Lampuuk beach, Banda Aceh

We met up with Iwan and Sosi today and took a trip to the beach. This is the same spot we visited on the first mission and it has really changed. When we went in June of 2007 the beach was basically empty.

There are lots of food sellers there and a banana boat that takes people around via a speed boat. We saw a mishap with the banana boat- man overboard (girl overboard) luckily it didn't turn into anything. We suspect there was no one with CPR skills in that business enterprise.

Anyway it stopped raining for one day and so with an overcast sky it was o.k. to be out in the sun and not too hot. Afterward we had the usual visit to Joel's restaurant for pizza. After betting on slow service our optimistic driver was the winner - the pizza came quick - less than 1/2 an hour.

We all exchanged our NGO related stories - Iwan is still with FCM working in Calang and Sosi has recently joined a UNDP project. She is now working as a research person on a listserve to share best practices. We are slowly turning her into a librarian.

We also visited the barge and the boat on the roof of the house - tsunami sites. These two have changed a lot with plaques and a park has been built by the barge to memorialize the loss of lives.

We passed a very fine and relaxing afternoon and evening chatting with our young friends including our most recent member of the family, Mita.

From the Jakarta post of November 29- an article talks about a very popular book 'the History of the CIA' which as been banned in Indonesia. The author noted however that the book is already published and selling like fresh cooked sate.

Four hundred visitors a day

We've traveled from Jakarta to Sigli with an overnight stay in Banda Aceh. Things are changing in Banda as many NGO's have left. Many locals are using the hotel and probably outnumber the NGO types that were very present before. We have been greeted warmly as before by the staff who are by now quite familiar with us after so many trips.

Interesting menu anecdote in reviewing the menu last night we had a good giggle at the English translations - one could order tepid nachos and lukewarm apple crisp- understandable but it has an effect of the selections one makes that might not be anticipated by the author.

One of our favorites Rommell has left to a better job in Medan- he was always ready to share some crazy stories and laugh away. Dawna is so on the ball she brought a couple of snaps from an event we attended at the hotel last time and the staff member was thrilled with the thoughtfulness.

The Sigli library is filled to the brim with students everyday. The challenge for the staff will be to also attract more adults and families. In any event the books are being read and borrowed and the place is hopping.

When we visited however it was a very rainy day and just like a snow day in Toronto heavy rains can keep customers and staff from getting to the library.

On Thursday and Friday we conducted stakeholder interviews with various library staff and customers. We had a delightful interview with two young boys - who reported that they were loving the new space especially the colourful children's area and does this sound familiar they reported that library staff booted them from the public computers because they were playing games. And in this case they had lined up and paid for an hour but the use was not deemed to be serious enough. We'll be talking with staff about this customer service approach.

Harvey Nichols and Padang food

We went to the book distributor.....needless to say it was different than what we know from home. This distributor focused on Islamic materials but we were told he could also get other books for us. We went through the three different lists we had on hand and narrowed down the choices to fit our budget. It was kind of a self serve place where we had to write up our own agreement letter. Given that that took awhile, Dawna took the opportunity to teach Pak Mukhtar tic tac toe. Before we arrived, we had thought we were going to a show room scenario...but it really was not much like that. The word show room should never have been used to describe what we saw. Hours later, we left empty handed having given them a wad of cash and feeling about 60% OK about the whole thing. We are told it will take a week for the books to get to Banda...we shall wait and see.


The third and final book shopping took place at a very upscale bookstore called Gramedia. It was on par with Indigo for selection, display and range of material. It is surprising to us that there are Muslim based books in every subject, from science to cooking. Who knew? The focus for this spree was children's books. The staff were incredibly helpful and they made this final shopping a treat. The head of the library was delighted to receive a special 'Gramedia' clock which was presented to him upon the completion of the big sale. We even found an Indonesia version of 'Eat, Pray, Love'....Dawna loved this book, Katherine refuses to read it...but Katherine selected it.


The malls in Jakarta are over the top. They are what you would expect in Rodeo Drive. Even have Harvey Nichols of Ab Fab fame. It feels kind of odd to be in these extravagent malls complete with Christmas carols and then go out to the street and see the standard Indo street vendors. Gucci on the main floor and 5th Floor hawkers with Padang food.


We felt great about completing the book buying, down to the last $3. Items were shipped to Banda already and will be ready for the Sigli library on Monday.



Wednesday was travel day, leaving Jakarta for Banda. It was a bit of a long day. We are noticing a different vibe in the air as we progress towards Banda. People don't seem so keen on Westerners. There are not so many NGO's around and we get the sense that people are glad they have left. Maybe this is the ebb and flow of development work when things wind down. Still we keep maintaining a positive attitude and aim to take things in stride.


The hotel that we stay at in Banda is under new management. There are less staff and less of a Western focus in their approach. The internet was down when while we were there.


We headed up to Sigli, first thing Thursday morning. It was good to get to the library and receive a very friendly welcome from the staff. The morning was spent reviewing what has been done (or not done) while we were away. In the afternoon we did some interviews with the staff, to find out their thoughts on the changes at the library. We are gearing up for the main event which will be the evaluation workshops next week.



Over and out.

Going shopping

Day one Jakarta.
We met everyone as planned this morning. O.k. after about an hour of this and that - getting organized to go book buying, we hit streets to flag a cab. It is only Blue Bird's or White Bird taxi's that we are after. The White bird is elusive but when it comes to cabs the Blue Bird is ever present.

O.k. so we got a cab and headed downtown to one of a vast number of malls in Jakarta. It's lovely that there are bookstores in town and many of them. As you may recall it was a stretch to find one book store in Banda Aceh and that one was pretty much religious texts on the second floor of a hardware and lingerie shop. Go figure.

So here is a picture of Pak Mukhar and Mita our new translator. Mita is studying library science and hoping to further her studies overseas next year. A good English speaker and lots of fun so we are lucky again. we are at a Starbucks waiting for the book order.
Mr. Mukhtar is showing off his pics on the cell phone.

It was so fortuitous that Pak Mukhtar had occasion to meet an important staff member from the National Library recently. So when we got to town he was able to arrange a meeting with the Director of the National Library. The Director, Dady P. Rachmananta generously spent a good half hour with us as we shared stories about the CALGAP project.

It was very encouraging to hear about the national efforts to increase the reading habit through a celebrity reading ambassador who travels throughout the whole country. The national library is working hard to promote reading and library use however it is challenging in a country so large. The federal government recently passed a Library Act and there is lots of work to do around library governance and jurisdiction. Not all provinces are willing to support public library service at the level needed - a common issue around the world.

As a result of this visit we were able to learn more about the publishing industry and the staff member Fadli, who happens to also be Achenese, set up an appointment for us with a key book distributor. So tomorrow is a big day for books.

Another Padang meal for us this afternoon - this is the cuisine that is left out unrefrigerated all day so poses some challenges for us westerners. The Achenese are quite fond of this food. This time around we noticed that the mosquito coils were strategically placed to waft over the food to keep it bug free. We focused on the rice - had a light meal and let it go at that.

Just an observation Nimrod was simply a cabin crew member with an unusual name. We didn't get a chance to hear the story of his naming.

We'll keep you in suspense regarding the dental artist, who is quite a pleasant Persian met while waiting in an immigration lineup. More on that later. No luggage yet but apparently it is at the airport in fact we are assured that it has left the airport-that it is on route from the airport (a 1/2 hour drive) to the hotel -several hours later still no luggage.

Sleep beckons

A quick post to say we are here in Jakarta book buying. Once we get over the immediate pressure of jet lag we will do a proper post. We can then tell the tales of the dental technologist to the stars and bicuspid sculptor and Nimrod the cabin crew member on our flight from Hong Kong to Jakarta.

The fact that we don't have our luggage is putting a bit of a crimp in our lives but we are getting things done nevertheless. Bought books downtown and visited the National Library of Indonesia and met the Director there.
Pictures later