Montag, September 26, 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
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
