Not busy, then really busy

The perils of a blog - there’s either nothing going on, so no reason to write a new post, or too much going on, so no time to write up a coherent account. Since my last post, after I had just started work in Jeneponto, I’ve felt considerable frustration involved with not understanding either the language or work culture - this is a wholly typical experience for new volunteers - I think the VSO staff would be surprised if it didn’t happen at some point. Mine may have just occurred earlier, since it’s unclear that they actually need my expertise at the forestry office. A meeting was necessary with VSO, me and my work partner to set up some guidelines which may help to establish some concrete work goals, but it’s a wait & see situation which may very well change where or with whom I am working in the next 6 months. 

An additional frustration was not having a refrigerator, which meant I couldn’t keep food in my house without armies of ants invading, and I still hadn’t gotten my motorbike. Those problems are now solved, although the bike must go in for maintenance before I can start riding & gaining some level of comfort with the roads & traffic.

November 15 was Muslim New Year, and kicked off a four-day weekend, so Rita, one of my co-workers, invited me to go to Selayar Island for a visit - no problem with accommodation - her brother lives there. After a long bus ride, and an equally long ferry ride, we arrived after dark. On Friday & Saturday we attended a couple of “Save the Turtles” events which her brother’s diving club was sponsoring, went snorkeling, took a boat to see some mangroves & swim at a couple of deserted beaches. We got back around 3 pm on Sunday, giving me time to wash my clothes and pack for Bali - Monday I flew into Denpasar for the week-long work partners’ meetings & annual volunteer’s conference. Now, as of the 24th November, I’ve spent fewer nights sleeping in my house, than in other locations in Sulawesi & now Bali, since I first arrived at my work placement. That will change over the next two months. 

The volunteer’s conference has been absolutely invaluable - there are a total of 14 international volunteers in Indonesia right now, 6 from Kenya, 7 Canadian, & 1 American. I was in a batch of 4 new arrivals, so have now benefited from the shared experiences of the other 10, who have been here from 7 months to 3 years. Four of them are leaving for home in the next 2 months, but we were able to chat, find out from them what worked, what failed miserably, why some were leaving early & why two had decided to extend their periods of service. We also met 4 Indonesian volunteers who had completed contracts in Tadjikistan, Burma, Bangladesh & Guyana. And of course, some beer was consumed, some dancing occurred & a couple of competitive games of pool took place. Mike, the VSO Country Director, & I won one of these by a slim one-ball margin.

So, conference over, Noelle, Margaret & I left for a mini-vacation weekend to Ubud, a lovely touristy town about an hour’s drive north of Denpasar. Temples, rice paddies, lots of beautiful shops & a traditional market, so this might be the place to pick up some colourful sarongs or silver jewelry. After the weekend, a bit more travel is scheduled - a day trip to Singapore to renew my visa that allows me to work in Indonesia. Home to Jeneponto next Wednesday (sigh, back to the grind).