Freitag, Februar 24, 2006
Aceh Journal: Peterpan
"apa kabar Banda Aceh?"
That's Ariel's first sentence. Last Feb. 22 there was this worst traffic jam I've ever had here in Banda Aceh! A Bandung boys band named Peterpan came to town and rocked Banda Aceh! :)
About 30,000 people, young and old, boys and girls came. Not to mention expats ... all gathered in Harapan Bangsa Stadium to see Peterpan. They threw a concert, a charity concert, and it was really good. I've never seen Acehnese as excited as that night. Not when they get a new house, not when they get a cash grant. A different night in Banda Aceh ... which is good because I can see some smiles again in the faces of those people.
What's so unique about this concert is that males and females are separated. Males to the right section, females in the left. They said this is Aceh, the only place in Indonesia that applied Islamic syariat in daily lives. Thousands of couples came that night, but none was able to enjoy the concert together. Unique ... I've definitely never seen anything like that before! :p
God is good, he is really good.
This week started bad for me, but ended pretty well. Remember the person I talked about in my last journals? Well, he did something bad again. This time he tried to slander me. It was Monday morning when I came to the office only to find angry (sort of) faces from the drivers. One of them asked me my intention in writing that Acehnese are assholes. So I said it couldn't be me because I never said or wrote anything like it. Later I found out that this man has been telling lies to my coordinator, my manager, the HR, the drivers and the securities by saying that I've been insulting Acehnese in my emails. Apparently he has been spying on my emails through the system, and in God knows how many occasions he read my emails. My personal emails!! So he's been trespassing, until last week when he made the wrong move. He did all the slandering to make me look bad in front of my colleagues. He was trying to get me kicked out from the office. FOrtunately, God's with me, and when GOd's with me, I am safe. My manager warned me for the second time, but I denie all the charges by showing him proofs that I was innocent. I denied all the charges and then waited. In brief, I was released from all charges, the drivers and the securities later realized that they've been used for personal reason, and the management punished the bad guy. So now I guess the whole thing has turn against him. Like I said ... God is good, all the time He's good. He made everything good in His time. May God bless this man and change his heart.
Anyway, update about Aceh. BRR as the government's supervising organization for NGOs will open a recruitment process. THey say they will need hundreds of new staffs. A French guy was drowned when swimming in Lampu'u, Lhok Nga. His body has yet to be found. Talking about Lhok Nga beach ... people has started to use this beach for recreation once more. On weekends hundreds of people come to Lhok Nga (in front of the cement factory) to swim or have a BBQ or just to have fun there. It's nice knowing that people are not afraid of the beach anymore. A year after the tsunami, the trauma has left the heart of the people. I don't know if this is a good news or not. I mean does this happen too fast? or right about time ...
What people desperately need right now is houses. It's sad to know that in some areas people are still living in tents. Again ... this is classic. Back to the government and stuffs.
So have a good day, folks!
Say your prayers for all the victims and the people serving here. We need them.
God bless y'all!
thanks
hye
photos: www.flickr.com/photos/hye
blog: hyemania.blogspot.com
peterpan's songs from the OST album Alexandria: hye.undergroundcandy.org
That's Ariel's first sentence. Last Feb. 22 there was this worst traffic jam I've ever had here in Banda Aceh! A Bandung boys band named Peterpan came to town and rocked Banda Aceh! :)
About 30,000 people, young and old, boys and girls came. Not to mention expats ... all gathered in Harapan Bangsa Stadium to see Peterpan. They threw a concert, a charity concert, and it was really good. I've never seen Acehnese as excited as that night. Not when they get a new house, not when they get a cash grant. A different night in Banda Aceh ... which is good because I can see some smiles again in the faces of those people.
What's so unique about this concert is that males and females are separated. Males to the right section, females in the left. They said this is Aceh, the only place in Indonesia that applied Islamic syariat in daily lives. Thousands of couples came that night, but none was able to enjoy the concert together. Unique ... I've definitely never seen anything like that before! :p
God is good, he is really good.
This week started bad for me, but ended pretty well. Remember the person I talked about in my last journals? Well, he did something bad again. This time he tried to slander me. It was Monday morning when I came to the office only to find angry (sort of) faces from the drivers. One of them asked me my intention in writing that Acehnese are assholes. So I said it couldn't be me because I never said or wrote anything like it. Later I found out that this man has been telling lies to my coordinator, my manager, the HR, the drivers and the securities by saying that I've been insulting Acehnese in my emails. Apparently he has been spying on my emails through the system, and in God knows how many occasions he read my emails. My personal emails!! So he's been trespassing, until last week when he made the wrong move. He did all the slandering to make me look bad in front of my colleagues. He was trying to get me kicked out from the office. FOrtunately, God's with me, and when GOd's with me, I am safe. My manager warned me for the second time, but I denie all the charges by showing him proofs that I was innocent. I denied all the charges and then waited. In brief, I was released from all charges, the drivers and the securities later realized that they've been used for personal reason, and the management punished the bad guy. So now I guess the whole thing has turn against him. Like I said ... God is good, all the time He's good. He made everything good in His time. May God bless this man and change his heart.
Anyway, update about Aceh. BRR as the government's supervising organization for NGOs will open a recruitment process. THey say they will need hundreds of new staffs. A French guy was drowned when swimming in Lampu'u, Lhok Nga. His body has yet to be found. Talking about Lhok Nga beach ... people has started to use this beach for recreation once more. On weekends hundreds of people come to Lhok Nga (in front of the cement factory) to swim or have a BBQ or just to have fun there. It's nice knowing that people are not afraid of the beach anymore. A year after the tsunami, the trauma has left the heart of the people. I don't know if this is a good news or not. I mean does this happen too fast? or right about time ...
What people desperately need right now is houses. It's sad to know that in some areas people are still living in tents. Again ... this is classic. Back to the government and stuffs.
So have a good day, folks!
Say your prayers for all the victims and the people serving here. We need them.
God bless y'all!
thanks
hye
photos: www.flickr.com/photos/hye
blog: hyemania.blogspot.com
peterpan's songs from the OST album Alexandria: hye.undergroundcandy.org
