Team Blog Links

So I've mentioned a few times that I am in Indonesia with a team of 10 people from six different countries.  You may be reading my blog from time to time and I thought I would share with you the links to all of their blogs.  Feel free to check them out, learn about their projects, and perhaps see some different pictures.  Enjoy!

Jessica Eidem (USA) - http://eidemindonesia3.blogspot.com/

Nitu Sharma (India) - http://colorsofzoe.blogspot.com/

Ruth Dela Cruz (Philippines) - http://ruthilicious.blogspot.com/

Tom Oblak (USA) - http://indonesiateam3oblak.blogspot.com/

Cheryl Kardos Patchin (USA) - I'm not doing a blog but I'm sending weekly articles to the Harrisburg Patriot News and they are publishing them in the business section each Monday.

• http://blog.pennlive.com/business/2012/03/ibmer_volunteers_to_help_hospi.html

• http://blog.pennlive.com/business/2012/03/language_creates_challenge.html

• http://blog.pennlive.com/business/2012/03/after_ibmers_long_flight_hospi.html

• http://blog.pennlive.com/business/2012/03/indonesian_adventure_is_a_chan.html

Will update the following if/when I receive!
Javier Hernandez-Sanchez (Mexico) -

Sabine Goll (Austria) -

Marcelo Tueiv (Brazil) -

Arun Babu K Nair (India) -

Vivek Anandaramu (India) -

#ibmcsc

Footprints

Four of us had plans to come to Bira Beach for the weekend, but they quickly came to a stop when we found out we were confined to the hotel.  However, we did end up going, but will only be spending one night here instead of two.  It's beautiful and gorgeous.  I will blog more about the weekend later, but wanted to at least share this much.

Before dinner, I went for a walk on the beach while my three team members stayed back.  I could hear the waves crashing on the shore, feel the baby-powder-like sand beneath my feet, and the ocean breeze blowing on my face.  I decided to turn around to see how far I was from where we were staying when I noticed my footprints in the sand, which reminded me of the poem, Footprints.  I realized there was only one set.

#ibmcsc

Hotel Confinement due to Demonstrations

On mid-day Wednesday, we were able to go into the office even though the demonstrations were still happening.  However, some teams were not able to go to the office all week (like the team working with Transportation).  We went to the office all day on Thursday and also went this morning (Friday), but were instructed to get back to the hotel around 2:00 Friday afternoon as the demonstrations were projected to get worse.

Link to a recent article showing a picture in Makassar:  http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/indonesian-parliament-set-to-vote-on-fuel-price-increase/508101

Four of us were planning on going to Bira Beach (5 hours away from Makassar) this weekend, but now will be staying in the hotel - at least for the next 22.5 hours (counting down).  We will see what happens after the vote on whether to increase the fuel prices.  Things could get worse.  April 1st would be the day the prices take effect, so things could be a little questionable next week too.  The other six people were planning on doing a city tour and go to some local (within one hour) attractions.  That is on hold now too.

Demonstrations aside, we did have an excellent day working today.  I'm excited to go back (assuming I'm able to) on Monday and train them in some more on one of the tools.

This picture is of me listening in on part of a seminar.  I only stayed about 20 minutes, but got a good idea of what it was about.  Then, it was off to the library for another 20 minutes to watch a bit of the high school competition.  They didn't do storytelling like the elementary kids, but had a particular topic in which to present.



Here is our lunch from today!  There is so much fresh fish here and it is amazing!  Makassar is known for its excellent fish.  In fact, I learned that much of the fish used/sold in Jakarta comes from Makassar.

After lunch, we went back to the office and worked a little bit on some training.  They are picking it up and like the tool we are suggesting.  I just hope we can actually go to the office next week to complete the training.  On Tuesday, we will be giving a final presentation to our client.  That leaves minimal time for us to get done the things we want to accomplish.

#ibmcsc

Back at the Office!

After two days of being confined to the hotel, Marcelo and I were able to go back to the office on Wednesday.  Although we weren't sure right away.  We planned on going, went down to the lobby only to find that our driver was not able to make it to the hotel due to the demonstrations.  Then we thought it was going to be another long day at the hotel.  But, by mid-morning, we were able to go into the office.  It was nice to be able to work with our clients again and redo our schedule to ensure we get everything done we plan on doing.  We're a little behind on some training, but did quite well with getting our presentations ready (multiple ones needed for training, final report, overall team presentation, etc.) since we were at the hotel for two days.

Marcelo doing some training in the office (Wednesday)

 We went to a nice place by the ocean for a quick lunch on Wednesday.  I think I could have sat there all day as it was gorgeous out!  However, there are only so many days left for us to work, so back to the office we went to finish up for the day.

On Thursday, we were able to spend the whole day working (not in the hotel).  We started by attending part of a storytelling contest sponsored by our main client.  The kids who were in the contest were amazing!  Even though I didn't know the language, you could get an idea of the story by how they told it.

We left the contest early to go to the office and do some catch up work.  I was really pleased at the end of the day as I spent about 1.5 hours or so training a couple of people in on a tool.  They really see the value and were catching on quickly.  I am starting to see what some of the benefits will be to this organization after we leave and it is both exciting and cool!  Sometimes I wish we had more time to implement more, but I guess I can relate that to the saying about housecleaning - there is always more to do!

#ibmcsc

Weekend #1 (yes, this is a very late post)

It seems I got behind on a few blogs after about a week of being in Indonesia.  I did great that first week, but then the whole team got pretty busy and I got behind a bit.  ABV (Australian Business Volunteers), the company that lined up all of our projects, planned a weekend team activity for us the first weekend.  The planned outing was originally a trip to a butterfly park and a waterfall - it was supposed to be a one-day trip.  However, lots of people were telling us that we should visit Tana Taraja.  Tana Taraja was about an 8-hour drive (ended up being more like 9) away from Makassar, but is on the same island as us.  Tana Taraja is an area extremely rich in culture.  The largest attraction is probably the hanging graves, grave caves, and traditional housing.  They have elaborate funeral ceremonies, but typically these are during the June/July time frame.  So, we were able to change our group activity to Tana Taraja.

Here are a few links if you would like to see pictures posted by other people and/or find out more information about the area:

• http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g1143549-Tana_Toraja_South_Sulawesi_Sulawesi.html
• http://www.lonelyplanet.com/indonesia/sulawesi/tana-toraja

Breakfast room at hotel

Walk through the hotel courtyard (replicas of traditional houses)

Our journey started Friday (March 16th) after work.  The plan was to leave on the bus at 5:00, but it was shortly after 6:00 by the time we actually got loaded and going.  Our trip involved two nights at a hotel (or maybe I should say one and a half as we arrived very very late), all meals, and a tour guide.  We stopped for dinner after about 3.5 hours into the trip.  It was a great view overlooking the ocean, but it was dark at the time.  Then, we continued on our journey, arriving in Tana Taraja at 3:30 a.m.  Breakfast was at 8:00 or 8:30 and we were leaving to go tour the area at 9:00.  The hotel we stayed at was quite nice and had a pool, but no air conditioning.  By the time we got there, I didn't care, I just needed sleep!

The houses in Tana Taraja have a boat-shaped roof.  You can see the replicas that were at our hotel.  Later on, we went to see real ones where people live.  They are boat-shaped because a long time ago, people would arrive in their boat, build their house, and then put their boat on top of their house (giving all of them a boat-shaped appearance).

Even with only a few hours of sleep, I was excited to go tour for the day.  We went to several different sites - all with their own unique culture, customs, and traditions.  I will share a few pictures here and give a brief explanation.  I have many more, so be sure to ask me about the trip!

Hotel courtyard

Hotel courtyard with replicas of the traditional shaped Taraja homes.

My and Nitu's room for the weekend

Two beds and a shower was all we needed for the weekend after the 9+ hour drive down the semi-finished road between Makassar and Tana Taraja!

Pool area - anyone up for yoga?

The pool area, where some people (no names) had a diving contest, and others learned yoga and various ethnic dances!  We wish there was a pool at our hotel in Makassar!  It was nice to come back and go for a swim after a long day of touring.

Ready!

Most of the team ready to go for the day.  Believe this photo is missing two team members who were either shopping, taking pictures somewhere else, or talking!

Rice drying

 Driving through the local areas.  Saw many of these tarps with rice drying along the way, some in yards, and some on the road.









At one of our first villages - I am standing next to a traditional Taraja house.  The horns mounted on the front of the house were how many buffaloes were sacrified for a funeral of someone who had lived there.  The Taraja people basically live and work so they can have an elaborate funeral.  In their minds, the more things sacrificed, the better your chances are (to get to where you want) after death.







So, we were able to go into someone's house (with permission of course).  This is a picture of the lady who died and she is in the coffin behind.  Typically, families will keep the bodies in the house (mummified in a coffin) until they can raise the amount of money they want for the funeral.  This also give them time for preparations like building additional temporary housing for family members who will travel for the funeral.  This woman died about three weeks before we arrived and her funeral is going to be in July.  They told us it is planned to be the largest funeral ceremony to take place to date.




The Taraja believe that your body must reside somewhere between earth and sky after you die.  Therefore, they need to be off of the ground.  This is a picture of a family tomb.  All members of this family will go into the round part on the bottom after they die.  You can see a few of the photos towards the top.










Here is a picture of the suspended coffins up high on the hillside.  These ones are quite old and some have fallen apart.



The Taraja will make effigies of the dead.  This shows what they looked like when they were alive and at the age of their death.  The ones in this photo are behind a locked gate.  The lady with the purple dress on was a more recent death than the others in this picture.




Here is a group of students who wanted a picture with me!








This is a picture of the colored buffalo.  If you look close, you can see that the eyes are a bright blue.  Its eyes were very beautiful.  These buffalo are quite expensive, but are a very important part of the Taraja tradition and culture.





Here is a picture of more effigies up on a wall.  We were able to walk over to the wall and get a closer look (although they were up high).  This is the point where my camera battery went dead.




We did go visit one other site.  It was called the baby tree.  When babies died before they had teeth (either in the womb or at a very young age), their bodies were placed in a tree (inside the trunk).  This was in hopes that the couple would be blessed with another child.  There were various reasons as to why the holes in the tree (which were made to place the babies in) either closed completely or did not close.  This takes at least 60 years, but the tree does grow shut where the hole was made.

This was definitely a tour I will never forget.  The ride to get there was bumpy and long, but if you have the opportunity, you should make it a priority.  If you can go in the summer months, you may be able to see a funeral.  The people were very friendly.

#ibmcsc

You say you don't like doing laundry???

Have you ever complained about doing laundry?  Well, these types of statements likely won't be coming from me anymore.  There is a laundry service at our hotel, but everyone who has used it has had their clothes come back a little bit smaller as they shrink.  Therefore, I decided that I won't use the hotel laundry service.  There are not laundromats like there are in the US or other countries.  That left me with one option - doing laundry by hand.

My friend, Tom - on my team, let me use a bucket and plastic washboard that he bought specifically for doing laundry.  I did bring along a packet of Tide, so had some soap to use.  I started sorting my clothes thinking that I didn't need to wash everything, but I still ended up with a pretty big "dirty" pile.  Then, I realized that I have never done laundry by hand before (other than maybe a hand-wash-only delicate item where all you do is soak it).  I started putting some water and soap in the bucket and was washing my clothes on the plastic washboard, but I wasn't sure if I should do them one-by-one, or put a bunch in all at once, or what.  So, I turned to my trusted source of information, the internet.  I found a great video with lots of hints and tips on how to do your laundry while traveling.  Here is the link:  http://www.ridiculouslyextraordinary.com/15-minutes-clean-clothes-anywhere-in-the-world/

The hard part of this process was finding a spot to dry my clothes.  There is no dresser or anything in the room.  The closet is about 16" wide and not by any airflow (plus I have some good clothes hanging in there).  I have one chair in my room, one sink (free standing), and the shower/toilet room.  I feel like I have clothes draped wherever possible such that hopefully they dry by morning.

The process I used was as follows:

1. Wash as many clothes as possible in the bucket at one time (adding one by one and using washboard for each one)
2. Churn them around in there (like an agitator) for a minute or two
3. Let soak for 10 minutes
4. Wring each one out and put in sink full of water to rinse
5. Start step 1 again with the next "load" to get them soaking
6. Take the ones out of the sink and wring them out
7. Put between two towels (or fold a towel in half on them) to take out as much excess water as possible
8. Find a spot to hang them
9. Wring the second load out and move to sink
10. Repeat

The process took about 2.5 hours for me - I did do a lot of laundry.  This seems to have worked (although clothes are still wet right now) and my room smells very fresh and clean!   I will not complain about having to put laundry in a washer or dryer again.  If you are one of those people, you should try doing it by hand sometime!

#ibmcsc

Demonstrations against rising fuel prices

Well, it's been a different start to the week this week.  Apparently, fuel prices are going to increase on April 1st.  We knew this when we got to Makassar as we saw some small demonstrations that first week here.  However, now that April 1st is fast approaching, the demonstrations are getting larger and IBM Security has advised us to stay at the hotel both Monday and Tuesday.  Fortunately, we were all able to continue on with some portion of our projects since we all work remote from time to time.

The demonstration we saw on the first day here was just a group of scooters/motorcycles grouped together (maybe 100 or so of them) honking their horns, carrying flags and banners, and making noise.  I do not know of any details of demonstrations in Makassar yesterday or today, but did take some pictures of the news (posted below).  I believe there was a big on in Jakarta today which is what most of the pictures are.  We are all hoping to go back to our respective offices tomorrow as we need to continue to make progress on our recommendations and projects.

In Makassar

In Jakarta

In Jakarta

#ibmcsc