Letter From Banda Aceh, April 2006

April 2006
Dear Hotaru,
Singing from the nearby mosque is being played on the PA system – for all men to hear. Everyday is like that here in Banda Aceh. Five times a day, starting at five am, the prayers are blared from the speakers. Where there are no speakers, they are played on the radio so you could hear it anywhere you are. After a week of being here, I’ve gotten used to waking up in the mornings because of the prayers. Later this week, I think I have succeeded in sleeping through it, awaking only on the last few minutes before the place returns to the silence that rightfully belongs to the dawn. I manage to go back to sleep. There are several loudspeakers not all broadcasting the same thing and it becomes noisy sometimes. But I have to appreciate how you could not go through the day without being reminded to pray. Everything stands still at one to three pm on Fridays here. People stop, literally, and spend the afternoon in prayer. The expats around have to make sure they get to places where they ought to be, because the local drivers would have to excuse themselves at one pm.

Before we moved to a rented room, I have been spending most days this in the staff house where Clark Kent is assigned. I couldn’t yet manage to go out far by myself because I still haven’t figured the public transport system, and not many people speak English. I also add, as an excuse, the heat. It’s warm and I have to wear long sleeved shirts or blouses. It’s also not easy to go around. Banda is sort of like first class rural Philippines. Banda Aceh is quite a big place though. Not something you could readily tour by walking around.

No job offers came in the five weeks since I started sending out applications, so I guess the job hunting was not as easy as people said it would be – what with the multitude of NGOs that are here. But then, efforts have shifted to transitioning and turn-over work to the locals so job openings for organizations are mostly for locals. I’m shifting to offer my services as a volunteer instead, since it’s already off-timing to start work when Clark Kent’s contract is almost about to finish.

Clark Kent and I temporarily stayed at one of their office’s staff houses. It’s a nice big house with nice big rooms, each with its own bathroom. There’s a garden outside and some fountain-like structure inside, although it’s not working. The owner must be pretty rich. There are quite a lot of houses like this around. I think it was the week before when we had a tour of some of the houses in other areas – also relatively large houses. Some of the Indonesian staff from Clark Kent’s office, knowing we were looking for a place to rent, wanted to help us look around. People were actually willing to move out of the houses they were occupying so they could rent them out to expats ---- at gold mine prices. The influx of international NGOs here has created some sort of gold rush. It is very disturbing for me. This whole rebuilding and rehabilitating Banda Aceh thing is very disturbing for me. It has been a year since the tsunami. During that time, hundreds of people came and are still coming, millions of dollars were spent and are still being spent…. And yet there are still 60,000 people living in tents in the areas affected by the tsunami. This does not include the area where I am. Or where I see most of these foreign samaritans are.

We are now staying in rented room across the staff house. This one belongs to a nice widow whose husband died recently. Five granddaughters whom she has taken care of herself live with her, and one of them is about to graduate from medicine. She would always invite me to come visit her because she knows I stay alone in our room and she’s wanting company because she’s alone during the day. We’ve had some very interesting conversation.
Except for the occasionally disturbing thought that I am not producing a personal income with my time, I’ve been appreciating this time of not having to be tied down formally. I get to have a lot of quiet time. I still don’t have God’s answer on the other purposes of why I am here – including, for example, my contribution to society… but I have learned enough of God that there is also purpose in waiting. So for now, I wait. And try to make my soul ready.

I hope all is well for you this time, wherever you are.


Write me.

Kulibangbang