DSL and spiders

Started off the day today with the first return visit to one of the puskesmas where we've been doing the HIV testing and counseling program. It was nice to see the staff there - I just hung out with the staff while 3 of the staff did one-on-one posttest counseling with the pregnant women. I won't reveal which ones, but there are at least two cases of women who we've found to have HIV at the various community clinics, so there is some tension behind the lighthearted visits.

Later in the day, helped set up the DSL on the new GC computer. They've never had anything but dialup before. It's great to see how they are using the new computer, which on purpose we're putting in the main back area, so that it will be the staff computer and not associated with one person's desk. The staff really want to build their skills in using the computer and the Internet, so this is all very exciting.


In the evening, I went to a kelompok diskusi way on the outskirt of town, almost all the way to the airport. We went down a little dirt road in the dark - felt like being in a village. A very run-down home but a group of really nice waria. We had a great discussion. All the while I kept looking up at the opposing wall - up high was a giant spider - about 6 inches across. There are bird-eating spiders in Sulawesi - this might have been a small version of one? Of course, funny thing is the the black widows and brown recluses back in Long Beach are much more dangerous.