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

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...

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...

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!