Nias is like an extreme breed of camping. There are buildings, but they provide little more than shelter from the rain (for you and whatever else may want to hide). They're really just a roof and walls. Windows are holes open to the outside and doors don't really close. Consistent with my description from yesterday, the house where I spent the night looked like something out of Hurricane Katrina. And you sleep in a mosquito net, even though you're inside. There are still plenty of insets and other critters (lizards, mice, larger bugs) that you don't want joining you. In the bathroom, besides the squatting toilet, is a large vat of collected rain water for both flushing said toilet and splashing on your face, etc. Food is scarce. Last night we had some chicken (which I'm pretty sure was raised in the back - isn't living with poultry where Bird Flu came from?). Each breast, wing, leg, etc. was only about 2" - not the giant genetically engineered pieces we have in the US. Two small pieces of chicken and some rice. But I'm adapting well and haven't even been all that hungry in the first place.
A little geography: Nias is the island with the big green arrow, and you can see Medan, where the main country office is, on the opposite side of Sumatra. My next stop will be in the Piede province at the tip of Sumatra. The capital city, Jakarta, is down on Java.
Being so close to the equator accounts for most of the climate. Being an island is the rest. It's hot and humid here, you've already heard me say that. This morning we were blessed (in my mind, maybe not that of the locals) with a torrential downpour that lasted a couple hours. It has a wonderful cleansing effect on the air. Now it's about perfect out.
I've been working up on the roof, which has become just about my favorite spot in Indonesia. It's covered, so it's safe in the rain. The tin roof makes it almost deafening. But the view is spectacular. I'm looking out over a lush, well, rainforest. I really wish the pictures did a better job showing it, but the perspective is hard to capture. My excuse has been the satellite I'm working with requires a clear shot of the sky, something you can't get indoors.
Thank you to everyone who's been praying for me. I can feel it in a very tangible way. This is a miserable place, but I've been far from miserable being here. And the staff, which aren't from here either, seem to be doing quite well given the harsh environment. There's very little I can do for them on the technological side - I mean, fixing the power is the biggest need they have, and I can only recommend a bigger generator. In some ways, it's been very relaxing. There's so little here to get distracted with. I love just sitting up on the roof working, thinking, or talking to God. I've been wrestling with a lot of things lately, and it's been nice to have this space. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not going to hesitate to leave! And that shower is going to be incredible! But, for now, this is a very peaceful place to be.
Talking with the staff has been fun. They're a little unclear as to what I do and why I'm here. I share a certain amount of that confusion! It was important for me to come and see the site and conditions so we (back in the US) can better provide solutions to them. But a day would have been enough. Flights are on Wednesday and Saturday though, so we have some time to spend together. And they don't get many visitors this far out. Most of the staff visiting Indonesia make it as far as Medan, maybe Piede. So it's been fun. They've been amazingly hospitable.
Esther, the project manager, is a fiery little Pilipino doctor who retired into this job. She was going for a position in Medan or Nias, she didn't really know which, and accepted Nias without ever visiting here. Ha! She gets the joke now. Her job covers more than managing the projects...I think she's also the office mom. She's the best cook out here and tries to keep everyone else in line. Not an easy job. She reminds me of my grandma, complaining about the incompetent help. They don't know how to slice a watermelon? What use are they?!?
We had a good talk at lunch today about the disaster response world in general, and specifically Myanmar and China. It was interesting to hear the frustrations from someone on the field. She's not the kind of woman to take no for an answer, and has sure tried her hardest to get in to Myanmar, without much luck. A number of the staff here (Indonesia, not Nias) were hoping to get in as they're not American and some are even Asian. But the embassy hasn't budged, despite saying every day on CNN how they're now letting "everyone" in.
Later that evening, there was a going away dinner for the man who has been managing the water sanitation (watsan) project. All the staff were here. We hung out for a couple hours and stayed up "late" (10:30) talking and answering quesitons about the US.
Tomorrow I leave for the main "city" on Nias, then early Saturday catch a flight back to Medan.
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