Use Irvine email...

Okay, now I've got my laptop set up for internet access in my little room. It's a dialup connection so slow, but seems to be stable. Amazingly, I can get the smtp server at Irvine to accept my emails, which means I can use Eudora. As a result, the best way to reach me now will be to use my Irvine email (tboellst@uci.edu) because I can download the email and then read it while not taking up time on the phone line. I will still check my google mail (tboellst@gmail.com) every day more or less, so if you prefer that one you can stick with it too. I'm excited to be getting settled in!

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.

Bu Lieke

On my last day in Surabaya, Akbar and I headed over to Bu Lieke's house. ("Bu" means "mother" and is a common term of address for adult women.) Bu Lieke is the woman with whom I lived when I was in Surabaya for half a year in 1997-8. She's a well-to-do widow who's got a big house with rooms that she rents out by the month, mostly to foreigners from North America, Europe, and Japan. She speaks Dutch and English and is a real hoot. She's a very devout Muslim who's been on the hajj but also very supportive and open-minded. People are always coming over to seek advice or support from her, or just to listen to her ribald jokes. It was so nice to spend the day with her just catching up and filling her in on my life these last couple of years.

Planning

Today was the final wrap-up session of the HIV/AIDS conference. Lots more schmoozing around with friends old and new. Then this afternoon had an important meeting at Gaya Nusantara. This is the oldest gay group in Indonesia and one I've been working with since 1992. They recently decided to create a Board of Directors as they grow the organization, and I was one of the two people they have initially asked to sit on that board. I got to see their new office, which they've had for over two years now but I hadn't seen before. They're renting a house which is what most nonprofits do; it's a large house with lots of rooms, great for their needs:



At the meeting I expressed once again my thanks for all they've done for me and talked about the possibility of me coming to Surabaya next summer for 4 weeks to do a training for activists and a second one for researchers. Might be fun...



They're a great bunch of people and several of them I've known for 15 years now, so we've got a long history together. They do great work and though I'm excited to be flying to Makassar tomorrow, I wish I had more time to spend with them.

Day 3 of the National HIV/AIDS conference

Today was another good day at the conference. Heard a couple good talks but the best part was all the networking and just hanging out with HIV/AIDS activists from all over Indonesia.


It's a great way to get caught up as to what's going on in various parts of Indonesia, to make new friends and catch up with old ones.



Then in the afternoon was an important meeting between the new national network for HIV prevention among men who have sex with men. The meeting was with Nafsiah Mboi; she is head of the National AIDS Commission. All the rooms were being used so we met with her in the lobby. The new network was formed at a meeting I attended on Monday, and I was asked to attend this one as well.


Here she is talking to Dede Oetomo, my colleague. At one point during the discussion he talked about how "we're working with Professor Tom Boellstorff from the University of California" and pointed over to me and I smiled and waved. Anything I can do to help lend credibility to the network is a help.


She was very supportive and I'm hopeful this meeting will help ensure that the new national AIDS plan takes gay men and transgenders into account.

Shopping

Day 2 of the conference is underway and is going well, but in the morning Akbar and I ran off to get my ticket to Makassar this Friday. Afterwards we went to Tunjungan Plaza, the giant mall in the center of town:




And had a "Doner Kebob," one of my favorite meals from when I've lived in Surabaya before.


Afterwards we headed to Mirota on Sulawesi street. The BEST place for good batik around in my experience:



Got a bunch of great stuff for gifts back home, and splurged for myself - got a real antique hand-drawn batik with a stunning pattern - here's just a little piece of it:



Now back to the meeting!

Day 1 of the National HIV/AIDS conference

Day 1 of the conference was a lot of fun. There is a big opening plenary with lots of big names including the Minister for People's Welfare, then some interesting sessions in the afternoon. Best was one on "celebrating the contributions of the first generation" that was a kind of roundtable for people had been doing HIV/AIDS work in Indonesia from early on. I saw many old friends there, some of whom I hadn't seen in 14 years! It's been great seeing so many old friends - Made, Doggie, Tuti, and Abby from Bali (they would love for me to come back there for a visit!), Esthi, Ian, and Herry from Surabaya, and many others. Made some new connections too. After all the traveling the last few days, it's great to just sit in place for a bit and get caught up on the situation here in Indonesia.

Since it's a conference, I didn't get many particularly interesting pics, but here's one of me with Akbar (from Makassar) and Egi (from Jakarta).