My Weblog

No News Is Great News

I'm thrilled to report that there is no big news to report today regarding my trip back from Calang. Absolutely nothing happened -- hoooray! One thing I learned about myself is that to avoid carsickness, it is good to listen to my ipod. Note to self!

I made it back to Banda in great time and was really excited to take a shower and sit in my bedroom with the air conditioning on for a little bit, just to get a chill! The entire past week in the field I have been air conditioner-less and while it isn't a tragedy, it was like no matter what I did I couldn't escape the heat. I also haven't had the luxury of a "real" shower as I had to use the "mandy" system here, which is using a plastic scoop to grab water from the big water-holders (I've posted pictures) and drenching yourself. It's not a very relaxing system and the main objective is to get in and get out. I enjoy a nice, relaxing, shower with little legwork required so it is good to be back. Oh, the little things you take for granted!

It was also really nice to see Kate and Ivana again. Micah is also staying at our house until Thursday, so we all went out to dinner at this new restaurant here called Café Bohnen. They served up some really great food! Potato skins with guacamole, French fries, and a long list of other "Western" food all served in a really nice spot overlooking the big river. On the whole, I give it (on a scale of 1-10):

Ambiance: 10
Food: 8.5
Service: 9

Lonely Planet, if you are reading this, Café Bohnen is highly recommended by this traveler. Oh, and the big selling point from me: not a fish-head in sight, or even in smelling range. Extra points.

After dinner, we came back to the house and caught up, which was really fun. After living alone for two years, I am realizing again how nice roommates can be. I think that, because of my well-documented April debacle (my last roommate. Don’t ask if you don’t know, sore topic) I thought that I never wanted to live with anybody again for the rest of my life and even -- if possible -- the next life, plus eternity, times ten million. I now realize that that was just a bad situation (eviction notices because your roommate didn’t pay the rent for five months and somehow forgot to tell you…..this situation is never good, people). Kate and Ivana are great roommates and I actually look forward to talking to them at the end of the day. It’s kind of like when I used to live with Carly and Jim in college (hands-down the best roommates, ever). Tonight I told everyone the Basia story and they were, of course, enthralled. Mom, please don’t forget to e-mail me your latest addition to the Basia saga so I can post it. Watch this space!

I also realized how much disharmony is caused by dirtiness! Having a full-time maid really helps to avoid those “Whose dirty dishes have been in the sink for the past 2 weeks?!?!?” fights.

Anyway, it feels really good to be back and I’m excited about going into the office tomorrow. This upcoming weekend is a holiday weekend as Friday is Indonesia’s independence day (from the Dutch). Kate, Ivana and I are talking about taking a road trip up to this beautiful lake outside of Banda Aceh with some other friends. I’m really looking forward to that.

I've Got the Travelin' Bug

Hello, loyal readers, I am back! Unfortunately, it is the fate of all travelers at one point or another, to become sick. Germ-infested, non-circulating air in planes; strange foods; even stranger viruses and bacteria floating around the universe – these are just a few of the culprits on the road to ill. I think that it was something I ate on Saturday because I started feeling sick Saturday afternoon.

Thank you so much to my loyal pinch-hitter, Rusel, who filled in for me yesterday. I made an attempt to leave the house and go to the internet café to blog, because we didn’t have wireless at home – but my roommates at the IRC women’s guesthouse were having none of it! It was really sweet, they took good care of me all weekend and in the end, it was probably best that I stayed in and recovered. Rusel did an amazing job and I especially like the picture of the tree, which did give me a moment of zen today.

A few posts ago, when I said that I was feeling great -- it was true, but kind of not true. I feel good on the whole, but pretty much every day I experience nausea, which I have broken down into six different categories:

-Car Nausea. This is due to extra-windy roads, steep drop-offs and insane drivers who careen at very fast speeds and then wait until the very last minute to avoid head-on collisions. The road here has one lane and vehicles going in both directions must share it, which makes for interesting trips. I usually scream about once per ride, on average. I get nauseous about every long trip. Short trips, I’m usually spared.
-Fish-Head Nausea. This is caused by having fish-heads placed in front of me, by me catching a whiff of fish heads sitting on the table in front of me or even a table over, or a fish-head somehow popping up in my meal. You’d be surprised how easily those things can sneak into an otherwise lovely meal.
-Anti-Malarial Nausea. This is caused by the medication I take every Sunday night. Usually on Monday morning, I feel like puking.
-Over-Heating Nausea. Again, pretty much a daily occurrence. It’s hot here!
-Dirty Bathroom Nausea. Pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Sometimes bathrooms here…..are just to a different standard!
-A-Bunch-of-Men-Smoking-in-a-Small-Room Nausea. This happens at almost all restaurants, coffee shops, or any other public spaces. Men here like to smoke. And often.

Now, reading this over you might think that I’m a little bit of a prima donna -- I don’t want to create that impression at all! In fact, I have been complimented on MANY occasions on my traveling ability. “Hearty traveler, one of the best people I’ve ever traveled with!” -direct quote from Meyung. “My favorite traveling partner!” -direct quote from Rusel. Roger even went so far as to sign us up for “Amazing Race” – maybe next year, Rog! Look at all of those glowing endorsements. I still absolutely love to travel and I love being here. You just have to take the bad with the good and the good definitely outweighs the bad.

So I’m feeling better and am back in Calang. I spent a lot of time in the car today but also did some really great interviews so at least I have something good to show for it. One of the schools was really sweet – they gathered all of the teachers together and we had a picture on the front steps. At that same school, I interviewed two teachers who have both been teaching for 18 years and they graduated from college together. They were really cool. I also have uploaded a picture or two from the grand mosque in Meulaboh -- it looks like something out of a Disney movie.

I’m back to Banda Aceh tomorrow – stay tuned for a new “traveling back to Banda Aceh” story. What will happen next?

Boars Gone Wild!

“Crunch, crunch, crunch!”

It was the unmistakable sound of my frenemy, the wild boar, munching on coconuts outside my window last night. The time was 2 a.m. I had just spent a really fun night IM’ing with a bunch of people "back home" after Micah’s party. It was especially entertaining to web-cam with Jude in Kansas City and I applaud him once again for his original choreography to “Ring the Alarm!” by Beyonce. Who knew that a 2-year-old could move like that?

I stealthily got out of bed, grabbed my flashlight and my camera and crept up to the window. I looked out, and standing there about 5 feet away near the fence that borders the beach was the mini-monster in all of his horrible, hairy glory. I could even SMELL his grand awfulness, it was a stench like nothing I had ever smelled before or probably ever will again. I had to make my move, and make it fast.

I slowly and quietly turned the key in the lock and began to try to open the door. Click. He looks at me. Click. He squints, trying to figure out what the noise is. Why isn’t this door unlocking? Click. He sprints away. And surprisingly quick, I might add! Those tusks definitely weren’t weighing him down.

Darn!

I went back into bed, but now my adrenaline was flowing. I knew I had to lie in wait again for him to reappear. And sure enough, fifteen minutes later…”Crunch, crunch, cracklecrackle CRUNCH!”

Again, I tiptoed up to the window. This time, he was (smartly) just out of range. To get a good shot, I would have to go outside and sneak up on him. If you could see the mammothian tusks (did I just make that word up? well you get the point) on this giant creature, you would agree with me that this isn’t such a great idea. I can just see the headline now: “NGO Worker Impaled to Death By Hungry, Angry, 400-pound Wild Boar While Trying To Get Picture For Blog.”

I went back to bed, defeated. My own personal Moby Dick.

I will be back in Calang for one more night – next Monday night. Boar, if you’re reading this (and I hope that you are, oooh I hope that you are!) put on your best dress and look pretty because I WILL get a picture of you. The folks back home need to see you!

So….I’m in Meulaboh for the weekend. I did more teacher interviews this morning, and will be doing more on Monday. I am trying, with (I admit) overwhelming difficulty, not to be sad that Kate, Ivana, and a bunch of other people are going to Sabang this weekend for a luxurious time of snorkeling and relaxing at a place called “Freddy’s,” which sounds like a lost Shang-ri-la. I didn’t want to go anyway. Riiiight.

Hey, Teach!

The past few days I have been traveling around to different schools with Martino, one of the technical staff guys in Calang who heads up the education initiative here and, luckily for me, has excellent English. The goal is to speak to the teachers and learn what has worked and what hasn't with the Gugus Revitalization Plan that the IRC has implemented over the past year.

Yesterday we went to two very different schools. The first school was built by the German Red Cross and was really nice. For the first time, I noticed a mini-mosque on the site. Martino told me that all schools are built with a small mosque on the premises. In light of all of the church vs. state debates in the U.S., it was interesting to see.

UNICEF was doing some teacher training, and I spoke with "one of the best teachers," according to Martino. The teacher was really smart and enthusiastic about his job and the interview went really well.

Next, we went to a temporary school on the other side of town. Apparently, the German Red Cross was also building a permanent school for them as well, but they were having problems with the contractor and have been waiting for over two years for the new school. It was really sad, it was like night and day in comparison to the other school. As we approached, there was a big construction crew mixing cement or something right outside the temporary classroom and they were making so much noise I couldn't help but wonder how these kids could concentrate.

Something quick about the Red Cross that I learned when I got here and that is that every country has their own Red Cross. So there's the American Red Cross, which is working with the IRC in Calang on a huge water project (making water available to everyone in Calang), there's the German Red Cross which is building houses and schools here, there is the British Red Cross, etc. etc. I guess in Banda Aceh all of the Red Crosses share office space except for the American Red Cross, which has their own! Prompting many people, of course, to say: "Americans!" I will post on that some other time, but trust me it gets old. I had a long "discussion" with the headmaster of the temporary school -- about Bush. It's hard because of course, by no means am I a fan of Bush.....but at the same time....can't we move on, people? I steered the topic to Hillary Clinton just to see what he would say, and we were soon talking about women leaders like Margaret Thatcher, the German Prime Minister, etc. etc. and that was much better.

So my interviews have been going really well and I am encouraged by what the teachers are saying. I'm excited about their ideas and suggestions regarding the program, and I think that my final project is going to be really great. As I've never done this sort of research before it's been a bit daunting but it's a good kind of new challenge for me.

Of course, there are points at which the interview becomes pretty sad, especially when teachers start talking about how over half of the teachers who used to work at the school died in the tsunami, or how the classes had 40 students per grade before the tsunami but now have only 20 per class. Put in numbers like that, that you can wrap your head around -- it makes the tragedy so real and so sad.

After more interviews today I got back to the compound and Glenn told me that they were having a going away party tonight for Micah, one of the volunteers here who just got a job at the World Bank in Jakarta. So I went to the party tonight and it was actually lots of fun! One of the guys who was chopping up vegetables for the salad asked me if I wanted to help. I said sure, and I started chopping......then, he asks, "Alexis, do you have health insurance? Because if not, I think I'd better do the chopping!" He could see how clumsy I am with the knife (but not a corkscrew, people!) so he took it away from me, and everyone laughed. Oh and by the way, I do have health insurance through the IRC.

Tomorrow I am off to Meulaboh to do more teacher interviews, and will spend the weekend there. Now I'm off....to look for the wild boar! I heard it last night but was too tired to get out of bed and take a picture.

Oh and as far as the pictures go (must learn how to caption photos within a post, sorry) -- the first is of the new school, the second is of the temporary school, the next is of some girls at the temporary school, the next is of me and some teachers I interviewed today in Calang, followed by a picture of everyone crowding around trying to get some fish tonight at Micah's going away party.

I Feel The Earth Move, Under My Feet

Well, my phone just rang and it's the middle of the night here....and when the phone rings in the middle of the night, you answer it!

Anyway, the call confirmed what I thought I had felt earlier, as I was drifting off to sleep. It felt as if the bed shook a little bit. I wrote it off as me being especially sleepy and maybe a tad bit loopy after a busy day in the sun. But alas, it was actually a tiny aftershock of the big earthquake which hit Jakarta.

Indonesia is in what is called the "Pacific Ring of Fire," and experiences earthquakes shockingly often. Still, it's a little bit unsettling. But when you think about it, earth once just had Pangea and this has been going on long before us. I'm actually surprised that this is he first one I've felt.

The story says that there's no chance of tsunami. Lucky for me, beause I am literally about 20 feet from the ocean right now in my beachside bungalow in Calang.

To read about it, go here. Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me to check in!

Twilight Bike Ride

It's days like this that I wish that I had a better camera.

Glenn fixed up a bike here in Calang and I took it for a ride here as the sun was setting.

The mosque, during 7:00 prayers. People here pray five times a day.

The men in the mosque, in the front praying.

A lone woman, in the back. Mosques are segregated -- men in the front, women in the back.

Calang-ifornia with a gorgeous pink sunset in the back. That's our cabin, #11.

On The Road Again…..

I am back in Calang and it now seems like old hat to be here – I even got a really nice, huge welcome from the staff when I arrived. Glenn has made even more improvements and….dare I say it…..it’s nice to be here?

And the ride up was….almost fun? Again, I was the only person in the car on the way here. The first half was nice and pretty uneventful. Then, I switched drivers and things got interesting.

My driver didn’t seem to understand that I couldn’t speak much Indonesian at all, and basically talked to me non-stop the entire four hours. It’s almost as if I was a bartender or a priest in some bizarro, parallel universe. I have no idea what he was saying, all I know is that he said it very enthusiastically and seemed excited to have someone to talk to (or to listen?) About mid-way through he started professing his love for me (he said it three times, in English, eek) and after that I decided it was time to quit being polite and just ignore him. But he talked on! I guess he had some things that he had to get off his chest?

On this trip up, I really noticed all of the empty, new houses along the way. The biggest issue for NGO’s here has been housing construction. Luckily for the IRC, they made a decision early-on to not get into housing construction because they’re not really experts at that. The IRC is great at programs like water and sanitation, health issues like Avian flu and AIDS/HIV awareness, helping displaced people find housing (in their communities but also, in cases of asylum, in the US) and improving the quality of education. But the actual building of houses, at least here in Aceh, they left to other NGO’s which has turned out to be a smart move because it has, from what I have heard, become a nightmare for the organizations that are trying to get things constructed.

Houses are literally standing empty and I’m not sure why. From what I understand, many of the houses were built without access to water so there isn’t plumbing, making them uninhabitable. Other problems regarding land rights as well as problems with labor. Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of new houses with people living in them – I guess I just really noticed today the ones that were standing empty.

I am starting my first round of teacher interviews tomorrow, with the technical staff person Martino. I’m really excited about talking to the teachers to get their reactions on how things went with the program that the IRC has done with them over the last year. I’m curious to hear what they think about it, and if their teaching has changed as a result of the training and work that the IRC has done. The thing that makes this project exciting is that if the teachers have changed and improved, this has a direct result on the kids here. From there the sky’s the limit when you think of how that positively ripples out across the society as a whole. It’s also really interesting because mainly, the teachers here are women and I love the idea of empowering them – professionally and in their personal lives. Again, this can only have a positive effect on the society as a whole.

I've uploaded some pictures from the trip up. I learned this week that the distance to Calang is only about 90 miles! Today, we left at 8:30 a.m. and arrived at 4:00. One picture is of me, the next is a shot of the road that USAID is building (right now, mainly sand right next to the beach) followed by a photo of an empty house in Calang and the last is of my very talktive driver standing next to a boat which was washed onto the shore by the tsunami.

When I was in Sabang last weekend Lisa told me some crazy stuff about the tsunami and Calang, including the location of some bodies that they found on the compound here months after the tsunami. That kind of freaked me out a bit. Martin told me that he has a friend who was here immediately after the tsunami and in February (the tsunami hit the end of December, so about a month later) they were still pulling 1,000 bodies off of the beach a day. It just gives me the chills.

Lisa told me about how one of the guys who works here now started out working for an NGO as someone who simply goes and picks up bodies. At night, because the mosquitoes were so bad here and also because there wasn't housing, he would zip up a body bag and sleep in it on the side of the road. He even said that a few times, people came and tried to pick him up, thinking that he was a dead body.

On a brighter note, I have a new mission. To get a picture of the wild boar. Glenn told me that it was brazenly walking around the compound the other night at 7:00, searching for coconuts. Watch this space!

Frank Goes to a Wedding, the War Wages On

So……remember yesterday when I said that the war was over? Well, that was just a clever trick for all of the mosquitoes who read my blog, or who were swarming around me as I wrote it and were spying. I was hoping that they would think that it was true, that I gave up……so I could catch them when they were least expecting it.

And oh, how I did!!! I can now say that the war has been won! Not just the battle, but also the war. I created some INGENIOUS tactics:
-Spray the room with Baygone (insect repellant) so much that you think that you are going to pass out from holding your breath for so long
-Quickly leave the room, shutting the door behind you to stop any new mosquitoes from entering
-Form a coalition with the Geckos; encourage them to eat the mosquitoes
-When returning to the room to go to bed, run quickly for the bed with the mosquito net, get inside, and don’t get out no matter what, even if you really really really have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night
-Spray yourself, your clothing, and everything else that you own with REPEL, which has 40% Deet. Who cares about respiratory illnesses later in life? Better that than being attacked now.

So anyway, this morning I awoke to only ONE new mosquito bite, and tons of dead mosquito casualties on the floor and on the top of my mosquito net. So many that I could hardly count! I HAVE WON!!!! Ahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!

So anyway……moving on. Last night, Glenn, Nazar and I had dinner at the 2nd nicest place in town, Aceh Jaya. The food there is pretty good, and much cheaper than Panorama. Nazar invited Glenn and I to his friend’s wedding today. Since I had been slighted on the invite in Banda Aceh, I suddenly felt better about myself and quickly agreed to go.

So today we drove over to another small village to attend the wedding. Nazar is friends with the groom, so we were on the “groom’s side.” We waited about an hour (rubber time) for the bride and groom to arrive. Apparently, weddings in Aceh span over a few days. The bride and groom had actually been married in a ceremony at the mosque on Friday. Today was a “reception” which the bride’s parents throw, then tomorrow the groom’s parents throw a similar party at their house.

So we waited for the groom to arrive, which he finally did. He was all decked in fine, colorful clothes and hat. There were also a bunch of people holding umbrellas over his head to shield him from the scorching sun, which I thought made a nice picture.

I took pictures this whole time, and of course my presence (as always) was the topic of much discussion, many smiles, and many laughs. It’s pretty intense in Banda Aceh but even more so in these small villages where contact with blang is limited. As anyone who knows knows me, it doesn’t bother me much!
Finally, the groom’s party walked over to the bride’s house. The men and women were segregated at all times, even on the walk over to the bride’s house. We arrived, and the groom went into this elaborately decorated room where the bride, equally elaborately decked out, was waiting. The floor was filled with bowls of food. The bride and groom sat on this stage-like decoration and watched as people sat at their feet and ate.

I took more pictures, and then everyone else decided that they wanted to eat. Only about 10 people could fit in the room with the bride and groom so everyone else ate food from the two separate “buffet” tables set up outside – one for men, one for women! Glenn and Nazar left me for the men’s table and I made my way up to the front of the women’s buffet table. There were a few vegetarian items there that I could eat.

As I looked around for the open bar (ha, ha) I also wasn’t sure where to sit. Glenn and Nazar were my friends, but I wasn’t sure if I was permitted to sit with the men. But they signaled me over and I went and sat with them……none of the men seemed to mind and Nazar (who is Indonesian) said it was okay.

The one thing that I must say is that, to the Indonesians, I’m not really a “man” or a “woman,” I’m really in a different category, “blang.” I’ve touched on this topic before but it’s hard to explain. To a certain extent, “blang” are allowed a certain amount of leniency because….well, I think that a lot of times the Acehnese feel like we are in a separate category in a way. I’m not saying this to excuse any of my behavior and I try for the most part to adhere to their customs and follow their rules. As an example, I don’t wear a jilbab and that’s ok but I also don’t wear low-cut shirts and try not to even wear short-sleeved shirts. When I go to the beach, I cover up pretty well. So although I am a “woman,” I’m also a “blang,” hence it being okay for me to sit with Glenn and Nazar.

All in all, it didn’t seem that different in some ways from weddings in the US. The groom seemed pretty excited and a little bit nervous, and so did the bride. She looked gorgeous, as most brides do. There were kids running around and screaming, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. The food was great and they even had cake!

So now I am back for my last evening in Calang. It has actually been a pretty good weekend. I am re-reading a favorite book, which I found on the shelves at the house in Banda Aceh – The Secret History. It is just as good the second time around. Tonight I will have my farewell dinner with Glenn and then tomorrow, I’m back to Banda and really looking forward to it!

Make Love, Not War

Mosquito Casualties: Zero
Mosquito Bites: Endless

State of War: Cease-fire due to complete and total defeat at the hands of Thirsty Bloodsuckers.

Yes, I have been defeated but I have decided that war is bad anyway, and maybe I should be focusing my energies on something else. Mosquitoes…well, I was a fool to think that I ever had a chance. I am clearly outnumbered, outwitted and frankly outsmarted.

Let’s move on to more positive things, shall we? (Excuse me while I bat away another warlord). So anyway, I put my interviewer hat on today and drove down to a small village between here and Meulaboh to interview Susan and Azizah. It went well – one of the challenges is definitely the language barrier but I was expecting that. Susan’s English is excellent, and she helped translate Azizah’s interview for me. In a way, it’s great and I also don’t have a choice but on the other hand it does change the answers a bit because I’m getting everything through someone else’s interpretation. But like I said, I don’t have a choice and I’m doing the best that I can.

After the interview, it was prayer time (every Friday between noon and 2:00) and my driver didn’t actually go pray – he went with the other driver and hid in the back of the restaurant! I thought that was pretty funny and heard that’s what happens sometimes. The men don’t always want to go to the mosque, but they can’t actually be seen out in public, either. I’m not exactly sure how the whole mosque/prayer time on Friday is enforced but in the end, I had to wait around until 2:00 so Susan, Azizah and I had lunch together.

Then I decided to take a walk, despite the fact that it was mid-day and scorching. I thought that I would just try to move really slow. I went to the main road and started walking, and soon this woman who was walking in front of me down the street carrying some vegetables decided to befriend me. She started speaking to me as if I knew her, and I had to point to myself and say, “English.” She didn’t seem to mind, and kept chatting to me. As we were walking down the street, people shouted out at her (and me?). As I couldn’t understand them, I just made up things in my head and imagined what they were saying. “Hey, who’s the sweaty white chick with you?” “I have no idea, but she’s following me!” “Can you ditch her?” “I will try!”

Then she motioned for me to go off the road with her, to this tree. She grabbed a big stick and got some fruit off of the tree for me through a pretty ingenius wrap/shake method (wrap the limb around the branch, shake really hard). She also yelled into the house nearby (maybe to ask permission?) and then we went in the back and washed the fruit off and she motioned for me to eat it. So I did, and it was delicious! Kind of a cross between a tart apple and a pear.

Then, she motioned again for me to follow her. I walked down the road with her again and we went to what I assume was her house. There were a bunch of people hanging out there, and she pointed to a branch (kind of on a bamboo-like tree). I nodded, as you do. She took out this huge knife and sawed the branch off and this other young girl took the bark off the branch and cut it up with the same huge knife/sword thing. Then she showed me how to eat it (while everyone, of course, got a good laugh at my ignorance) and offered me some. I tried it, and it was delicious! Very sugary.

Next, they all sat down near me and talked to me, in Indonesian, as if I understood. Actually, I am getting better at being comfortable with silence and also interpretation. They would ask me a question, and half the time I would understand what they were saying, through different body motions. It’s kind of like a crazy game of charades! But most of the time, I had no idea what they were saying to me and ultimately, it was ok. What I want to convey is that I am there to meet, there to learn and there with good intentions. These people were treating me like a guest of honor and I had literally just walked in off the street. I think that’s pretty cool.

It would be pretty funny to be able to go back (kind of like a movie or something) and see the subtitles of what they were actually saying! I was probably completely wrong on everything. Oh, well.

After about an hour at their house, I went back to the coffee shop and prayers were over so my driver could drive me back to Calang-ifornia. It was raining today so I couldn’t go swimming. I moved from my old room to the “Presidential Suite” closer to the beach. To be honest….it’s a little bit unsettling to be able to hear the ocean here and know you are that close to the water. Apparently – and I don’t want to talk about this too much because I am here in this building alone tonight – there are lots of ghosts here in Calang! This is according to the Indonesian staff who live here and have seen them. EEEEK!

Oh and – have you ever wondered what a roach sounds like when you step directly on it? It makes a really loud “POP!” noise and then the guts of the roach go all over your bare foot. Just some information for you, in case you ever wondered.

Night!

Welcome to the Hotel Calang-ifornia

Battle of the Thirsty Bloodsuckers Vs. Lex

Mosquito Casualties: 1 (disappointing)

Mosquito Bites: 5

Outcome: Mosquitoes clearly in the lead, but it is only day one of the battle

……And the fight wages on.

Today actually turned out much better than I thought it would. I had kind of worked myself up about the car ride, and coming to Calang. When I showed up at the office, I learned that I was going to be the only one going to Calang today! It was a nice surprise, because this meant that I got to sit in the front seat the entire way. I know that this sounds very 4^th grade, but it makes a HUGE difference on those windy, bumpy roads to be able to be facing forward in the front seat, as opposed to packed like sardines in the back. Also, in the back are two long benches on both sides of the truck facing each other rather than all of the seats facing forwards. So even for someone not prone to motion sickness like me, it’s a recipe for disaster and last time I almost puked.

But in the end, it was just me! And it was a really nice ride up. No bridges out, no stranded land rovers, no road closings. It was great also because whenever I needed to stop to go to the bathroom, or take a picture, it was no problem.

So I arrived in good time and did my first interview, with Martino. It went really well and he helped me get a good feeling for the program, what’s worked, and what hasn’t. It also helped that Martino’s English is really great, as my Indonesian is (sadly) not what it could be or should be. The language is just very difficult for me to wrap my head around because so many of the sounds are sooo completely different and aren’t really comparable to English words. But then I see Martin speaking away and I get jealous. Oh, well. I digress.

After the interview, Kate, Glenn and I went to the “secret” beach which is a short hike over some rocks near the office. Although the beach itself was prettier and more secluded and the waves were smaller and more manageable, the water for some reason was dirtier. There was a bunch of trash floating in the water and it kind of grossed me out.

We hiked back over the rocks and watched another amazing sunset from the beach in front of the offices. Pictures are uploaded, to the right. Then Glenn, Kate, Dr. Noor and I went to the “best restaurant in Calang,” called Panorama. It actually wasn’t half bad. The only crazy thing was that the roof was made out of coragulated metal and we had a huge rainstorm during dinner. The rain was pounding so loud on the roof of the restaurant that we had to yell to speak to each other! We finally just had to quit, and cover our ears. It was that bad!

Oh and Kate gave the compound in Calang the BEST name ever, “Calang-ifornia.” Glenn has been doing some improvements here and I must say that it is better since the last time I was here. Kate kept teasing Glenn that when the IRC moves out, he can start a resort here. Glenn decided that if he did, “Calang-ifornia” would get .75 of a star. I think that’s just about right.

Now I’m back in my room. Luckily, I am moving to another room tomorrow (the best room in the compound next to Glenn’s house, who lives here. Dr. Noor is occupying it now but he and Kate are leaving tomorrow morning). The room I’m in now – and I don’t want to gross anyone out too bad but I have to tell the truth – the walls are seriously covered in blood splatters from where previous occupants have killed mosquitoes with shoes, books, whatever. While I applaud my unknown predecessors of their efforts, it's a little bit scary as well!

On that note, off to bed!!!! I have sprayed myself, sprayed the room, and plugged in this electrical thing that emits mosquito repellant through the night…..so the next battle may tie us up!