Chad the Becak driver

More adventures. Today we wanted to make an overseas call so took the Becak, small motorcycle and side car to the phoning place. As there were three of us I took the back of the motorcycle- riding with Chad, the cool driver except when he was checking his cell while driving. the good news is that we were going about 5 kilometers an hour.

When we got to the phone place we realized we were calling home at midnight- anyway it worked out and Dave my partner was still up. Dawna's parents were probably sleeping as they didn't pick up. That was the morning- of course we had a business meeting prior at about 9 am on Saturday morning to go over the requests for equipment.

A little later we made our way to do some shopping- the best thing we saw was Billabong high heel sandals - knockoffs naturally! Also a sort of fur lined flip flop and Wrigler jeans. We checked out the beach and kind of wallowed in the shallows as the waves were substantial and I'm sure dangerous.

Then off to the ever so cool expat hang out Joel's where it took pretty much 2 hours to get a pizza. It was still quite relaxing with a great beach breeze. The huts shown are not the restaurant but rather a concession stand on the beach.

So tomorrow Sunday a little work in the morning hopefully a little downtime in the pool or gym, shopping at the supermarket - we're having a dinner party in Sigli on Tuesday night and inviting folks we know including drivers and translators - so far the menu is mashed potatoes and meatballs.

Up and at it again

o.k. it is 8 am and we are getting organized for today. We just have the morning and then we are off to the big smoke - Banda Aceh where we plan to go to the speakeasy tonight. Ring the bell and wait a few minutes - if approved you get to go in and up to the rooftop garden restaurant and eat Italian.



We had a most delicious dinner yesterday with a Thai soup made with lemon grass, lemon leaves and fish sauce making up the base. Simon our interpreter and Daisy his wife made it. And we had shrimp again which of course is fresh each day.



So this morning we'll stop boring the libary staff with presentations on writing a business case and the like and get to the shelves - where we will help to bring some order and get the kids items separated so they can have their own spot. Right now it is something of a clerical supervisors nightmare- 400 in 600 and fiction here and there. Talking about specific books and sections should also help the group with the collection statement (we hope!). So since it is Friday it is a short day - for there are longer prayers on Friday.

Don't unplug it, it might blow up

We're pushing through, so far we've covered bookmobile service, collection development policy, open hours, performance measures and community assessments, space planning and we have just been here since Monday afternoon! We know how to have a good time. Today they told us that they only wanted to work 2 hours in the afternoon...we almost had them work an 8 hour day yesterday!


But the boss is getting wise, he's feeding us now so they get a break. There is a special steamed bun that Dawna likes that he ordered in. Katherine had the flourescent green pastry, which was surprisingly good. A lot of it is based on rice/gluten. This morning there was a dessert which was a banana wrapped in lime green gluten. It was sticky and very filling. It's just been great, we talked about a couple of things yesterday, such as putting the current edition of the newspaper in the newspaper rack and to place the rack near the newspapers...today it was done. Yesterday, I had a meltdown about how the 600s were in no particular order and this morning we saw someone shelfreading. They are really keen to do good stuff.

And for Sylph, yes, they did everything that we asked them to do in between missions. Everthing....a space plan, the performance measures, community demographics, photos of the storytelling competiton.......all done. It was amazing.

Adventures in the bathroom....or WC as they call it here. The bathroom that is in Muktar's office has a cistern and squatter and an alarming combination of dangling electrical wires. There is a sign near the wires and we asked Sosi, our interpretter what it said. We thought we were re-vamping of the electrical so they could have computers, who knew it was to prevent the library from blowing up.

Another really fun thing that has been happening in Sigli is that the local school children have been preparing for a special marching contest for Independence day. Groups of about twenty children have been marching and chanting in the streets. We have been enjoying seeing them over the past few days. Today was the final competition and we happened upon the closing ceremonies when we went to the beach for lunch. It was so much fun to see the children so excited. It felt like play day when we were kids. And then we got happily swarmed by them as they wanted to say hi, have their photos taken and practice their English.

We ended the afternoon with the business plan workshop. This was the session that Dawna worked on the most and with Katherine's help, it paid off. Sosi delivered the presentation in Bahasa Indonesian and then the staff split into 3 working groups to prepare business cases for additional electrical infrastructure, a bookmobile and a new library.

Mukhtar knows the power of food to motivate and bring people together. This afternoon was no exception. He provided bags of sweet coffee, savoury food, fruit and sweets. He manages to create a very happy atmosphere and the staff (and the two of us) respond very positively. The afternoon went very well and the 3 business cases are well on their way.

Boy, do we have this Indonesian thing wrong. When we came back to the house, the very kind woman, Yulia, who looks after the house was watching Fashion TV and there were some very scantily clad ladies on the show. And then we heard that they show porn in a coffee house in Banda. Here we thought we were living in strict Muslim territory.

Tonight at the house it is just Katherine, Sosi and I as the other team has left for Banda. We are planning to have dinner with Simon and his family.

Another good day in Sigli.

Sigli Library - First day

We were both wondering what we would encounter when we returned to the library. We had no contact with anyone from Sigli in between missions.....would the staff have done the tasks we had left for them, would they be keen to see us? what could we expect? When we arrived, we had heard that the head of the library had been replaced and that the new person started the week before. This made us wonder even more.


The first thing we noticed when we entered the library was that it was super clean and tidy. Some of the furniture had been rearranged to make good use of the space and it felt welcoming. It was a tangible difference. When we met the new head, Mukhtar, he was welcoming and very encouraging and apologetic because he had a speech to deliver elsewhere in the morning, but he promised to return in the afternoon to meet with us.

Katherine and I spent the morning with the staff. Katherine gave a presentation on how you tailor library service around community demographics. There were a lot of pictures from Mission 1 in the presentation and this really tickled the staff and made it resonate. I have to find some pictures that will work with my presentation on creating a business plan....a bit of a challenge!

In the afternoon we met with Mukhtar. We wanted to review what we had covered during Mission 1 and also get a chance to know one another. It didn't take long to realize that we all shared the common belief that libraries build communities. He understood the work that needs to be done and was glad of the CALGAP assistance. As a matter of protocol, we exchanged business cards....he told us that we were 'relatives now'....this made us feel very welcome. We ended the afternoon with a review of Canadian library service with all of the staff.

Now for those that find the library posts dry...I have some food to tell you about.

We were treated to some fruit. Oranges we know, but snakefruit was something different. It has a stiff leathery skin, much like a snake which was quite sharp under your fingernails when you peel it. They are a mahogany colour. Inside was a white coloured fruit that was a bit bitter. It comes in three parts. Apparently the same fruit is much sweeter in Java. I think I will have to go to Java to really get the true flavour. I found it a bit bitter but ate it anyway.

The other fruit was rambutan, it means hairy fruit. It is a red colour with spiky hair. The spikes look sharp but they are actually quite soft. It tasted like a lichee. You can buy a bundle of about 12 for 5 cents. I would eat these at home if I could find them. I am sure they could be found.

When we got home we did some Pilates. We set up the mats in the living area and Manon, Katherine and I stretched away. We are trying to find some sort of exercise that works here in the heat. I think we have found it.

It was a very good day...and now if I could only get over the jet lag all would be perfect!
Until next post,
Dawna.

Getting started

in Banda Aceh today -

Last night we met with the new Field Manager, Basile in Banda Aceh. He is responsible for all the projects in Indonesia and just started a few weeks ago. He's come with tons of experience in the Phillipines and we have already had good conversations about the missions and the overall plans for the work here in Aceh.

Also we have a new local resource officer, Simon, for the project and he is located in Sigli where the library is. He also has done a fair amount of NGO work. He has lots of energy and we got a good vibe from him so can't wait to get started and see the people at the library again.

Simon tells us that the head of the libray has changed and the new person seems to be a 'doer' who is interested in change - another positive sign.

The hotel was filled with children yesterday. There was a weekend deal and made the place quite lively. In the evening there was a private barbeque - we think it was a UN thing. So from our hotel window you could see there was lots of Karaoke going on - they really belted it out and we could hear it throught the windows on the 5th floor.

I think Dawna and I are doing pretty good regarding jet lag and had a pretty reasonable sleep although woke up around 5:30. We drive this afternoon to Sigli after a visit to the supermarket here. All of us from the two teams including the Local Government folks Manon and Eric brought lots of items for the kitchen including foodstuffs. Hoping this time around to do most of our cooking we will do the market thing and that way we can include veggies in the daily diet. We found going out to restaurants resulted in lots of rice, noodles and meat - nary a vegetable to be had.

So the urban camping continues - we brought our yoga mats this time so hoping to get a bit of a stretch in here and there as it is difficult to walk with limited sidewalks and motorcycles at your back and darn hot!

Enroute

We are still enroute. It is much better this time as we are more familiar with the different airports and have our favourite spots. The highlight of the 15 hour flight to Hong Kong is knowing that there is a wonderful business centre where we can shower, have a massage, get online AND have a great buffet. It really makes a big difference being able to refresh like that.

In Medan we apparently engaged a broker to move us from one terminal to the next; before we knew it we were indebted to several airport employees. However, the upshot is that we will be able to enjoy the rather expensive Duty Free bottle of wine that Katherine bought in Singapore, now with its own version of 'duty' Medanese style. The curiuos thing about these broker dudes is that they have no nametag or shirts or anything that would identify them as official yet they take your tickets from you and go off and you follow....pretty much running after them trying to remember what shirt they were wearing. Was he the guy in the green or was he the orange shirt guy?

Currently we are at the Medan business centre (at the airport) We decided that we had enough excitement the last time we were in Medan and that we would be best just to stay put. I do have my wallet....and my passport and tickets are tucked safe and sound in my special holder. No worries!

More later,
D.

Heading out again

Mission two is approaching faster than it seems possible. We will be in Sigli again on Monday afternoon to begin the next stage of the project.

I wanted to share some experiences from the first trip before they become ancient memories. Once we came home there were a few things it was clear people were interested in hearing about. One is the food! I will write more about that in future posts because I know we are going to have some great meals and market trips this time. We will be sharing the house again with another team and we are all bringing along things to make preparing food a bit more feasible. I also to tell about the tsunami sights that we visited.

There are two main places that really demonstrate the power of the tsunami that hit Banda Aceh. It was at the epicenter of the tsunami on December 26, 2004. We saw a huge oil tanker that was carried 5 kms inland. It rests right in the middle of this small community and people are now living around it. They get power from its generator. It is so big that it will likely not get moved and we heard that it might be made into a museum for the tsunami. It was a chilling marker of the disaster.

The second place we were taken to was a house that had a boat resting on its roof. She no long er lives there, but the homeowner will not have the boat removed and still comes to pray at her home everyday. There were many waves to the tsunami and the people who talk of it will tell you what they remember from each wave. The woman that lived in the house with the boat was on the first floor of her home for the first wave and the water came up to the ceiling. She managed to get to the second floor and then the second wave came. She went to the window and saw a boat, the people on it threw out a rope and she grabbed on. The boat became lodged on her rooftop. They managed to save 57 people on the boat. They stayed there and watched the subsequent waves take everything else away.

We were all humbled by these sights. It really is impossible to imagine the scale of loss. Words pale.

I look forward to blogging again.

More later,
Dawna,