I'm in Makassar!

After spending the day with Bu Lieke, Akbar and I headed off to the airport in Surabaya, which like in most Indonesian cities is 10 miles or so outside town. Uneventful, on-time 830pm flight to Makassar; with the one-hour time difference it was 1130pm or so by the time we made it in from the Makassar airport to the Gaya Celebes (GC) office. What a homecoming - it was so touching to see the office again (last time I was here was in 2004). Several old friends were there - they stayed up late waiting for me just to say hello, so sweet. Like many small NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in Indonesia, GC rents a house in a residential area. They've used this house for 10 years now, and about 5 years ago the director (Akbar) actually bought the house, which is great because now they don't have to worry about getting the rent raised on them or having to move because the owner has decided to sell. The house has a living room-kind of main room, two rooms off to the right, and a kitchen with two more rooms in the back. I'm staying in the first of the two front rooms; the second is the main office where they've got their computers and everything. When I'm not here, this front room is used for a clinic (where a doctor comes and offers basic health services including HIV screening) or for other purposes. Now they seem to have the clinic in one of the back rooms. In any case, this is now the third time that I've lived in this front room when I'm here in Makassar. It's a perfect setup all around. I get to be right in the middle of the action - I just step out of my room in the morning and things are already happening. And I pay them rent at a good rate (basically what I would pay Bu Lieke back in Makassar) and that's a fairly substantial amount of money for them that's not tied to any particular grant, so they can use it for whatever they need. (In the NGO world, a persistent problem is that grant money is tied to specific programs, and it's very hard to find funds for basic operating needs - that new couch for the office, a keyboard for the computer, etc.) They've worked hard to make my room comfy which is very sweet. The room has its own bathroom, Indonesian-style which I'm very used to. Squat toilet and water basin with a plastic bucket; to "shower" you stand in the tiled little bathroom and dump buckets of cold water on yourself. That first bucket is painful every time, but it feels great afterwards - it really cuts through the heat and leaves you feeling very refreshed. They've painted the room for me - a kind of lime green - and there's a nice little desk, dresser, and bed, even a water cooler so I've got nice chilled water whenever I want. Tata, the guy who takes care of the house, is still here (he was here when Bill and I lived in this room in 2000). He keeps the house tidy and I pay him to do my laundry and such, which is the standard procedure around here.

So I'm very happy to be here after the unexpected Surabaya visit. It feels good to have my bags unpacked and to know that I can settle down here for a bit. Exactly 2 months from this day, my mom and I will be leaving Makassar for Singapore! The time is going to fly by in its own way once I get into a routine.

GC is doing some very interesting work that I plan on studying, including a new program for HIV-positive women who are pregnant, but I'll say more about GC, and the lovely city of Makassar itself, in future posts.