Hati-Hati

We went to the beach at Lampuuk on Sunday afternoon. I just got a bulletin saying that someone drowned that afternoon at the same beach. That makes:

• 5km stretch of beach
• 8 dead in 11 months
• 2 Indonesian aid workers
• 3 international aid workers
• 3 Indonesian non-aid workers
• 0 Acehnese
• 6 deaths over the weekend

Here are the signs at the beach:

Well...did take some good pics at the beach...was def trigger happy. Here are some good ones.

Sunset

Btw, hati-hati means be careful.

Wedding

A tradition Acehnese wedding is made up of 3 parts. First is the religious ceremony at the mosque and then is the reception/lunch at the bride's home, and then the last part is the party at the groom's. This past weekend, we attend the part 2 of my staff Eddy's wedding.

Being part of the groom's entourage, we all met at a mosque near the bride's house, were Eddy got dressed. Then, we all marched over to the bride's home. After welcome dances performed by the bride's house and the gifts were carried in, everyone had a big lunch and then we lined up to congratulate the new happy couple.

The entourage. Eddy brought about 200 people from his village. All in all, there were 2,000 invitations that were sent out.


Truck full of gifts for the bride's family. Depending on where the groom's from, the gifts are different. Eddy's from Pidie district, so they give sugarcanes, coconuts, lots of bananas and clothing, kitchen stuff.


As we entered the bride's house, we were greeted with girls performing a traditional Acehnese welcoming dance.


We were def the hippest wedding goers


The new couple!

Response to a Comment

I'm answering to an Anonymous comment posted at 5/28/2006, 12:22:11 AM, local Banda time.

Regarding English bookstores in Banda Aceh. The only place I know that sells English reading material is Caswell's Coffee in Peunayong area, off or Jl. Panglima Polem, across from the original Mie Razali noodle shop.

They have imported fiction and non-fiction and usually stocks the latest Asian edition of weekly news magazines - Newsweek, Forbes, sometimes the Economist. The books are expensive though. You're better off stocking up on books on your next trip to Jakarta or Singapore.

Big Quake

You've probably heard about the big 6.3 earthquake in Central Java that took place early morning on Saturday, local time.

The earthquake was centered near the historical city of Yogyakarta, where I spent 2 weeks last October attending language school. I've heard that all the teachers from the school are ok!

Just to give you a sense of the geography: Yogya : Aceh :: Houston : Seattle

Pornography in Indonesia

No sex please, we're Indonesian
May 4th 2006 | JAKARTA | From The Economist print edition

VIRTUALLY naked men, bare-breasted women and sensuous art have been part of Indonesia's diverse culture for centuries. But not for much longer, if a bill on pornography and pornoaksi (actions deemed indecent) completes its journey through parliament. The bill's proponents, a coalition of Islamic political parties, conservative clerics and hardline activists, worry with some justification that pornographic materials are readily available these days. Islamic groups say the only way to stop the rot and protect the younger generation's morality is strict legislation.

Ranged against them is a growing alliance. Ethnic groups fear that their centuries-old customs and costumes will be banned. Women's groups say the bill discriminates against them. Others worry about curtailment of freedom of expression. Artists expect any exhibition of bare flesh to be prohibited.

“The thin end of the Taliban wedge”, is how some describe the legislation. The bill does not just fail to differentiate between pornography, indecency and eroticism. If passed in its current form, spouses will not be allowed to kiss in public, women will not be able to wear shorts for sport in most locations, bikinis will be banned and many traditional dances will be consigned to history.

Indonesia's anti-porn brigade is not waiting for the new bill before cracking down. Playboy, an American soft-porn magazine, launched its Indonesian edition last month, and though it showed far less flesh than many easily available local publications, the outcry was noisy. The police declined to stop the Islamic Defenders Front, a radical group with a thuggish element, from stoning Playboy's office, and they interrogated its editors even though they had broken no laws. Publication of the magazine has now been suspended.

Numerous opponents of the bill have also been intimidated. Both sides have mobilised thousands of demonstrators, and parliament has taken notice. Three teams of experts are now studying the legislation and the volumes of suggestions received from all sides. They are expected to report within weeks. Much of the bill may be scrapped or radically revised. Some room will also be given to the regions to implement it as they see fit. But the debate comes at a time when local authorities are imposing conservative Islamic regulations on dress, behaviour and education, particularly for women. In such circumstances, any bill pandering to the conservatives can only put Indonesia's reputation as a bastion of Islamic moderation at risk.

New Year, New Look

...well, I wasn't planning on changing the look of the blog, but while I was publishing a new post this afternoon, something weird happened with trusty little blogger.com - instead of my pretty little blog, a bunch of HTML mumble jumble popped up on the screen.

I figured I'd take the moment to give this blog a makeover in celebration of my 1-yr anniversary in Aceh (a week shy, but who's counting?)

Links and other bells and whistles will return shortly.

What do you think of this new look? Does it suit me? Any suggestions?

2 for me. 0 for you.

So it turns out that I won the Bi-Annual ('bi' here is translated into once every 2 years) photo contest at my company. I guess it's kind of a big deal because they made a coffee table book out of all the photos that made it to the finals and I won $100. Plus another photo of mine now graces the intranet home page, which is pretty cool.

My coworkers at the home office aren't too happy with me. I came in 2nd for the NCAA pool and now this. 2 for me. Zilch for you.

This is the winning photo.

Fun Meetings

I avoid coordination meetings. You get a bunch of talking heads around a big conference table in a really hot meeting room for a couple of hours and nothing gets done. It always opens with a couple of organizations presenting their fabulous program (scheduled for 15 minutes but drags on for double the time) and then during Q&A, the same 3 guys always seem to take over the discussion and try to promote themselves and the work of their organizations. Then, somehow the discussion always veers towards finger pointing - especially at the government's tsunami rehabilitation coordination agency. Over lunch the other day, a couple of friends came up with this brilliant idea of devoting the first 15 minutes of every meeting to purely finger pointing. This way, you get all the nastiness out of the way and perhaps this bitch-and-moan session can even act as an ice breaker activity! But of course, to counter the finger pointing, you'll also need to set up a "pat the back" session to make everyone feel all warm and fuzzy - not like the meeting room is already hot enough.

I sat in a meeting earlier this week (was bored out of my mind) and started counting the number of people in the room:

30 old men who loves to talk
2 white women
2 Indonesian women
...and me

Today, it was:

16 old men who loves to talk
1 white woman
...and me

You do the math...

Grrrrrrrrrr!

When I was in Hong Kong in April, I had left my hand phone (what they call cell phones here, pronounced 'ha-pe') at a restaurant, but luckily the proprietors found it and held on to it and I was able to get it back the following day. I had only had the phone for about 2 months until then and I was super sad at the prospect of losing it.

My phone was stolen right off of my desk Friday between the hours of 3:15 and 4:30pm. Someone just took it while I was running around the office. If my phone had been stolen from a restaurant or something, I wouldn't have cared as much. But knowing that someone I know took it from me; it just makes me really really furious. Not to mention that I've lost all of my phone numbers. I've ordered a new sim card, so I'll have my old number back tomorrow, but now I have to repopulate my borrowed phone's contact list. Needless to say, I'm pissed. Really pissed. I wish I had a voodoo doll. I hope the person who stole it will grow ugly, itchy warts on his face.

Buh bye, my beautiful phone.

Zagat Guide (Part 3 of Many)

Pace Bene is the newest kid on the block catering to the expat crowd. This trendy dig’s main eating area is on the third floor roof deck. On a nice night, it’s the place to be in Banda Aceh. The kitchen, headed by a chef from Turin cooks up only 2 entrees per night, a home made pasta and a fish ($4-$5). Dessert menu is creative but does not change nightly. Be warned, the service is atrocious after 7pm and on a busy night, one or both dishes may run out by the middle of dinner service. Show up early if you want to eat or be prepared for a long evening and ready your nerves for inattentive staff.

Tropicana is a two-storey Chinese establishment in the Chinatown area was around before the tsunami. Its got the most extensive menu in town and includes such delicacies as Shark Fin Soup. Their beef stir fries are top notch and so is the Tom Yom Soup – in a clear broth loaded with seafood. The only flawed dish is the Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup. It’s not hot or sour, just plain salty! The restaurant’s upstairs sitting area is large but claustrophobic with no windows. Late in the evenings there is karaoke as well as salsa dancing. Beer is served here.

The Young and the Restless

Celebrities like Angelina Jolie have put humanitarian assistance and international development issues on the Hollywood agenda. What do you think about a TV series about the lives a group of young and beautiful international humanitarian workers? The storyline could follow the team from disaster to disaster – fictitious or real…Bosnia, Congo, Afghanistan, Liberia, Columbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Pakistan, Aceh…all these exotic destinations to pick from! The cast would be composed of hip and adventurous personalities; some could be on a soul-searching mission, while others could be running away from something or someone back at home. Like any good Hollywood drama, there would of course be drug, sex, and violence. But aside from all the typical debauchery, the show would also expose the audience to major challenges in international development and the culture and customs of each location. So it would be like a Melrose Place combined with food, travel, and culture! It’ll be like Lost combined with Beyond Borders and Globe Trekker. Destined to be a hit!

Shake Shake Shake!

Earthquake #16

Magnitude? 5.6
Date? Saturday, 13 May, 10:11:42 local time
Epicenter? 65 miles W of Banda Aceh or 5.522°N, 94.424°E
What was I doing? In bed watching Game 3 between Clippers and Suns.

Map. Huh? What's a Map?

I grew up with maps. I had jigsaw puzzles of maps, I had stacks of free AAA maps. I had maps on my walls. I love maps.

When the UN moved in after the tsunami, they took GPS points and created this nice little map with where all the donors and aid organizations set up their offices in order to aid coordination. But many of the streets in Banda Aceh do not have names, or if they do, it's not marked.

When I first arrived, I had to go to the office of Public Works for a coordination meeting. I showed my handy dandy UN map to my driver and pointed out the little number which represented Public Works. My driver laughed at me because even though he had been a driver most of his adult life, he did not know how to read a map. Most people here either just know the places they need to go to or they get verbal directions. Don't even think about using Google Map to get turn-by-turn directions!

Banda Aceh's streets are not plotted out on a grid like Manhattan and they are not named in some coordinated fashion like DC, so getting lost while looking for a place is pretty darn easy - especially at night. Last weekend, there was a BBQ at my friends' new house. The directions sounded pretty straightforward, but it took us about 20 minutes to find the place, which included stopping to ask for directions twice from old men hanging out roadside drinking coffee (good thing here, drivers are not afraid to stop to ask for directions!) and calling my friend and giving her the play-by-play of what I was passing.

Here are some typical Banda Aceh instructions:

Go past the big market, turn left after the police hut, if you see the meat shop, you've gone too far. Turn right at the IMC sign, turn left when the road forks, keep going past the ZAF house. There will be an unfinished mosque on your left and our house is the big pink house that looks like a big wedding cake.

Go down the road where the UN compound is, go past WFP until the end of the road. Turn right and go over the bridge. Turn right at the ECHO sign but don't follow it. Instead, turn right and follow the curves of the road until the end. Turn left and then an immediate right. Our house is at the end of the street with the big green truck in front.

Dia Di Dalam Laut!

She's inside the ocean!

I went for my first dive on Saturday in Sabang. Fun!

Our instructor was Jeremy, a Minnesotan with dreadlocks. On dry land, he went over the basic concepts of buoyancy, introduced the equipment, and demonstrated some of the skills. Then we suited up - wetsuit, tank, regulator, fins, mask, shoes, flippers, BCD, weights...a full 20 liter air tank is heavy!

We then went into the water and practiced a bunch of the skills first and got comfortable breathing underwater before descending into deeper waters of Gapang Bay. We stayed under for about 40 minutes and saw some cool stuff like this lionfish.

I'm hoping to go back again this weekend to continue with the open water certification. I'll have to complete 3 more dives and do a bunch of "homework".

We stayed at a new place in Iboih, which is about 3 km up the road from Gapang. The bungalows are built on stilts and are located in a slope right over the water. No AC, no fan. Just a bed with a mosquito net and a hammock out front. Basic but oh so idyllic.

The Simple Life

A couple of nights ago, I picked up a book from one of my housemate’s bookshelf called “How to Simplify Your Life: Seven Practical Steps to Letting Go of Your Burdens and Living a Happier Life”. I’m not one to read self help books, but decided that maybe the book could be somewhat insightful.

Step 1 – Simplify Your Things

I had a lot of things in DC and that was after getting rid of unneeded stuff when I moved twice in 3 years. Here in Banda, I started playing house with 2 suitcases that I carried out (that included packing my pillow). Over the last 11 months, I’ve definitely accumulated some stuff - 3 lamps from 3 different countries, a secondhand TV, myriad of clothes, bags, shoes and accessories, and lots of books and magazine. But when I look around my room, I use everything (including toiletries and makeup) at least once week and I wear all the things in my closet at least once every 2 weeks (except for those pieces of Aceh inappropriate clothing).

Step 2 – Simplify Your Finances

My paycheck gets transferred to my checking and savings accounts on the 10^th of each month. My credit card and student loan get paid automatically on the 15^th. My IRA automatically takes money out once a quarter. I don’t trade my stocks actively (haven’t touched them since I bough them 2 years ago). I have a couple of mutual funds that I don’t touch either. I use my per diem as my pocket money. I only go to the ATM when I have to buy a paper plane ticket.

I’d have to move to the island of Yap to further simplify my finances.

Step 3 – Simplify Your Time

Weekdays

7:30 Get up, jump rope or some other form of exercise and shower

8:00 Watch CNN/BBC while eating breakfast and checking email

9:00 To the office

12:30 Lunch in the office or out with friends

6:30 Out of the office

7:30 Cook dinner in the house or out with friends

8:30 Read/TV/Email/Blog or out for a few beers

11:30 To bed (later on weekend)

Within each Step, the book presents you with ‘Ideas’. Idea 14 is called “Escape Now and Then”. Just look at that list in the sidebar.

Step 4 – Simplify Your Health

I don’t smoke. I led an alcohol-free life for the first 7 months here. But lately, I’ve probably been having one too many beers a little too often. Got to cut back on that. I should follow up on Idea 19 and try to get a massage or cream bath (head massage) more often!

Step 5 – Simplify Your Relationships

Most relationships in Banda are professional relationships. I would like to think I have a really good relationship with my office staff (haven’t made anyone cry yet, and no one’s made me cry yet). Outside of my little microcosm that’s called DAI, I’m by no means completely hooked into the social scene in Banda, but I do have a circle of friends that I can rely on and hang out with regularly and know enough people to get invited to parties.

Step 6 – Simplify Your Life Partnership

Huh? What’s that?

I feel like my personal life has been on || pause the last year. Friends have had life altering moments since I’ve been here: started relationships, ended relationships, gotten engaged, gotten married, had babies, moved to a new city, a new country, a new continent. ‘Life Partnerships’ as the book calls it are difficult to start in Banda. Work is all-consuming for so many people and even when two interesting people meet and sparks fly, he may be in Jakarta next week and Singapore the one after that, and she may be in Calang the week after that.

My life is pretty drama-free here. But my friends’ dramas are enough to keep me entertained. You know who you are…

Step 7 – Simplify Your Self

Here’s where I get into trouble and could probably use some help. The book talks about goals and knowing your weaknesses and strengths. Goals? What goals. I better go figure some out and start thinking about an exit strategy…

Life is never simple, but my life is by far much simpler here than back in DC. Will I get completely spoiled by all this simplicity and go nuts when I return to a society with a complete different set of cultural norms? Only time will tell.

Goin' Diving

I've just signed up to go diving this weekend. I will take a 45-minute high-speed ferry to just north of the Sumatran mainland to the island of Pulau Weh - also known as Sabang, the name of the main city on the island.

Before the tsunami, Pulau Weh was off the beaten track due to the 30-year conflict in Aceh Province - the gateway to the island. But Sabang was a spot that attracted many backpackers with its idyllic setting - lush tropical forest, crystal clear water, and rich marine life offshore. Many travelers ended up extending their stay; prolonging their original itinerary by months if not years.

The island did suffer from the tsunami, but despite its proximity to Banda Aceh, where over 120,000 people vanished, according to reports, only 12 people on Pulau Weh died. Iboih and Gapang, two of the more popular destinations on the island, suffered substantial damage. Beach front dive shops, bungalows, and restaurants were destroyed. Since then, many of the small businesses have returned because Sabang has become a popular spot for stressed out aid workers to spend the weekend and decompress.

The Lumba Lumba Dive Shop located in Gapang had its roof lifted by the tsunami, but is fully operational once again. A Dutch couple operates the shop and certifies new divers. This weekend, I'm going up there to do an Introductory Dive - which is a half day program that includes basic theory and a dive. If I decide to be fully certified, I will have to go back for 3 more days to complete the certification for Open Water diving.

Soccer Mania

Everyone is gearing up for the upcoming FIFA World Cup!!! While I was away on vacay, the men on my project decided to organize a soccer team that will compete against other NGOs and organizations in town. They went as far as buying uniforms and organizing practice sessions after work.

They've played 2 matches so far, one against the Sultan Hotel and the other against the Aceh Recovery Forum. Unfortunately, we're 0-2. We're seeking agressive, experienced middies. Any applicants?

F.C. DAI
2006

Front: Faisal, Arafin, Dwi, Halim, Budi
Back: Mirza, Ali, Zubir, Hadi, Nor, Fachrul, Alfie, Kamal