I was able to visit a good friend, patti and her family in germany for a few days on the way back from nigeria. i had a great time of relaxing, hanging out with her children and husband, drinking real coffee, getting used to "western" life again.
I took a train to amsterdam on monday evening as my flight left midday on tuesday, and i decided to stay at a hostel in the heart of the red light district as it is close to the station, cheap, (and christian, therefore no crazy drunk tourists). i was dragging my bags down a street and accidently took a wrong turn so i pulled out my directions. an old, innocent looking man approached me and in dutch told me he was "not an amsterdamer" but perhaps he could help me. he directed me to a pub a few feet away and it being tiny suggested i not take my large bag inside. i put it on the ground but before i even took a step inside the bartender and a customer were yelling at me not to leave my bags outside as theft was rampant in the area. i backed up and what do you know, the nice old man had disappeared (thankfully without any of my bags!!) i should have clued in as i have never seen so many people on hard drugs in one place outside of east hastings in vancouver. i even saw a woman eating dirt out of a flower pot. i guess they have to steal their drug money from somewhere!! (this is the part where i should have turned my brain/light on, and been more aware of my surroundings!)
the customer and a stoned guy on the street were trying to figure out what street i needed to go to and the stoned guy apparently knew where it was. the customer suggested he might take me there for two euros... ya, i don't think so... i said i didn't have two euros and what do you know, the stoned guy went back to his friends who were snorting things beside the aforementioned flower pot.
i had to walk through the heart of the red light district which i found quite repulsive. i had been there many times in the past (when i lived in holland) but apparently i had only ever been on the fringe of it... there is some raunchy stuff there and full of male tourists checking out the female wares. i passed one really lovely gentleman who was the door guy for a live sex show and he had a scar from the left corner of his mouth to half way to his ear and it had been deep enough that it obviously cut his entire cheek. i walked a bit faster by him....
the hostel was quiet and clean and safe though and i had a good nights rest...
when i left the next morning at 9:30am there were no less than 6 people cooking crack cocaine on tin foil less than 20 paces outside the hostel doors. pretty sad stuff...
i am now back in calgary in one piece although my insides were almost frozen solid when i stepped outside the airport. i knew it couldn't be good when i saw amy dressed in a 3/4 length down jacket, hat, scarve and mitts. only a 70 degree difference from nigeria! i have not braved the outside yet today, but i need food so i am going to have to leave the house at some point!
i am returning to nigeria in january to try to start a biosand water filter program in a small village. i am a little scared as i have never done this before! we were able to have a steel mold made in november which is a huge part of it, so now it is about teaching about the filter to some designated teachers, and pouring and testing the mold. i pray it will be a success!
i am trying to sort out all my thoughts and experiences from this past month, and will try to put a short summary on my blog in the next few days... thanks for reading!!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Saturday, November 25, 2006
dutch police, drugs and diarrhea
So, what do these things have in common? me of course!! leave it to me to unknowinlgy cause some ``wahalla' without knowing it!!
just as we were leaving for the abuja airport, i started getting stomach cramps. the whole ride to the airport i was having violent stomach cramps and didn't know which end it might come out of. once in the airport i had to go to the bathroom five times before i even checked in!! i took 3 pepto bismal tabs, a bunch of maxeran (for vomiting which also makes one drowsy). i was feeling pretty dopey when i was checking in and kept doubling over my suitcase with unbelievable cramps about every 15 minutes. in one line up the wife of a swiss ambassador gave me some imodium which greatly helped. i had to ask for a seat near the toilet on the airplane and once i was sitting, all the stewardess were asking me if i was alright or tired. i told them i wasn´`t feeling well and had taken medication that made me tired. after a stopover in another nigerian city, a stewardess took me to the front of the plane to let me lie down in 3 empty seats.
apparently, as i was walking by, jenny and leanne told some people near them that i was their friend and not feeling well. a dutch guy who later identified himself as a dutch drug police agent said that all the KLM staff had alerted them to me as i appeared stoned in the airport. apparently, the dutch police had been alerted that alot of drugs were being taken from nigeria to holland and they were there to investigate. the police agents had been watching me closely in the airport. then jenny and leanne without yet knowing who he was told him that i had `taken alot of drugs`` and had ``overdosed`' in the airport, and was having stomach cramps!! so they probably thought i had bags of cocaine in my stomach!! when jenny and leanne were told who they were, they made sure they clarified that i had diarrhea and had taken legal medication that made me droswy!!
so while i was passed out on the three seats, i was being discussed and watched as a possible drug addict!! i had no idea any of it was happening as i was completely passed out!! i thought it was pretty funny and i was thankful that i was not subjected to a bodily cavity search!!
only i can seem to get into this kind of situation!!
i am now in germany, visiting a friend and will be back in canada on the 28th!!
see you then!!
just as we were leaving for the abuja airport, i started getting stomach cramps. the whole ride to the airport i was having violent stomach cramps and didn't know which end it might come out of. once in the airport i had to go to the bathroom five times before i even checked in!! i took 3 pepto bismal tabs, a bunch of maxeran (for vomiting which also makes one drowsy). i was feeling pretty dopey when i was checking in and kept doubling over my suitcase with unbelievable cramps about every 15 minutes. in one line up the wife of a swiss ambassador gave me some imodium which greatly helped. i had to ask for a seat near the toilet on the airplane and once i was sitting, all the stewardess were asking me if i was alright or tired. i told them i wasn´`t feeling well and had taken medication that made me tired. after a stopover in another nigerian city, a stewardess took me to the front of the plane to let me lie down in 3 empty seats.
apparently, as i was walking by, jenny and leanne told some people near them that i was their friend and not feeling well. a dutch guy who later identified himself as a dutch drug police agent said that all the KLM staff had alerted them to me as i appeared stoned in the airport. apparently, the dutch police had been alerted that alot of drugs were being taken from nigeria to holland and they were there to investigate. the police agents had been watching me closely in the airport. then jenny and leanne without yet knowing who he was told him that i had `taken alot of drugs`` and had ``overdosed`' in the airport, and was having stomach cramps!! so they probably thought i had bags of cocaine in my stomach!! when jenny and leanne were told who they were, they made sure they clarified that i had diarrhea and had taken legal medication that made me droswy!!
so while i was passed out on the three seats, i was being discussed and watched as a possible drug addict!! i had no idea any of it was happening as i was completely passed out!! i thought it was pretty funny and i was thankful that i was not subjected to a bodily cavity search!!
only i can seem to get into this kind of situation!!
i am now in germany, visiting a friend and will be back in canada on the 28th!!
see you then!!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
there is a plan...
this week God reminded me that he has a plan and purpose for everything. one of my boxes was stuck in minneapolis for a good time, then the phone numbers i gave klm in nigeria for contacts in the country did not work, then the office at the airport was closed on the day the driver was in town.... finally the box arrived on thursday, the second last day we spent in mkar. i had been fairly irritated with the whole process because i wanted to hand out all the supplies. so on friday, i still had the majority of supplies sitting in the house still.
friday morning, i walked up to the house where we eat breakfast, and a man was laying on the sidewalk who looked like he was 15 months pregnant with triplets. he had the hugest ascites (fluid in the belly) i have ever seen. so much that it had started leaking from his belly button!! he was on his death bed, he could barely breathe as the fluid in his abdomen was pushing on his lungs. dr. reedyk decided that we would offer him some relief by tapping his abdomen on the front stoop. and what do you know, i had all the supplies in the box! we put a 16 gauge (really huge) needle in his belly, hooked it up to an IV tube and drained it into a bucket over several hours. i even had tegaderm bandages to cover the site with. over a period of several hours, over 8 liters of fluid drained from his abdomen on the front lawn. "real bush medicine" at work! it was disturbing, but cool. he felt alot of relief and his breathing improved. if we hadn't had all the supplies, we would have had to admit him (a family with no money anyways - you are really desperate when you drop someone on a doctors sidewalk for help).
a little later in the day, joe, our engineer was on the front porch was talking to his wife on the phone when he mistepped and fell off the porch. he dislocated his shoulder and they couldn't get it back in without some valium. jenny and leanne started an IV with the supplies from work, leanne ran to the hospital to get some valium, and we sedated him a bit to "reduce" his shoulder back into place. again, if the box had arrived on time i would have given away all the supplies and would have nothing on hand. God works in mysterious ways!
So to my colleagues at work, I have photos of all those discarded supplies that you have faithfully put in the box, being put into use! Thank you for your efforts!
This trip has carried with it alot more frustrations than last year with the nursing students and it was easy to get overwhelmed, angry, irritated. i have been questioning my desire or calling to work and live in africa. i talked with several people who have lived here for decades and ask how they cope. they have encouraged me to focus on the people that show hope, determination, desire, and mentor them. i did meet a few nigerians along the way that give me hope... a 15 year old boy who is head of the household as his mother died, his father works out of state, he is responsible to put his younger twin sisters through school. he shows a strong desire to work hard and suceed, and i really want him to pursue education. so i have invested time in my relationship with him, encouraging him... please pray that i don't get disillushioned with the
"bigger" more depressing picture...
we are heading up to "the bush" tomorrow and i am looking forward to seeing all my old friends in the village of mahula. apparently they have internet up there, so hopefully i will be able to update there...
peace alida
friday morning, i walked up to the house where we eat breakfast, and a man was laying on the sidewalk who looked like he was 15 months pregnant with triplets. he had the hugest ascites (fluid in the belly) i have ever seen. so much that it had started leaking from his belly button!! he was on his death bed, he could barely breathe as the fluid in his abdomen was pushing on his lungs. dr. reedyk decided that we would offer him some relief by tapping his abdomen on the front stoop. and what do you know, i had all the supplies in the box! we put a 16 gauge (really huge) needle in his belly, hooked it up to an IV tube and drained it into a bucket over several hours. i even had tegaderm bandages to cover the site with. over a period of several hours, over 8 liters of fluid drained from his abdomen on the front lawn. "real bush medicine" at work! it was disturbing, but cool. he felt alot of relief and his breathing improved. if we hadn't had all the supplies, we would have had to admit him (a family with no money anyways - you are really desperate when you drop someone on a doctors sidewalk for help).
a little later in the day, joe, our engineer was on the front porch was talking to his wife on the phone when he mistepped and fell off the porch. he dislocated his shoulder and they couldn't get it back in without some valium. jenny and leanne started an IV with the supplies from work, leanne ran to the hospital to get some valium, and we sedated him a bit to "reduce" his shoulder back into place. again, if the box had arrived on time i would have given away all the supplies and would have nothing on hand. God works in mysterious ways!
So to my colleagues at work, I have photos of all those discarded supplies that you have faithfully put in the box, being put into use! Thank you for your efforts!
This trip has carried with it alot more frustrations than last year with the nursing students and it was easy to get overwhelmed, angry, irritated. i have been questioning my desire or calling to work and live in africa. i talked with several people who have lived here for decades and ask how they cope. they have encouraged me to focus on the people that show hope, determination, desire, and mentor them. i did meet a few nigerians along the way that give me hope... a 15 year old boy who is head of the household as his mother died, his father works out of state, he is responsible to put his younger twin sisters through school. he shows a strong desire to work hard and suceed, and i really want him to pursue education. so i have invested time in my relationship with him, encouraging him... please pray that i don't get disillushioned with the
"bigger" more depressing picture...
we are heading up to "the bush" tomorrow and i am looking forward to seeing all my old friends in the village of mahula. apparently they have internet up there, so hopefully i will be able to update there...
peace alida
it's all in the name
some interesting store and church names i have seen around the country...
embryo book shop
senile youth corp
bature (white person) medical clinic and midwifery
sympathizers coffin and casket
semen fashion
catholic charismatic renewal centre
de final home - casket construction place
embryo book shop
senile youth corp
bature (white person) medical clinic and midwifery
sympathizers coffin and casket
semen fashion
catholic charismatic renewal centre
de final home - casket construction place
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
there is hope, but not at this internet cafe
so, once again, i typed out a big posting about good stories when only half the computers shut off, mine being one of them. i think i have to update my blog one sentence at a time...
ryan, the OR tech had someone pull his phone out of his pocket and hold it to his ear while he was putting blunt instruments in someone's abdomen. if i have surgery, i would prefer someone's attention is on me and not what the person is saying to his wife...
i have several "hopeful" stories which i have been attempting to share...
today i found some worthy patients to sponsor their surgeries.... gilbert & family, one is a really cute little lady with a huge smile but an even bigger goiter on her thyroid. it is almost the same size as her head!! but is a happy little lady.
when i taught the nursing students today, they were receptive and eager! even the head nurse was open to suggestions! we got the unconcious patient all comfortable and doing better and then he died right in front of me! i hope they don't connect my teaching with patients passing away! they won't ever want me back! that is the 3rd patient who has died in front of me...
there is doctor who runs a village hospital who wants me to start a biosand water filter program in the community, so i am returning in january to get one up and running. if anyone wants to donate some seed money to get it started, the program will be self-sufficient quickly. talk to me when i return if you are interested. the doctor runs a pretty amazing little hospital, it will be interesting to spend time there.
a very physically disabled guy whose community wanted to throw him in the bush when he was born is getting a degree in special education and has defied all nigerian odds of survival and success. he is the only one in his family to get a university education. the boy who was the biggest burden at birth is now described as the "biggest blessing" by his mother. he has a vision to transform the attitudes towards disabled people in nigeria, and he can probably do it!
the hospital engineer works harder than anyone there, and is donating several months of his own salary to fix the electrical work at the hospital. he is going up north to drill water wells on his vacation which is unheard of for a nigerian to do (without getting paid).
all of these people have humbled me, amazed me, astonished me, made me proud and re-instilled some hope that was fading away...
ryan, the OR tech had someone pull his phone out of his pocket and hold it to his ear while he was putting blunt instruments in someone's abdomen. if i have surgery, i would prefer someone's attention is on me and not what the person is saying to his wife...
i have several "hopeful" stories which i have been attempting to share...
today i found some worthy patients to sponsor their surgeries.... gilbert & family, one is a really cute little lady with a huge smile but an even bigger goiter on her thyroid. it is almost the same size as her head!! but is a happy little lady.
when i taught the nursing students today, they were receptive and eager! even the head nurse was open to suggestions! we got the unconcious patient all comfortable and doing better and then he died right in front of me! i hope they don't connect my teaching with patients passing away! they won't ever want me back! that is the 3rd patient who has died in front of me...
there is doctor who runs a village hospital who wants me to start a biosand water filter program in the community, so i am returning in january to get one up and running. if anyone wants to donate some seed money to get it started, the program will be self-sufficient quickly. talk to me when i return if you are interested. the doctor runs a pretty amazing little hospital, it will be interesting to spend time there.
a very physically disabled guy whose community wanted to throw him in the bush when he was born is getting a degree in special education and has defied all nigerian odds of survival and success. he is the only one in his family to get a university education. the boy who was the biggest burden at birth is now described as the "biggest blessing" by his mother. he has a vision to transform the attitudes towards disabled people in nigeria, and he can probably do it!
the hospital engineer works harder than anyone there, and is donating several months of his own salary to fix the electrical work at the hospital. he is going up north to drill water wells on his vacation which is unheard of for a nigerian to do (without getting paid).
all of these people have humbled me, amazed me, astonished me, made me proud and re-instilled some hope that was fading away...
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Ridiculous
every time i come to this internet cafe (the only one in town), something crashes. i had just written up a big long blog when the generator ran out of diesel and everything shut down. so it is not for lack of trying to update my blog, but something goes wrong every time. and i can't write much now because i was supposed to only take a "short" break.
Friday, November 10, 2006
only in africa
only in africa...
...does it take 45 minutes to wait for the blogger site to come up only to have someone shut down all the computers in the internet cafe by plugging in their cell phone.
...do i check my email with goats outside the door, and a compound of mud huts less than 50 feet away.
...see my 'alarm clock' cow killed for market 30 steps from my bedroom door (on a small garbage heap - will make me take a second look at beef soup here).
...it is not acceptable for men and women to hold hands in public, but it is okay to ask me to marry them every day without even knowing my name.
...the same guy proposes marriage to me every morning on my way to work and he doesn't understand why i am turning him down. for pete's sake, he has asked me, so obviously i should accept! and he fully admits it is because i am white and he wants me to take him to canada.
...do african women ask me to marry them so that i will stay in their country.
...a 3 year old looks up at me and in perfect english says "give me money"
...do you see a sign that says "catholic charismatic renewal centre" (catholic AND charismatic? i think my catholic friends will get a chuckle)
...do the OR techs answer their cell phones during surgery.
...do i calmly kill spiders while i am taking a shower.
i hope you get a little laugh! nigeria never ceases to amaze me!
...does it take 45 minutes to wait for the blogger site to come up only to have someone shut down all the computers in the internet cafe by plugging in their cell phone.
...do i check my email with goats outside the door, and a compound of mud huts less than 50 feet away.
...see my 'alarm clock' cow killed for market 30 steps from my bedroom door (on a small garbage heap - will make me take a second look at beef soup here).
...it is not acceptable for men and women to hold hands in public, but it is okay to ask me to marry them every day without even knowing my name.
...the same guy proposes marriage to me every morning on my way to work and he doesn't understand why i am turning him down. for pete's sake, he has asked me, so obviously i should accept! and he fully admits it is because i am white and he wants me to take him to canada.
...do african women ask me to marry them so that i will stay in their country.
...a 3 year old looks up at me and in perfect english says "give me money"
...do you see a sign that says "catholic charismatic renewal centre" (catholic AND charismatic? i think my catholic friends will get a chuckle)
...do the OR techs answer their cell phones during surgery.
...do i calmly kill spiders while i am taking a shower.
i hope you get a little laugh! nigeria never ceases to amaze me!
Thursday, November 09, 2006
a day in the life...
i haven't written in awhile as the computer is often down, and i am often busy. thought i would let you know what a day is like here.
every other day, some sort of insanity comes over me and i go out walking/jogging with len, leanne and jenny at 5:30am. leanne and jenny are marathon runners so they go runnning off into the dark, and len and i walk for 5 minutes, jog for 5 and manage to keep that up for 40 minutes in 70% humidity at 28 degrees, mostly in the dark risking ankle injuries with every step. on the other days i sleep into a whopping 6:00am.
we eat breakfast at 6:30 and are at the hospital by 7:30 for xray rounds when we look at the previous days xrays and the nurses in the group learn how to read xrays. we usually do some ward rounds until 9:00 and discuss some interesting cases.
on the days i am in the out patient clinic i see about half of the 50 patients (leanne or jenny see the other half), completing a history and doing the physical exam. dr. reedyk then comes in and either signs off, orders some meds, or if it is more complicated, do additional assessments and do some teaching with me about what is going on.
on the other days i have been spending on the wards with nursing students attempting to teach them, instill some nursing values into them. i have been trying to help with their "nursing process" which is like an admission form they are supposed to fill out on each patient with nursing diagnosis and goals.
i do see glimmers of hope with some of the students (mostly the men), but some of them should never have been let into nursing school. i question some of the head nurses as well - the other day a confused man pulled out his suprapubic catheter and they left him leaking urine in his bed for 5 hours. i had to insist they change the bed, i ran around the hospital trying fruitlessly to find a doctor, finally dragged dr. reedyk there and he just had me reinsert it and try to teach what an emergency means.
today i discovered a 13 year old girl with massive congestive heart failure did not get any of her morning medications (a million excuses later) and she was starting to gasp for breath. i shake my arms in the air!! i bang my head!!
but today i played uno with some of the HIV patients and the students and most impressively, the students actually interacted with the patients and actually sat on their beds! so i hope to spend a little more time doing that, getting some interactions going on. when i first walked onto the HIV ward today all the women were lying in bed listlessly and i started blowing up balloons (provided by lucille) and i noticed that the women slowly started sitting up and taking notice. things were more lively after i had blown up 20 ballons. they just love the attention.
we finish up by 5:30pm and end up going out for dinner at someone's house at 6:30/7pm for some pounded yam and soup. (hence the need to run in the mornings as i consume about 5 pounds of yam)
i am in bed by 9pm at the latest. the cow likes to moo loudly outside the guesthouse at 4am, so i am usually half awake pretty early in the morning.
that is the day in in the life...
every other day, some sort of insanity comes over me and i go out walking/jogging with len, leanne and jenny at 5:30am. leanne and jenny are marathon runners so they go runnning off into the dark, and len and i walk for 5 minutes, jog for 5 and manage to keep that up for 40 minutes in 70% humidity at 28 degrees, mostly in the dark risking ankle injuries with every step. on the other days i sleep into a whopping 6:00am.
we eat breakfast at 6:30 and are at the hospital by 7:30 for xray rounds when we look at the previous days xrays and the nurses in the group learn how to read xrays. we usually do some ward rounds until 9:00 and discuss some interesting cases.
on the days i am in the out patient clinic i see about half of the 50 patients (leanne or jenny see the other half), completing a history and doing the physical exam. dr. reedyk then comes in and either signs off, orders some meds, or if it is more complicated, do additional assessments and do some teaching with me about what is going on.
on the other days i have been spending on the wards with nursing students attempting to teach them, instill some nursing values into them. i have been trying to help with their "nursing process" which is like an admission form they are supposed to fill out on each patient with nursing diagnosis and goals.
i do see glimmers of hope with some of the students (mostly the men), but some of them should never have been let into nursing school. i question some of the head nurses as well - the other day a confused man pulled out his suprapubic catheter and they left him leaking urine in his bed for 5 hours. i had to insist they change the bed, i ran around the hospital trying fruitlessly to find a doctor, finally dragged dr. reedyk there and he just had me reinsert it and try to teach what an emergency means.
today i discovered a 13 year old girl with massive congestive heart failure did not get any of her morning medications (a million excuses later) and she was starting to gasp for breath. i shake my arms in the air!! i bang my head!!
but today i played uno with some of the HIV patients and the students and most impressively, the students actually interacted with the patients and actually sat on their beds! so i hope to spend a little more time doing that, getting some interactions going on. when i first walked onto the HIV ward today all the women were lying in bed listlessly and i started blowing up balloons (provided by lucille) and i noticed that the women slowly started sitting up and taking notice. things were more lively after i had blown up 20 ballons. they just love the attention.
we finish up by 5:30pm and end up going out for dinner at someone's house at 6:30/7pm for some pounded yam and soup. (hence the need to run in the mornings as i consume about 5 pounds of yam)
i am in bed by 9pm at the latest. the cow likes to moo loudly outside the guesthouse at 4am, so i am usually half awake pretty early in the morning.
that is the day in in the life...
Thursday, November 02, 2006
I need patience
I wrote in a previous post about my frustrations in trying to teach students, trying to figure out the best way to assist them. My thought has been to teach them assessments but I don't know if that will really benefit them as they are not really expected to do full assessments.
The difference in attitude and worldview is so dramatically different from mine, that I cannot wrap my head around it. They live a life that holds no promises; life here has no guarantees, everyday is a struggle to survive. They don't get paid on time, they have to wear the same uniform everyday because they can't afford one for every day of the week, their children get sick and die, or they can't have children, the grandmothers take care of their grandchildren because HIV has wiped out their own children... i could go on and on.
So I am trying to understand this, just as I am sure they are trying to understand me. but i need patience. i hope God grants this to me, or I won't survive!
On a positive note, many people from the village remember me from last year and greet me frequently and welcome me with open arms. When I stopped in at the orphange the toddlers all came running for me (often they are scared by white people) and the "mamas" who work there were cheering, so I look forward to spending some time with them.
I think I need to re-evaluate what I can get accomplished in three weeks. Perhaps my purpose is not to teach the students every detail of a head-to-toe assessment, but encourage them when i see them taking pro-active measures with patients. North Americans like to see immediate results though, and I am no different. but perhaps i am here to plant the seeds, and i will not be able to see the growth.
(I had planned on playing UNO with the HIV patients, but these patients are much sicker than the ones last year. Many of them cannot sit up in bed, so plans change, but the intentions are still there. I will need to get creative)
The difference in attitude and worldview is so dramatically different from mine, that I cannot wrap my head around it. They live a life that holds no promises; life here has no guarantees, everyday is a struggle to survive. They don't get paid on time, they have to wear the same uniform everyday because they can't afford one for every day of the week, their children get sick and die, or they can't have children, the grandmothers take care of their grandchildren because HIV has wiped out their own children... i could go on and on.
So I am trying to understand this, just as I am sure they are trying to understand me. but i need patience. i hope God grants this to me, or I won't survive!
On a positive note, many people from the village remember me from last year and greet me frequently and welcome me with open arms. When I stopped in at the orphange the toddlers all came running for me (often they are scared by white people) and the "mamas" who work there were cheering, so I look forward to spending some time with them.
I think I need to re-evaluate what I can get accomplished in three weeks. Perhaps my purpose is not to teach the students every detail of a head-to-toe assessment, but encourage them when i see them taking pro-active measures with patients. North Americans like to see immediate results though, and I am no different. but perhaps i am here to plant the seeds, and i will not be able to see the growth.
(I had planned on playing UNO with the HIV patients, but these patients are much sicker than the ones last year. Many of them cannot sit up in bed, so plans change, but the intentions are still there. I will need to get creative)
i am just alida
I have been listening to a song about a woman named esther who goes to africa, falls in love with it, but writes home asking friends and family to pray, help. The lyrics strike a cord as they say
"esther has 2.4 million children, she writes and asks us to pray and help any way we can, because 'i am just esther' "
in many ways i feel like i have 150 million to take care of here in nigeria. i have been spending alot of time on the wards this week, observing how things are run, how treatment is administered, how the care is given. we have absolutely no clue how good we have it in canada, because i NEVER pause to think if the patient can afford the 2x2 gauze or the tylenol, i just give it. many patients here cannot afford pain medicine, antibiotics or feeding tubes. a patient who has had a stroke is agitated and possibly in pain but the family has not bought pain medicine. the guy with tetanus can't swallow, but the family can't afford an nasogastric tube so he gets IV fluids sometimes. i would love to pay for all their medications and needs, but i don't have that much money and that isn't necessarily going to do any good. but it still makes me want to bang my head against the wall. watching people suffer is not easy!
i did break down yesterday though. i was in the OR to see a surgery when a family rushed in to have Dr. Scott check their child. The boy was unconcious and not breathing regularily. Dr. Scott gave him some adrenaline and then had to cut open his arm to get an IV. They boy stabilized a little bit and was taken to the pediatric ward. I went to check on him a few hours later and the boy had died about 15 minutes earlier. I have never seen a dead child, so it was a bit of a shock. I felt empty and hollow and I thought I should be crying my eyes out, but strangely I had few emotions at the time. The father looked like I felt inside. He didn't seem to know what to do. The bill for inserting the IV and all the medications came to almost 6000 naira ($45). This man was dressed in pretty raggedy clothes and had empty pockets. I told him I would pay for the bill that he must promise me that if his other child becomes ill, he must go to the doctor right away.
When I went to bed that night, the tears for Benjamin Asase came, but I know there are millions of more Benjamin's in Africa. How I am supposed to help them all? Am I supposed to help them all? Am I doing anything significant here? I am just Alida...
"esther has 2.4 million children, she writes and asks us to pray and help any way we can, because 'i am just esther' "
in many ways i feel like i have 150 million to take care of here in nigeria. i have been spending alot of time on the wards this week, observing how things are run, how treatment is administered, how the care is given. we have absolutely no clue how good we have it in canada, because i NEVER pause to think if the patient can afford the 2x2 gauze or the tylenol, i just give it. many patients here cannot afford pain medicine, antibiotics or feeding tubes. a patient who has had a stroke is agitated and possibly in pain but the family has not bought pain medicine. the guy with tetanus can't swallow, but the family can't afford an nasogastric tube so he gets IV fluids sometimes. i would love to pay for all their medications and needs, but i don't have that much money and that isn't necessarily going to do any good. but it still makes me want to bang my head against the wall. watching people suffer is not easy!
i did break down yesterday though. i was in the OR to see a surgery when a family rushed in to have Dr. Scott check their child. The boy was unconcious and not breathing regularily. Dr. Scott gave him some adrenaline and then had to cut open his arm to get an IV. They boy stabilized a little bit and was taken to the pediatric ward. I went to check on him a few hours later and the boy had died about 15 minutes earlier. I have never seen a dead child, so it was a bit of a shock. I felt empty and hollow and I thought I should be crying my eyes out, but strangely I had few emotions at the time. The father looked like I felt inside. He didn't seem to know what to do. The bill for inserting the IV and all the medications came to almost 6000 naira ($45). This man was dressed in pretty raggedy clothes and had empty pockets. I told him I would pay for the bill that he must promise me that if his other child becomes ill, he must go to the doctor right away.
When I went to bed that night, the tears for Benjamin Asase came, but I know there are millions of more Benjamin's in Africa. How I am supposed to help them all? Am I supposed to help them all? Am I doing anything significant here? I am just Alida...
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Settled in Mkar
I made it to Mkar, Nigeria with only a few minor hiccups...
First, the flight left Calgary 2 hours late, first because a toilet wasn't flushing, then we had started take-off only to slam on the breaks because they were 100 degrees too hot. So we had to sit on the runway for another 30 minutes waiting for them to cool off. Six of us on the flight were heading to amsterdam, so they had those little golf carts waiting for us when we deplaned. I've never ridden one of those before... they can go pretty fast when necessary! We had to literally run down the gangplank (is that what you call it, or is that just for ships?) and were the last to board. We were off the ground within 10 minutes...
Then in Amsterdam, one of the team members from florida didn't show up. it was a concern as KLM only flys to abuja three times a week. it turns out that someone on his flight from detroit had a heart attack and they had to land in newfoundland. KLM flew him to london where he caught a british air flight and only arrived 10 hours after us.
Once we took off from amsterdam, the pilot announces there was a major plane crash in abuja, where we were headed, and that there are many casualities. that doesn't instill alot of confidence... but all the crashes in the past year have been in-country flights, not international ones.
apparently 100 people died, one of them being the islamic leader of nigeria. not so good... but it wasn't our flight, so it's all good.
we arrived on monday and were doing rounds within a couple of hours. saw everthing from multiple HIV patients, to tetanus, malaria, strokes...
today, jenny and leanne spent the day with dr. reedyk in the clinic and i spent the day figuring out what the nursing students need from us that will be helpful. in my opinion they need major help with assessments and having policy and procedures. my box with stethescopes is still in amsterdam so i can't start with that yet... i went over VERY BASIC neuro assessments with some second year students today.
they learn by rote memorization so they can spout off alot of stuff but when you ask them a question that makes them think critically, they look totally stumped.
they also say they are "so busy" but i have never seen one of them run and their bum imprints are on the chairs. today i saw three nursing students give one patient one pill. i don't quite understand this method of patient care, but i am trying not to judge...
i also found out that stethescopes are only about $10 here (cheap ones mind you) but they all claim they cannot afford them even though they are supposedly required. so i asked them today how many of them have cell phones and they said the vast majority have them. i asked how much cell phones are - they are $50 to start. so i told some of them i will not accept the excuse that they don't have money to buy a stethescope. i am not sure they will like me very much by the time i leave...
i will probably be doing more teaching on the wards tomorrow...
hope you are all doing well!! alida
First, the flight left Calgary 2 hours late, first because a toilet wasn't flushing, then we had started take-off only to slam on the breaks because they were 100 degrees too hot. So we had to sit on the runway for another 30 minutes waiting for them to cool off. Six of us on the flight were heading to amsterdam, so they had those little golf carts waiting for us when we deplaned. I've never ridden one of those before... they can go pretty fast when necessary! We had to literally run down the gangplank (is that what you call it, or is that just for ships?) and were the last to board. We were off the ground within 10 minutes...
Then in Amsterdam, one of the team members from florida didn't show up. it was a concern as KLM only flys to abuja three times a week. it turns out that someone on his flight from detroit had a heart attack and they had to land in newfoundland. KLM flew him to london where he caught a british air flight and only arrived 10 hours after us.
Once we took off from amsterdam, the pilot announces there was a major plane crash in abuja, where we were headed, and that there are many casualities. that doesn't instill alot of confidence... but all the crashes in the past year have been in-country flights, not international ones.
apparently 100 people died, one of them being the islamic leader of nigeria. not so good... but it wasn't our flight, so it's all good.
we arrived on monday and were doing rounds within a couple of hours. saw everthing from multiple HIV patients, to tetanus, malaria, strokes...
today, jenny and leanne spent the day with dr. reedyk in the clinic and i spent the day figuring out what the nursing students need from us that will be helpful. in my opinion they need major help with assessments and having policy and procedures. my box with stethescopes is still in amsterdam so i can't start with that yet... i went over VERY BASIC neuro assessments with some second year students today.
they learn by rote memorization so they can spout off alot of stuff but when you ask them a question that makes them think critically, they look totally stumped.
they also say they are "so busy" but i have never seen one of them run and their bum imprints are on the chairs. today i saw three nursing students give one patient one pill. i don't quite understand this method of patient care, but i am trying not to judge...
i also found out that stethescopes are only about $10 here (cheap ones mind you) but they all claim they cannot afford them even though they are supposedly required. so i asked them today how many of them have cell phones and they said the vast majority have them. i asked how much cell phones are - they are $50 to start. so i told some of them i will not accept the excuse that they don't have money to buy a stethescope. i am not sure they will like me very much by the time i leave...
i will probably be doing more teaching on the wards tomorrow...
hope you are all doing well!! alida
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Hope
As the number of sleeps counts down to the day I leave for Nigeria, the "theme" of hope continues to run through my head.
I bought this necklace several months ago , and have been wearing it daily as a reminder about what I literally cling to everyday.
Here in Canada, I hope I can get everything I need to get done before I leave, I hope my patients at work are still alive when I return the next day:-) (and that I have taken good care of them)
I hope I am living my life the way that God intended for me.
In Nigeria, I hope that I can be an encouragement, a source of knowledge (that will be a stretch!), a good student, and a patient observer.
I pray that I will see hope in Nigeria.
Thank you to all who have been so supportive in my journeys! They are a step towards a more
permanent position living and working as a nurse in Africa.
I bought this necklace several months ago , and have been wearing it daily as a reminder about what I literally cling to everyday.
Here in Canada, I hope I can get everything I need to get done before I leave, I hope my patients at work are still alive when I return the next day:-) (and that I have taken good care of them)
I hope I am living my life the way that God intended for me.
In Nigeria, I hope that I can be an encouragement, a source of knowledge (that will be a stretch!), a good student, and a patient observer.
I pray that I will see hope in Nigeria.
Thank you to all who have been so supportive in my journeys! They are a step towards a more
permanent position living and working as a nurse in Africa.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Images of Indonesia
Hi there,
If you click on the words "images of indonesia" it will take you to a photo gallery that Laura put together of photos and explanations. I took some of the photos but she put all the work into it, so I figure why recreate the wheel?
It will give you an idea of what we did, and what the landscape looks like.
I am off to Nigeria on October 28 for a month of volunteering in a clinic and hospital. I look forward to reconnecting with friends and colleagues! and enjoying warm weather!!
shalom alida
(i thought this would be a link on the sidebar, but i don't really know what i am doing. if anyone else has a blog and knows how to do this, let me know)
If you click on the words "images of indonesia" it will take you to a photo gallery that Laura put together of photos and explanations. I took some of the photos but she put all the work into it, so I figure why recreate the wheel?
It will give you an idea of what we did, and what the landscape looks like.
I am off to Nigeria on October 28 for a month of volunteering in a clinic and hospital. I look forward to reconnecting with friends and colleagues! and enjoying warm weather!!
shalom alida
(i thought this would be a link on the sidebar, but i don't really know what i am doing. if anyone else has a blog and knows how to do this, let me know)
Monday, August 07, 2006
back on canadian soil
Hi all or Salamat Siang!I have returned to Canadian soil in one piece, but barely. With only 6 hours of sleep in 44 hours of travel, I could hardly walk when I arrived...
I already miss my Ibu/Mama Nuriah, pictured here at the right. I lived with her for 3 weeks. She fed me, took care of me when I was sick (with dehydration & heat exhaustion), laughed with me, teased me, and taught me Indonesian. She looks pretty serious in this photo, but she was actually just a barrel of laughs! Only about 5 feet tall but full of spunk and resiliency.
She lost her home and belongings to the tsunami, as well as 3 children and 7 grandchildren (from what i understood with my limited indonesian). She was in Banda Aceh at the time of the tsunami, aways inland, so did not have to physically run from the waves.
I heard many terrifying stories, many told by Mona (Genassist program manager) and Mike. One fisherman in Banda Aceh felt the earthquake and about 20 minutes later watched as the ocean suddenly retreated several hundred metres. A 30 foot wave then came like a cobra, and he grabbed his wife and ran for the hills. They just barely managed to climb vertically up rock when the first wave hit. They ended up spending 3 days perched in a tree, and his wife gave birth to their son in the tree!! They named him Muhammed Tsunami.
One of the Genassist staff lost his entire family except a mother-in-law and brother-in-law. The sorrow is still in his eyes, but I witnessed moments of true happiness on occasion.
The month in Indonesia completely fulfilled all of my goals. I learned a great deal about Indonesian culture and language, and especially the people as we lived and worked exclusively with Indonesians. I learned that my muslim neighbours have the same goals and hopes in life that I do - to live happily, to have hope, to experience peace.
I learned a bit about construction, and that I don't know much about it! I told everyone at the going away dinner that I learned that I make a better nurse than a builder! But I truly did enjoy digging holes, hammering, building forms, hauling lumber. I think it served as a great example that we were willing to work alongside the people we were helping. Many asked why we would work so physically hard - shouldn't we be supervising or something? I simply told them I was there to help in whatever way I could!
I made some excellent lifelong friends - from people at Genassist, to my Ibu Nuriah, to the village of Pudeng who collectively and affectionately nicknamed me "noodle hair" (in reference to ramen/Mr. noodles), the children I blew up balloons for in the villages, my neighbours in BlangMe, the families we built houses for.
It was a fantastic month, well worth the time, energy, and money. You can't buy a holiday like this!!
Thanks for reading my posts... I am going to try to figure out how to post some photos on the internet.
I will also likely use this blog when I go to Nigeria in November...
peace alida
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
it's a rough snorkelling life
i just returned this evening from 3 1/2 days in sabang, a small island off the very northern tip of indonesia. Genassist had a weekend workshop for their staff, and our team had a weekend of hard work as well... snorkelling and laying on a beach.
we left friday afternoon, and arrived at our "resort" by about 7 pm. laura and i were hoping for an actual shower, but no such luck. buckets in a bathtub it was. but the cottages were very nice, clean, and even had air conditioning. we ate dinner at a tiny restaurant on the beach. i had a tuna sandwich and almost passed out from the incredible taste! it wasn't rice! (did i ever mention that i have been eating rice and sardines/smoked fish 3 times a day for 3 weeks. yes, i eat cold sardines for breakfast.)
on saturday, while the indonesian team had team building workshops - laura, matt, and i had a little team building of our own. we strapped on snorkelling equipment and spent 4 hours snorkelling off the beach. it was really incredible! i don't know much about fish, but the variety was astounding! hundreds of different types of fish, snakes, eels, jellyfish (got stung a couple of times). there is red, blue, green, and grey coral in every shape imaginable. some of it even looks like brain tissue for all you neuro nurses. i was at work in spirit, really!
and if my niece katie or her parents are reading this, i saw nemo and his friends!! he is just fine!
i spent some time just suspended over an area where the coral reef drops off sharply and you can't see the bottom of the ocean floor. it felt like a different universe! it was so incredible.
i can't begin to understand the imagination that God has with all the different ocean life!! and i can't begin to explain all the cool things i saw under the water! so i will spare you five pages of fish details...
on sunday, we took motorbikes/mopeds with some genassist staff up some very bad roads to a place called "zero kilometer". it is the most western point on a road in indonesia from which the rest of the distances in indonesia is measured. there was one indonesian island west of us, but there are no roads or people on it.
sunday afternoon, we hung out on the beach with genassist staff and got to know eachother a bit better (at the end of course). in the evening, some people fished off the pier, caught some squid and other fish. laura and i went to karaoke for awhile (we sang pretty woman by roy orbison). then at 11pm we went to eat the fish that the guys caught.)
on monday, we snorkelled again in a different area for 4 hours - what a rough life! and now i am back in town!
i will be in banda aceh for a couple of days - so i will try to write again...
we left friday afternoon, and arrived at our "resort" by about 7 pm. laura and i were hoping for an actual shower, but no such luck. buckets in a bathtub it was. but the cottages were very nice, clean, and even had air conditioning. we ate dinner at a tiny restaurant on the beach. i had a tuna sandwich and almost passed out from the incredible taste! it wasn't rice! (did i ever mention that i have been eating rice and sardines/smoked fish 3 times a day for 3 weeks. yes, i eat cold sardines for breakfast.)
on saturday, while the indonesian team had team building workshops - laura, matt, and i had a little team building of our own. we strapped on snorkelling equipment and spent 4 hours snorkelling off the beach. it was really incredible! i don't know much about fish, but the variety was astounding! hundreds of different types of fish, snakes, eels, jellyfish (got stung a couple of times). there is red, blue, green, and grey coral in every shape imaginable. some of it even looks like brain tissue for all you neuro nurses. i was at work in spirit, really!
and if my niece katie or her parents are reading this, i saw nemo and his friends!! he is just fine!
i spent some time just suspended over an area where the coral reef drops off sharply and you can't see the bottom of the ocean floor. it felt like a different universe! it was so incredible.
i can't begin to understand the imagination that God has with all the different ocean life!! and i can't begin to explain all the cool things i saw under the water! so i will spare you five pages of fish details...
on sunday, we took motorbikes/mopeds with some genassist staff up some very bad roads to a place called "zero kilometer". it is the most western point on a road in indonesia from which the rest of the distances in indonesia is measured. there was one indonesian island west of us, but there are no roads or people on it.
sunday afternoon, we hung out on the beach with genassist staff and got to know eachother a bit better (at the end of course). in the evening, some people fished off the pier, caught some squid and other fish. laura and i went to karaoke for awhile (we sang pretty woman by roy orbison). then at 11pm we went to eat the fish that the guys caught.)
on monday, we snorkelled again in a different area for 4 hours - what a rough life! and now i am back in town!
i will be in banda aceh for a couple of days - so i will try to write again...
my modesty out the window- an indonesian spa experience
God decided that I should have my modesty challenged last week when laura and i went to a local spa/salon. we had no idea what we were in for when we headed to "ida's salon" down a back alley. we were looking for a facial, maybe a massage, but we got so much more!
we decided to go to ida's because on the homemade painted sign it said "vacials & creme bath". it sounded intriguing, and hey, why would we go to a slick salon on the main road when you can walk down a back alley and step over the chickens to get in the front door?
The staff seemed a bit astonished to see two tall white people wanting their services, but the owner had no problem convincing us to get a four part package including a "traditional massage" and sauna. i didn't understand the rest but just went with the flow.
i started with a facial which was great, no big surprises. the girl put several different cremes on my face. i did get a little concerned when she applied what felt like electrocution to my face. after a few minutes of trying to figure out what she could be killing me with, i figured out it was actually an incredibly strong suction tube (much like a strong yankauer to my nursing friends - you should try it the next time you are bored at work!). i think it was supposed to stimulate circulation to the surface. that is, if it didn't suck the skin off my face!! i felt quite refreshed when the facial was done, but not exactly ready for what was to come next!
okay, i did have a bit of an idea, because while one of the facial cremes was drying on my face, they stuck me in the room with laura during her massage. so i was sitting in a corner with a white crusty face trying to avert my eyes while two women kneaded laura's back (side note: traditional massages and body kreme do not involve wearing clothes).
so then, it is my turn for the massage. i am a pretty modest person, but i had no choice but to throw this out the window at ida's salon. i had to strip down to my underwear in front of 3 people and then have them all simultaneously massage me. they were so impressed with my sunburn that they had all the staff, clients, and i think neighbours come in to see my bright red back and shoulders. did i mention that i am getting a FULL BODY MASSAGE during this? i just closed my eyes at some point. laura, who was in the "zip in" sauna in the other corner said there were about nine people in the room at one point.
One other customer, an english teacher, always came in at the most inopportune times to ask me questions. while i was on my stomach spread eagle getting my arms creamed up she asked me how to control her weight and go on a diet. while i was zipped into the sauna, she asked me how she could pass the toefl test (teaching english test). very odd.
so, i had a 45 minute massage and body creme treatment, given by about 6 different people, all while laying almost completely naked on a table. but it gets better!!
after the massage, i had to get down to my birthday suit and sit on a wooden chair inside of a blue cover. i was ZIPPED INTO a sauna! never done that before!! picture a big blue cloth box with my head sticking out, and i have a shower cap on. no, i do not have a photo of that. after sweltering for 35 minutes and answering the english teachers strange questions, it was on to the next and final treatment. this one takes the cake!!
so, i am still in my birthday suit and i have to get out and stand boldly in front of a 5 foot tall indonesian girl with a paint brush. not some spa like looking paint brush. a home depot looking paint brush. (hey, at least she didn't bust out a roller i guess!). i then had my ENTIRE BODY painted in "white bleaching cream" (i don't think it is actually bleach). so there i am, with a shower cap on, and my entire body painted white. i was then instructed to stand under a fan. no instructions on the purpose of this, or how long it would take. God was at least gracious in this part, and i was the only one in the room! i just started to laugh because the whole experience was so comedic! (i also might have been laughing because the fan was pointed right above a full length mirror!) i felt like i should break out in some sort of dance!!
when the white bleaching creme was dry and started to blow across the room, i put on a robe and went out to find out my next step. and this is where the spa experience stopped.
i was directed to a back bathroom. it would be one thing if it was just a normal bathroom. however, it was the bathroom, laundry room, kitchen, and storage area for the people who live in the rooms behind the "spa". on the floor are dirty plates with fish bones, on the laundry line are people's bras and underwear, and up in the corner perched on a shelf for a free show is a cat... i had to wash all the white creme off with water (at least it was a tiny bit warm), and wash off with a bottle of "honey soap".
so, 3 hours later, my modesty out the window, and my skin rejuvenated, laura and i walked out of ida's laughing in disbelief at our indonesian spa experience.
i think i will go back next week...
we decided to go to ida's because on the homemade painted sign it said "vacials & creme bath". it sounded intriguing, and hey, why would we go to a slick salon on the main road when you can walk down a back alley and step over the chickens to get in the front door?
The staff seemed a bit astonished to see two tall white people wanting their services, but the owner had no problem convincing us to get a four part package including a "traditional massage" and sauna. i didn't understand the rest but just went with the flow.
i started with a facial which was great, no big surprises. the girl put several different cremes on my face. i did get a little concerned when she applied what felt like electrocution to my face. after a few minutes of trying to figure out what she could be killing me with, i figured out it was actually an incredibly strong suction tube (much like a strong yankauer to my nursing friends - you should try it the next time you are bored at work!). i think it was supposed to stimulate circulation to the surface. that is, if it didn't suck the skin off my face!! i felt quite refreshed when the facial was done, but not exactly ready for what was to come next!
okay, i did have a bit of an idea, because while one of the facial cremes was drying on my face, they stuck me in the room with laura during her massage. so i was sitting in a corner with a white crusty face trying to avert my eyes while two women kneaded laura's back (side note: traditional massages and body kreme do not involve wearing clothes).
so then, it is my turn for the massage. i am a pretty modest person, but i had no choice but to throw this out the window at ida's salon. i had to strip down to my underwear in front of 3 people and then have them all simultaneously massage me. they were so impressed with my sunburn that they had all the staff, clients, and i think neighbours come in to see my bright red back and shoulders. did i mention that i am getting a FULL BODY MASSAGE during this? i just closed my eyes at some point. laura, who was in the "zip in" sauna in the other corner said there were about nine people in the room at one point.
One other customer, an english teacher, always came in at the most inopportune times to ask me questions. while i was on my stomach spread eagle getting my arms creamed up she asked me how to control her weight and go on a diet. while i was zipped into the sauna, she asked me how she could pass the toefl test (teaching english test). very odd.
so, i had a 45 minute massage and body creme treatment, given by about 6 different people, all while laying almost completely naked on a table. but it gets better!!
after the massage, i had to get down to my birthday suit and sit on a wooden chair inside of a blue cover. i was ZIPPED INTO a sauna! never done that before!! picture a big blue cloth box with my head sticking out, and i have a shower cap on. no, i do not have a photo of that. after sweltering for 35 minutes and answering the english teachers strange questions, it was on to the next and final treatment. this one takes the cake!!
so, i am still in my birthday suit and i have to get out and stand boldly in front of a 5 foot tall indonesian girl with a paint brush. not some spa like looking paint brush. a home depot looking paint brush. (hey, at least she didn't bust out a roller i guess!). i then had my ENTIRE BODY painted in "white bleaching cream" (i don't think it is actually bleach). so there i am, with a shower cap on, and my entire body painted white. i was then instructed to stand under a fan. no instructions on the purpose of this, or how long it would take. God was at least gracious in this part, and i was the only one in the room! i just started to laugh because the whole experience was so comedic! (i also might have been laughing because the fan was pointed right above a full length mirror!) i felt like i should break out in some sort of dance!!
when the white bleaching creme was dry and started to blow across the room, i put on a robe and went out to find out my next step. and this is where the spa experience stopped.
i was directed to a back bathroom. it would be one thing if it was just a normal bathroom. however, it was the bathroom, laundry room, kitchen, and storage area for the people who live in the rooms behind the "spa". on the floor are dirty plates with fish bones, on the laundry line are people's bras and underwear, and up in the corner perched on a shelf for a free show is a cat... i had to wash all the white creme off with water (at least it was a tiny bit warm), and wash off with a bottle of "honey soap".
so, 3 hours later, my modesty out the window, and my skin rejuvenated, laura and i walked out of ida's laughing in disbelief at our indonesian spa experience.
i think i will go back next week...
it's a hard life
hi there!
hope you are all well! thanks to the three people who wondered if i was okay following the latest tsunami here in indonesia:-) it actually hit a different island and was no where near us. not that there are not other dangers, but i am fine.
i am back in banda aceh now until we leave on friday morning (tues evening now). the last week of work was fine. more digging, hammering, cement mixing. we had to revise some of the post holes dug before as they were measured wrong. we finished up setting up wooden forms for 2 stilt houses and some local workers should have cement poured in them now. i think the families living there are pretty excited as they are living in extremely threadbare conditions right now. 2 people (with children) are living in ramshackle stilt houses (one room) covered with pieces of tarp and plastic. several communities south down the coast are still living in mildewy, moldy tents however...
i have been learning more about the challenges of rebuilding communities and what kinds of logistical nightmares it involves. i have a bit more understanding for the larger NGO's and how they must follow protocols etc.
one of the "working highlights" this week was very random. we were waiting for mike outside the office/lunch place/living quarters in lhoong when a guy came up and introduced himself as an NGO worker from bangladesh. he is working for the indonesian government as a rehabilitation specialist. he was driving by and saw the "genassist/crwrc" sign and wanted to come say hello. he said he was quite familiar with the development work that crwrc (christian reformed world relief committee - the development agency of the church denomination i attend) in bangladesh. he said " i am muslim but i am very impressed with the work that crwrc does and hold it in high regard. " he went on to tell mona (genassist program manager) that they are well known for absolutely no corruption, and for excellent work. it was really cool, and again, i can say that i am proud to be involved with an NGO with an excellent reputation around the world. (way to go crwrc!)
after our work days this past week we "cooled" down again at the waterfall, and on thursday spent 45 minutes spelunking in a huge cave with dan, the intepreter. he is a rock climber, caver, rescue worker. he knows all kinds of cool caves and took us a few hundred meters into one. we were up to our necks in water in one place, and i banged my head on some stagaltites (spelling? you know what i mean?) a couple of times. it must have been pretty hard, because i don't remember it but the others do! anyway, another experience that no tour agency could ever arrange!! then again, there are no tour agencies in the province of aceh because before the tsunami even hit, there was 30 years of dangerous conflicts and no tourists were allowed in the area. even in the first few months following the tsunami, the rebels were still controlling the place. hence the "don't shoot us" stickers on the NGO vehicles i mentioned in the first email.
i will split up a couple of other stories into separate entries as this computer is taking forever to load things and i don't want to lose everything!
hope you are all well! thanks to the three people who wondered if i was okay following the latest tsunami here in indonesia:-) it actually hit a different island and was no where near us. not that there are not other dangers, but i am fine.
i am back in banda aceh now until we leave on friday morning (tues evening now). the last week of work was fine. more digging, hammering, cement mixing. we had to revise some of the post holes dug before as they were measured wrong. we finished up setting up wooden forms for 2 stilt houses and some local workers should have cement poured in them now. i think the families living there are pretty excited as they are living in extremely threadbare conditions right now. 2 people (with children) are living in ramshackle stilt houses (one room) covered with pieces of tarp and plastic. several communities south down the coast are still living in mildewy, moldy tents however...
i have been learning more about the challenges of rebuilding communities and what kinds of logistical nightmares it involves. i have a bit more understanding for the larger NGO's and how they must follow protocols etc.
one of the "working highlights" this week was very random. we were waiting for mike outside the office/lunch place/living quarters in lhoong when a guy came up and introduced himself as an NGO worker from bangladesh. he is working for the indonesian government as a rehabilitation specialist. he was driving by and saw the "genassist/crwrc" sign and wanted to come say hello. he said he was quite familiar with the development work that crwrc (christian reformed world relief committee - the development agency of the church denomination i attend) in bangladesh. he said " i am muslim but i am very impressed with the work that crwrc does and hold it in high regard. " he went on to tell mona (genassist program manager) that they are well known for absolutely no corruption, and for excellent work. it was really cool, and again, i can say that i am proud to be involved with an NGO with an excellent reputation around the world. (way to go crwrc!)
after our work days this past week we "cooled" down again at the waterfall, and on thursday spent 45 minutes spelunking in a huge cave with dan, the intepreter. he is a rock climber, caver, rescue worker. he knows all kinds of cool caves and took us a few hundred meters into one. we were up to our necks in water in one place, and i banged my head on some stagaltites (spelling? you know what i mean?) a couple of times. it must have been pretty hard, because i don't remember it but the others do! anyway, another experience that no tour agency could ever arrange!! then again, there are no tour agencies in the province of aceh because before the tsunami even hit, there was 30 years of dangerous conflicts and no tourists were allowed in the area. even in the first few months following the tsunami, the rebels were still controlling the place. hence the "don't shoot us" stickers on the NGO vehicles i mentioned in the first email.
i will split up a couple of other stories into separate entries as this computer is taking forever to load things and i don't want to lose everything!
Sunday, July 23, 2006
cleanliness is relative
hi all,
i did make it to banda aceh this weekend, for only 15 hours or so. it is about 5 or 6 in the morning, they have already said muslim prayers so it must be past 5. i had difficulty sleeping due to the insane sunburn i inflicted upon myself. we went camping with the genassist crew and yesterday (sat) swam in a river but neglected to put sunscreen on my very white body. now it is a very red body, and it burns!! i thought i learned in cuba...
anyway, i am not going to give a blow by blow daily regime. it gets boring to read about me digging more holes or hammering more nails. that is the main thing we have been doing. we made plywood forms for the supporting pillars of the houses, then we dug holes for posts for houses to be on stilts. on friday we poured cement into them. i don't think i have every worked so physically hard in my life - in 35 degree heat with 90% humidity!! i drank almost 6 litres of water in 8 hours and didn't have to pee if that tells you how much i am sweating!!
i have been learning that cleanliness is totally relative to situations though!! we are so "clean" in north america, likely too clean... (there are tiny ants running all over me, i don't know where they are coming from...)
last week, i was washing mud off my hands in a puddle, when an aroma startingly similar to cow manure came wafting up... i just moved over to a different muddy puddle that didn't smell like poo...
when i take a shower (which is only every 2 days...) it is usually in the company of a couple of large cockroaches. i was washing my face once, and when i opened my eyes, there was a 2 inch cockroach on my arm. i just flicked it off, and continued with my "shower". (the water comes out of a hole in the ground and has a yellowish tinge)
and to top if off, yesterday we went to hang out in a river. indonesians take the opportunity to wash their hair, clothes etc. so we joined in. i washed some dirt off my clothes, swam around a bit, then when walking out, matt stepped on a goat leg and i saw half of a goat head floating by (possibly the one we ate for lunch). oh, to be clean indonesian style!! but i got back in the water later, just upstream from the goat parts and where the men were cleaning their fish:-)
some highlights this week were going to swim in some waterfalls after work (fully clothed mind you), but it felt good after digging 3 deep holes all day!! of course, once again, women were not allowed up the path to see the sights. apparently the possibility of hanky panky happening out of sight is too great a risk... so laura and i just enjoyed the lower waterfall.
on friday we went for a short hike after work and picked fresh mangees off a tree. they are a small purple fruit and when opened look like garlic but are very sweet. it was fantastic to eat them straight off the tree.
on saturday we went "camping". they set up a huge army tent on a beach and we basically hung out and ate. walked a bit on the rocks around the ocean, but since there used to be a town under where the water is now, we couldn't swim in the water. i watched a goat get killed for supper - not a pleasant sight or sound... i had a migraine by the time they served supper at 11pm, so i didn't even partake in the stew. we slept on the very hard ground (rather attempted to sleep). in the morning we headed off to a new site via almost impassable roads to the aforementioned river to hang out under the tent some more. it was a great weekend - you couldn't pay a tourist agency to set up that kind of experience!!
a low point this week were my "workplace injuries". on wed or thursday i cracked my left thumb open with a hammer. broke half the nail horizontally across and split the skin open. the pain was so excruciating i almost vomited. of course the villagers found it quite interesting so gathered round to watch me...
on friday, i banged my foot on a metal door and had an instant goose egg the size of a plum on my foot. at least it didn't hurt much. then while backing up the wheel barrow, i fell backwards into a 2 foot hole, not once but twice... the problem was that there was rebar and wire sticking out of the middle of the hole and i tore up my pants. again, only a few bruises...
but my sunburn tops it off, i am taking tylenol to control the pain!!
well, that's it for now. i will probably be back in banda aceh this friday before we head off to sabang for the weekend (an island with superb snorkelling)
have a great week! peace alida
i did make it to banda aceh this weekend, for only 15 hours or so. it is about 5 or 6 in the morning, they have already said muslim prayers so it must be past 5. i had difficulty sleeping due to the insane sunburn i inflicted upon myself. we went camping with the genassist crew and yesterday (sat) swam in a river but neglected to put sunscreen on my very white body. now it is a very red body, and it burns!! i thought i learned in cuba...
anyway, i am not going to give a blow by blow daily regime. it gets boring to read about me digging more holes or hammering more nails. that is the main thing we have been doing. we made plywood forms for the supporting pillars of the houses, then we dug holes for posts for houses to be on stilts. on friday we poured cement into them. i don't think i have every worked so physically hard in my life - in 35 degree heat with 90% humidity!! i drank almost 6 litres of water in 8 hours and didn't have to pee if that tells you how much i am sweating!!
i have been learning that cleanliness is totally relative to situations though!! we are so "clean" in north america, likely too clean... (there are tiny ants running all over me, i don't know where they are coming from...)
last week, i was washing mud off my hands in a puddle, when an aroma startingly similar to cow manure came wafting up... i just moved over to a different muddy puddle that didn't smell like poo...
when i take a shower (which is only every 2 days...) it is usually in the company of a couple of large cockroaches. i was washing my face once, and when i opened my eyes, there was a 2 inch cockroach on my arm. i just flicked it off, and continued with my "shower". (the water comes out of a hole in the ground and has a yellowish tinge)
and to top if off, yesterday we went to hang out in a river. indonesians take the opportunity to wash their hair, clothes etc. so we joined in. i washed some dirt off my clothes, swam around a bit, then when walking out, matt stepped on a goat leg and i saw half of a goat head floating by (possibly the one we ate for lunch). oh, to be clean indonesian style!! but i got back in the water later, just upstream from the goat parts and where the men were cleaning their fish:-)
some highlights this week were going to swim in some waterfalls after work (fully clothed mind you), but it felt good after digging 3 deep holes all day!! of course, once again, women were not allowed up the path to see the sights. apparently the possibility of hanky panky happening out of sight is too great a risk... so laura and i just enjoyed the lower waterfall.
on friday we went for a short hike after work and picked fresh mangees off a tree. they are a small purple fruit and when opened look like garlic but are very sweet. it was fantastic to eat them straight off the tree.
on saturday we went "camping". they set up a huge army tent on a beach and we basically hung out and ate. walked a bit on the rocks around the ocean, but since there used to be a town under where the water is now, we couldn't swim in the water. i watched a goat get killed for supper - not a pleasant sight or sound... i had a migraine by the time they served supper at 11pm, so i didn't even partake in the stew. we slept on the very hard ground (rather attempted to sleep). in the morning we headed off to a new site via almost impassable roads to the aforementioned river to hang out under the tent some more. it was a great weekend - you couldn't pay a tourist agency to set up that kind of experience!!
a low point this week were my "workplace injuries". on wed or thursday i cracked my left thumb open with a hammer. broke half the nail horizontally across and split the skin open. the pain was so excruciating i almost vomited. of course the villagers found it quite interesting so gathered round to watch me...
on friday, i banged my foot on a metal door and had an instant goose egg the size of a plum on my foot. at least it didn't hurt much. then while backing up the wheel barrow, i fell backwards into a 2 foot hole, not once but twice... the problem was that there was rebar and wire sticking out of the middle of the hole and i tore up my pants. again, only a few bruises...
but my sunburn tops it off, i am taking tylenol to control the pain!!
well, that's it for now. i will probably be back in banda aceh this friday before we head off to sabang for the weekend (an island with superb snorkelling)
have a great week! peace alida
Saturday, July 15, 2006
week in review
hi,
it is saturday afternoon and i just returned from a acehnese wedding celebration. (aceh is the area we are in). the bride was wearing to be what looked like a 15 pound headpiece, and has to sit on a little throne and greet people all day. she was very gracious!! hundreds of people come out for the party and it goes from 1000 to probably 1-2 in the morning. they have already been married in the mosque several weeks ago, and had a party on her side. today was the party on his side of the family. we were served plates and plates of food, given a little tour of how the food is cooked, all the little ladies washing the dishes. once we ate, we left. apparently that is what you do here. it was great to be able to go to an authentic indonesian wedding.
so... what has been happening this week...
monday - we (being laura, kevin, matt and i) attended a staff meeting at the Genassist office (the local NGO we are with), met all the managers and leaders. they had to have a further meeting, so laura and i went next door for coffee and quickly had several men willing to teach us indonesian and ask us if we were married (no, i am not picking up "hot indonesian men, unit 112). after the 15 minute meeting took almost 2 hours (indonesian time), we spent another hour running errands before heading out to lhong.
it was 2 hours on a pretty sketchy highway of switchbacks but with amazing views of the indian ocean. once in lhong, we had to wait another hour for the intepreter who then took us to where each of us would be staying.
i am staying with a 63 year old widow named nuriah. her husband died several years ago, and all her children live in other cities. she proudly showed me her possessions - a calender of tsunami pictures and a clock in the living room. my bedroom is the most furnished. i have a bed, a fan and even a ghetto blaster! she sleeps in the other bedroom/storage room. there is a small bathroom and kitchen. she was showing me all her identifcation for some reason and showed me her monthly paycheck/pension - equivalent to $35 a month. so she is quite poor - but rich in hospitality, laughter, and smiles. she prepares my breakfast and supper - which consists of rice, and usually soup, fish, a fried egg and sweet tea. it is actually all quite tasty. i lied and told her i was allergic to the stinky fruit! i just don't think i could bear eating it in front of her! i would make too many faces trying to swallow it!
we had one word conversations using my small indonesian phrase book. a young guy doing a census or something came by and starting asking me when i would go with him to the waterfall, go around town etc. i told him i was going with my boss. then i said i was tired and got up to go to bed. i didn't know how to end the conversation!
tuesday - there was a symbolic strike in sumatra because the people are not happy with the slowness of a peace process. up until the tsunami hit, many people in sumatra wanted to separate. there has been conflict for 30 years with alot of rebel activity. indonesia didn't want them to split because there are too many resources in this province. so it is only recently that there has been peace.
so we toured around the work site in the morning and went for a walk on the beach. it is a beautiful stretch of beach - it looks great to swim in except there are still houses and tree stumps under the water which one could easily get impaled on by a wave. they lost about 1/2 km of land in the area, and it has totally changed the currents etc so much that even the seasons seem to be mixed up.
we finally started working in the afternoon, levelling off dirt piles that will help provide a base for house foundations. i drank through about 5 litres of water and only went to the bathroom once the entire day - that is how much i am sweating!
after work we drove up to a lookout point where you can see the coast line, islands and monkeys. was refused entry to the actual lookout point because i am female...
finished off my birthday with black forest cake...
wednesday - we shovelled some more today... working on those arm muscles and farmers tan... also pulled nails out of boards for a few hours. ate some rice for lunch...
it started to downpour at 330pm so we had to head home. we were totally soaked after the 20 minute ride in the back of the pickup truck (that's how we get around - illegal at home, but no other option here). lots of dry indonesians laughed at us as we drove by. i didn't find out until 2 days later that there is some indonesian belief about absolutely needing to go home and have a shower if you get wet in the rain.
thursday - it is supposed to be dry season here, but it rained all day long . we tried to go out to the worksite to check it out but one of the bridges was covered in 2 feet of water and half the road under more. we ended up hanging out at mike's house - the rest of them played yeuker (sp?) while i read "the pilots wife". a pretty boring day...
friday - finally no rain, until we got to the worksite... it rained on and off all morning. got soaking wet again... i stood under a tarp with a bunch of guys for awhile but all they did was talk in indonsian about me and laugh. so i decided to work in the rain instead. one of the female indonesian managers said they had probably never been that close to a white woman before (and women and men generally don't mingle in this culture because it is muslim), so she thought they were probably just nervous. there were never any tourists here before the tsunami due to armed conflict, so it is still pretty new to have white people around.
nobody works on friday afternoons between 1200-1400 because they go to prayers. so we had an extra long lunch - sitting in wet clothes...
went back to the worksite and it actually did not rain all afternoon! i half dried off...
we headed back to banda aceh in the early evening.
that is about it!! it is the very basic of what i have been doing... so many details, i don't know where to start!
i.e. i share my bedroom with a mouse. i don't like mice but i figured it poses less of a threat than the 8 foot crocodiles that have been sited only a few hundred metres away, or the wild boars with horns...
we have electricity from 7pm to 7am or whenever the guy controlling the generator decides we will have electricity... but the only electrical things in the house are the lightbulbs and the lone fan. light does come in handy when trying to shower though - otherwise it is by the light of my headlamp.
there are still people living in mildewy, moldy UN tents - for over a year and a half now. the red cross initially said they were going to build 20,000 houses but all i have seen is a few metal latrines on the side of the road. (the red cross expats in banda aceh live in the rich area and have reportadely have waterfalls and fountains in the foyers of their houses). i am proud to be with an NGO that has actually done something and lives no better than the locals. (well i guess we could go live in a moldy tent...)
anyway. i don't think we are coming into banda aceh next weekend. i will be hanging out with mama nuriah, learning more words, building more things, shovelling more dirt, pulling more nails...
it has been great so far! thanks for reading! and i love your comments!!
peace alida
it is saturday afternoon and i just returned from a acehnese wedding celebration. (aceh is the area we are in). the bride was wearing to be what looked like a 15 pound headpiece, and has to sit on a little throne and greet people all day. she was very gracious!! hundreds of people come out for the party and it goes from 1000 to probably 1-2 in the morning. they have already been married in the mosque several weeks ago, and had a party on her side. today was the party on his side of the family. we were served plates and plates of food, given a little tour of how the food is cooked, all the little ladies washing the dishes. once we ate, we left. apparently that is what you do here. it was great to be able to go to an authentic indonesian wedding.
so... what has been happening this week...
monday - we (being laura, kevin, matt and i) attended a staff meeting at the Genassist office (the local NGO we are with), met all the managers and leaders. they had to have a further meeting, so laura and i went next door for coffee and quickly had several men willing to teach us indonesian and ask us if we were married (no, i am not picking up "hot indonesian men, unit 112). after the 15 minute meeting took almost 2 hours (indonesian time), we spent another hour running errands before heading out to lhong.
it was 2 hours on a pretty sketchy highway of switchbacks but with amazing views of the indian ocean. once in lhong, we had to wait another hour for the intepreter who then took us to where each of us would be staying.
i am staying with a 63 year old widow named nuriah. her husband died several years ago, and all her children live in other cities. she proudly showed me her possessions - a calender of tsunami pictures and a clock in the living room. my bedroom is the most furnished. i have a bed, a fan and even a ghetto blaster! she sleeps in the other bedroom/storage room. there is a small bathroom and kitchen. she was showing me all her identifcation for some reason and showed me her monthly paycheck/pension - equivalent to $35 a month. so she is quite poor - but rich in hospitality, laughter, and smiles. she prepares my breakfast and supper - which consists of rice, and usually soup, fish, a fried egg and sweet tea. it is actually all quite tasty. i lied and told her i was allergic to the stinky fruit! i just don't think i could bear eating it in front of her! i would make too many faces trying to swallow it!
we had one word conversations using my small indonesian phrase book. a young guy doing a census or something came by and starting asking me when i would go with him to the waterfall, go around town etc. i told him i was going with my boss. then i said i was tired and got up to go to bed. i didn't know how to end the conversation!
tuesday - there was a symbolic strike in sumatra because the people are not happy with the slowness of a peace process. up until the tsunami hit, many people in sumatra wanted to separate. there has been conflict for 30 years with alot of rebel activity. indonesia didn't want them to split because there are too many resources in this province. so it is only recently that there has been peace.
so we toured around the work site in the morning and went for a walk on the beach. it is a beautiful stretch of beach - it looks great to swim in except there are still houses and tree stumps under the water which one could easily get impaled on by a wave. they lost about 1/2 km of land in the area, and it has totally changed the currents etc so much that even the seasons seem to be mixed up.
we finally started working in the afternoon, levelling off dirt piles that will help provide a base for house foundations. i drank through about 5 litres of water and only went to the bathroom once the entire day - that is how much i am sweating!
after work we drove up to a lookout point where you can see the coast line, islands and monkeys. was refused entry to the actual lookout point because i am female...
finished off my birthday with black forest cake...
wednesday - we shovelled some more today... working on those arm muscles and farmers tan... also pulled nails out of boards for a few hours. ate some rice for lunch...
it started to downpour at 330pm so we had to head home. we were totally soaked after the 20 minute ride in the back of the pickup truck (that's how we get around - illegal at home, but no other option here). lots of dry indonesians laughed at us as we drove by. i didn't find out until 2 days later that there is some indonesian belief about absolutely needing to go home and have a shower if you get wet in the rain.
thursday - it is supposed to be dry season here, but it rained all day long . we tried to go out to the worksite to check it out but one of the bridges was covered in 2 feet of water and half the road under more. we ended up hanging out at mike's house - the rest of them played yeuker (sp?) while i read "the pilots wife". a pretty boring day...
friday - finally no rain, until we got to the worksite... it rained on and off all morning. got soaking wet again... i stood under a tarp with a bunch of guys for awhile but all they did was talk in indonsian about me and laugh. so i decided to work in the rain instead. one of the female indonesian managers said they had probably never been that close to a white woman before (and women and men generally don't mingle in this culture because it is muslim), so she thought they were probably just nervous. there were never any tourists here before the tsunami due to armed conflict, so it is still pretty new to have white people around.
nobody works on friday afternoons between 1200-1400 because they go to prayers. so we had an extra long lunch - sitting in wet clothes...
went back to the worksite and it actually did not rain all afternoon! i half dried off...
we headed back to banda aceh in the early evening.
that is about it!! it is the very basic of what i have been doing... so many details, i don't know where to start!
i.e. i share my bedroom with a mouse. i don't like mice but i figured it poses less of a threat than the 8 foot crocodiles that have been sited only a few hundred metres away, or the wild boars with horns...
we have electricity from 7pm to 7am or whenever the guy controlling the generator decides we will have electricity... but the only electrical things in the house are the lightbulbs and the lone fan. light does come in handy when trying to shower though - otherwise it is by the light of my headlamp.
there are still people living in mildewy, moldy UN tents - for over a year and a half now. the red cross initially said they were going to build 20,000 houses but all i have seen is a few metal latrines on the side of the road. (the red cross expats in banda aceh live in the rich area and have reportadely have waterfalls and fountains in the foyers of their houses). i am proud to be with an NGO that has actually done something and lives no better than the locals. (well i guess we could go live in a moldy tent...)
anyway. i don't think we are coming into banda aceh next weekend. i will be hanging out with mama nuriah, learning more words, building more things, shovelling more dirt, pulling more nails...
it has been great so far! thanks for reading! and i love your comments!!
peace alida
Friday, July 14, 2006
first week - quick note
hi there,
i will write more on saturday or sunday, but i thought i would write a quick note! i survived my first week in lhong (spelled it wrong before) - actually i am in a village called blang mee. i am living with a 63 year old widow who stands at 4 1/2 feet tall at the most. she is hilarious, laughs at me all the time, we have a good time together. i call her ibu (mother) nuriah. i will write more about my home later.
due to a strike and some serious rain, we have only worked 2 1/2 days this week. serious slacking! but today i got so wet working in the rain, i don't think i have ever gotten that wet even in a shower. the indonesians stood under a tarp and laughed at laura and i while we dug dirt in the rain.
thanks for all the birthday wishes. i celebrated by shovelling dirt for house foundations. we then went for a drive to a lookout - except for some bizarre (likely islamic) rule, women were not allowed to walk up to the old dutch military lookout. so laura and i had to look out from the road. but we saw lots of monkeys swinging around. they create quite the racket while we are working. a nice racket though - makes you feel like you are at a zoo (with the water buffalo walking through the construction site). i ate some black forest cake to top it all off!
thanks for keeping a lookout for those bottle rule breakers leslie. i can finally sleep through the night now! thanks for the 112 notes! it is fun to hear from you!
anyway, - will give a full update with hopefully some good stories tomorrow.
we are going to a 12 hour wedding party tomorrow - but are apparently skipping out right after we eat some free food:-)
alida
i will write more on saturday or sunday, but i thought i would write a quick note! i survived my first week in lhong (spelled it wrong before) - actually i am in a village called blang mee. i am living with a 63 year old widow who stands at 4 1/2 feet tall at the most. she is hilarious, laughs at me all the time, we have a good time together. i call her ibu (mother) nuriah. i will write more about my home later.
due to a strike and some serious rain, we have only worked 2 1/2 days this week. serious slacking! but today i got so wet working in the rain, i don't think i have ever gotten that wet even in a shower. the indonesians stood under a tarp and laughed at laura and i while we dug dirt in the rain.
thanks for all the birthday wishes. i celebrated by shovelling dirt for house foundations. we then went for a drive to a lookout - except for some bizarre (likely islamic) rule, women were not allowed to walk up to the old dutch military lookout. so laura and i had to look out from the road. but we saw lots of monkeys swinging around. they create quite the racket while we are working. a nice racket though - makes you feel like you are at a zoo (with the water buffalo walking through the construction site). i ate some black forest cake to top it all off!
thanks for keeping a lookout for those bottle rule breakers leslie. i can finally sleep through the night now! thanks for the 112 notes! it is fun to hear from you!
anyway, - will give a full update with hopefully some good stories tomorrow.
we are going to a 12 hour wedding party tomorrow - but are apparently skipping out right after we eat some free food:-)
alida
Saturday, July 08, 2006
first impressions
Now that i have gotten some sleep, perhaps i can string together some sentences about my first impressions of indonesia!
when we landed in medan, we were quickly ushered around by a man who promptly took our - baggage tags and wanted our plane tickets. i asked him for some ID or to identify himself - i didn't need to lose my luggage and ticket in the first hour. turns out he was legitimate but wanted to be heavily compenstated. he acted insulted with my two dollar tip - however his wage is five dollars a day - so i just shrugged and boarded the next plane.
in medan i was disappointed to see a dunkin donuts the minute we stepped out of the terminal. unfortunately, some of the worst western things are imported here. i have seen "california fried chicken" KFC and burger king. but i am a bit of a hypocrite because i like fanta pop, and they have strawberry and lime flavours here!
after we slept for awhile, mike (a canadian consulting with the crwrc or locally known as genassist) took us for a tour to see some of the town, and where the most destruction occured. if you think your house needs some reno's you should see some houses here. one place has a 70 foot steel boat resting on the roof. it looks like the locals plan to leave it there for awhile as a type of memorial. or they don't have the resources to move it. probably the latter. there is also a large steel barge that was brought 3 kilometres inland by the tsunami and it now rests in the middle of several houses. we also went closer to the beach where they are trying to rebuild. many still live in wooden temporary shelters, but mike said they are making good progress, all things considered. there is still alot of debris to clean up.
tomorrow we head to lloong, a smaller town where we will be based for the month. it sounds like we will be helping with some house foundations. it will be nice to get settled and into a routine.
the weather is hot and sticky. at night when i turn over in bed, i can literally feel the burning imprint of where my body was. and we have a fan in the room! in lloong there is no electricity, so that luxury will be gone. i am hoping i will acclimatize soon!
i am also getting used to squat toilets. it isn't too bad, but lets hope i don't get sick with some bug - i don't think that will be pleasant. there is no shower, we bathe using buckets, which when it is so hot, feels pretty good to dump a bucket of cold water on your head! so enjoy your shower heads there, because my arm doubles as the shower faucet:-)
i like most indonesian food so far. we went out for some real food - nasi goreng!! lekker! (yummy). the fruit is tasty too. the "hairy" fruit looks like garlic when you peel it, but it is sweet. i tried the "stinky" fruit. it lives up to its name. it stinks like something resembling poop and has a strange consistency that i will not attempt to describe. the taste is "unique" - enough so that i will tell my indonesian friends i have a weak stomach the next time it is offered. i had to chew some gum to get the taste out of my mouth. i am usually pretty flexible and open to trying new foods, but stinky fruit is worth trying only once.
i will only have access to internet here in banda aceh, i think we will be coming here on the weekends. so i will likely have a weekly posting on the blog site.
have a great week! shalom alida
when we landed in medan, we were quickly ushered around by a man who promptly took our - baggage tags and wanted our plane tickets. i asked him for some ID or to identify himself - i didn't need to lose my luggage and ticket in the first hour. turns out he was legitimate but wanted to be heavily compenstated. he acted insulted with my two dollar tip - however his wage is five dollars a day - so i just shrugged and boarded the next plane.
in medan i was disappointed to see a dunkin donuts the minute we stepped out of the terminal. unfortunately, some of the worst western things are imported here. i have seen "california fried chicken" KFC and burger king. but i am a bit of a hypocrite because i like fanta pop, and they have strawberry and lime flavours here!
after we slept for awhile, mike (a canadian consulting with the crwrc or locally known as genassist) took us for a tour to see some of the town, and where the most destruction occured. if you think your house needs some reno's you should see some houses here. one place has a 70 foot steel boat resting on the roof. it looks like the locals plan to leave it there for awhile as a type of memorial. or they don't have the resources to move it. probably the latter. there is also a large steel barge that was brought 3 kilometres inland by the tsunami and it now rests in the middle of several houses. we also went closer to the beach where they are trying to rebuild. many still live in wooden temporary shelters, but mike said they are making good progress, all things considered. there is still alot of debris to clean up.
tomorrow we head to lloong, a smaller town where we will be based for the month. it sounds like we will be helping with some house foundations. it will be nice to get settled and into a routine.
the weather is hot and sticky. at night when i turn over in bed, i can literally feel the burning imprint of where my body was. and we have a fan in the room! in lloong there is no electricity, so that luxury will be gone. i am hoping i will acclimatize soon!
i am also getting used to squat toilets. it isn't too bad, but lets hope i don't get sick with some bug - i don't think that will be pleasant. there is no shower, we bathe using buckets, which when it is so hot, feels pretty good to dump a bucket of cold water on your head! so enjoy your shower heads there, because my arm doubles as the shower faucet:-)
i like most indonesian food so far. we went out for some real food - nasi goreng!! lekker! (yummy). the fruit is tasty too. the "hairy" fruit looks like garlic when you peel it, but it is sweet. i tried the "stinky" fruit. it lives up to its name. it stinks like something resembling poop and has a strange consistency that i will not attempt to describe. the taste is "unique" - enough so that i will tell my indonesian friends i have a weak stomach the next time it is offered. i had to chew some gum to get the taste out of my mouth. i am usually pretty flexible and open to trying new foods, but stinky fruit is worth trying only once.
i will only have access to internet here in banda aceh, i think we will be coming here on the weekends. so i will likely have a weekly posting on the blog site.
have a great week! shalom alida
Friday, July 07, 2006
i have arrived!
hi all,
i have arrived in banda aceh after 28 hours on airplanes, plus layovers! i would be happy not to eat airplane food for awhile! everything went smoothly with no delays.
it is pretty darn hot here - especially for a canadian girl who works in an air conditioned hospital. but i am sure i will adapt quickly.
i have already practiced some indonesian - when a guard at the airport wanted me to buy him a pop - my "no" or "bidak" was well understood!
i had been thinking of all kinds of things to write, but now i cannot remember anything - could be the fatique setting in.
we are going to hang out in banda aceh for the weekend - then head to lloong- 2 hours down the coast to where we will be for 4 weeks. i think we will be working on laying foundations for some houses.
i hope all is well with each of you whereever you are!
shalom alida
(p.s. don't worry it is safe here - the humanitarian vehicles have big stickers of guns with red marks through them to indicate to rebels - don't shoot us! (apparently this was left over from fairly recent civil unrest)
i have arrived in banda aceh after 28 hours on airplanes, plus layovers! i would be happy not to eat airplane food for awhile! everything went smoothly with no delays.
it is pretty darn hot here - especially for a canadian girl who works in an air conditioned hospital. but i am sure i will adapt quickly.
i have already practiced some indonesian - when a guard at the airport wanted me to buy him a pop - my "no" or "bidak" was well understood!
i had been thinking of all kinds of things to write, but now i cannot remember anything - could be the fatique setting in.
we are going to hang out in banda aceh for the weekend - then head to lloong- 2 hours down the coast to where we will be for 4 weeks. i think we will be working on laying foundations for some houses.
i hope all is well with each of you whereever you are!
shalom alida
(p.s. don't worry it is safe here - the humanitarian vehicles have big stickers of guns with red marks through them to indicate to rebels - don't shoot us! (apparently this was left over from fairly recent civil unrest)
Sunday, June 04, 2006
indonesian inclinations
Hello all,
Many of you know, and that is the reason you are reading this blog, is that i am heading off to indonesia for the month of july. i am going with CRWRC (christian reformed world relief committee). as an NGO they have been there since the beginning, but construction on new homes and sustainable projects are now underway. they are sending small teams to assist the local indonesians with rebuilding their homes, but a large purpose of the trip is to offer encouragement, hope, and confidence to those whose lives were devastated by the tsunami. and for us north americans to learn about the indonesian culture, expand our worlds, and then be more involved in justice and development upon our return home.
my personal goals for this trip are to learn about the indonesian people in the area, listen to their stories (apparently they are more than willing to talk about their losses and experiences), learn about the muslim culture, and hopefully learn a little construction on the way!
my long-term goals include working as a medical missionary full-time in a developing country. i am working on a longer term placement (at least one year) but in the mean time, God has placed a couple of opportunities in my lap. i want to get as much experience as i can doing as many different things as i can. i am eager to learn about disaster relief and what rebuilding a community looks like.
i might appear pretty laid back and easy going about my travels, but sometimes i am so excited i feel like i am going to burst or i need to run a few laps!
i look forward to sharing experiences (if i have internet access where i am going), and i would love to hear back from you as well!
shalom alida
Many of you know, and that is the reason you are reading this blog, is that i am heading off to indonesia for the month of july. i am going with CRWRC (christian reformed world relief committee). as an NGO they have been there since the beginning, but construction on new homes and sustainable projects are now underway. they are sending small teams to assist the local indonesians with rebuilding their homes, but a large purpose of the trip is to offer encouragement, hope, and confidence to those whose lives were devastated by the tsunami. and for us north americans to learn about the indonesian culture, expand our worlds, and then be more involved in justice and development upon our return home.
my personal goals for this trip are to learn about the indonesian people in the area, listen to their stories (apparently they are more than willing to talk about their losses and experiences), learn about the muslim culture, and hopefully learn a little construction on the way!
my long-term goals include working as a medical missionary full-time in a developing country. i am working on a longer term placement (at least one year) but in the mean time, God has placed a couple of opportunities in my lap. i want to get as much experience as i can doing as many different things as i can. i am eager to learn about disaster relief and what rebuilding a community looks like.
i might appear pretty laid back and easy going about my travels, but sometimes i am so excited i feel like i am going to burst or i need to run a few laps!
i look forward to sharing experiences (if i have internet access where i am going), and i would love to hear back from you as well!
shalom alida
new york city, here i am!
I went to New York City for a week in May with my friend Amy. We walked about 10 hours a day, just trying to soak in all that is New York. I had just bought some bug-eyed sunglasses in Chinatown, and struck a pose on the Brooklyn Bridge.
Friday, May 26, 2006
bridget and i - she is the "everyday grace" inspiration
I met Bridget on one of my last days in Mkar, Nigeria. Chelsea (another RN) and I had been blowing up balloons on the pediatric ward and decided to go next door to the HIV ward. We started blowing up balloons and giving out lollipops to the women on the ward and they were so excited. Chelsea and I started writing messages on the balloons and on Bridget's I wrote "you are special", thinking it was not such an astounding statement. She struggled to sit up (she was very weak), and just sat and read "you are special" over and over. I don't think she had been told that before, especially since being diagnosed with HIV. We created a bond over a pink balloon that I will never forget.
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