Are you SURE you're in INDONESIA???

It's true, the indigenous people of West Papua (also known as Irian Jaya) seem only very loosely related to Indonesians from other parts of the country. In every aspect - historically, culturally, ethnically, physically - they seem much more 'Melanesian' or 'South-Pacific' (i say that like i've been to the islands of the south-pacific... hmmm... not yet).

In fact, when we were in Ayau (the farthest point north in Raja Ampat), I discovered that the people there believe they are decendants from Palau.... (prior to the Biak portion of their history). It is only in recent years that they have begun to orient themselves more toward Indonesia (rather than the Philipines or Palau). The only true link to Indonesia seems to be the government - a frail link at that. Of course, now over 40% of Irian's population are 'ethnic Indonesians' that are living here as a result of government trans-migration programs (a scheme to dilute ethnic papua, and quell, or pacify, 'free papua' movements). The Dutch colonial government carried out a transmigration program in West Papua during the 19th century, and the Indonesian government implemented a similar policy (in practice until 2000!). There is a fear among many Papuans that their true culture is being lost.



aren't these kids adorable!?

I'm sure I've mentioned this before... but these pictures make me think about it again... the name "Papua" actually means 'land of the fuzzy-haired people' in the Malay language!


The first recorded contact from 'outside' in West Papua came in the 16th century - Portuguese explorer Jorge de Meneses. He is credited with giving the name Papua.



We enjoyed our time in Ayau immensely; we were attending meetings and a declaration of a Marine Protected Area. However, when we weren't in the meeting room, we were enjoying the simplicity of life there,




the turquoise ocean,




oh yes, and the coconuts eaten by moonlight... aaaahhhh.....




This is not to say that the archipelago of Ayau is not without issues... Although none were overtly apparent during our stay, on our last day there Martin found a green sea turtle fin on the beach (and a young one at that). Regarless of the fact that sea turtles are an internationally protected species (it is illegal to kills them or destroy their eggs), the people of Ayau continue to follow their tradition of hunting turtles and eating their meat.

My New (Preferred) Anti-Malarial Medication



I have been slightly skeptical about taking Anti-Malarials from the start of this whole venture... I mean, yes, it's probably better than getting Malaria (so people who have had it tell me), but there are no conclusive studies on the long-term effects of taking malaria medication over an extended period of time... and any med that has side affects as severe as these just doesn't seem right to me.

People have been living in this area for ages, and all the while, they have been dealing with the tropical disease found here. One way they do it is by eating bitter greens - my favourite are the papaya leaves and flowers (actually quite tasty served in a coconut milk sauce). I guess the mosquitos don't like the way you taste after eating them!?

So, because I personally haven't been living in the tropics long enough (nor has my upline for that matter) to have formed any kind of resistance to malaria, and because everyone who lives here says EVERYONE who stays here for an extended period of time gets malaria at some point (regardless of whether they're taking anti-malarial medication or not!), I am adopting a two-pronged approach. I am currently taking Larium, but just for the time being (while our visits here are shorter). I am incorporating the traditional indigenous knowledge, as well, and will eventually go completely natural. People have been living here for centuries... i'm sure they've got a few things figured out, otherwise the tropical nasties would have wiped out their populations long ago!

Communications Issues in Raja Ampat...

My poor, dear family… they have to go on faith, and the adhere to the maxim that no news is good news! It seems that since being in Raja Ampat we haven't stopped for a minute! And because it really and truly is the end of the earth (probably one of the most remote places on the planet), communications facilities are few and far between. When we’re in the field we have no way of communicating with the outside world – the only time we get email or cell service is when we come back to Sorong. I returned home this time to a message from my folks hoping that the earthquake and resultant tsunami in the Solomon Islands hadn't affected us here. -- Huh? There has been another natural disaster in our viscinity!?!

Being out-of-touch is ok, I suppose. I mean, I DID know where I was coming to begin with! And although the down-side of being in the field is communications... being busy is nice; it seems that every time we arrive back from somewhere in the field, they tell us there's another activity/event to leave for the next day! This week was no exception... I got back at noon on Monday from 5 days in Saunek (helping with a Muslim camping outing - what a way to spend Easter Weekend!) and they said they were sending us off to another event on another island on Tuesday! Anyway, it's good to get to see/know as much of the area as possible... I feel like I'll be able to put together a more comprehensive and locally relevant program, so all this moving about really is for the greater good.

I'm not sure the people in the village I was in for the past while have ever had prolonged interaction with a BULE - they see tourists on their dive boats, but usually they don't come into the villages... so Stacey and I (Stacey is an American who is travelling on a Vanderbilt U fellowship and came to Raja Ampat to volunteer for a month) were quite the attraction on the island. Especially for the kids, who I am sure have never seen a BULE up close before! They are so adorable... so curious, a little scared at first (I wish I could be inside their head and see what they're thinking! - I swear they wonder if I'm a ghost, or a person from another planet). But eventually their curiosity gets the better of them, and a smile is a smile is a smile, so they approach and are thrilled at the interaction! The first day we were in the town, we were napping away the mid-day heat when I heard giggles at the window... I looked up to see a pair of big brown eyes topped by fuzzy red-hair just disappearing below the sill... then again, peeking around the door jamb. I snuck over to the window and looked out, and there was a crowd of 6-7 kids just below the window (just waiting, I presume, to catch a glimpse of this strange creature!) I lay back down, and the fun resumed... peeking around the corners, and as soon as I would look at them they disappeared, went running around the outside of the house (laughing and screaching all the way), came in the back door, and took a peek from another angle!



Martin is actually in Jakarta right now... he had an ear infection that had recurred about 4 times within 2-3 months, so I said I thought the doctors weren't getting at the root of the problem by just giving him broad-spectrum antibiotics, and we got him to see a specialist in Jakarta (insurance is covering everything). For someone who never gets sick, it's funny that here Martin is having all kinds of problems - no doubt the stress is a contributing factor. He should be back tomorrow.

That's just a little update.

Soccer in Manado

We have an interesting, if small (ok, miniscule), circle of friends in Manado (outside our workmates, that is). They are the South American contingent of the professional soccer scene here - and celebrities to boot! I certainly wasn't anticipating becoming 'famous-by-association' (I thought my fame would be born in and of itself!?), but when my picture ended up in the society pages of the Manado Post, I had a good laugh! Now the people in the streets aren't only calling out after the "Bule", but the friend-of-the-wife-of-the-Chilean-soccer-star-Bule!

We have become pretty good friends with the Coach of the team and his daughter(Chileans), as well as the star player (also from Chile - a conspiracy if you ask me!), as well as a few of the other team members (mostly Latinos... for the obvious reason that poor Martin has only me to speak spanish with, and needs a break once in a while!) Just before heading to Raja Ampat, we had a chance to go to a big game... between two rival teams in North Sulawesi.

The game was a blast. Soccer is THE sport of choice here, and it draws quite a mixed crowd - The stadium was PACKED! So packed in fact that I couldn't help but think what chaos would ensue if the natural disasters that have been plaguing Indonesia this year chose that moment to toss an earthquake our way!

Have joined this 'facebook' network that seems to be the latest fad these days...

I thought, really, this is a joke... waste of time... but it's amazing to see how rapidly it's spreading!!!

(note: this is probably not a positive point... i only get access to the internet once in a while, and i can see myself wasting it all away playing around with this... yikes)

Roast Dog

Sorry, Bowser, I can hardly believe it myself...

WARNING: Content may be objectionable to your sensibilities (it is to mine!)

In Indonesia (well, Manado area is reknown for the practise), I find myself commonly asking the question "teman atau makanan?" (friend or food???), to avoid making friends with a doggie on death row.... You see, puppy chow up here doesn't come in a can... it's chowing down on the puppy itself.

"A party just isn't a party without a dish of roast dog", said a friend when I inquired about this 'delicacy'. It's part of the Minnahasan culture of North Sulawesi - I can't help but think that it arose from a dire need for protein at some point in history. Of course, it's possible they just picked it up as a replacement for cannibalism when it became uncouth and a dying trend.

I have yet to overcome my western sensibilities to try it... (maybe I keep thinking of Dice, whom I miss terribly). I have used as my excuse the fact that the mouth-afire, burning spices that they use to garnish the pups just doesn't seem delicious to me. This was before I could use cruelty to animals as another basis - I have just recently found out that they 'tenderize' the meat while the dog is still alive - how awful! Now, I have always subscribed to the motto "try anything once", but I'm afraid on this one, I'll have to pass. Same goes for the sausages. (The dogs are kept hungry for the last few days of their sad little lives, then, the eve before the roasting, they are fed lots of red meat, which essentially gets 'naturally processed'...)

This was a picture taken from the balcony of our home-stay the first month living in Manado... luckily we were spared bearing witness to the tenderization process.



To confuse things even further, dog isn't listed on any menu as dog (is there shame deep down for eating our loyal, furry friends?), but instead as RW. And, because it actually LOOKS like a delicious dish, Martin came too-close (for his comfort) to discovering how it tastes... I came to his rescue, having read about the alias, before he made the mistake of ordering (let alone eating)!

This was an old post that was kicking around in my 'drafts' section, and since I haven't posted in a while, I thought I would just throw it out there... sorry. Next post will be more on our current trip to Raja Ampat, and my work.

The house!
Here I am, finally getting around to posting a picture of our 'tiny' home in Manado as we're about to abandon it for several months! (That's me on the side terrace!) Now you can all have an idea of where we live... and where you can come visit! Note: This picture was taken AFTER we cut back the jungle that was our yard, but no doubt upon our return from Papua this time, it will be overgrown again!

Cap Go Meh!

This was the event that everyone was waiting for... the Chinese New Year Parade!





A few high/low-lights:

• Beautiful colours, floats and flags
• Thick crowds - more people than I knew existed in Manado! (& viewing from perches/rooftops, etc!), and of course, their resulting GARBAGE underfoot!
  
• Sad little princesses getting sick atop their lotus-flower floats from the heat... (this was obviously not a factor overlooked by parade organizers - there were pukebuckets on hand!)
• Dragons...
• Huge bamboo musical instruments! (my favourite of all)
  

Gong Xi Fa Chai!

The year of the dog in the Chinese lunar calendar has come to a close, and we're looking forward to a prosperous year of the pig. We're told that Manado is the place to be for this event, outside China of course, so we're holding our breath in eager anticipation for the big celebration this coming weekend.

A snippet from history: Traditionally, a festival is celebrated to welcome the first sun in the spring after a long cold winter in China. The cherry blossoms on the trees come to bloom in this season, giving the high hopes of an abundant harvest in the year to come for the farmers.

As Chinese people migrated to other corners of the world, they have brought this tradition with them although in some part of the world, like in Indonesia, it has been assimilated with the local tradition. Ethnic Chinese in Indonesia are mostly not farmers... they tend to be the leaders in trading business. There are no cherry blossom trees in Indonesia, however, the hope of a prosperous year is still symbolized by hand-made silk cherry blossoms which are hung on bare-branched trees.

During Soeharto’s reign in Indonesia (35 years up until May 1998), everything about China (culture, language, religion) was banned in Indonesia. Ethnic Chinese were not allowed to take civil servant positions, had special identity cards, and could not attend public universities. This made the life of ethnic Chinese very difficult, although some did well economically through this era of oppression. No Chinese New Year celebrations were allowed in Indonesia during this time.

Things changed, when in the year 2000, the Indonesian President at the time, Gus Dur, lifted the ban and declared Chinese New Year a national holiday.

Crown-of-Thorns Cleanup!

Martin & I went diving on Sunday; but it was anything but the lay-back-and-relax, let-the-current-carry-you, scenic tour we're accustomed to here in the world of Bunaken diving... we were on a mission to rid the local reef of the insidious "Crown-of-Thorns" Starfish (COTS). Armed with nothing but bamboo tongs, we scoured the reef for several hours.

This colourful, spiky critter naturally occurs in tropical coral reefs, but is very invasive in the reef ecosystem... more so in many areas because their natural predator populations (especially the Napoleon (Humphead) Wrasse fish and a Triton seashell) are declining due to exploitation and over-fishing. Could a change in climate also be a contributing factor? I'm not sure, but I wouldn't rule it out entirely.

So what do they actually do to the reef? Well, they basically eat it alive. The COTS feed on coral polyps (you all know coral is 'animal' not mineral, or plant, as most people believe, am I right?). They use their suction-cup feet to manoeuvre their way over the reef, then they basically extrude their stomach outside their exoskeleton (body) to cover a section of coral. The stomach then releases its digestive enzymes and they go to work!

Even though they are causing damage to the reefs, I find reason to marvel at COTS. They are voracious predators... one individual can consume up to 6 square meters of living reef in a year!

Anyway, because these little devils are nocturnal feeders and tend to tuck themselves in holes and under the reef to stay out of the sunlight during the day, it was no mean feat collecting them up! The local guys here say that for every one that we found during the day there are surely 4 more that we could find if we hunted at night.

For various reasons we didn't. Although it wasn't the official reason given, I have a feeling that the danger factor was the deciding factor. The long spines contain poison, which inflicts great & long-lasting pain if you get pricked. A friend of one of the local men we dove with was 'bitten' (that was his terminology) and became violently ill for a couple of days (including nausea and vomiting). Just another minor marine terror that I find myself in close proximity with!

The haul.

The Indonesian Government takes action regarding Bird Flu???

Given the rising number of cases of Avian Flu virus in humans, and the fact that Indonesia has the highest number of deaths attributable to bird flu thus far, the Government has decided to change a few things…

I just read an article in the Jakarta Post claiming that the Indonesian Government intends to implement a law that will see residential chickens banned throughout the archipelago!? This in an effort to curb the spread of the disease.

Boy do they have their work cut out for them!!! This is a country where street poultry is rampant (I mean, I literally have to watch my step on the way to work for chicken $#!*). In a place where there is no more common scene than chickens in the backyard, front yard, rooftop, fencepost or street-corner, I have to question whether or not this will be an effective fix.

We are taking our own precautions, and although we haven’t cut chicken and eggs completely out of our diet, we are being careful about how we prepare them, and of course, we’re not petting chickens on the street.

Singapore!

I would never have imagined as I drank my first "Singapore Sling" at a bush party in Madoc that I'd one day be hanging out in it's birthplace, the Raffles Hotel. (The real thing is much better than the backwater teenage concoction, I must admit, although still slightly disgusting!) The hotel, a veritable landmark in Singapore, is swank; Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling both stayed there in their day... we're staying a couple of blocks away, in a place more within our budget!

Unfortunately we're not here on a pleasure cruise... we came so that Martin could have his hand repaired by a qualified surgeon.

Martin had a run-in with a window pane back in mid-January... but wait, it's mid-February you say! Yes, we went to Emergency at the public hospital in Manado... however the medical care there was LESS than adequate! At least, what I saw didn't inspire confidence -- the doctor opening Martin up farther to 'look around' for the tendon -- apparently their anatomy courses aren't comprehensive so they do their studies on live specimens! I had further proof that my hunch was right about the inferior repair of Martin's hand when, after 3 weeks, the tendon ruptured again!? At this point, we flew to Jakarta with our boss (who was just completing a site visit and review with us in Manado) to get checked out by a more capable doctor... Of course, we flew into Jakarta in the middle of the worst floods they have seen there in 5 years! -- the city was SOAKED ! ... BUT we were referred here, to Singapore, for surgery...

... and are VERY relieved. The surgeon was fantastic and did his best to repair the mess the Manado doctors made of Martin's wrist and hand... he thinks that Martin should recover full mobility and almost-normal sensation in a couple of months.



To the left... post-op... back of Martin's wrist, before he got sewn back up!






Of course, we're trying to make the best of our time here... Exploring the sights around this modern metropolis.... which doesn't even feel like it's part of Asia!? It's hard to believe they're neighbours with Indonesia... cuz these two countries are WORLDS apart!!! Anyway, we're enjoying the incredible variety of food, as well as our air-conditioned hotel room (complete with tv and hot water!!!) until tomorrow when we head back to Indonesia.

You can almost hear the grass growing…

The New Year also brought with it the beginning of the monsoon season. The ‘rainy’ (I fondly refer to it as ‘hurricaney’) season has brought more than just disasters to Indonesia…

It has a constant mouldy-humid stench on everything... because nothing ever COMPLETELY dries!

It has also increased the growth-rate of our lawn exponentially! We have been ‘letting it go’ for several reason… Aesthetically, I prefer the jungle theme we’ve created – it attracts all kinds of birds whose voices are much more pleasing to awaken to than the ambient street noise beyond; but more than this, there is part of me that is doing it out of defiance… we found out that the grass-cutting guy who cut our grass for us once more than quadrupled his charge, especially for us… (even after we invited him for lunch when he was done, and gave him ice tea while he worked – I’m pretty sure he doesn’t receive treatment like that anywhere else!) so we are refusing to give him any more business!

The neighbours may not be happy about it, but we wouldn’t know ... we don't know them... i think it's a medium-scale neighbourhood pretending to be upscale... so they're not into jungles, and most likely have a problem with the crazy white girls lawn… honestly, we've never even SEEN half the neighbours... they live behind TALL gates (which their ‘house-helpers’ open for them)... and they drive right up to their doorsteps, so the sun can only touch them for 1.4 seconds....



White = beautiful, you see!

You wouldn't believe all the whitening treatments, creams, scrubs, soaps, etc! (And although I haven’t seen them, Jonathan tells me that when he was here the big thing was the breast enlargement creams at all the checkouts (where you'd normally find the gum)!)

Tangkoko and its most-visited inhabitants, the Tarsiers!

Over the Christmas holidays Martin and I rented a motorcycle from a local ojek driver to get out of the city and see some of the rest of North Sulawesi.

One of our intended destinations was the Tangkoko-Dua Saudara Nature Reserve in Batu Putih, just on the other side of the northern arm of Sulawesi from Manado. "Intended?", you ask? Exactly. Oh, don't get me wrong, we made it there... eventually. Luckily life's about the journey, right!? There really are no such things as 'road maps' in Indonesia, so we didn't even bother trying to find one before setting out... we figured, hey, our Indonesian is beyond passable at this point... we'll find our way.

We had a breath-taking tour of the ENTIRE Northern tip of Sulawesi before finding a toppled over road sign (another rarity in Indonesia!) indicating a turnoff down a cow path to the tiny town we'd been in search of. The vistas were absolutely stunning, and although the roads were somewhat treacherous at points, we certainly found a few lovely out-of-the-way spots along the coast on our way to Batu Putih (translated: White Rock, and no, there wasn’t a single one!)

The jungles of the Tangkoko Reserve are home to a variety of flora and fauna, including Black Macaque Apes, Hornbills, and Maleo Birds, however its mascot species is the Tarsier Monkey.

The Spectral Tarsier, smaller than the size of my fist, is said to be the smallest monkey in the World! Its eyes (and satellitic ears, for that matter) are literally bigger than it’s stomach… and it can rotate its head almost 180 degrees in every-which direction! Needless to say, these little gremlins really impressed me. We trucked through the jungle at sunset (trusting that our guide would be able to find his way back in the dark!), to arrive at the ‘sleeping tree’ of a family of Tarsiers just as they would be waking and heading out to find ‘breakfast’. They are nocturnal animals, and live in family groups – they spend the night foraging for insects, but always return to the same tree at dawn to sleep the day away. About ten minutes after sunset the first set of eyes peered out at us from the hollow trunk of a giant fig, then another, then another (I counted 10 in total, including one tiny baby!)… the group spent a few minutes interacting (or posing for pics???) before leaping off in different directions in search of food. These miniature munchkins can leap about 2 meters in a single bound!

Another tiny inhabitant of the Tangkoko Reserve left its impression on me as well… the genones (chicken fleas?) left me scratching for days!!!

Survived another one!

You've probably all heard the news about the 7.3 earthquake here in Manado last night. Although it was scary and strong and looong, there is no major damage and very few injuries. We were at the gym -- I had just stepped off the treadmill, and when it first started, I wasn't sure if it was my legs that had turned to jello from running... then I realized, and got OUT of there!!! It lasted for almost a minute, but was a liquidy, side-to-side motion (not like the jolting and jerking in Jogja); the ground just seemed to turn to jello beneath our feet!

The craziness began with the panic which ensued when the news stations issued a tsunami warning! We also decided best to be on the safe side and went to a friend's house which is on the size of a mountain. We are ready for another, staying alert, but not getting caught up in the panic.

Just so you know, thankfully, we're ok.

Flight (Transportation) in Indonesia

With the latest rash of transportation failures in Indonesia (passenger plane crashes, ferry with 600 passengers capsizing, trains de-railing)… I am less-than-inspired to put my life in the hands of any of the budget airlines in operation in Indonesia.

I remember thinking that when we were on our first site visit to Papua and we boarded a dash 9… I saw several missing bolts, as well as track-lighting held down by duct-tape… it made me wonder what else they were using the magic silver stuff for… Although I’ve always been a big proponent of duct tape as useful for almost anything… in my opinion, that DOES NOT include mechanical repairs or bungee jumping! The picture above was Martin, BEFORE boarding, that particular flight (note the smile... it was not there upon landing!)

It’s no wonder, really, that Indonesia is plagued by air-carrier issues… when the airlines choose confidence-inspiring slogans like: Lion Air – We Fly Because We CAN; Adam Air – We’ll fly if we want to; and my favourite, Wings Air – Fly is Cheap….



…groan…

On top of this, it’s a well-known fact that the communications network in Indonesia has several gaps in the system during which planes disappear from radar and flight crew have no contact with ground (almost like the Bermuda triangle of Asia, but worse because a) it’s a kaleidoscope of geometric shapes, and b) it’s EXPLAINABLE!)

The Adam Air flight that mysteriously disappeared on January 1st hasn’t even been FOUND yet… And because the plane was destined for Manado, every day on the front page of the paper there is a new series of speculations as to what may have happened… the latest, today – a bomb! This is followed by a list of the shards of the plane that have been found, as well as personal items that have been recovered. No bodies yet, though.

Unfortunately, no. No new camera yet. Those photos were 'archived'... But I'm working on a solution. The problem is that the underwater housing for my camera was NOT stolen... but it will only house my specific camera, so I have to replace it with the same model. Of course, my model has been discontinued by Canon, and I can't find one HERE anywhere! I have found it on ebay, but none of the ebay sellers want to ship to Indonesia! What a rig-a-ma-roll!

The Peanut Vendor


I remember playing a song in our highschool jazz band called "The Peanut Vendor". It was one of my favorites... I had a funky sax solo. But I didn't know such a thing actually still exists!?! Only in Indonesia. They usually come out in the afternoons, around the same time as the corn-on-the-cob carts.

The Bajo -- Sea Gypsies



Just before the Christmas holidays we made our first trip to Nain Island. The people of Nain are of Bajo decent. The Bajo have always had a very close association with the sea... originally they lived a nomadic lifestyle on ships. Now, although they have settled into permanent, or semi-permanent communities, they still live on the water -- literally! The majority of their houses are built on stilts above the water. The Bajo people rely on the sea for their livelihoods; they have a close cultural and spiritual affinity with the sea and believe that the sea spirits have tremendous influence over their lives. The Bajo are often thought to exploit the sea’s bounty however they wish, causing a decline in marine resources, however, oftentimes, the Bajo employ much more sustainable fishing practices than other fishing communities found in Indonesian waters.

A good friend and work-mate of ours is a native of this tribe, so we were his guests for the visit to the island... and as such, we were welcomed with open arms, and treated like kings!


From an early age, kids are one with the water.



They live a simple, unhurried lifestyle. My favourite part of the 'bajo' day, was the afternoon nap... There can be nothing more relaxing than chilling in the shade of a bamboo stilt house in the afternoon sun... the reflections from the surrounding water dancing off the floor, walls and ceiling sooths you to sleep, while the cool breeze blowing from the sea keeps you fresh. aaaahhhh...


Apart from this, there seemed to be little escape from the sun, which seemed more potent in this setting.... So I had to purchase a new hat... It's actually a 'fisherman's hat', but I thought it was pretty and practical (oh, groan... mom, I'm definitely your daughter!), and for 50 cents, you can't go wrong!


We can't wait to return to this unique community next year!

Christmas Season in Manado

Being that Manado is a predominantly Christian city, Christmas is BIG here…

There are a few things that really struck me that are commonplace in Manado in this Festive Season; the Manadonese people seem to think these things are normal and ok… Kids playing with fire being the big one! Talk about an un-Merry Christmas /Accident waiting to happen! At any given time of day, there are children in the streets with fireworks - everything from fairly innocent sparklers (believe me they don’t look so innocent in the hands of a 2 year old!), to cheap fireworks (on sale in every street stand for Christmas), to home-made coke bottle bombs! The snap-crackle-pop, sizzle-simmer-bang, oohs-and-aaahhhs are a daily event beginning about the middle of December on through the New Year.

Another Christmas Commonality is food… and WAYYYY too much of it. Martin and I were invited to a workmate’s family home for Christmas lunch, which was a scrump-diliicious buffet of Manadonese food… they then invited us to continue on with them. Not knowing what this meant, and having no other prior-engagements, we agreed. It ended up being a culinary tour of ALL of their friends and families’ homes around the city! In Manadonese tradition, people make the rounds for Christmas…. Stopping by and eating and visiting, and eating, and drinking, and eating again… oh MY goodness… I was soooo over-stuffed when we got home, Martin had to roll me in the door sideways!!! Because you see, you can’t refuse… everyone insists that you try their spread… they are even more adamant when you’re a foreigner… they want you to try ALL their dishes, their specialties, their secret family recipe; main courses of beef, bat, fish, pork, dog, and chicken cooked in every style, some veggies, fruits, and all kinds of cookies, puddings and nibblies.

Manoeuvring around the street in town is a little trickier than normal… the city is PACKED! One day the headliner of the city newspaper read “Orang Gunung Turun Gunung” (Mountain People come down the Mountains)! The streets are also crazy with "Sinterpits", teen gangs dressed in santa costumes with black face paint on the hunt for 'naughty' children.

So… for the sad news… I’m afraid I can’t share any of the above with you in picture form, and alas, it will be a long time before I can upload new pics to my blog… my purse (and everything in it, including my camera!) was stolen from our house while we slept on the eve of Christmas eve day! Big Bummer... Could have been worse, I suppose.

Rambutan - The hairy fruit



All Indonesian fruit seems to be so wonderfully textured, inside and out! This is one of my favourites -- Rambutan. Rambut means hair in the Indonesian language... so you can see where they came up with the name!

Unlike Durian, which it shares a season with, Rambutan is delicious! It's actually very much like lychee; it's white flesh is sweet and wrapped around a large oval pit.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!


A post and a pic to say Happy Christmas and Merry New Year to you all from Martin and I! It's hard to be away from home for the holiday season; we're missing friends and family a LOT! I'm missing WINTER, too... But I'm hoping you'll have a ski, a toboggan and a snowball fight (and maybe even make a few snow angels) for me!

And a side note: we won't be having turkey for Christmas dinner (since it's super expensive if you can even FIND it... and then, we'd have no oven to cook it in anyway... an who would even want to bake in this heat!?!) So please have some turkey and stuffing and think of me too!

But, hey, there's always roasted bat... they come in packs of two for 20,000Rp at Hypermart!

Another trip to work:

After writing our initial short story, we were asked to put ourselves in the shoes of someone observing us along our way to work and write in the 2nd person. This is from the stance of one of the schoolgirls outside a school I pass daily if I am going to work at the Bintang Laut office:

Here comes the BULE again…. Wow, that hair is so beautiful….

Hey, I’ll run and get the other kids… let’s see if she smiles and gives us the same response as every day if we call out to her… Screw mathematics, this is bule-hassling time…. Besides, I’m sure our teacher won’t mind… she usually comes out and stared with the rest of us as the Bule passes by… “Hello MISTER!”

“Bule!” “Bule!”
“Hallo Bule!”
Maybe she can't hear me, better YELL just to make sure... "BULE!"

Where is she coming from…. Does she just come to our little neighbourhood to hang out… What do those Bintang Laut people actually DO? I want to hear her funny accent again… guess I’ll have a chance tomorrow. How can I get hair like that?

My trip to work...

As part of a creative writing workshop that made up one of the conference sessions we were asked to write a short story about our daily trip to work… I thought I would share mine with you… now that I’m finally back at making one (a daily trip, that is…)

My journey to work changes each day. Depending on the work location I may find myself from simply walking or taking public transport to participating in more of a triathlon…

To go to Bunaken Island for instance… Because of the limited public transportation options, we are forced to start the journey the day before we actually teach at the school. I pass through our local neighbourhood with it’s manicured churchyard and houses with high gates behind which a few people can be seen working in their gardens.

I ride the cramped blue bemo jostling through the busy streets of Manado city to arrive at the seaside market from where the public prahu (boat) to the island departs.

As I saddle down the darkened alleyway at high noon, it is a test to see how long I can hold my breath. The mingling scents of fish and rotting mango with the salty sea air are the perfume of this dockyard.

I descend the harrowing stone steps that have been all-but completely eroded by the tides, and hesitantly step onto the wooden gangplank. I tentatively put one foot in front of the other while gripping the prickly rope above my head for extra support.



I straddle the sacs of rice while trying not to crush an old woman’s already wilting water spinach, and I’m into the cool, shaded haven of the prahu… the boat is over-crowded with people, their children, and their fish. It is a slow, rolling trip through the wavy sea to Bunaken Island. But the trip isn’t over upon reaching the island of course, because this boat only goes as far as the village, and the Education Centre is on another beach. It is possible to walk, but it is at least 45 minutes fast hike, and usually the prahu pulls in to the village just before dusk; I’m not usually up for a night time bushwacking trip!

So, as the last leg of the journey, I hop onto a local ‘ktingting’ (a tiny narrow boat carved from a single tree trunk, with two bamboo wings out the sides for stability, and powered by a compressor motor with a propeller the size of my travelling alarm clock!). The brightly painted 3-seater is the perfect place to watch the sunset from; this is my favourite part of the trip to the Environmental Education Centre where I work.

Seeing the sense underlying the madness!

We are slowly learning that the apparent chaos that is Indonesian society and everyday life, in fact has a very efficient system.

Take the vendors, for example. Until now, we have just felt like the streets, and our neighbourhood, are crawling with random people, carts, vehicles, etc, selling their wares. This cloud of noise and motion was completely separate and apart from our existence… other than the fact that they begin to wake us up at about 5 every morning (and there is no snooze button)! The only one among them that seemed to be consistent was the icecream man – usually on bicycle, and always playing the same jingle over and over and over! In fact, they all have a unique noise or call which indicates what they have to offer. A selection of the regulars include: The veggie man who uses what I think of as a circus horn (you know, black rubber bulb, shiny silver bell) mounted on the helm of his scooter, which he sounds on an even beat for the length of the street; The bakso boy (bakso is noodle ‘meat’ball soup) who pushes a cart and gives a little tink-tink against one of his bowls with a metal spoon; The rujak man (and this can sometimes be a woman, selling an interesting version of ‘fruit salad’, which is usually sweet and sour, and topped with LOTS of red sugar) who has a higher-pitched metal-on-glass-tink; and The trusty fish lady who simply yells “Ikan (read, EEEEEK-AAANNN)”, but whose presence is usually foretold by the scent which wafts ahead of her (or the flies???) as she saunters down the street.

The bakso boy's cart.

This, combined with the church-bells next door, a far-off mosque’s chants, the twittering of birds in our mile-high-grass lawn (much to the chagrin of the neighbours), and the incessant hummm of motor-scooters, is the orchestra of our neighbourhood.

Indonesian Money

The likeness of Indonesian paper money is striking in its resemblance to Canadian bills, and Monopoly money. The bright colours make it a pleasant experience to open my wallet and find a rainbow inside (if I've been to an ATM recently, that is). And the designs include important Indonesian figures and culturally significant locales around the country.

Indonesian currency is the Rupiah (Rp). I don't really know which is my favourite denomination... Depends on the situation, I guess. When I am riding a bus, it's the 1 000 (seribu) note, because unless I pay with it, the driver will surely not have change!

I like the funky pinkness of the sepuluh ribu rupiah(10,000) note, but one has to be extra careful not to confuse it with the seratus ribu rupiah (100,000) note which is a barely-distinguishable shade darker red.



Sepuluh ribu rupiah

With a value of just under a dollar, the 10,000Rp note it's quite handy. 10,000Rp can buy you:

- 2 loaves of bread
- 10 mangoes
- A complete dinner at a warung, or 2 at a kakilima (street vendor)
- 2 iced cappuccinos
- 41/2 rides on the "Malalayang" bus to my work, or to anywhere in the city
- 2 hours at a 'regular' internet cafe or 1 hour at the super-duper-highspeed
internet ZONE on the fourth floor of the Mega Mall

Necessary Instructions!?

This is just a quick post to share something that I found hilarious... I wonder what the other folks in the washroom thought I was doing as I laughed my head off in my stall!?!



The picture above was the sign above a "western" toilet in a pretty swank washroom (as far as washrooms go in Indonesia)... You wouldn't think that it needs instruction/explanation... but when this is your normal toilet.... maybe you can see the connection.

NEW PICS!!!

HI ALL! I can't figure out how to upload video clips... sorry to disappoint... but I have posted a few pics to the online photo gallery: Check them out!

Hope all's well at home!

Poisonous Sea Urchins: A Nasty Encounter



I wandered down to the docks after a celebration in another island community. All the children from the entire village were gathered there, swimming and playing in the super-clear water. Of course, I couldn't help but jump in and join them... After getting over their initial shyness of this strange new creature, the kids swarmed me. We played a bit in the water, but when I went to get out, the fun was over. In order to climb back up to the dock, I chose the wrong footing on the wooden uprights... I didn't know what, but SOMETHING pierced my leg... OUCH! When I got out of the water (by way of a different route), I had the venemous black tips of 10 or more sea urchin spines in my shin! YIKES! I've heard stories about people that've been stuck by this particular variety of sea urchin and they're never very nice... as a result I'm always super careful not to touch or even go near them... uuuggghhh....

Well, everyone seemed to have a different take on the best method to 'cure' me, but I decided to go with the advice of the elder who was actually from the village... he didn't have any teeth, but he was still going (at age 70+!)... seems like a reliable source of local knowledge. So, he whisked me off to a nearby hut and ordered some hot water... meanwhile he pounded the embedded spines with a blunt piece of bamboo... o.k....? He explained that if you splinter the tips into bits, then apply a VERY hot compress, supposedly the poison comes out on its own and the shards are dissolved and absorbed by the body... o.k...? I was somewhat skeptical of this magic, but ok... what choice did I have? What do you know... within moments the pain had subsided, over a few hours some of the black spots began to disappear, and less than a day later, there is no sign that I had ever been through the trauma!~

Beetlenut

I have yet to actually try it myself... luckily I have yet to be formally offered (as it would be a true social no-no to refuse)! Pinang, or beetlenut, might be the South-East Asian equivalent to chewing tobacco, but natural and untreated. It is a reddish-brown slimy nut encased in a green husk. The villagers rip off the husk with their teeth to get to the inner-goodness which inevetibly turns their mouth and teeth bright orange! There isn't much funnier than the men of the village looking like they're wearing lipstick! Chewing this 'nut' into a pulp produces a natural high, although it is said to have the added bonus of strengthening teeth... HOWEVER, every elder I see chewing it has a mouthfull of awfully stained, rotted out teeth!

First Day in Papua

First Day in Papua

Although it's true, we'd been in Sorong a couple of days prior, the following is a story from what I feel I can really call my first day in Papua.

I should preface this little tale with some context: We arrived in Sorong, W. Papua for our 1st site visit in the middle of a very busy and very exciting time. The areas in which we will be working with Conservation International (CI) are in the process of becoming Marine Protected Areas (MPA). The region has long been identified as extrememly rich in biological diversity and a target for protection... however only now is it receiving official designation. We were invited, as part of the CI team, on the inaugural celebratory tour of this achievement.


At 11:30 pm the siren sounded and we lumbered out of port.

As small groups played raucous games of dominoes, a couple of guys strummed their guitars and belted out tunes ranging from english classic rock (including Tiffany! and of course Brian Adams) to traditional Papuan songs. At this point the whole ship came alive with voice - gorgeous harmonies sprang from various groups from bow to stern and our tour came to life.

As we chugged along, things settled down and most people tried to find a quiet corner in which to curl up and hunker down for the night.

Our vessel, called the KLM (not the Dutch airline, but instead Kapal Layar Motor (motorized sailing ship)) Nur Alif is, or was, a 30 m fishing boat, charted by CI for this most special event. The official crew are a group of about 6 swarthy young seamen, and everything one would expect them to be. The unofficial compliment are ~40 CI staff, other NGO staff, reporters, politicians and us, 2 lone CUSO cooperants, set for the adventure of a lifetime. Most of our cohorts haven't even ever been to some of these remote areas on the agenda, so our tour of Raja Ampat is truly feeling more and more special.



The decks are scattered with ropes of various thicknesses, the chains all rusted and the wooden planks of the deck are set apart at varying widths and in various states of disrepair... the captain with his yellowing eyes couldn't be a more fitting character to pilot this ship.

This first night aboard was nothing if not eventful.

As we trundled along through the blackness of night at sea, my lullaby became the chugging and sputtering of the engine and the waves slapping against the hull as we sliced through it. I was almost asleep in my cramped berth (tastefully decorated with posters of cheap women) when there were alarmed shouts, a grinding, popping and BOOM! I, of course, wonder if we've hit one of the numerous small rocky islands which may or may not be on the map. Did the lookout fall asleep?; Are we going to sink? How far away is help?... "Martin, que paso?", I asked... figuring he is the ocean guy, he should know. He ineffectively tries to reassure me and goes to investigate. Well, it turns out that in an effort not to hit a smaller boat, the captain veered hard and in doing so, broke the steering mechanism! Clink, clank, hammer, bang.... no, I'm pretty sure I didn't get much sleep after that! After repairs were complete, we were back on course... but it was getting really hot inside and to make matters worse, I had to pee!

So, my trip to the WC is a story in and of itself! I finally decided there was no holding off until dawn and made the perilous journey... Martin and I were sharing a very tight berth and it happened to be an upper one, and I was on the inside! I carefully tried not to disturb him as I crawled over him in the 1 ft of head space above our wooden nest, I spidered down from the top bunk, also taking care not to step on the sleeping figure below. As I go out the portal I realize this is to be the greatest challenge: not to step, or fall, on people as the boat rocks and sways! Luckily there is only one body on the narrow walkway to the back of the boat. In the open area there are more, many more... on sleeping mats on the floor and on benches (not comfy enough to sit on!). Tangles of limbs loll from hammocks and I try to avoid all of this as I clamber down rickety steps to the bowels of the ship.

When I finally find the bathroom... it's a hole in one of the wooden floor planks. Below, looking into it, you can see the beautiful aquamarine water in the daytime... this 1st experience though, was just accompanied by darkness, the sound of water rushing by and cockroaches crawling from the cracks.

I ran the gauntlet of bodies and limbs back to the captains bridge, and just before ducking back into our closet, a shimmer in the water caught my eye. This is one of my absolutely favourite phenomenon; I was put into a trance by the dancing lights of what looks like millions of fireflies underwater, but is in fact phosphorescent plankton. Not 30 seconds later I was brought out of my trance by a dolphin leaping at the bow of the ship... then another. As they play in the bow wake, they stir up the phosphorescent plankton and leave trails of light in the water -- absolutely mesmorizing! To heighten my dreamlike state, I see that this glow in the water below is mirrored by the brilliance of a night sky saturated with stars.

We awake in a whole new world. The sun rises slowly and gently, matching our pace, both of waking and cruising. As the sun bathes the surrounding islands, I begin to really underatnd the term remote: We are surrounded by lush, tropical jungle... green dripping from the shoreline. There is not a sound of civilization; no busses, trucks, horns, crowds... no "Hey Mister"!

We enter a channel only three times the width of our boat and wind our way along white coral fossil cliffs. Eventually they open up to become a huge bay, the ecology of which is incredibly unique due to it's formation which is more of a saltwater lake. It's the only place in Raja Ampat where white dolphins are found, among other interesting critters. We don't happen upond any of them this time, but we do watch flying fish skip along the water, the sun shining off their long slender bodies... we also see birds swooping and skimming the water's surface.

The pace of the day picked up from this lazy, surreal existence when a longboat bearing a musical welcoming committee motored into sight. They were a stunning sight: dressed in traditional outfits, their black skin contrasted with their dried grass skirts, they played guitars and drums, belting out rhythmic Papuan songs.



This was merely the beginning of what turned out to be an incredible celebration. We were greeted at the docks by another welcoming party -- more music and dance and a ceremonial blessing... a few of us had wreaths of intricately-woven exotic flowers and plants put over our heads and were guided arm in arm in a lively dancing procession to the main area of the village. There were speeches and signings, the symbolic exchange of beetlenut, and then a delicious seafood feast. It couldn't have been a more fabulous day... and the rest of the tour was just as fabulous - a great start to what promises to be an incredible adventure.

It's mid-November... Thanksgiving, 'fall colours' AND Hallowe'en have all blown by without my realizing that it's FALL in Canada. Because here, it's all the same. Although the rainy season apparently 'wants to start', it has yet to darken our doorstep.

That is not to say that big things are happening with us here! I am writing to you from PAPUA!? So, to say that in itself is not enough... I should mention that we are on the "Bird's Head", Raja Ampat, in the province of West Irian Jaya, on the west half of Papua New Guinea. We're still in Indonesia... but it's truly another world.

The last few weeks have been incredible. The culminating celebration of fasting month (puasa) in the Muslim faith is called Idul Fitri, and this year it fell at the end of October a short time before the CUSO Conference in Bali. It denotes the biggest time of year for Indonesian holidays... so we took off early from Manado. We first visited our friend Cecilia in her swank (if temporary) home in Makasasar (also on the island of Sulawesi, but at the Southern tip). We spent a lovely 4 days there... lazing in breezy pools, tripping into a cool hillstation called Malino, and even a day-trip to a nearby island!

So, with almost two weeks to go before the upcoming CUSO Cooperant Conference, the three of us headed from Makassar to Bali. The days flew by... and although we had plans to go island-hopping throughout NTT (Lombok, Komodo and Flores), given that the friends with whom we wanted to meet up there were off galavanting in other parts, we decided to hold off on exploring that part of Indonesia for a time when they will be there to provide us free accomodation (!)... so we constrained our trip to Bali.

We went back to Ubud, enjoying the rich cultural scene there, including attending a kchek performance... The awesome power of this dance is overwhelming. There was a national kchek with over 5000 participants held at the end of September to send a message of peace to the world. After seeing the small-scale version we did I can imagine it was an effective message! There is no musical accompanyment in the kchek -- bare-chested men sitting in a circle around a firey candalabra provide the momentum to the dance and the story... the rhythmic chants of chek, chek drive the dancers. I am going to try to upload a video which you will be able to download and watch if you'd like to see a snippet. The culmination of the evening was a fire dance/fire walker... a man in a trance so deep that he didn't feel the searing coals as he danced over them!

Lots of beach time and a few novels later, Cecilia and I decided that we would leave Martin playing in the waves (remember, he is a die-hard surfer and waves are truly non-existent in Manado) and see more of the island. We rented a motorcycle and hit the road. But of course, the roads here... well, it's not like driving in Canada. 1) Indonesia falls into that half the world that drives on the LEFT 2) there are no apparent 'road rules'... and 3) it's PACKED! Anyway, we overcame all these obstacles, and more, and had a fabulous tour. We wove our way throught hte mountains, and got to see what we felt was more f the 'real bali'.

After that it was off to the Cooperant Conference which hopefully I'll get a chance to write a bit more about later! Now, I'm consumed by Papua!

Durian

I forgot the food bit... so here's a quickie!

I really can't fully comment on this spikey tropical fruit because I still have yet to overcome the repulsion that came along with my first exposure! Durian is certainly unique, with a STRONG personality... or stench as some might say. While we were still fairly new arrivals in Indonesia, and doing our language training, I was trying anything and everything new... until I tried Durian juice. One sip was enough to make me ill. I am told that as a 'fresh fruit' it is an entirely different taste sensation, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to try! In the evenings as you walk along the sea-front boulevard, it is the overpowering smell of Durian that ensures you remember you're in Indonesia, and not, say, back in the Galapagos!

Adventure awaits!

A long-awaited, much-anticipated entry… or maybe you’ve all given up on me since I’ve been so lax in the ‘blogging’ department!?

Since Martin and I will be heading out of Manado on Friday for an extended period of time, now seems an appropriate point to give a quick update on recent happenings, and overview of where we’re headed! And maybe a word or two on some more gastronomical delights (time permitting), considering it does seem to be developing as a common thread throughout this blog!

After our month of fun with the kiddies in Bunaken, we came back to home-base and began to look for ways to go back there! In other words, we’ve been looking for donors, and writing proposals to search for more funds in order to run a longer, more complete program on the island. So the last two weeks have been spent bringing Bintang Laut into the IT-age… I have been making a webpage for the organization (of course, I had to make them an email address first!) – which you can feel free to check out in Bahasa Indonesia or in English if you so desire. We have had some success locally; it seems that the NSWA (North Sulawesi Watersports Association – a ‘cooperative’, if you will, of dive and tour operators in the area) is very interested in us and our ideas, and have tentatively agreed to fund an ongoing immersive environmental education program!

So, where are we going on Friday??? Well, first stop: Makassar to visit our friend Cecilia (also a CUSO Cooperant) and buka puasa (break the fast) for Idul Fitri, the culmination of the month-long holy month of Ramadaan in the Muslim faith. The inverse of the rest of Indonesia, Manado is 90% Christian, so although there is a Muslim population, Ramadaan has not had the effect on daily life in Manado as it has in most of the rest of the country. Cecilia said that any store selling alcohol in Makassar was forced to close for the month, and even non-Muslims tend to adjust to a different rhythm during the fasting month. We will only have 4 days in Makassar, but it will certainly be interesting to be there for the fiestas at the end of Ramadaan, as well as to see Cecilia’s digs and meet some of her co-workers.

From Makassar, the three of us will fly to Bali. We have 2 weeks before the CUSO Cooperant Conference, and we have no defined plan as yet. Martin is craving waves, considering there are NONE in North Sulawesi, but other than that we don’t have any constraints… We will hopefully tour some of Nusa Tenggara, and at least go visit the dragons on Komodo (what… you thought dragons were mythical creatures?)

The CUSO Conference is being held in Seminyak, just north of Kuta (the tourist trap) in Bali… on the beach! After a week there, we fly back to Manado for 2 days (just long enough to do our laundry!) and then head to W. Papua New Guinea (where we will spend a LOT of time next year) for our orientation with Conservation International.

Phew! I imagine after all that, it might be a few days before I get it together enough to post again, but I hope you’ll all stay tuned! And keep on commenting, or emailing! – It’s great to know that so many people are keeping tabs on us, and to get news from home! Haha!

Enviro Ed



We're halfway through our month of Environmental Education programming on-site at the Marine Environmental Education Centre (MEEC) on Bunaken Island. It has been both challenging and refreshing. It is a wonderful reprieve from Manado to be living on Bunaken almost full-time... it’s a completely different reality than living in the city. It’s not dirty, stinky, or suffocatingly hot; there’s no traffic, other than the odd small prahu (boat) and of course, one can never complain by being awoken by the sound of waves rolling up onto the beach.... aaaahhhh. Water is a slight problem on the islands in general, so bathing is a challenge, and I'm considering either dreadlocks or a buzz-cut for the sheer convenience... But the real challenge is actually still the language. Seems there are at least 5 different words for naming any given species that we might see or be studying during our outings… and I’m sure you’ve not forgotten that these reefs happen to have among the highest incidence of biodiversity on the planet (not that I’m complaining – the diving is INCREDIbLE)… so, let’s just say that’s a LOT of new vocab to ingest!

The students are SOOO thrilled. This style of learning is a far cry from what they are accustomed to in their schools on a daily basis. They can hardly believe that they get a day to come on an adventure and EXPERIENCE the world they live in instead of being lectured to about it... and still call it learning. This, compounded by the general happiness it brings them to interact with a BULE... they all leave with broad smiles on their faces!

Tofu-mania

Tofu is found everywhere in Indonesia – however, the inherent health benefits that it usually is thought to have are over-ridden by the fact that it is ALWAYS fried.

Tahu Isi is my most recently discovered version of this yummy snack… It literally means tofu contents…. and it’s just that – a chunk of tofu filled with veggies (grated carrot and cabbage, and sometimes, if you’re lucky, bean sprouts).


Moto


One of the first phrases in Indonesian that Martin and I learned was “tanpa moto” due to the fact that moto is also ubiquitous in Indonesia. Moto is MSG, and it is used anything-but-sparingly in all manner of food... in fact, the only food that is sure not to contain moto is fruit.

The aptly-named snake fruit, or salak, is one of our favourite choices… it’s cheap, deteriorates less-quickly in the equatorial heat than most fruits, it’s peel-able (always a bonus to fight the invisible nasties that may be lurking in markets), and it’s funky.

THANK YOU CENTRE HASTINGS!!!!!!

I just read an email from the PR folks at CUSO Canada to say they received a cheque from CHSS for 500$!

Some students at CHSS organized a fund-raising dance-a-thon in support of CUSO as a project for their Leadership course. Obviously the event was a success! I would love to hear more about the actual dance… wish I could’ve been there to watch y’all bust a move! Everyone at CUSO (including me!) is really impressed that highschool students are interested in International Development and applaud your initiative!

Great work guys!!!

Diving….

We FINALLY have been diving for the first time here in Bunaken… It’s nice to finally actually SEE what we’re here working toward the conservation of! And in truth we have Naeema to thank for that… had it not been for her visit, we would probably still be dry! We did 5 dives, including one night dive (a first for Naeema).

I’m toting a reef id guide everywhere with me, and although it doesn’t help much in learning the Indonesian names for everything I’m seeing, it certainly makes me appreciate how diverse the waters here are.

I have posted a couple of underwater pics for those of you interested in corals and sealife…

City-living

We found a house before becoming homeless and just in time for Naeema’s visit!

After a long and frustrating search for a house we have finally signed a contract… It may be in the city, and far from what we were envisioning when we began this whole adventure, but it is where we will be calling home for a significant amount of time…. and we can certainly house any and all of you who want to come visit! (Yes, it’s large – far too large for just two people… but that doesn’t mean there’s any plan to change that status immediately!)

We will actually have our first house guest help us move in!!! Naeema arrives the same day we are set to take possession… and I’m soooo excited! We haven’t seen eachother for 5 years (since graduating from Queen’s together in 2001) and I am thrilled she is able to come all the way from Dubai for a visit on her holidays!

Creambath

I would like to extol the virtues of another of our new-found pleasures called a “Cream-bath” (aka hour in heaven). This is not literally a full-body immersion in a tub of cream, as we might think when we first hear the term… but more an intensive treatment for your head. It seems that Indonesians really do love their pampering. For the equivalent of $1.50 Canadian you have your head, neck and shoulders massaged, rubbed and soaked in natural creams and tonics by professional hands… even if it isn’t a complete re-alignment of chakkaras, it certainly does refresh the mind, body and soul. My first cream bath was actually at a beauty factory in Jogja with Cecilia (Martin was not open to the treatment at the time, but has since come around!)

Pisang goreng (Fried bananas)

Yu-u-uuuummy! This delectable little treat can be found at “kaki-limas” (street vendors, literally “5 feet”) from afternoon to evening. A special type of banana (locally called pisang cepatu, or shoe banana) is sliced into about 5 segments lengthwise, battered, and deep-fried. Locals eat it dripping with hot sauce, but I prefer it unadulterated. Probably not what the doctor ordered for keeping the cholesterol down, but a sweet treat none-the-less.

House hunting horrors!

Oh dear, where to begin... well, we have yet to find a house. House hunting has been the focus of our last 2 weeks here, and we're coming up short. There are plenty of great houses... unfortunately none of them are either near the Bintang Laut office on the coast (maybe a good thing with the impending threat of tsunamis!?) neither are they within the CUSO budget. Manado is a city with $$$... It is said that Jakarta is the most expensive city in Indonesia... but I bet Manado is right up there!

So we've seen everything from holes-in-the-wall to mansions. Because Bintang Laut is strongly suggesting we live in the city (uck), our standards are probably slightly higher than they would be if we were on a beach somewhere. Unfortunately we've yet to see anything on the islands, and are told that the liklihood of finding something there is slim-to-none.

So, our time is running out at our homestay (about 12 days left), but we're still holding out for something more natural... It's hard to wrap your head around living in a city when, in applying for this position, it was assumed we would be living in a quiet, natural space.

More once I get my voice back (!?!) and am feeling up to it! I think all this going from air conditioned spaces to the heat of this place is doing a number on me! Awww... and I was just beginning to see 'malls' in a new light - in appreciation of them as a haven of coolness in this stinkin' hot city!

Greetings from Manado… our new home away from home.

Although hard to believe, we arrived in Manado, North Sulawesi a week ago already. We were escorted here by KoemKoem from the CUSO Indonesia Office, and met at the airport by 3 folks from Yayasan Bintang Laut (our partner organization).

Bintang Laut is a baby, but seems to have grand potential. As a group of committed, concerned professionals, they have existed for a year… on paper, as an official organization, we arrived just months after it’s inception. Some of you will remember that when I signed on with this CUSO position (a year ago already!), my placement was to be with the Bunaken National Park Board. Well, that partnership dissolved, as things tend to do in the heat of tropical countries (it seems perhaps due to some politics that I couldn’t hope to understand at this point), and this new affiliation formed. The Bintang Laut staff are friendly and fabulous, and have been very welcoming… between them, they have a great deal of experience and expertise, and it seems that with the well-intentioned dreams that they have, and these good people at the helm, they should go far. I say all this based on what I’ve understood thus far, which, may or may not be entirely accurate.

On that note, I should mention… those 6 weeks that we spent, studiously learning bahasa Indonesia during language training… although helpful to make ourselves understood, do nothing to help us understand the Manadonese in informal settings! In the first place, they speak bahasa Manado, a dialect of bahasa Indonesia (although I’m not sure I see any similarity beyond a few words)… and to complicate matters, they speak it SOOOO quickly, there’s no hope of understanding! I try to keep reminding myself that in two years, we should have some idea of what they’re saying – of course, by then it’ll be time to go home! I do keep getting compliments on my bahasa Indonesia, which does little to comfort me.

So, we have found a homestay in the hills of Manado (AWESOME view) that we will use as a base for our house hunt – which is probably a more daunting task than facing learning another entirely new language! We haven’t decided whether we will live in the city of Manado, or on one of the islands within the park (most likely Bunaken itself). It’s the same old struggle of course, the conveniences of the city vs. the tranquility of the isle. Manado is a city, and given that I’ve never been partial to cities (especially hot, dirty, tropical ones), and irrespective of the fact that the islands have fresh water issues, I think we’re leaning toward a place on the isle… but I see my dreams of a bamboo bungalow on a palm-lined beach slowly slipping away! As far as work is concerned, either option is valid… the Bintang Laut office is in Manado, but all of the schools and the Environmental Education Centers are on the islands. We had a brief tour of part of Bunaken Island with Ibu Meity (director of Bintang Laut) on our first day here, during which we got our first glimpse of the incredible coral reef just off the island! The boats are equipped with a rudimentary ‘viewing portal’ which is lowered as they near the reef… then all of a sudden you are looking down into another world: a myriad of colour, shapes and sizes, countless species of coral and sea sponges, not to mention FISH! It’s a fairly unique wall formation which drops off suddenly from 2 meters to a deep dark abyss. Can’t wait to go DIVING!

So we will let you know more as we sink into our new life here… we are anxious to find a home, and truly settle in, so that will be our focus until we find something suitable. Keep sending updates – it’s great to hear news from home!