Networking In Paradise

So what does an Australian guy who works in Indonesia, with only 2 days holiday do when there's no ferry - He charters a boat, and drags me along for the ride (and to share the cost).
Sure, it totally blew the days budget, but, hey it'd be an adventure.
As it turned out abit too much of an adventure. A 6m boat, which the driver pretty much surfed down the ocean swells, a diesel engine right next to my ear, and I got drenched.
But at least by the end of it I was on a tropical paradise.

There was one catch to my plan. This being the biggest holiday of the year, and this being the best holiday destination for the 1800 ex-pats in Banda Aceh, accommodation was somewhat at a premium. However I turned up at one of the beach resorts (after being turned away by the first one because it was full) with optimism that something would work out (I'm sure I could construct myself a rudimentary shelter out of drift wood).
When asked if they had any spare rooms, they seemed a bit hesitant.
"Yes", they replied, "but it doesn't have any electricity".
"Fine!", I said, "does a roof?"
"Yes"
"Fantastic. A bed?
"Yes"
"Paradise!"
And with a balcony with a hammock which overlooked the beach it was paradise indeed.

The up side to the place being filled up with ex-pats, is that it provided an excellent opportunity to met people who could find me volunteer work.
And no sooner had I gotten own to the beach, did I meet a Kiwi guy who had just arrived in Aceh to teach English and IT. I got his contacts, but didn't really just want to do teaching in Aceh.

Then came my god send: Nick, an older British guy who was Senior Logistics coordinator for an NGO (Non Government Organisation). I gave him my pitch (I've just arrived in town, I'm looking for work for a month or so), and he was impressed by the effort I'd gone to, and said that he'd see what he could do.
That evening I ended up at a bar with him and a couple of others, including a woman who did Human Resources for the same NGO as Nick. She was a bit of a salsa dancer, and before too long, she had me up on my feet dancing. Now four years of Ceroc had prepared me for just this sort of situation, and a couple of spins and a dip or two later she was suitably impressed. On returning to the table she told Nick that he had to hirer me! I was in!
The rest of the stay on the island was rather uneventful, I just had a generally relaxed time. Walking, swimming, reading, eating.

After the weekend I thought I'd better return to the mainland to investigate my job prospects.

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