Blogs from Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, Asia - page 5

“Where are you from?” “How old are you?” “Are you married” That is the exact order of questions when you meet an Acehnese person. The last question is the only one I have a slight problem with. It’s not asked in a sleezy, pickup kind of way, just part of normal conversation. They probably assume most people my age (33), would answer “Yes, I am married,” and the conversation would pleasantly carry on. But in my case, the answer is: “Not yet,” (a simple “No, I’m not married,” elicits strange and worried glances). Lucky for them, I don’t know enough vocabulary to explain that I don’t think the whole point of life has to be to get married and have children. But in Aceh, that seems to be exactly the point of life, and dating in ... read more

Yesterday I went to one of our "rebuilding livelihoods" projects to get a haircut. Before the tsunami, the hairdresser, Agus, ran a busy hairdressing salon out of her home. When she lost her home, she also lost her husband, son, parents and way of life. Now she is living in temporary shelter (barracks) and has just begun to cut hair again using a chair in a friend's salon. The organization I work for has given her money to buy some materials to get her business started again. Our staff reporter wanted to do a story on Agus and I was asked if I would go along to get a haircut. I willingly accepted because 1.) i wanted to get out from behind my desk and into "the field" to see some projects, 2.) i desperately needed ... read more

So, many have asked - "Erica, what exactly is your job?" Ah, good question. As you probably know, I work for an International NGO (Non-Government Organization). My job title is "Admin Systems Training Advisor" and it actually describes quite well what I do, but to most people it sounds complicated so I often say "Operations." You see, you can kind of break NGO work into two sectors 1.) OPERATIONS: administration, finance, and logistics (procurement & delivery of supplies) and 2.) PROGRAMS: direct services to our beneficiaries, for example, like our doctors who set up clinics and treat patients. I work on the Operations side of things. And here's exactly what I do: Admin In Aceh, my organization operates in 4 provinces employing 300 Indonesian (national) staff and 15 International (Expatriate) staff. That makes for a lot ... read more

Today is the one-year anniversary of the tsunami. It's been an emotional time for many of our local staff, and there's been quite a few that have gotten sick the past couple of weeks. Some of our employees lost their entire families, some lost their parents and some are still living in temporary shelters (tents). I've been here for 2 months but the scale and horror of the tsunami is still difficult to comprehend. When driving around, you can see enormous boats and other things that were carried inland by the waves but are too big to remove now. Every few kilometers there's a patch of land about the size of a basketball court with a fence around it and a sign that says "mass graves." In Calang, a coastal village the IRC works in, only ... read more

I hosted a holiday party this past weekend at my house and, if I do say so, it was so much fun! Stats for the party: • 23 people from 11 different countries • We sang Xmas carols (not quite DePiero family style - more british pub drinking style) • Lots of dancing (latin of course, but Robbie Williams too - sorry richie) • 17 Swapped gifts - far too civilized. We played by British rules, not Sicilian. Interesting gifts: blow up spiderman balloon; Sphere handbook • About 5 or 6 Indonesian friends showed up - the first Christmas party for all of them • Everyone was very appreciative of our homemade Xmas decorations, improvised decorated (palm) tree and initiative to have a party • Lots of drinking - people brought beer that they bought clandestinely ... read more