NGOs and donors are also showcasing their work in booth - including USAID. I ended up staying at the fair until about 8pm. Then went and had noodles on the side of a street with 4 of the Facilitators. I capped off the night by buying 6 DVDs and 6 CDs for $6. Got home late by Aceh standards (10pm!)
I pondered about setting an alarm at 4:30am to wake up and follow the Cal-Illinois game on the internet, but decided it was still early in the season and was a non-conference game. I will wait until the USC or Big Game. I did go to bed in my Cal t-shirt though. Go Bears!
But in reality, that's typically my plan when I wake up on a Saturday morning, but somehow, I always get hijacked into do something else. Like yesterday...
I was able to stay on track for the first 4 tasks. Then I went over to the office and ran into Arman and Mirza - 2 of our Community Facilitators. They were waiting to take this woman from USAID's Jakarta Office on a short tour of our villages, since it was her first time in Aceh. So I ended up going out with them. First we went to lunch and then to 2 of our villages - Lumpuuk and Gurah. You see that picture in my profile with the big coal barge on the road? Well, Poof. It's gone! See pic below. They emptied the barge of its content, jacked it up, and inserted heavy duty circular balloons under the barge and slowly rolled it out to sea. All in the last 2 days! Crazy stuff!
Back to my day. I got home from the villages around 4pm and sat down to watch a documentary on baby penguins on the National Geographic channel when Arman and Mirza came by and asked if I wanted to go with them to Aceh Bangkit and meet the other Facilitators there. The Bangkit is like the Aceh version of the State Fair, minus the rides. The Fair complex is made up of lifesize models of traditional Achenese houses from across the province. Inside these houses, each of Aceh's 21 Regencies demonstrate arts and crafts, natural resources, etc from that area. This year's fair is different because NGOs and donors are also showcasing their work in booth - including USAID. I ended up staying at the fair until about 8pm. Then went and had noodles on the side of a street with 4 of the Facilitators. I capped off the night by buying 6 DVDs and 6 CDs for $6. Got home late by Aceh standards (10pm!)
I pondered about setting an alarm at 4:30am to wake up and follow the Cal-Illinois game on the internet, but decided it was still early in the season and was a non-conference game. I will wait until the USC or Big Game. I did go to bed in my Cal t-shirt though. Go Bears!
Friday, September 16, 2005
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
Technical Difficulties!
There are 3 internet service providers in the city, and one of them is down, meaning 1/3 of Banda Aceh's NGOs, donors are outta luck - including me. I've hijacked our telephone line in the house and connected quite a few short phone cables together in order to have (really slow) internet in my room.
Adding to the headache, I'm in the process of getting myself registered with the local government. In order to obtain the visa dinas, or department visa which gives me multiple entries into Indonesia for the next year, I first need this little Foreigner's ID card from the Aceh provincial police. In order to get this little ID card, I need a letter from the Bureau of Reconstruction and Rehabilitation and a letter from the Governor's Office stating that I'm indeed apart of the relief effort. And in order to get this letter from the Governor's Office, I need to visit the Foreigner's Registration Desk in the Governor's Office. The problem is, the stupid desk is never open!!! We went 3 days ago at 3:30pm and was told that they had already gone home for the day. Yesterday we went at 2:00pm and was told that they went out for coffee and would probably come back in a hour or so but the best time to visit was in the morning around 10am. So we went again this morning at 10am and was told that they were in a meeting and wouldn't be back until 1pm. ARRRGGGH. So, let's hope this visa deal is all settled before October 29, that's the date I'm leaving for Singapore and Vietnam, and hopefully I'll have a visa to re-enter this inefficient and bureaucratic place.
I'm going to Lamno tomorrow so will have to try my luck at getting this letter on Friday.
If you don't see me online or answering to your emails the next few days, it's not because I don't like you. It's probably I'm too busy trying to get letters and ID card (and the lack of speedy internet). If you want to email me the next few days, please use my gmail.com address. I will be checking it a couple of times a day. Or you can leave comments for me on the blog.
Adding to the headache, I'm in the process of getting myself registered with the local government. In order to obtain the visa dinas, or department visa which gives me multiple entries into Indonesia for the next year, I first need this little Foreigner's ID card from the Aceh provincial police. In order to get this little ID card, I need a letter from the Bureau of Reconstruction and Rehabilitation and a letter from the Governor's Office stating that I'm indeed apart of the relief effort. And in order to get this letter from the Governor's Office, I need to visit the Foreigner's Registration Desk in the Governor's Office. The problem is, the stupid desk is never open!!! We went 3 days ago at 3:30pm and was told that they had already gone home for the day. Yesterday we went at 2:00pm and was told that they went out for coffee and would probably come back in a hour or so but the best time to visit was in the morning around 10am. So we went again this morning at 10am and was told that they were in a meeting and wouldn't be back until 1pm. ARRRGGGH. So, let's hope this visa deal is all settled before October 29, that's the date I'm leaving for Singapore and Vietnam, and hopefully I'll have a visa to re-enter this inefficient and bureaucratic place.
I'm going to Lamno tomorrow so will have to try my luck at getting this letter on Friday.
If you don't see me online or answering to your emails the next few days, it's not because I don't like you. It's probably I'm too busy trying to get letters and ID card (and the lack of speedy internet). If you want to email me the next few days, please use my gmail.com address. I will be checking it a couple of times a day. Or you can leave comments for me on the blog.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Friday Photos
Yeah, I know it's Sunday. I just returned from Jakarta this evening. Below are this week's photos. The first one is from our team building meetings in Jakarta.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Conversions
I'm in Jakarta, staying at the Sofitel Gran Mahakam this time. It's a nice hotel, the security isn't as tight, and everything is a little smaller than the Four Seaons - the rooms, the pool, the gym, everything.
I found myself on the treadmill this morning (first time in 3 months!) and was surprised to find that the distance per mile and distance completed were all in kilometers! ACK! I had no idea how many km per hour I should run. I typically use this handy dandy converision function on my cell phone to find how many Rupiahs into a Dollar, how many feet in a meter, how many ounces in a gram, how many liters is in a cup...everything you can dream of! I guess I'm a little too dependent on my phone. The US should just give up on inches, miles, pints and embrace the metric system like everyone else!
By the way, it's 1 mile = 1.60934 kilometers. I was pretty impressed with myself that I was able to run 4 kilometers after having jump roping as my only cardio for 3 months.
I'll be back in Aceh Sunday afternoon.
I found myself on the treadmill this morning (first time in 3 months!) and was surprised to find that the distance per mile and distance completed were all in kilometers! ACK! I had no idea how many km per hour I should run. I typically use this handy dandy converision function on my cell phone to find how many Rupiahs into a Dollar, how many feet in a meter, how many ounces in a gram, how many liters is in a cup...everything you can dream of! I guess I'm a little too dependent on my phone. The US should just give up on inches, miles, pints and embrace the metric system like everyone else!
By the way, it's 1 mile = 1.60934 kilometers. I was pretty impressed with myself that I was able to run 4 kilometers after having jump roping as my only cardio for 3 months.
I'll be back in Aceh Sunday afternoon.
Monday, September 05, 2005
Labor Day Weekend
Friday was Ascension of Muhammad, so it's been a 4-day weekend for US-based organizations in Aceh. It's been kind of a wet/depressing/dark weekend.
The raining season is beginning to kick in. It's been overcast the entire weekend, marked by short periods of tropical down pour. When it pours in Aceh, it really pours. Think of afternoon thunderstorms in Washington multiplied by 10 times the amount of rain coming down per second. Because of the nasty weather, our electricity has been in constant limbo. We've had a brown out most of the weekend punctuated by 5 min to 2 hours of complete blackout. During the brown outs, the lightbulbs operate at about 80% capacity, no AC but fans work, no Internet but TV works.
When we did have enough power for the TV to be functional, Chris and I watched a lot of Hurricane Katrina coverage on BBC and CNN. What a royal mess! On Saturday night, we had a surprise birthday dinner party for Chris' 60th birthday (highlight of my weekend). Our Indonesian staff couldn't believe what they were seeing on TV. They were surprised at the level of lawlessness and chaos that was in America. They were particularly shocked by the looting. They said even during the aftermath of the tsunami, survivors did not loot. Friends and neighbors removed gold rings/necklaces from corpses and gave it to the family of the victims.
Adding to the depressing weekend, a Mandala Air plane crashed this morning while taking off from the Medan airport. All flights to/from Aceh fly out of Medan, so I'm a frequent visitor of the airport. The plane with 117 people headed towards Jakarta crashed into a densely populated residential area - only about 2 blocks away from our Medan office. They think the Governor of the Northern Sumatra Province is on the flight. 13 of us from the Aceh office are scheduled to fly to Jakarta on Wednesday morning. I wonder if any of my staff will refuse to fly.
The raining season is beginning to kick in. It's been overcast the entire weekend, marked by short periods of tropical down pour. When it pours in Aceh, it really pours. Think of afternoon thunderstorms in Washington multiplied by 10 times the amount of rain coming down per second. Because of the nasty weather, our electricity has been in constant limbo. We've had a brown out most of the weekend punctuated by 5 min to 2 hours of complete blackout. During the brown outs, the lightbulbs operate at about 80% capacity, no AC but fans work, no Internet but TV works.
When we did have enough power for the TV to be functional, Chris and I watched a lot of Hurricane Katrina coverage on BBC and CNN. What a royal mess! On Saturday night, we had a surprise birthday dinner party for Chris' 60th birthday (highlight of my weekend). Our Indonesian staff couldn't believe what they were seeing on TV. They were surprised at the level of lawlessness and chaos that was in America. They were particularly shocked by the looting. They said even during the aftermath of the tsunami, survivors did not loot. Friends and neighbors removed gold rings/necklaces from corpses and gave it to the family of the victims.
Adding to the depressing weekend, a Mandala Air plane crashed this morning while taking off from the Medan airport. All flights to/from Aceh fly out of Medan, so I'm a frequent visitor of the airport. The plane with 117 people headed towards Jakarta crashed into a densely populated residential area - only about 2 blocks away from our Medan office. They think the Governor of the Northern Sumatra Province is on the flight. 13 of us from the Aceh office are scheduled to fly to Jakarta on Wednesday morning. I wonder if any of my staff will refuse to fly.
Friday, September 02, 2005
Friday Photos
Some of you have asked to see more photos from Aceh. From now on, I'll post 3-4 pictures every Friday that I think are fun/artsy/interesting.
If you particularly like some, please let me know and I will be happy to email you the original high-res file (around 1MB per picture).
Enjoy!
If you particularly like some, please let me know and I will be happy to email you the original high-res file (around 1MB per picture).
Enjoy!
Shake Shake Shake!
Earthquake #7
Magnitude? 5.3
Date? Thursday, 1 September, 11:42:39 PM local time
Epicenter? 50 miles SW of Banda Aceh or 5.054°N, 94.713°E
What was I doing? Writing an email and IM-ing
What was on my iPod? Andrea Bocelli - Song I don't know the name
Magnitude? 5.3
Date? Thursday, 1 September, 11:42:39 PM local time
Epicenter? 50 miles SW of Banda Aceh or 5.054°N, 94.713°E
What was I doing? Writing an email and IM-ing
What was on my iPod? Andrea Bocelli - Song I don't know the name
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Mmm, Diseases
I’ve been feeling a little under the weather for the past few days. I ‘ve been waking up around 5:30am (I guess I’m still jetlagged) and then I’m tired all day. No fever, no headaches, just plain tired. Last night I went to bed at 8:45pm. Don’t worry Mom and Dad, I’ve been drinking lots of water, doubled up on my vitamins, eating lots of fruits, and not out partying until the wee hours (right, like I’ve ever done that in Aceh!)
Now, moving onto Insect-Borne Diseases. Do I have Malaria? Symptoms range from fever, chills and sweating, headache, diarrhea and abdominal pain to general feeling of ill health. So, maybe I have Malaria? What about another fun one – Dengue Fever? It’s transmitted by mosquitoes as well and symptoms include a sudden onset of high fever, headache, joint and muscle pains and nausea and vomiting. A rash of small red spots appears 3 to 4 days after the onset of fever. Nope, no red spots. Finally what about Japanese B Encephalitis? Symptoms include fever, headache and alteration in consciousness. Survivors of this doozy is often intellectually disabled.
or...
I just haven't been drinking enough coffee.
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