Ah gawd.... life just keeps getting more and more interesting...
So,
my boss Paul has accepted a job in Banda Aceh. He leaves in a month!
Which means.... I'll probably be A/Head of Office until they find
someone new (if that's what they decide). I think it will be difficult
to recruit someone that's prepared to come and work in Simeulue,
especially if it's only for a short time (around 9 months I'm guessing,
in order to close down our operations here by early next year). So who
knows, maybe I'll be Head of Office until I leave Simeulue.
Paul
and I are going to Banda Aceh tomorrow, for some meetings next week,
and also to farewell our logistics delegate Natasha, so hopefully that
will shed more light on what's gonna happen.
That whole
concept scares me a bit. I don't feel experienced enough to be Head of
Office. But of all the delegates in ARC I am probably the one who
understands most about projects in Sim! And we are winding down our
projects now; there is only the WatSan project and the construction
project in Kota Batu (building 120 houses for people displaced by the
earthquake), which also has an associated integrated program of
health/hygiene/livelihoods training. I'm a bit worried about Kota Batu
though, because it's been in the pipeline for 3 years and they haven't
even started building houses yet. So many delays. The construction
delegates haven't even visited the site. So bloody slack. It frustrates
the hell out of me. Until construction begins the community aren't even
remotely interested in doing any training, so one relies on the other.
Plus the WatSan component of the construction designs hasn't even been
properly considered! I get the distinct feeling they'll lump it all on
me as the only ARC WatSan delegate in Indonesia... which would stress me
out even more, on top of having to run the office. It would also mean I
probably wouldn't get out to the field as much, which I'd hate. But
that said, as HoO I'd also get to decide...
Plus I'm
really gonna miss Paul. I love having him around, he's a great guy,
really laid back and loves a drink (maybe a bit too much)! He's really
active too, always out on his bike or going running. Thank goodness we
have Nick, our new logistician here, for a bit of bule normality! But
he's a lot older and more conservative than me, so I don't enjoy his
company half as much as I do Paul's. But that said, I'm really happy for
Paul - he finally gets to live with his family. He'll be so much
happier in Banda Aceh, there's so many more people and things to do, and
his job will be better paid, have better support for him and his
family, and he won't be subject to the shit that regularly gets launched
at us from ARC Banda.
And in terms of other
departures: Jon, my mate from Care, is leaving on Wed. We're having a
farewell for him tonight. His girlfriend Steph, another great mate, is
leaving the following Sunday. So two of my favourite people are leaving!
:( They have been the most fun to have around on the island, and are
always keen to get out and about and do things. I will be very sad (not
to mention bored!) when they leave. At least they're moving to
Australia, so I can see them when I eventually get home!
Nam,
my tennis buddy and another favourite person on the island, leaves in a
couple of months too. I'll have to satisfy my tennis cravings through
the local old guys that play. Still fun, and it will help my Bahasa, but
not as fun (nor energetic!) as Nam. Plus, he is the only one prepared
to play early in the morning; all the old guys play from about 4pm.
Early morning is better because it's not so hot and there isn't a queue
to get on the court.
The only people left after that
will be Anna from GAA, Chigusa from Japanese RC (who are both great and
like to get out and be active), 2 Norwegian Red Cross people (who we
hardly see), plus 4 Germans who I don't see that much and who are quite a
bit older and more boring... so the options are certainly shrinking!
However, our national staff are lots of fun, and hopefully they will be
able to fill the gap left by my other friends. Plus I'm also thinking I
should get off my ass and explore Indonesia a bit more with my
weekends, and use up some of my leave to do so. There are lots of places
that are easy to get to from Medan that don't take much time to get to.
For
example, on Sunday Steph and I are going to Medan and then to Berastagi
to climb the volcano there. I am taking Monday off to do this, so back
to work on Tues - simple! Should be fun too, a last hurrah for Steph and
I.
So, all of these departures, the workload of Head
of Office, and the probably lengthy delay before a new HoO arrival will
definitely shape my intentions about staying on here. I'm strongly
considering leaving at the end of my contract now, and travelling back
home with my sister Ange.
I definitely have something
to look forward to - Ange's arrival! She is travelling home in early
August, after 2 years working in London. Yay!!! She gets to Medan on
August 8; we plan to travel around Indo together and I want to show her
around Simeulue too. Then she plans to go to Bangladesh to visit friends
there. Possibly some other countries in SE Asia as well. I would love
to join her for this part of her travel. Then I must decide to either
come back here, or travel back home with her. I miss her so much, and
can't wait to see her!!
If I did come back here, it
would be because I want to support my WatSan team, and see the project
to the end. It's scheduled to end 2008, but we're already 3 months
behind and not making ground quickly, particualrly due to logistics. So
who knows how long it will drag out for. I could be here for another
year! But I think I'd like to be home for Christmas, or at the most by
my birthday (end January). Something to aim for maybe.
So we'll just have to wait and see what happens... :)
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