Today I took to Meulaboh, another area devasted by the tsunami that is located in the northwest section of Sumatra. To get there, a co-worker and myself took the UN plane. I was first told it would be a helicopter, which I was super excited about because I've never been on one. Unfortunately due to the large number of travelers we got upgraded to a plane. Another co-worker later told me the helicopter is a painful experience as it's an old Russian one with uncomfortable seats, no real view, and is really noisy.

Meulaboh was much like Banda Aceh although there wasn't as much of a 'downtown' area. The first day we got a tour of the area and the grave sites are everywhere as they lost around 20,000 people. We also got to see the World Vision houses that are being built and expected to be done by December.

When we got to the office it was a bit different than Banda Aceh. Everyone takes their shoes off at the door. Not wanting to differ from the norm I did the same, but it felt a bit odd to be walking around without any shoes on....and definitely felt gross when I had to go to the bathroom.

My stay was short...only a day and I headed back to Banda Aceh via the same UN plane. We got to the airport a bit early and hung out at the local coffee shop. Humorously, the coffee shop named Starbucks airport. Those Indonesians are funny.

For Nicola's birthday weekend we took a trip out of Banda Aceh to Bukit Lawang. Friday night we stayed overnight in Medan and got a hot shower and steak (US steak!) dinner. What a treat! Saturday morning we headed to Bukit Lawan on a sketchy 3 hour public bus that cost less than $1 each way. Despite the bumpy ride and less than comfortable accomodations we did manage to make a friend on the bus, Irwan, who ended up becoming our tour guide through the jungle. Irwan is married and lives in Medan, but says his second wife is an orangutan named Mina who lives in the jungles of Bukit Lawang. Upon arrival we took up accomodations in the eco-lodge. In 2003 BL was severly damaged by floods and many of the nicer hotels are in ruins.

Nicola and I befriended some girls (Sri and Eden) who work in the lodge and they invited us to their church celebration which happens every three years. With nothing else on the agenda we decided 'what the heck!'. The celebration is sort of like a church/culture olympics with contests in singing, dancing, volleyball, running, and dressing up for a wedding. Yes, dressing up for a wedding. Their task was to dress up in traditional wedding attire as fast as possible. They started with regular clothes on and had two helpers to dress them up, make their traditional hats, and add makeup. The judges judged on time as well as the finished product. As interesting as it was to see their traditional garb, the contest took waaaay too long and we didn't stick around to hear the winner.

The mornings are the best time to see the Orangutans so Irwan took us out at 8am on Sunday. The first hour was wonderful as we saw 8 orangutans including 3 babies. I had no idea how close we would get to them. The first one we saw literally hung on a branch with its baby two feet away from us, not scared in the least. Irwan told us that many of the orangutans nowadays are wild, but there are also some semi-wild ones....released from zoos to the jungle and are still managing how to find food on their own and climb. I also learned that Orangutans are solitary animals. The males and females come together to mate, but as soon as the female is pregnant, the male moves on to another female. The female raises the chid until they are 6 when they can go out on their own. The second orangutan we ran into was one a little less friendly than the first. She had grabbed the arm of an older woman traveling ahead of us and we were cautioned not to approach. Of course being a little curious we went around the corner to have a look and were immediately chased (luckily orangutans are slow). The guides threw some bananas at her and we took a different route. We did see four more orangutans including what the guides thought was the largest male in the jungle, but after the first hour it all went downhill. We went another four hours trekking through the jungle with our guide Irwan (who wasnt wearing any shoes by the way). It was disgustingly hot and by the time we hit our rest stop for lunch my shirt and pants were soaked in sweat. Lunch was fried rice, a fried egg, some cucumbers and pineapple, which was nice, but not enough to make me look forward for the rest of the journey to the river. Another hour and a half later we hit the river and finally the fun came in. Along with our guide and a very enthusiastictubing captain we hit the soft rapids and enjoyed every bit of the cold water.

After the tubing we headed back to Medan...realizing how good our bus was on the trip there, now having to deal with overcrowding that forced many riders to the rooftop as well as Indonesian music BLARING in our ears. One last night in Medan allowed us another chance at a hot shower and a good meal before heading back to Banda Aceh the next morning.

Today is my co-worker's birthday and her loving boyfriend sent me an email asking to pick up some things to get her from him. What seems like a simple request list is a full blown scavenger hunt in Banda Aceh. He asked for wine, flowers, and a birthday cake. Should be easy right? The birthday cake was the easiest part as everyone is pretty familiar with the best local cake shop. The cake looks good, but unfortunately ants attacked it while it was sitting on our work desk this morning. The second item, flowers sounds so simple, but there are NO florist shops or even street flower vendors in Banda Aceh. You can't buy a bouquet anywhere. So, plan B was a flowering plant. On the outskirts of Banda Aceh we found a 'garden shop' which had some small plants with flowers that I got...I think they're white roses. Shopping for the final item on the list has practically made me an outlaw here. As you probably know alcohol is not permitted in Indonesia as it's not allowed in the Muslim religion. You can get beer at some local western joints, but it's always noted as a * on the receipt instead of marking it as beer. It's very hush hush. However, I heard that there was a secret supplier in Banda Aceh and there's a very specific process you need to follow to get it...and so I did. I got to what looked like a simple, small grocery store at around 730pm. I walked to the back right corner of the store and just stared at the items on the shelf. I was told to wait for a chinese man, but a small Indonesian looking girl approached me first. May I help you?, she said. Afraid to ask an Indonesian for alcohol, I just went Uhhhhhhhhhhhh with a blank stare. Then she whispered softly if I wanted alcohol and I said Yes! She told me to wait and left. Soon a chinese man approached from the back. I motioned to items on the shelf as I was told, but actually asking if I could get red wine. The chinese man put a big smile on his face and then asked if I also wanted Baileys or Vodka or some Bintang (beer). I said no, just red wine and asked how much. He said 120,000 Rp ($14) and to pay at the front. He went to the back and I went to the cashier. I realized I had nothing in my hands and grabbed a chocolate bar. Somehow she knew what I had purchased and rang up my chocolate bar at $14.50. I gave the money and then sat in my car, waiting for someone from the shop to bring the wine to the car. All in all it went smoothly, but definitely felt shady at the same time. I felt like I was doing a reinactment of the prohibition like you often see of civil war battles.

One of my housemates luckily had balloons and cards she brought from the States, which made the birthday display complete. Happy Birthday Nicola!

There were some vandals that cut down three electrical towers that are effecting our ability to keep the electric going for more than half a day. I suspect the amish. Either way it's left me entertaining myself by watching DVDs on my laptop until my battery runs out (I still haven't seen the end of Madagascar or The Pelican Brief).

Without the AC it made it very difficult to sleep last night. I was laying in my bed for a good hour, hearing noises around my room. I did happen to have a flashlight and I shone it around the room, but nothing. Five minutes later I turned my head and saw a mouse six inches from my face sitting next to me in bed. I screamed and jumped 10 feet in the air. Apparently a mosquito net does not also keep mice out. I spent the next 10 minutes chasing it out of the room and the rest of the night lying in bed afraid if I fell asleep I would wake up with mice all over me. Ugh!

Saturday Gareth and I took a trip to Pulau Weh, an island about an hour's boat ride away from Banda Aceh. There are two main beaches there: Gapang and Ibioh. We stayed at Ibioh. The beaches there are very tiny, but the beautiful part is the crystal clear blue water and amazing snorkeling. Our bungalow basically looked like a tree house, but our deck hung over the water and there was a tree out front with a swing of sorts that hung in the water.

We swam to another island across the way where there was a beautiful sea garden for snorkeling. On the way back it started raining hard and there was a bit of a wind, which made it difficult to swim because we were now swimming against the current.

The food on the island was pretty good...fresh tuna...and pasta Italians would have been proud of. As I headed to bed I desperately missed the A/C from my room in Banda Aceh. Not long after I headed to bed it started to downpour and we found a big downfall in our picturesque bungalow....there was a leak in the roof right over my bed. Needless to say I got little sleep that night and the mattress was soaked in the morning. The rain lasted the rest of the day on Sunday and so Gareth missed out on his scuba diving and we both missed out on any additional snorkeling. It got even worse on the boat ride home as I tried my hardest not to toss my cookies on the very bumpy ride home. The sea was so rough due to the rain and my stomach wasn't happy. I never thought I'd be so happy to return to my accomodations at Banda Aceh. Of course when I returned the electricity was out which meant no A/C and no internet. Bummer. Fortunately the electricity came over before bedtime and I was able to get a good night's rest!

Some sad notes of interest for the day:

The Indonesians here are very well educated with many of them having studied at the University level. Unfortunately there are not a lot of job opportunities in the area and they are often underemployed. It's so sad to see such good education go to waste.

Inflation is another huge issue here in Banda Aceh with prices rising dramatically for items in the area. Not just because of the tsunami, but because of the aftermath that brough so many NGOs to the area. Westerners attract western prices and the costs of everything from housing to translators have gone up. Unfortunately those prices won't be able to sustain themselves after the NGOs are gone, which should happen in the next year or so. I hope the locals are saving up the excess money they are earning from the westerners!

Since some of you are convinced I am on a traveling vacation I've decided to talk about work today. This week we are training the procurement staff from the Indonesian Tsunami Response Team on the new procurement procedures and policies. The course is being conducted at what I was told by a local is "the nicest restaurant in Banda Aceh". The restaurant is called Banda Seafood and is a two story building complete with a 'back room' we used for the training. The first day Gareth and I had to work through a translator, which was unexpected, but made for an interesting experience. I've found it's quite difficult to speak enthusiasticallly to a group of people who don't understand what you're saying, but just stare at the translator waiting for an interpretation.

Although it was work, we did have some fun, playing 'who wants to be a millionare?' with the grand prize being an England soccer jersey. Can you guess who came up with that idea?

It's Friday....and not just any Friday. It's the first day of the World Cup. I know, I know...you're thinking....I'm an American....I don't care about the World Cup. That's OK because I don't pretend to know much about the sport either besides what I've learned from Gareth over the past two months, but I do love how excited foreigners get about it. It's like a month long Super Bowl. Tomorrow is the England game, which is what most people around here are looking forward to (especially Gareth who requested I bring him an obnoxiously large England flag to celebrate with in Indonesia). Of course I'd like the US to do well in the World Cup--mostly because I feel it's the only way we can gain any sort of international respect nowadays. However I have chosen a non-US team to root for because then I have twice as many chances of picking a winner. Two teams I know doesn't sound fair, but they're both underdogs. My second team is the Ivory Coast. This goes back to my deep two month roots in Africa. SinceKenya didn't make it I decided to pick another African team. I can't say I know much about the Ivory Coast, but after I chose them I took a look at their flag and saw it was an Irish flag flipped!

I learned today that many of the Indonesians that work at the World Vision office here in Banda Aceh are taking English classes. I don't know if they are made to or if it's voluntary, but it's a good way for the locals to learn the language of the NGOs (hence a good way to get work). The reason I found out about this English course was because I had 4 people approach me today introducing themselves and asking me to have a conversation. While I have nothing against taking a few minutes out of my day to chat I thought it was odd they then asked me to document my name and signature on a 'conversation card'. Turns out their English class is on Fridays and their homework is to talk with 15 native English speakers during the week. Each native speaker has to sign a form saying they had a conversation with the Indonesian and register how long you spoke and about what topic. I guess everyone in Indonesia procrastinates on their homework just like we do in the US because they were all frantically searching for English speakers to talk to before their 2pm class. : )

Although there's not a whole lot to do in Banda Aceh, we do have the luxury of pirated American DVDs and a more than affordable cost. For $1-$2 you can get a season of House or Laguna Beach or the West Wing or if you prefer movies you can choose from the best of Johnny Depp, Crash, or It's a beautiful Life. I won't be back until September, but if you love movies and don't lose sleep over the many copywright laws that have been broken, feel free to send me your requests and I'll send them to you when I return to the States.

At times here I have felt like I was am preparing myself for a go on the show survivor. As many of you probably already know I'm a bit of a picky eater. They provide lunch for you at work, but it's often things I wouldn't dare touch....like some strange fish....or tofu. So what I end up eating is rice (a staple here) and bananas. I do however get the luxury of a coca cola. In order to keep my tastebuds happy...we do on occassion go to the World Food Program for lunch. I know it sounds strange to say that I am fed by the World Food Program, but it's true. They have everything from Beef Teriyaki to milkshakes and it's soooo good. Definitely worth the $4 I paid for a hamburger, french fries and a chocolate shake. That's better than what I'd pay at Steak n Shake...WITH a coupon.

Once in a while I am reminded how good I had it in Nairobi, and today was one of those days. I woke up around 7am and headed to the bathroom. As I walked in a lizard ran across the floor and managed to wake me up just as effectively as the cold "shower" that followed. And as if that wasn't fun enough, after going the bathroom I reached for the toilet paper on the back of the toilet which was apparently being used to house the other lizard. A few shakes of the toilet paper and he was gone.

In the afternoon I had a security briefing. The powerpoint presentation starts with "WELLCOME TO BANDA ACEH" (spelling as shown) and then proceeds to tell you why you shouldn't be here. Did you know they have 10,000 earthquakes a year here? I definitely didn't. I have never even experienced one and hope I can still say that when I return to the states. On the bright side there are no volcanos where I am!

Yesterday I went and lunch with some people from World Vision. It was a coffee/tea shop that had a very western feel. I was suprised at all the western food they had...everything from cheetos to Ben & Jerrys. I know where I'll be when I need comfort food!

After lunch we headed to a handbag shop where we saw some beautiful hand embroidered bags, then headed toward the ocean. The driver brought us to a barge that had 'floated' into a village during the tsunami. It was gigantic and sadly crushed houses, trees, and people. We then headed up to the ocean where the tsunami hit land. It's so hard to imagine and so sad to see all the houses that have been destroyed. There are many houses that have already been rebuilt through the help of many non-profits, but it's still very quiet in the area with very few people around which makes you realize how many people perished. There are many gravesites in Banda Aceh and everyone has lost someone.

I made it! It was a loooong journey, but I'm finally here in Banda Aceh. From the air the area didn't look too bad (everything is green), but by road you couldn't help but think how many friends and family members the survivors lost.

I got in around noon and even managed to do a half day's worth of work after 40 hours of traveling. After work I headed to my new home. The accomodations have pluses and minuses. The big minus being the lack of a shower and hot water. We bathe using a scoop that is used to get water from a tank (in a bathroom-like room) where you pour the cold water (not freezing cold but still cold) over yourself, soaping up in between scoops of water. Sounds refreshing huh? It definitely wakes you up in the morning. The only other big minus I have seen is the 'drop toilets' at work. Basically it's a hole in the ground and you again use a scoop to pour water into it after you're done. Thank goodness they provided toilet paper. On the plus side I have AC in my room, as well as wireless internet in the house. And to top it all off we get the Yankee games on TV. Woo hoo! As I mentioned before we have cooks and cleaners, which is definitely nice, but before you think have it made....think back to my shower, ok?

I posted some photos of the house. I am living with 6 other people, all who are working for World Vision.

My first night was ok, but I did awake at 5am to the chanting at the local mosque. All in all the accomodations are good (I mean I am living in a 3rd world country). Today I am going "shopping" with Nicola for handbags. I'm interested to see what the marketplace is like.