Well that football game last night was extremely disappointing- possibly the worse way to lose. But the following email to "Crikey" today made me laugh:
"A Crikey reader writes of the football: I am bereft. The only brighter point was walking home with Fed Square attendees last night past the art gallery when I overheard this sensational exchange: Fan 1: "Let's go to Lygon Street and break things." Fan 2: "No look, let's just break something at the gallery – there's a Picasso exhibition." Fan 1: "Mate, I reckon he's Spanish." That's Melbourne – passionate about footy but at least our hoons have kulcha."
Hehehehe. Does anyone even read this thing anymore btw??? Yuk! Commentlah!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Miss Jakarta Contest
As well as running counter to many of the feminist principles that I hold close and tight to my heart, this was also very embarassing. This is me with fellow interns Jesse and Amel.
Oh and BTW - I had to get a new phone number- so for those of you who love me- here it is : +6281385385861
Oh and BTW - I had to get a new phone number- so for those of you who love me- here it is : +6281385385861
A New Groove
It seem to me that no matter where in the world we find ourselves, it is human instinct to start carving out a little niche, a little routine, and a little zone of predictability. After just over a week here my little niche is well and truly carved, and the pace at which it has happened has given me an insight into what my life here would be like, if for arguments sake, this internship became a job.
I was pretty stressed and anxious before moving up to Jakarta, just because it was a big change from the happy little life I was living in Yogya. However, the instant I moved into my kos, the anxiety dissolved and I realized that I had been worrying subconciously about the fact I had nowhere to live. As such, surprisingly, I was not that nervous on my first day when I took the lift up to the 21st floor to start work.
The office is I imagine, fairly typical of top-tier legal offices the world over. Because the Indonesian firm I am with is linked with the international firm who authorized my placement in the first place, they are forced to work to international time keeping standards and meet monthly billable hour targets set in the States, but as consolation they receive their wages in $US. I have absolutely no doubt that they are working far harder than lawyers in the vast majority of other law firms in this country.
I have been assigned to a Partner who is American but has lived in Indonesia for over 20 years. He is a nice guy, even if he has loaded me up heavily with work, but has given me quite a bit of responsibility for a memo that that has been a long time in the making. My task has been to plough through an enormous folder of law (about 30% not yet translated into English i.e. in Indonesian) and check that it reconciles with what has been written in the memo and then make sure that all the various parts of the big fat thing don’t conflict. That was a nice baptism of fire for me.
The cool thing is that I am actually lumped in with the Indonesian interns who have all recently started in the firm (however their terms are for 3 months plus) and so I kind of had an instant support network of fellow travelers in the office. It has been very interesting to get to know some of them over the past week (and last night), and has reaffirmed my suspicion about this country about the way money flows to money. All the interns are from very wealthy families have grown up in the best districts of Jakarta and I am sure have never had to cope with the day to day struggle to make ends meet that most other Indonesians endure. That said, they are all good people and they have been very welcoming of the random white girl who showed up to their office. They also find me hilarious because I go to work at the Stock Exchange on the back of a motorbike (I pay the guy about $10 a week to pick me up from my kos and take me) whereas as they all come in their own cars, or with their drivers.
On Friday it was Jakarta’s 471st birthday (or something) and also the firms 17th birthday, and so there was a bit of a function put on at lunchtime (we get lunch free every day but this was a “special” lunch which was kinda gross) which entailed each of us new kids putting on traditional Betawi (original Jkt people) dress and being interviewed as part of a “Miss Jakarta” contest in front of all the employees of the firm. We each also had to dance in the Betawi style with one of the Partners, which was very embarrassing as I had never seen the Betawi style until I entered the room where the party was happening. The whole thing was conducted in Indonesian and although I can usually understand everything that is being said, the Jakarta dialect is very different from the Central Java dialect and combined with the fact that they were speaking at a million miles an hour, I had very little idea what was going on. So that was a good way to impress my colleagues. Wearing strange clothes and a blank expression.
A couple of things about the firm- the owners are both women (which I think is unusual even in an Australian context…….) and the business of the firm is conducted predominantly in English. This does not however, mean that I can get away with speaking only English. Because people know that I speak Indonesian and it is a novelty for them to hear an expat using Indo in the office, they insist on speaking to me in Bahasa. Which is good really and means that even if I don’t improve much this month, at least I won’t be going backwards.
Some other observations- there is a secretary in the office called “Candy Baby Joy Christie Wawaruntu”, Indonesia has a “Department of Manpower” and there is no such thing as a professional ring tone in the office- I have to laugh every time I hear the house music ring tone of one of the particularly serious partners.
Anyway, that’s the first week- it was pretty full-on- I can’t believe I forgot to mention the working hours- I start at 8pm and finish between 7pm and 10pm. A lot of the new kids brag about pulling 2am finishes, but I have seen their productivity levels after 6pm and the way they drop dramatically, so I am not going to be busting my *something* just to look like I am staying late. I would rather get my work done and leave, than hang around trying to look busy! This rule will especially apply on Monday night, as I refuse to sit and watch the Socceroo’s in the staff kitchen or while sitting in my kos, so I am going straight from work to seek out some compatriots to share the love with.
Ok. I am going shopping. Sampai ketemu lagi.
I was pretty stressed and anxious before moving up to Jakarta, just because it was a big change from the happy little life I was living in Yogya. However, the instant I moved into my kos, the anxiety dissolved and I realized that I had been worrying subconciously about the fact I had nowhere to live. As such, surprisingly, I was not that nervous on my first day when I took the lift up to the 21st floor to start work.
The office is I imagine, fairly typical of top-tier legal offices the world over. Because the Indonesian firm I am with is linked with the international firm who authorized my placement in the first place, they are forced to work to international time keeping standards and meet monthly billable hour targets set in the States, but as consolation they receive their wages in $US. I have absolutely no doubt that they are working far harder than lawyers in the vast majority of other law firms in this country.
I have been assigned to a Partner who is American but has lived in Indonesia for over 20 years. He is a nice guy, even if he has loaded me up heavily with work, but has given me quite a bit of responsibility for a memo that that has been a long time in the making. My task has been to plough through an enormous folder of law (about 30% not yet translated into English i.e. in Indonesian) and check that it reconciles with what has been written in the memo and then make sure that all the various parts of the big fat thing don’t conflict. That was a nice baptism of fire for me.
The cool thing is that I am actually lumped in with the Indonesian interns who have all recently started in the firm (however their terms are for 3 months plus) and so I kind of had an instant support network of fellow travelers in the office. It has been very interesting to get to know some of them over the past week (and last night), and has reaffirmed my suspicion about this country about the way money flows to money. All the interns are from very wealthy families have grown up in the best districts of Jakarta and I am sure have never had to cope with the day to day struggle to make ends meet that most other Indonesians endure. That said, they are all good people and they have been very welcoming of the random white girl who showed up to their office. They also find me hilarious because I go to work at the Stock Exchange on the back of a motorbike (I pay the guy about $10 a week to pick me up from my kos and take me) whereas as they all come in their own cars, or with their drivers.
On Friday it was Jakarta’s 471st birthday (or something) and also the firms 17th birthday, and so there was a bit of a function put on at lunchtime (we get lunch free every day but this was a “special” lunch which was kinda gross) which entailed each of us new kids putting on traditional Betawi (original Jkt people) dress and being interviewed as part of a “Miss Jakarta” contest in front of all the employees of the firm. We each also had to dance in the Betawi style with one of the Partners, which was very embarrassing as I had never seen the Betawi style until I entered the room where the party was happening. The whole thing was conducted in Indonesian and although I can usually understand everything that is being said, the Jakarta dialect is very different from the Central Java dialect and combined with the fact that they were speaking at a million miles an hour, I had very little idea what was going on. So that was a good way to impress my colleagues. Wearing strange clothes and a blank expression.
A couple of things about the firm- the owners are both women (which I think is unusual even in an Australian context…….) and the business of the firm is conducted predominantly in English. This does not however, mean that I can get away with speaking only English. Because people know that I speak Indonesian and it is a novelty for them to hear an expat using Indo in the office, they insist on speaking to me in Bahasa. Which is good really and means that even if I don’t improve much this month, at least I won’t be going backwards.
Some other observations- there is a secretary in the office called “Candy Baby Joy Christie Wawaruntu”, Indonesia has a “Department of Manpower” and there is no such thing as a professional ring tone in the office- I have to laugh every time I hear the house music ring tone of one of the particularly serious partners.
Anyway, that’s the first week- it was pretty full-on- I can’t believe I forgot to mention the working hours- I start at 8pm and finish between 7pm and 10pm. A lot of the new kids brag about pulling 2am finishes, but I have seen their productivity levels after 6pm and the way they drop dramatically, so I am not going to be busting my *something* just to look like I am staying late. I would rather get my work done and leave, than hang around trying to look busy! This rule will especially apply on Monday night, as I refuse to sit and watch the Socceroo’s in the staff kitchen or while sitting in my kos, so I am going straight from work to seek out some compatriots to share the love with.
Ok. I am going shopping. Sampai ketemu lagi.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Gotta Kos, Seentha Office, dAH bANkrup!
Ok so am 15 hours, a world cup game and a nervous tummy away from starting work. My first few days in JTown have been interesting and expensive (mum- please bear in mind when you see my credit card statement that I have been buying work related clothing! except for the one drink at the four seasons where i was caught embarrassingly short on cash!!! :-) !!)
anyways, flew in to Jkt with Sam and Lauren (yes Heights people- Lauren Carter) and that was good cos it took my mind of feeling sad about Yogya and being nervous as I was around people excited about having a debaucherous Jtown weekend.
On Thursday we traipsed around in a million cabs looking for a hotel for the first night which was a pain in the proverbial. Something hilarious happened- we went to one hotel in Chikini and were rejected because they have a rule about unmarried opposite sex people staying in the same room. It was pretty hilarious. We ended up falling back on the Lonely PLanet option which was mediocre but was run by a very nice man who taught us how not to get ripped off by taxi drivers.
Anyways that night we went out to Plaza Senayan- a playground for the rich and ridiculous (one of many in this city) and all got haircuts. I needed a business-y style cut and wasn't prepared to risk my locks at Johnny Andrean- Indonesian wide chain cutter- so paid for a haircut that worked out to be about $A35. My Ibu Kos will hopefully never find out- she freaked when I paid $8 in Yogya- most Indonesians pay $1 or less. Anyway, we did that, then went out to the wine bar Vin+ and drank some Aussie red then watched England play in the bar Second Floor.
The next day I had to look for a kos, and made the mistake of waiting ages to start doing it. I fortunately came across the nicest taxi driver, certainly in Jkt and possibly the world, who then drove me around for 4 hours. All the places recommended by work unfortunately were full, although all proximate to the office- it's a shame, one of them was next door to the Iranian Ambassador's Residence.
Anyway roamed hi and lo, and after a lot of stress found the perfect place. However they couldn't give it to me straight away cos someone had put down a deposit. So I waited and then they called me back and said no it was definitely taken and I couldn't have it. I was very annoyed and stressed a) because it was perfect and I could have fitted half of yogya in my airconditioned hot water shower room and b) cos I had nowhere to sleep that night. Ended up going for option 2 which was at the time my distant 2nd choice. About $300 for the month, air con, tiny room, washing included and warm water. Turns out it was a good choice, I have cable tv in my room, free drinking water and a very helpful guy in the kos who is going to drive me on a motorbike to work and pick me up for $3 a day. He also set up my tv so that I can watch world cup! Woo hoo! So this is the reason when my first choice kos called me the next day and said "actually we do have a room we got it wrong" i said "no i am quite happy here thanks". oh and the other cool thing was, they reduced the rent for me in my kos to only $200 for the month because I am only staying 4 weeks. they were initially going to make me pay for the whole of july then took pity on me! for those of you who know about my dire financial situation and the fact I am NOT GETTING PAID while I am here will appreciate just how important that is!!!
anyhoo, thats the kos. it has worked out better, but the kos vibe here is way different to yogya, i have only seen 2 other people who live there- it's definitely a business type kos. oh and its mixed so there are boys and girls, and i can actually have my male friends come in my room without having to ask permission like in yogya- so thats nice cos my only 2 friends here are riskhy and ryan- who obviously are both boys.
so i have done a practice run up to the office, and it looks pretty plush. i went up on the saturday thinking i could get the elevator up, see the office and then leave stealthily and undetected. but my plan was foiled by the fact that two lawyers saw me gawking in the door! i went in and said hello, all in Indonesian, and said see u Monday and then left feeling stupid. Oh well, would have been stupider if I hadn't said hello.
Right, so this is already long enough, have to go home and read my Indo law book and try not to be too nervous about tomorrow and also think about watchin the world cup. am gonna be watching it solo in my kos.... bit lonely, but I would be an idiot to go out and watch it the night before starting work...... Come on Aussie! Post me some comments people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
anyways, flew in to Jkt with Sam and Lauren (yes Heights people- Lauren Carter) and that was good cos it took my mind of feeling sad about Yogya and being nervous as I was around people excited about having a debaucherous Jtown weekend.
On Thursday we traipsed around in a million cabs looking for a hotel for the first night which was a pain in the proverbial. Something hilarious happened- we went to one hotel in Chikini and were rejected because they have a rule about unmarried opposite sex people staying in the same room. It was pretty hilarious. We ended up falling back on the Lonely PLanet option which was mediocre but was run by a very nice man who taught us how not to get ripped off by taxi drivers.
Anyways that night we went out to Plaza Senayan- a playground for the rich and ridiculous (one of many in this city) and all got haircuts. I needed a business-y style cut and wasn't prepared to risk my locks at Johnny Andrean- Indonesian wide chain cutter- so paid for a haircut that worked out to be about $A35. My Ibu Kos will hopefully never find out- she freaked when I paid $8 in Yogya- most Indonesians pay $1 or less. Anyway, we did that, then went out to the wine bar Vin+ and drank some Aussie red then watched England play in the bar Second Floor.
The next day I had to look for a kos, and made the mistake of waiting ages to start doing it. I fortunately came across the nicest taxi driver, certainly in Jkt and possibly the world, who then drove me around for 4 hours. All the places recommended by work unfortunately were full, although all proximate to the office- it's a shame, one of them was next door to the Iranian Ambassador's Residence.
Anyway roamed hi and lo, and after a lot of stress found the perfect place. However they couldn't give it to me straight away cos someone had put down a deposit. So I waited and then they called me back and said no it was definitely taken and I couldn't have it. I was very annoyed and stressed a) because it was perfect and I could have fitted half of yogya in my airconditioned hot water shower room and b) cos I had nowhere to sleep that night. Ended up going for option 2 which was at the time my distant 2nd choice. About $300 for the month, air con, tiny room, washing included and warm water. Turns out it was a good choice, I have cable tv in my room, free drinking water and a very helpful guy in the kos who is going to drive me on a motorbike to work and pick me up for $3 a day. He also set up my tv so that I can watch world cup! Woo hoo! So this is the reason when my first choice kos called me the next day and said "actually we do have a room we got it wrong" i said "no i am quite happy here thanks". oh and the other cool thing was, they reduced the rent for me in my kos to only $200 for the month because I am only staying 4 weeks. they were initially going to make me pay for the whole of july then took pity on me! for those of you who know about my dire financial situation and the fact I am NOT GETTING PAID while I am here will appreciate just how important that is!!!
anyhoo, thats the kos. it has worked out better, but the kos vibe here is way different to yogya, i have only seen 2 other people who live there- it's definitely a business type kos. oh and its mixed so there are boys and girls, and i can actually have my male friends come in my room without having to ask permission like in yogya- so thats nice cos my only 2 friends here are riskhy and ryan- who obviously are both boys.
so i have done a practice run up to the office, and it looks pretty plush. i went up on the saturday thinking i could get the elevator up, see the office and then leave stealthily and undetected. but my plan was foiled by the fact that two lawyers saw me gawking in the door! i went in and said hello, all in Indonesian, and said see u Monday and then left feeling stupid. Oh well, would have been stupider if I hadn't said hello.
Right, so this is already long enough, have to go home and read my Indo law book and try not to be too nervous about tomorrow and also think about watchin the world cup. am gonna be watching it solo in my kos.... bit lonely, but I would be an idiot to go out and watch it the night before starting work...... Come on Aussie! Post me some comments people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Some Kind of Ending
Well it's my last morning in Yogya. In about 90 minutes I will be leaving my kos for a flight to Jakarta and in 4 days I start work.
12 Hours Ago I finished a party with my kos family and the girls and they gave me a bunch of presents and all wrote really beautiful messages for me in a book. I had to give a speech which no doubt made absolutely no sense, but they all nodded and smiled so i guess they got the gist.
9 Hours ago I got home from final drinks at Bar Bintang with the crew who are still in Yogya (a lot of people have gone to Bali). Because the staff there know my name (shame on me) and I often joke about with them, they put on my favourite Bintang music namely Abbey Road by The Beatles and then my other favourite Bintang music 311! None of the heathens (!) I was with understood the magic of The Beatles so I pondered the longevity of that album while stirring sugar into my Lemon Tea. Yes that's right no beer for me. I start working on Monday gituloh!
15 Hours Ago I got home from the airport to say goodbye to Ben, who, in the next chapter of his ongoing story of impossible bad luck, broke his hand on Tuesday and was told by one of the Aussie doctors to "just go home mate" because of the seriousness of the break (on his right & writing hand) and the high risk of infection here.
36 Hours ago I had a hot shower at the Hyatt in one of the rooms of the AusAID staff- a theatre nurse whom I had never before met and who gave me use of her room for one hour while she had her final briefing-we then got taken out to dinner to thank us for our work. We are also getting some kind of letter acknowledging our contribution to the relief work, which will be on Federal Government letterhead and will no doubt be quite useful in the future.
So thats my last day and a half in Yogya. Too many goodbyes. And although I suppose it should get easier as I get older to say goodbye to people, I find terrifying the thought that some of the most interesting, intelligent and kind-hearted people that I now call my friends, by virtue of the situation in which we met, I will probably rarely see again.
Yogya has changed in the last 2 weeks btw. Which isn't surprising I suppose. But where before I could walk the length of Jalan Kaliurang and not see another single foreigner except maybe the odd Australian, now I see one every 50 metres. There are also so many SUV's on the road now it is staggering, each with a little white sign in the window identifying it as the vehicle of a particular NGO. There are 65 NGO's in Yogya, all working hard, all distributing aid and providing medical care and logistical assistance, many creating dependencies and tensions within local communities which will be very hard to dissolve when the NGO's pack up and go home.
The dilemma for all time- how to do it all properly. And from 2 conversations I have had with different people since Sunday, the United Nations really has no idea either.
Ok, so I am off to J-Town to find if the streets are paved with gold and see whether people actually do wear 3 piece suits in 32 degree 97 percent humidity. And Dad, I don't really know anyone in Jakarta so I am going to have to find a bar or something to watch the game in, either that or watch it in my new kos........... Iii-aaa.
12 Hours Ago I finished a party with my kos family and the girls and they gave me a bunch of presents and all wrote really beautiful messages for me in a book. I had to give a speech which no doubt made absolutely no sense, but they all nodded and smiled so i guess they got the gist.
9 Hours ago I got home from final drinks at Bar Bintang with the crew who are still in Yogya (a lot of people have gone to Bali). Because the staff there know my name (shame on me) and I often joke about with them, they put on my favourite Bintang music namely Abbey Road by The Beatles and then my other favourite Bintang music 311! None of the heathens (!) I was with understood the magic of The Beatles so I pondered the longevity of that album while stirring sugar into my Lemon Tea. Yes that's right no beer for me. I start working on Monday gituloh!
15 Hours Ago I got home from the airport to say goodbye to Ben, who, in the next chapter of his ongoing story of impossible bad luck, broke his hand on Tuesday and was told by one of the Aussie doctors to "just go home mate" because of the seriousness of the break (on his right & writing hand) and the high risk of infection here.
36 Hours ago I had a hot shower at the Hyatt in one of the rooms of the AusAID staff- a theatre nurse whom I had never before met and who gave me use of her room for one hour while she had her final briefing-we then got taken out to dinner to thank us for our work. We are also getting some kind of letter acknowledging our contribution to the relief work, which will be on Federal Government letterhead and will no doubt be quite useful in the future.
So thats my last day and a half in Yogya. Too many goodbyes. And although I suppose it should get easier as I get older to say goodbye to people, I find terrifying the thought that some of the most interesting, intelligent and kind-hearted people that I now call my friends, by virtue of the situation in which we met, I will probably rarely see again.
Yogya has changed in the last 2 weeks btw. Which isn't surprising I suppose. But where before I could walk the length of Jalan Kaliurang and not see another single foreigner except maybe the odd Australian, now I see one every 50 metres. There are also so many SUV's on the road now it is staggering, each with a little white sign in the window identifying it as the vehicle of a particular NGO. There are 65 NGO's in Yogya, all working hard, all distributing aid and providing medical care and logistical assistance, many creating dependencies and tensions within local communities which will be very hard to dissolve when the NGO's pack up and go home.
The dilemma for all time- how to do it all properly. And from 2 conversations I have had with different people since Sunday, the United Nations really has no idea either.
Ok, so I am off to J-Town to find if the streets are paved with gold and see whether people actually do wear 3 piece suits in 32 degree 97 percent humidity. And Dad, I don't really know anyone in Jakarta so I am going to have to find a bar or something to watch the game in, either that or watch it in my new kos........... Iii-aaa.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Ole Ole Ole Ole auss-ie auss-ie!
What a win!
My third to last night in Yogya and what a way to celebrate it. After the game we proceeded to terrify half of Yogya by driving all the way to Bintang on the bikes with flags waving, engines revving in third gear and horns beeping. You bloody beauty!
We watched the game in a big outside bar with all our Japanese friends. They were understandably vocal for the first half and a bit of the match, but sat there in dismay as we proceeded to tap three into the net! Good sports however, and we all shook hands at the end!
Anyways, am leaving for Jakarta on Thursday morning and start work on Monday which is very inconvenient timing given the Australian match on Sunday night. Still having mixed emotions about leaving Yogya and I am feeling quite nervous at the prospect of J-Town minus the safety net that all us Aussies take for granted here, but it will work out fine.
And I apologise to anyone who sat listening to ABC this morning-turns out the interview I did was on Radio Adelaide. I was so damned tired however I have no idea how it was........aduh! Selamat world cup!
My third to last night in Yogya and what a way to celebrate it. After the game we proceeded to terrify half of Yogya by driving all the way to Bintang on the bikes with flags waving, engines revving in third gear and horns beeping. You bloody beauty!
We watched the game in a big outside bar with all our Japanese friends. They were understandably vocal for the first half and a bit of the match, but sat there in dismay as we proceeded to tap three into the net! Good sports however, and we all shook hands at the end!
Anyways, am leaving for Jakarta on Thursday morning and start work on Monday which is very inconvenient timing given the Australian match on Sunday night. Still having mixed emotions about leaving Yogya and I am feeling quite nervous at the prospect of J-Town minus the safety net that all us Aussies take for granted here, but it will work out fine.
And I apologise to anyone who sat listening to ABC this morning-turns out the interview I did was on Radio Adelaide. I was so damned tired however I have no idea how it was........aduh! Selamat world cup!
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Flutterbies
I might be going out in the field with AusAID tomorrow so am posting this now in case I can't later- but sometime Tuesday morning I am doing an interview on ABC Adelaide. It is 6am my time (rather inconveniently early given that Australia play Monday night). That's all I know.
And btw- am well aware that "rationalisation" is incorrectly spelled on my previous entry. Serves me right for trying to use 6 syllable words with a hangover and an enormous sleep deficit. Salam!
And btw- am well aware that "rationalisation" is incorrectly spelled on my previous entry. Serves me right for trying to use 6 syllable words with a hangover and an enormous sleep deficit. Salam!
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Stars Align
It occurred to myself and my friends last night that it is only by a rare and rather fortunate twist of fate that one can sit, in a bar, in an earthquake zone, with an erupting volcano in the distance, with friends from all corners of the globe, drink beer, listen to Indonesian reggae and watch the World Cup. Some might call it an incarnation of their worst nightmare (hi mum!), I call it bloody cool.
Last night was a good night. Sad because it will be one of the last times I do that in Yogya, with that particular group of people (Turkey, Irelandia - you hear me?!) but also not sad, because if you have to leave a place behind, then this is the way you want to do it. Well, that is, excluding the thumping headache that I woke up with. Doing it all again tonight, but on lemon tea instead of Carlsberg. Eng-er-land!
Today I turned my bedroom into a little cinema for the kids in the kos. I had promised them before I left that I would take them to the cinema, but the earthquake sorted that one out, so the trade off was that I bought them a bunch of lollies chocolate and softdrink and we rented some films from the video shop and watched them on my laptop. Resa, Kotzar and Vikri- gorgeous little children who I am going to miss very much, at least for the next month while I am in Jakarta.
I am putting off going across the road to the supermarket to get a box to pack up my room because it is something I would rather not have to do. Alas, being overseas and living in Yogya is not the end in itself, it is the means, and now I its time pursue different means to move a little closer to the end. Does that even make sense? I am tired, and my brain understands it anyway......... it's my rationlisation of my situation to try and dull the blow of leaving behind good friends.
As for the chance to stay on here and work.... I have had a somewhat nebulous offer of work from a contact I have here. In Indonesia I feel that "somewhat nebulous" can be equated with what you and I know as "in-principle agreement"........ so will wait and see with that one.
Ok peeps, time to sleep sebelum piala dunia mulai lagi. That is before the world cup starts again.
Last night was a good night. Sad because it will be one of the last times I do that in Yogya, with that particular group of people (Turkey, Irelandia - you hear me?!) but also not sad, because if you have to leave a place behind, then this is the way you want to do it. Well, that is, excluding the thumping headache that I woke up with. Doing it all again tonight, but on lemon tea instead of Carlsberg. Eng-er-land!
Today I turned my bedroom into a little cinema for the kids in the kos. I had promised them before I left that I would take them to the cinema, but the earthquake sorted that one out, so the trade off was that I bought them a bunch of lollies chocolate and softdrink and we rented some films from the video shop and watched them on my laptop. Resa, Kotzar and Vikri- gorgeous little children who I am going to miss very much, at least for the next month while I am in Jakarta.
I am putting off going across the road to the supermarket to get a box to pack up my room because it is something I would rather not have to do. Alas, being overseas and living in Yogya is not the end in itself, it is the means, and now I its time pursue different means to move a little closer to the end. Does that even make sense? I am tired, and my brain understands it anyway......... it's my rationlisation of my situation to try and dull the blow of leaving behind good friends.
As for the chance to stay on here and work.... I have had a somewhat nebulous offer of work from a contact I have here. In Indonesia I feel that "somewhat nebulous" can be equated with what you and I know as "in-principle agreement"........ so will wait and see with that one.
Ok peeps, time to sleep sebelum piala dunia mulai lagi. That is before the world cup starts again.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Updatelah
Hmmm, just completed all my exams in a big chunk. Have one more big assignment to write in Indonesian now and then I am done.... 10 days till Jakarta and I am so disorganised it isn't funny.
On Sunday and Monday I made my interpreting debut with AusAID- don't get excited I was doing simple logistical stuff, unlike some of my compatriots who were in surgeries (i don't have enough faith in my abilities to do that). Anyway it was interesting, and the guys in the team (mainly men) are really top Aussies, hell ocker, and interesting to talk to. They also bribed us with Australian chocolate and paying for our lunch he he he.
Anyway my interpreting highlights have been as follows:
1) Having to explain to the naval commander running the field hospital (which is a half-finished basketball stadium) that he needs to do something about the people who are washing their clothes in the toilet out the back.
2)That he needs to do something about the raw sewerage emanating from a toilet in close proximity to the hospital, while I was pointing at said sewerage.
3) That he needs to stop helicopters from landing so close to the AusAID installment because it might cause severance of electrical cords (true) or cause dirt to enter the medical equipment (lie- but more effective in achieving desired outcome)
Anyways, this guy wearing navy uniform and loads of badges just stared at me like I was an upstart of a 23 year old Australian girl with average Indonesian and no uniform and what the hell was I telling him for. Which wasn't far from the mark. But the helicopters started landing further away.....
Anyway, my head feels distinctly fluish. Not surprising really.
My immediate problems in life are as follows- where am I going to find a shop selling suits in my size now that all the big malls in town have fallen down, where am I going to find shoes, and where am I going to find the one book in existence written in English on the Indonesian legal system which was impossible to find before the earthquake and it seems, will be more impossible to find now.
Aduh. Sampai nanti.
On Sunday and Monday I made my interpreting debut with AusAID- don't get excited I was doing simple logistical stuff, unlike some of my compatriots who were in surgeries (i don't have enough faith in my abilities to do that). Anyway it was interesting, and the guys in the team (mainly men) are really top Aussies, hell ocker, and interesting to talk to. They also bribed us with Australian chocolate and paying for our lunch he he he.
Anyway my interpreting highlights have been as follows:
1) Having to explain to the naval commander running the field hospital (which is a half-finished basketball stadium) that he needs to do something about the people who are washing their clothes in the toilet out the back.
2)That he needs to do something about the raw sewerage emanating from a toilet in close proximity to the hospital, while I was pointing at said sewerage.
3) That he needs to stop helicopters from landing so close to the AusAID installment because it might cause severance of electrical cords (true) or cause dirt to enter the medical equipment (lie- but more effective in achieving desired outcome)
Anyways, this guy wearing navy uniform and loads of badges just stared at me like I was an upstart of a 23 year old Australian girl with average Indonesian and no uniform and what the hell was I telling him for. Which wasn't far from the mark. But the helicopters started landing further away.....
Anyway, my head feels distinctly fluish. Not surprising really.
My immediate problems in life are as follows- where am I going to find a shop selling suits in my size now that all the big malls in town have fallen down, where am I going to find shoes, and where am I going to find the one book in existence written in English on the Indonesian legal system which was impossible to find before the earthquake and it seems, will be more impossible to find now.
Aduh. Sampai nanti.
Saturday, June 03, 2006
A Few Moments for Reflection
It has been to say the very least, the most challenging, emotionally testing and rewarding week of my life. The earthquake happened a week ago, and it feels like no time and all time have passed. The weirdest feeling.
ACICIS, through the donations we received, I estimate spent about 100million rupiah last week on sending aid to some of the most remote areas of Bantul and other areas of the province of Yogya. Which is approaching 15 thousand dollars. However because of exams, that unfortunately still must be completed, we have to stop work until Thursday at which point we are going to reassess what would best be done with the residual money, of which there is still a lot. The reason I know so much about the money is because I was put in charge of finance during the week, which was hilarious to me as I loathe accounting, but gave me a good focus and something that I could do properly and well.
So until next Thursday, no ACICIS related activities, but there are a few organisations that need interpreters including AusAID, so I might do a couple of shifts with them starting tomorrow.
We had our ACICIS final dinner last night at Parsley, and it was a good chance to unwind and relax with a beer and our close friends together. Somewhere in all the chaos, Lauren, Sam with Lestari (ACICIS employee) managed to find time to come up with awards for all of us. Alana won the Tequila award (for drinking the most free tequila at Hugo’s) Ben won the Bad Luck Award (for having Typhoid, losing wallets, having hundreds of dollars a watch and a ring stolen, and other miscellaneous bad luck) and I won the Turkchaser Award. If you don’t know what that means don’t ask. ;-)
To end the evening, Katrina (ex pat Aussie married to an East Timorese guy & living in Yogya) and I sang the Yogyakarta Blues that we composed on Thursday night. When I get the lyrics from Kat I will post them, although they are full of in-jokes and token Indonesian words, so y’all might not find em that funny……. We then commandeered the band and proceeded to sing for another half an hour. No-one paid any attention to us, but it was a good stress release.
Anyway, it has occurred to me coming to the end of my time in Yogya and given all that has happened that I really don’t want to leave. I am settled in well, my Indonesian would benefit from another 6 months here, and it is an easy place to live. If my internship in Jakarta doesn’t bear the kind of fruit I am looking for then I am going to look for work with an Aid Organisation here in Yogya, they have already started advertising so I am sure that there are going to be a lot of opportunities. Don’t worry mum, I will come home first. Anyway, nothing may eventuate, but I am going to try anyway and see what fate throws up out of the cracks in the road that weren’t there a week ago…………..
ACICIS, through the donations we received, I estimate spent about 100million rupiah last week on sending aid to some of the most remote areas of Bantul and other areas of the province of Yogya. Which is approaching 15 thousand dollars. However because of exams, that unfortunately still must be completed, we have to stop work until Thursday at which point we are going to reassess what would best be done with the residual money, of which there is still a lot. The reason I know so much about the money is because I was put in charge of finance during the week, which was hilarious to me as I loathe accounting, but gave me a good focus and something that I could do properly and well.
So until next Thursday, no ACICIS related activities, but there are a few organisations that need interpreters including AusAID, so I might do a couple of shifts with them starting tomorrow.
We had our ACICIS final dinner last night at Parsley, and it was a good chance to unwind and relax with a beer and our close friends together. Somewhere in all the chaos, Lauren, Sam with Lestari (ACICIS employee) managed to find time to come up with awards for all of us. Alana won the Tequila award (for drinking the most free tequila at Hugo’s) Ben won the Bad Luck Award (for having Typhoid, losing wallets, having hundreds of dollars a watch and a ring stolen, and other miscellaneous bad luck) and I won the Turkchaser Award. If you don’t know what that means don’t ask. ;-)
To end the evening, Katrina (ex pat Aussie married to an East Timorese guy & living in Yogya) and I sang the Yogyakarta Blues that we composed on Thursday night. When I get the lyrics from Kat I will post them, although they are full of in-jokes and token Indonesian words, so y’all might not find em that funny……. We then commandeered the band and proceeded to sing for another half an hour. No-one paid any attention to us, but it was a good stress release.
Anyway, it has occurred to me coming to the end of my time in Yogya and given all that has happened that I really don’t want to leave. I am settled in well, my Indonesian would benefit from another 6 months here, and it is an easy place to live. If my internship in Jakarta doesn’t bear the kind of fruit I am looking for then I am going to look for work with an Aid Organisation here in Yogya, they have already started advertising so I am sure that there are going to be a lot of opportunities. Don’t worry mum, I will come home first. Anyway, nothing may eventuate, but I am going to try anyway and see what fate throws up out of the cracks in the road that weren’t there a week ago…………..
Thursday, June 01, 2006
Update
Hey ppl,
Stuff we have been doing summarised below.
Dear ACICIS supporters, family and friends,
This is an update from the ACICIS office in Yogyakarta as of Thursday, June 1.
Firstly, on behalf of all the ACICIS students working on post-earthquake relief efforts in Yogyakarta, we sincerely thank you all for your wonderful support.
We would like to update you on what we have done so far, and what we intend to do.
Firstly, we wish to acknowledge that we are not an aid organisation. Your donations are not tax deductible, firstly because we are not working as an organisation but as a group of individuals associated with ACICIS. We understand and appreciate that you have donated because you know us as individuals, or you have been passed on information from other people you trust. We thank you for your confidence and wish to keep you informed as to where your money is going.
Secondly, because we are not set up organisationally to do this work, we are currently gathering information about several organisations we think are already best placed to carry out effective medium-term relief efforts. Obviously we will need to stop at some point and pass on any remaining money. So, today we met and made a plan for the next week all ACICIS students currently in Jogja were invited to attend. We will keep working until tomorrow (Friday) night to carry out activities already in process. We will break from Saturday to Wednesday to study and complete exams. On Thursday we will meet again with fresh energy and new information to decide how to proceed.
In summary, relief efforts so far have been:
Days 1-2 (Saturday and Sunday) Individual efforts by ACICIS students.
Day 3 (Monday) Gathered at ACICIS, those who were there pooled information about what was needed, pooled all available cash, bought medical supplies, divided up and delivered to medical posts same day. Bulk food bought along with toiletries, fuel and water and divided into 50 household packs (one big box each). Used motorbikes to deliver medical packs and rice. One night delivery of other supplies by truck to a village at Terbah.
Day 4 (Tuesday) Record keeping system developed. Start using money donated to Phil s account. Two early morning deliveries of remainder of packs made up the day before. Information feedback from deliveries about more appropriate supplies. Made new bulk food and equipment orders (tents, fuel...). Received bulk medical supplies order made the day before. Delivered back out to medical posts and villages.
Day 5 (Wednesday) Refining record keeping and organisation. Decided to combine efforts with a relief post in the south of the city who are very well organised. Two deliveries to them to distribute. Several bulk supply loads bought and picked up by others to deliver, or delivered ourselves to villages we knew were in need. Another truckload of bulk food bought. Cross checking with other organisations information re needs line up. Students also working with the university on translation tasks.
Day 6 (Thursday) Reassessment of situation. Meeting reviewed all previous efforts. Assessed financial situation and medium term plans. At least $5,000 spent so far, and it appears that at least that amount will be spent today and again tomorrow. Hundreds of different kinds of packs and other supplies delivered to at least 15 different villages to be distributed to scores of families, and scores more delivered directly to families wherever possible. Other supplies delivered to about 25 other places over the course of the week as supplementary efforts and via other contacts. Hard to evaluate numbers of people we have reached. Decided now to focus on the 3 villages we have good contacts in, that we know have not yet received other assistance. Today to be spent on delivering and organising pick up of bulk food that is here. More bulk supplies of rice, tarps, cooking oil and kerosene being bought now. Supplies like tarps are no longer available in Jogja and we are sending trucks elsewhere.
Plan for Day 7 (Friday) Focus on shopping - buy more bulk supplies with the money we have.
Saturday to Wednesday We are taking an official break, studying for and sitting exams. In the meantime, low key efforts over the 5 days will deliver existing supplies, and other contacts will pick up and deliver. We will also do some more information gathering to identify several options for use of any remaining funds.
Thursday 8 June Meeting to regather and reassess.
**
Once again, thank you all so much for your support. As you can understand, the situation is potentially quite stressful. The devastation to be seen is shocking, but the people affected are showing amazing resiliance and patience. We are only one small group amongst many thousands of people - from larger international aid organisations to local NGOs and temporary networks - who are all working to the best of their abilities. Whilst the need is still huge and will be for some time, the urgency is abating. Your help has made a difference up until now there were villages who had still received no government or official aid assistance. This accords with information from other groups.
With regard to further donations, we advise that whilst the work we have done to date has been useful, we cannot sustain these efforts and there are other groups that are better organised and in a position to continue to be effective. We are currently seeking alternative options for donations, and will provide you with a list you can choose from as soon as possible. Donations still being received into Phil s account will be used to fulfil requests as long as we have the energy and people. Remaining funds will be channelled into other organisations to be determined next week.
We will continue to keep you informed of our activities and decisions.
Yours sincerely
ACICIS Students in Jogja
Stuff we have been doing summarised below.
Dear ACICIS supporters, family and friends,
This is an update from the ACICIS office in Yogyakarta as of Thursday, June 1.
Firstly, on behalf of all the ACICIS students working on post-earthquake relief efforts in Yogyakarta, we sincerely thank you all for your wonderful support.
We would like to update you on what we have done so far, and what we intend to do.
Firstly, we wish to acknowledge that we are not an aid organisation. Your donations are not tax deductible, firstly because we are not working as an organisation but as a group of individuals associated with ACICIS. We understand and appreciate that you have donated because you know us as individuals, or you have been passed on information from other people you trust. We thank you for your confidence and wish to keep you informed as to where your money is going.
Secondly, because we are not set up organisationally to do this work, we are currently gathering information about several organisations we think are already best placed to carry out effective medium-term relief efforts. Obviously we will need to stop at some point and pass on any remaining money. So, today we met and made a plan for the next week all ACICIS students currently in Jogja were invited to attend. We will keep working until tomorrow (Friday) night to carry out activities already in process. We will break from Saturday to Wednesday to study and complete exams. On Thursday we will meet again with fresh energy and new information to decide how to proceed.
In summary, relief efforts so far have been:
Days 1-2 (Saturday and Sunday) Individual efforts by ACICIS students.
Day 3 (Monday) Gathered at ACICIS, those who were there pooled information about what was needed, pooled all available cash, bought medical supplies, divided up and delivered to medical posts same day. Bulk food bought along with toiletries, fuel and water and divided into 50 household packs (one big box each). Used motorbikes to deliver medical packs and rice. One night delivery of other supplies by truck to a village at Terbah.
Day 4 (Tuesday) Record keeping system developed. Start using money donated to Phil s account. Two early morning deliveries of remainder of packs made up the day before. Information feedback from deliveries about more appropriate supplies. Made new bulk food and equipment orders (tents, fuel...). Received bulk medical supplies order made the day before. Delivered back out to medical posts and villages.
Day 5 (Wednesday) Refining record keeping and organisation. Decided to combine efforts with a relief post in the south of the city who are very well organised. Two deliveries to them to distribute. Several bulk supply loads bought and picked up by others to deliver, or delivered ourselves to villages we knew were in need. Another truckload of bulk food bought. Cross checking with other organisations information re needs line up. Students also working with the university on translation tasks.
Day 6 (Thursday) Reassessment of situation. Meeting reviewed all previous efforts. Assessed financial situation and medium term plans. At least $5,000 spent so far, and it appears that at least that amount will be spent today and again tomorrow. Hundreds of different kinds of packs and other supplies delivered to at least 15 different villages to be distributed to scores of families, and scores more delivered directly to families wherever possible. Other supplies delivered to about 25 other places over the course of the week as supplementary efforts and via other contacts. Hard to evaluate numbers of people we have reached. Decided now to focus on the 3 villages we have good contacts in, that we know have not yet received other assistance. Today to be spent on delivering and organising pick up of bulk food that is here. More bulk supplies of rice, tarps, cooking oil and kerosene being bought now. Supplies like tarps are no longer available in Jogja and we are sending trucks elsewhere.
Plan for Day 7 (Friday) Focus on shopping - buy more bulk supplies with the money we have.
Saturday to Wednesday We are taking an official break, studying for and sitting exams. In the meantime, low key efforts over the 5 days will deliver existing supplies, and other contacts will pick up and deliver. We will also do some more information gathering to identify several options for use of any remaining funds.
Thursday 8 June Meeting to regather and reassess.
**
Once again, thank you all so much for your support. As you can understand, the situation is potentially quite stressful. The devastation to be seen is shocking, but the people affected are showing amazing resiliance and patience. We are only one small group amongst many thousands of people - from larger international aid organisations to local NGOs and temporary networks - who are all working to the best of their abilities. Whilst the need is still huge and will be for some time, the urgency is abating. Your help has made a difference up until now there were villages who had still received no government or official aid assistance. This accords with information from other groups.
With regard to further donations, we advise that whilst the work we have done to date has been useful, we cannot sustain these efforts and there are other groups that are better organised and in a position to continue to be effective. We are currently seeking alternative options for donations, and will provide you with a list you can choose from as soon as possible. Donations still being received into Phil s account will be used to fulfil requests as long as we have the energy and people. Remaining funds will be channelled into other organisations to be determined next week.
We will continue to keep you informed of our activities and decisions.
Yours sincerely
ACICIS Students in Jogja
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