Aliens vs Non-Aliens

Which one do you think is better?
Being an alien in an alien territory? Being an alien in a non-alien territory? or being a non-alien in an alien territory?

Last week I had a small chat with a friend from England who is also working here in Banda Aceh.
I told her that maybe I should hang out with expats more often to get a more updated information of modern places in Banda Aceh.
It's because she told me about some new places I haven't heard about.
And then she replied, "don't! we're weird. Stick with the non-aliens!"

That made me think, am I really a non-alien in a non alien territory?
Or am I still an alien even among what she called non-aliens?

I've been in this land for 5 months now and there are days when I wonder where I am and what I'm doing here.
I really wanna feel like I am home, but sometimes when I sit outside my house I still feel like I'm on holiday,
like I'm staying somewhere near a beach (like in Bali) with my friends and this all would soon be over.
Back in Bandung, we don't have many palm trees in town. Here ... palm trees everywhere you go.
Back in Bandung we have what would be called modernity, while here in Banda Aceh we are rehabilitating and reconstructing.
Back in Bandung we can find any foods from any country, while here steak is a very exclusive meal.
Back in Bandung we have traffic jam everyday including on weekends, while here we have coffee shops everywhere that are open even on weekend.
Back in Bandung people don't ask if I'm chinese or sundanese or anything, while here I get that question everytime I go the field.
Back in Bandung I can meet my family everyday, while here I'm living with 7 friends from all over Indonesia.
Those are only a few things, but now you see why sometimes I feel like I'm still on holiday?
Maybe I am he one to blame. Maybe it's just a feeling, a thought that I need to bury.
But I'm sure I'm not the only one.
I'm sure there are people out there who feel the same.

So back to the question. Which one's better?
I would personally prefer to be a non-alien in a non-alien territory and feel like a non-alien.
You?

hye
September 27, 2005

Aceh Journal #6

Sept. 17-18 we had Lomba Vokalis Remaja 05, a kind of Aceh Idol thing for teenagers. It was quite amusing,
just like any idol show audition on TV.
We had boys and girls who voluntarily entertained us by singing out of tunes :p
And what's funny was that the winner of the competition was actually the one who was almost disqualified from it.
This guy, Ryan David, overslept and so he came late (very late) to the show. Luckily the committee decided not to disqualify him immediately.
He then sang and proceeded to the final. In the final night he sang beautifully, and won.
A friend and I also sang a song (each) that night, as a representative of Mercy Corps who funded the show.

A few days later we came to visit David's hamburger stall. He told us that he's been selling burgers even before the tsunami.
And so, I think he used the money he won from the competition to re-open his business.
He lost his mom and two of his brothers in the tsunami, and now he has to take care of his youngest brother (8-9 years old)

I lost a dearly loved relative 2 weeks ago. She was the girlfriend of my brother-in-law's brother.
They were going home from somewhere when they had to pass a big hole on the street
--> a proof of how ignorant our government is of the transportation!
I mean they don't have to wait until someone got hurt to repair it.
So then when they passed the hole, the girl was thrown away from the motorbike, hit a pole and the sidewalk and died instantly, with a broken skull.

Last week has not been a very good week for me. Had a few health problems, but in general life has been fine.
It turned out that the medication I was taking was the cause of it all. So I stopped taking it, and I got better.

I'm starting to understand how to do my job. One problem is that I am assigned to do mosque based activities in the villages.
So please pray so that I can do this well, not only so that I can save my job :p but also so that the villages can really get what they
are supposed to get.
Been thinking about the holiday I'm going to take in Dec/ Jan too.
'bout the money I will have to spend if I do go, and the right time to go.
--> man! It's pretty scary to think of how much I will have to spend! hahaha ... :p
but there's a price I have to pay for this, and maybe that's what I have to do to get all the fun.

Now as you all probably know, Indonesia is going to start having the fasting month before Ramadhan next week.
Acehnese have a very unique tradition called MEUGANG.
It is a tradition where all acehnese eat beef on that day. It is a must (not an optional) for them to have beef in the house
or maybe any other meat if you're too poor to buy beef.
On the other hand, if you're wealthy enough, you are allowed to hold a big party, and invite poor people to eat together.
A tradition we can find nowhere else (not that I know of! :p)

Called my family last week. Talked with them for about an hour or so! :) It's good to know how they're doing and especially to know that
my niece still remember me. I would've felt so sad if she doesn't remember me anymore.

4 of my friends from the house went for holiday. So now there're only 4 of us in the house. It's very quiet now, considering that there were
so many people around the house last weekend.
The landlord held a wedding party for his son last Saturday. It was quite a big and merry party.
The reason why the landlord wanted to hold the party at our house was to show the in-laws the house they are going to stay in in the future.
loads of foods and cakes, lots of people, and lots of garbage afterwards! hehehe :p

There's a new coffee shop in town. An exclusive one with a very expensive products compared to local coffee shops. CASWELL, that's the name.
We also have another new resto, a steak house, in Peunayong. So in the future maybe it won't be as "primitive" as it is right now! hehehe ...

Keep praying for aceh and the building of it. Also for the katrina/ Rita victims in the USA. My friends in the USA (who came to Aceh)
told me that they saw a similar scene in the hurricane area as they saw in Aceh.
People suffered the same thing, except maybe they didn't suffer from the earthquake.
A friend of mine is in fact affected by the huricane and had to flee to another town.

peace out! God bless :)

hye
September 26, 2005

Aceh Journal #5

hi guys!
got some good news this time.

Experts once said that the land that was affected by tsunami will not be able to produce anything in at least a year, but they were wrong.
We have got our first rice harvest after tsunami in Aceh, in Meulaboh, just after 8 months. Incredible, isn't it?
The local officials said that the crops this time is even better than before the tsunami.

People have managed to move the big coal ship in Lhok Nga closer to the sea.
They have started to clean the area and have used the main road again.

The 60th Indonesian independence day celebration was merry.
My friends and I went to the villages around Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar, and we saw that people managed to have some fun!
Joy and laughter all day long.
From Panjat Pinang (Pinang tree climbing - see www.flickr.com/photos/hye for picture of this) to Goni race.
And when they had fun ... we had fun too! :)

We managed to hold a mass circumcision event for students in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar where about 120 boys participated (not girls, certainly! :p)
Got a record of the process, but it's too large to be attached. Will try to attach it after it's edited.
contact me privately if you guys want to see the process.

More and more houses have been built. Some are semi permanent houses, while some other are permanent.
Schools and mosques have been rehabilitated or re-built too.

I got a new job as Social Revitalization Officer in Mercy Corps. Thanks for all those prayers, guys! :)
Almost a month without a job was certainly not a good thing, but now it's different.
So now I'm learning to adapt with my new environment and my new colleagues. My expat manager speaks indonesian very well,
so it's an advantages to us because then we can communicate better.
Has 4 very fun colleagues, 3 male and 1 female (the only female in the department)
Wish me luck and pray for me as I start my new job here.
Doing pretty well (I guess! :p) up to now, going to villages, learning some new things. I'm enjoying my work :)

Went to Sabang again last weekend, 15 of us. Good, but not good.
Good that we experienced new things along the trip.
Stayed in Iboih, about a mile away from Gapang beach.
Went snorkeling, had fish BBQ, played cards, etc.
Not good that we had to experience a race discrimination.
We were originally going to stay in Leguna Cottage (Gapang Beach), but they refused to let us in because there were 15 of us
in mix sex.
They said that they couldn't let us in because we're Indonesians, not caucasians.
Couldn't rent another room because the other rooms were already booked.
But hey, it was a good thing that we had to move to Iboih :) It was fun, and the foods were better.

Have some friends come over from Jakarta. We had fun together :)
I mean it's always nice to be able to see old friends, especially after my not being able to go home until Dec/ Jan.

next Monday we have to move house again. The contract of the current house is ending, and we couldn't afford to extend it.
So, we're going to rent what used to be the YBI house in Neusu. for me, it's back to the old house :)

So, enjoy your days, folks!
keep praying for Aceh
God bless us

hye
still miss my family :(

September 08, 2005

PS: for you guys that have been here, could you tell me how you see Aceh in the future? How Aceh will grow (or not),
and do you see that as a positive thing or not? Just send your opinion to my email. Thanks a lot! :)

PPS: see www.flickr.com/photos/hye for updated photos