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.
2 comments:
amazing photos-
It really is wonderful to experience this culture. I'm not too surprised about the treatment you are receiving as a Westerner in some parts of the country. Often people change as their circumstances change. When social conditions become better, many of these countries see their reliance on Westerners diminish and therefore settle into a less welcoming pattern. Anyhow, enjoy the warm weather while you can!
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