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