I think these girls are looking at something very strange with blonde hair...

Relaxing weekend in Aceh

Finally some time to rest! We had a relaxing weekend in Aceh, going to the beach, visiting the grand mosque, and just doing nothing. A great change!! I'm posting some pictures so you can get a taste of our life here. To the left is me at the beach - lovely "bikini"huh? Unfortunately this is what we women have to wear at the beach, including in the water. It doesn't exactly make for the perfect beach experience but what can you do...
And above is when we filled our car with diesel instead of regular fuel... Not a good idea! Of course, the best way to fix the problem is to suck the diesel into your mouth and spit it into a bucket. Yes, it takes a while and doesn't make many safety precautions I'm sure.







And this is me at the grand mosque in Aceh. I'm sure you all love my jilbab (headscarf). Again, what can you do...?

Gratulerer med dagen Linda!!

Yes, I am still alive. Even if it's been forever since I posted anything on this blog. But today I have a very good reason to be back: It's Linda's birthday so I have to say Happy Birthday!! Always nice when another one hits 30.... I'm sorry I miss the party but am sure there will be plenty of opportunities to make up for it.

Other updates:

- there has been no more Aceh gay parties (at least not that I've been invited to)
- I have been working like an idiot, which is partly why I haven't posted anything here. 80 hour work weeks? I NEVER thought I would be one of those people!
- In a short, but nice, break from the 80 hour work weeks, Cliff and I went to Phuket for a long weekend. Admittedly I was a little sceptical to Phuket but we had a great time. We borrowed an apartment with private balcony and a pool, facing the beach. This was outside of the main tourist area, and season for that matter, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Rented a jeep and drove around, had a shower in a water fall which was amazing, ate really good thai food, got good massages and just enjoyed. We did go to Patong beach, which is the most touristy area ever but quickly got out of there: it was the standard package of drunk tourists, crazy and aggressive souvenir sellers and prostitutes. Oh well....
- If everything stays the same for two more weeks (never know..) I will be joining the ADB starting August and Manila will be my new home! So start booking the tickets people!
- And very importantly, I am coming home for 3 weeks starting August 3!!!!!!!!!!

-camilla

A different Aceh experience...

This Saturday I was the "guest of honour"at a party hosted by Cliff's housemate Peter. In the delightful company of the Aceh gay community, I was the only female and only heterosexual person present (and in the end, the only one with a shirt on...). Let's just say the "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" guys completely paled in comparison with these party particpants. It was very clear that these guys hadn't been able to live out their sexuality for quite a while. Since Aceh is under Shariah law we are all pretty much living a covered up life so to speak - no skin showing, no alcohol, no public display of affection etc. Well, these guys made up for it big time on Saturday and the shirts were off within the first hour. I enjoyed the dancing, gossiping, and laughing for a while but decided to call it a night when it was clear that the guys were ready to engage in activities I wasn't really there for... So while I was safe and sound asleep behind a locked bedroom door, the garage apparently became the venue for all of them to live out whatever it was they had been supressing for a while (quite a lot, judging from what I was told the next day...). Definitely a very different Aceh experience! Sorry, I've been trying to put in some pictures, but my internet connection is too slow.

Today I am off to the field. We are going to the district of Aceh Utara, about 5 hours drive from Banda Aceh. We'll be field testing the village assessment we are hoping to implement in all Aceh villages (6,000 of them!) in the coming months. A logistical challenge - my patience as well as my organizational skills are being tested big time!

Off to Aceh

I am off to Aceh for a couple of weeks, starting tomorrow. One week in Banda Aceh first, then one week in the field to test the assessment we are (hopefully...) implementing there. Will try to post some pictures!

-Camilla

PS: By the way, Penang last weekend was wonderful. Lazy and very relaxing!

Sightseeing

We had a great weekend in Yogyakarta! Cliff came to visit and we went to see two amazing temples just outside the city, one is the Buddhist Borobudur, the other the Hindu Prambanan. They're both about 1200 years old and just so beautiful.

I have now finished my Bahasa lessons (for now anyway) and will now have to start practicing. Needless to say I am very far from fluent after just one week, but at least I'm at a level where I can communicate with taxi drivers and people in the office. My new vocabulary came in handy today when my taxi driver fell asleep on our way from the airport.... If it happens to you in Indonesia, just say "Tidak tidur, hati-hati!" (don't sleep, be careful...)

*&##$%&@$#!!

They say that the sound of a baby crying has a special frequency so parents will have to attend to them very soon. However, here there is another sound that is keeping me from sleeping, studying, working, thinking, or pretty much do anything that involves my brain: mosques!! And they're EVERYWHERE and NEVER stop here. They look pretty though....

Til Bitten

På indonesisk heter lærer GURU!

Det passer veldig bra til deg synes jeg : )

Mount Merapi

I am now in the city of Yogyakarta studying bahasa. Fun but exhausting! I forgot how tiring it can be to actually use my brain...

This city is really near Mount Merapi, the volcano currently erupting and I plan to go have a closer (not too close..) look one of these days.

Indonesia!

I am now in Indonesia! So far so good - my only problem is I have no idea what people are saying to me. It became a little challenging when I got lost in a taxi, not knowing where I was going OR how to say it. So next week I am going to language training!

Right now I am in Banda Aceh, working on a damage assessment after the tsunami and conflict. Challenging! Especially since I don't know the language. Despite calling him Pocahontas until I realized his name is Ponhar, the driver here is helping me out. He's eiter the forgiving type or hasn't heard of Pocahontas (I suspect the latter...).

Another, not so good, development is that I currently have a very colourful foot in elephant size. I got a blister in the Solomon Islands that never healed and got really infected (that country really didn't do me very much good!!). So yesterday, when my shoe didn't fit me anymore, I figured it was time to check out the Aceh medical system. Fortunately there is a good UN doctor in place - who turned green when he saw my foot and pretty much said I was an idiot for not seeing him earlier... So now I am on two types of antibiotics and have to get really painful cleaning every day. Pretty stupid. As a gesture to all of you I will NOT post a picture...