The Haze Part II

And purple use to be my favorite color! In this case though it means the air quality is in the dangerous zone. This is from the city 5-hours away. Farther south it is above 2000. 

A video from the southern part of our island:

. . . . . TABRAKAN BERUNTUN DI BASARANG KAPUAS . . . KARENA JARAK PANDANG BEGINI . . . KADANG HARUS BERHENTI . . . KARENA JARAK PANDANG KURANG DARI 1 METER . . . DI_AMBIL JAM 06.10 WIB . . .
Posted by Marcos Tuwan on Sunday, October 18, 2015

Not only is the haze dangerous to drive in, it is dangerous and even deadly to breathe in, especially for such a long time. The Indonesian government estimates that 325,000 people have become sick with respiratory illnesses like asthma and pneumonia from the haze. And that statistic is over a week old now and only counts those who have been seen at government health facilities. They also estimate that around 3% of those people have died. That may not sound like many until you do the the math. That is almost 10,000 people killed. And I see the effects through my Facebook feed almost every day. It is customary here to take pictures of the bodies of family and friends who have died, so I will be scrolling through my feed catching up on news from friends and then suddenly there is a picture of a dead body, very frequently a child or baby. Their smaller airways and lungs are not as able to handle the haze.

Check out this BBC video on the health effects of the haze, especially on children.

Help is on the way though as Indonesia has finally accepted help from places like Singapore and Australia who are lending manpower and airpower to help fight these fires. Unfortunately, all of that help seems to be going to the island of Sumatra instead of Kalimantan. There are more hot spots there and it is closer to Jakarta, Singapore, and Malaysia making it the more visible problem. The air quality however has been worse in Kalimantan, especially Central Kalimantan. As I write this it has passed 2000 psi again in the city of Palangkaraya (I am not sure how far past because the gauge stops working at 2000).

Please continue praying for rain, that wise decisions will be made by the government of Indonesia as to where their resources should be allocated and how to best punish those involved in starting the fires. At this point I am needing to use inhalers frequently to keep my asthma under control, so I am thinking about relocating to another island in Indonesia for awhile to give my lungs a break.

Time for a little R&R

The week between graduation and the start of the new school year, I took a little break away to Malaysia. This island (3rd largest in the world) of Borneo is shared by three countries - Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. The Indonesian portion is called Kalimantan and is separated into 5 different provinces. With just a 5-hour car trip and 45-minute plane trip or 12-14 hour car trip you can get yourself across the border to Malaysia, specifically the city of Kuching. We go there for visa work but we also go here to shop and enjoy things like Indian and Thai food or yummy McDonald's french fries :)

So what does a little R&R look like...

Look tall buildings! With multiple well-stocked malls and fun places to eat within walking distance or short taxi ride from my 14th story hotel room

Look its a bathtub! Ok so I wasn't a big bathtub person in the U.S. but I love a good soak here. Unfortunately for 3 of the 5 nights my hotel didn't have hot water (which they apparently didn't think was a big deal). I will confess that one night I resorted to filling the tub with mostly tepid water and then adding several of the kettles of hot water from the kettle provided in the room :) It wasn't great but it did work. 

I am not a huge fun of McDonalds in the U.S. but sometimes a girl just needs some french fries and a chocolate milk shake. 

I am not usually one of those girls who takes pictures of their food usually, but I also had a delicious seafood meal at TopSpot and some pretty delicious Indian food plus Pizza Hut and McDonalds. There are also numerous much better stocked stores in Kuching including places to get a large amount of cheese. Yep I was that girl with 5 kg (11 pounds) of cheese in her carry-on plus bacon and ham! The poor customs guy just about had a heart attack when I told him that there was pork in the box. Pork is considered unclean for Muslim people, so he had to go find someone else to inspect my baggage. Anyway, all in all it was a good trip. I am ready for my next vacation to have a little more adventure though - maybe Bali. There are definitely benefits to living in SE Asia! Anyone want to join me?   

The Haze

With the dry season well upon us and lasting a long time, the haze has set in. This is annual occurrence here in Indonesia, as land and jungle is burned for planting. In the not so distant past it was mostly famers who used this method to clear small areas of land but in more recent years with the money to be made with palm oil tree plantations and other cash crops, large portions of land are being cleared and burned each year. For several years now this has caused numerous problems with the air quality both here in Indonesia but also in neighboring countries like Malaysia and Singapore. For the most part those who use this illegal method have not been punished and it is just something we all have to deal with. Partially, because while it is the local people starting the fires they are under intense pressure to clear the land by the owners, many of which live in big cities on other islands and even other countries.

This year though the dry season has lasted longer and the haze has reached extremely high levels, affecting the health of many. Here in Indonesia kids don't get snow days but instead smoke days off from school. There have been several reports of people, especially children, dying because the smoke causes an asthma attack or pneumonia. Our hospital here has seen a large increased in lung infections and asthma. Airports are also closed for much of the day, causing problems. Plus of course this only increases the rate of deforestation.

Here are a few pictures to illustrate what is happening:

Air Quality (or lack thereof!) in our nearby city of Pontianak. Anything above 350 is considered dangerous. Other cities in Indonesia are even higher. In comparison for those in the Northwest, on this same scale your air quality this summer at the peak of your forest fires was mostly between 150-350. 

The view from my house on a normal day

The view from my house on a smokey day. You can barely see across the soccer field. 

But at least we know how to poke fun at ourselves too. This comic has been making its way around social media lately. You are looking at the flags for Indonesia (right), Malaysia & Singapore (left). Indonesia recently celebrated its 70th birthday and apparently they all got together to celebrate...

Please join us in praying for rain, for those responsible to be held accountable, and for the health of all affected by the haze.

For those interested, you can read more here:
A good basic article on what is happening here.
And an article on the arrest of some of the executives here:

A New Class

So it all starts with a...

This is basically a nice brochure the school puts together that outlines the curriculum, the application process, and costs etc. There are also banners put up around the area with information about registration.

Then over the next two months young people (mostly high school seniors) come with one of their parents and register. They have to meet requirements such as height and weight, provide a picture, and pay a fee to register.

Then in mid-August they come to campus for the entrance exam. This year we had 78 register and 60 show up to take the test.

Lining up the morning of the entrance exam

 The test has four subjects - Indonesian, English, Math, and Science. It is a total of 100 questions and they have 3 hours to complete it. It is actually really hard, especially considering they are not allowed to use a calculator.

Hard at work taking the test

Once the students are done taking the test, the correction team gets to work. Each answer sheet is coded, removing the student's name from the answer sheet, to help prevent cheating. Each year members of the correction team receive offers of bribes from family members of those who are applying. There is also temptation because many who apply are local kids and some have extended family members who work at the Nursing School. We also have each answer sheet checked by two people and then a third if there is any discrepancy. After the grades are entered, we make a final decision as to how many students will be accepted. We usually try to make it a definitive answer like they passed in at least two of the subjects but this year we didn't have enough to reach that point. The average was quite low unfortunately.

We don't have a scantron machine, so each correct answer block is cut-out by hand and then corrected by hand

Waiting for the results to be posted

In the end we accepted 50 students. They still had to pass a physical exam though and go through an interview. Our final class new freshmen class has 46 students. It will be a lot of fun to get to know them in the coming three years. I will be providing academic counseling and support to 3 of them: Nimrod, Gusniati, and Dolina.

Hitting a Moving Target

Most of you have probably heard of culture shock but this post is about its lesser known sibling, cultures stress or I as like to refer to it - hitting a moving target. I have been stuck deep in this process recently and it is probably one of the reasons I haven't been posting as much. There are days I find myself in over my head and I will admit I am really looking forward to taking some vacation in September and hoping to come back rested and ready to dig deeper into the culture.

So let's talk a little about culture stress. Since most of you have probably heard of culture shock we can start there...

Culture shock is:
the feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes.

On the other hand culture stress is:
the adjustment stage in which people accept the new environment, adopting new ways of thinking and doing things so that they feel like they belong to the new culture. This takes years, and some missionaries never complete it.

Think about it this way - as you grew you learned how to do things in your own culture, how to shop, how to stand line, how to communicate. Now imagine you have been dropped in a whole new place and you don't know how to do those things anymore. Basically you have been reduced to being a child again. Wham bam culture shock! The shock though fades as you learn how to navigate those things. You then have a choice to assimilate just enough to survive or go farther and dig deeper to really truly thrive in this new place. You have to begin accept the new traditions and culture as your own. 

It is hard though. You will have a day when you communicated well and things went smoothly and then it doesn't. You feel stress just going to town and doing the shopping knowing that you look like a rich white person, as you can afford to buy enough for more than a couple of days. Yet you never can find everything on your list because there is always something kosong/habis (not in stock). You learn to buy a lot of something if it is in stock. You miss a meeting at work because there is no group calendar or email system to let everyone know that the time and place for that very important meeting has changed. Instead you get a panicked phone call at some random time asking where you are because you were suppose to be there awhile ago and everyone is waiting for you. Or you follow the syllabus and prepare the class assigned to you that week but then you get there and they have changed the topic to one you were suppose to teach later in the semester, the one you don't have prepared yet. Sometimes it is just a language miscommunication but some days it feels like you just can't keep up. You just always feel like you are one step behind or trying to hit a moving target.  It is a target you thought you had figured out and then it changes, again and again. It is exhausting! It is stressful! 

For those that know me well you know that flexibility is not one of my strong points. It is that first-born child thing :) I like to be in charge and know what is going on. I also have a quick temper when things don't go my way (just ask my sisters). That is a really bad personality combination for this culture and to be going through culture shock and stress with. I know though the Lord knew exactly what He was doing though when He brought me here. He knew I had a few (ok maybe a lot!) of rough edges that needed to be rubbed down as He shaped me into the person He wants me to become. That doesn't mean the process is easy though and there are days I feel myself slipping toward burnout. I know that means though that I need to turn from self-reliance to God-reliance. Especially as an introvert, I need to take time to rest and process. And I need people to pray for and with me. I am simply a sinful human and can only do the best I can, knowing that I am work in progress by my Creator. 

Here are some ways you can be praying:

~ Pray I will do my best to remain cheerful, flexible, and not get angry in the midst of this culture stress. 

~ Pray I will know my boundaries and when the right time is to accept things and when I should be working to change them. 

~ Pray for patience and understanding for my Indonesian teammates as they work with me each day. I imagine I am not the easiest person to work with on a regular basis, especially because of the many communication errors. 

~ Pray I continue to persevere at assimilating to this new culture, so I can not just survive but thrive here.

Want to read more - here are some good articles about this process.
http://thriveconnection.com/2015/05/05/cross-cultural-stress/
http://www.missionarycare.com/brochures/br_culturestress.htm

Birthday and a Funeral

So what did you do on your birthday was a frequent question from family and friends. Unfortunately the actual day I had to go to a funeral. Pastor Martin Luther served the Baptist church of Indonesia for many years. He was also a respected board member for our hospital. I had attended several meetings with him over the past year and appreciated his perspective. He leaves behind a wife, adult children and many grandchildren.

But just because I didn't get to celebrate on my actual birthday doesn't mean I didn't find time to celebrate. Since I am single it seemed easiest to just throw my own birthday party and celebrate with my friends here. So the Sunday evening before I hosted the Doctor's Bible Study at my house. We managed to eat four homemade pizzas, salad, fruit and almost two whole cakes! It was also a refreshing time of fun and fellowship. Oh and we did study the Bible too :)

Yum! Just waiting to be cooked - I have a very small oven it turns out. 

Food, food, and more food all gone :) 

For my actual birthday I planned to invite the other staff and teachers at the nursing school over for lunch. Because of the funeral we couldn't do that, so it was delayed a day and instead we celebrated on Thursday. This time we feasted on Indonesian food including yellow rice, chicken, and all the trimmings. The shape of the yellow rice is a traditional way of preparing it for special celebrations.

With the cooks

With the Nursing School staff at my house

All in all it was a good birthday. I also received a package from my Grandparents, several cards and lots of Facebook, email, What's App, and BBM messages. Oh and there is still one package coming from parents, so technically the birthday is not over yet :)

Lebaran Visiting

We just wrapped a busy weekend here as our Muslim government officials, neighbors, and friends celebrated the end of Ramadan (fasting month) with two days of celebrating and feasting called Lebaran or Idul Fitri. It is tradition here on big holidays like Christmas, Chinese New Year, and Lebaran, for people to visit and celebrate with those who are marking special days. It is way of showing respect and honor for the person. Being that Indonesia is the most populated Muslim country in the world, it is a big holiday in Indonesia. That said right around the hospital the majority of the people are Christian, Catholic, and Animist Dyak people. It was different on Java island with multiple mosques broadcasting their prayers five times a day and sometime all night, parades and fireworks etc.

So on Thursday the planning for hospital staff to go visiting began. We are between a mid-sized city and a town (189,000 people and 25,000 people respectively) so needed to divide our cars and who would go where, so we could visit all those that needed to be visit. It is quite the project keeping track of which government officials follow which religion, so you know when to visit them. You definitely don't want to show up at the mayor's house during Lebaran if he is Catholic :) You also have to know who will be home and when they are willing to host guests. Some go to visit extended families on other islands during these major holidays or they themselves go visit the first day or the second day but are home the other day. Anyway, it gets a little complicated! 

The first day we visit people that have more of a direct relationship with the hospital, i.e. their kids work here or they worked here before they retired. We also visited the director of the Muslim hospital in the nearby city. The second day we head for open houses at the police chief's office and the mayor's office. These are much more formal affairs held in large well-decorated offices. 

So both days I traveled with the hospital director and his family as I was representing our mission organization in this area and also the nursing school (the director was on vacation this week). So first comes the challenge of finding the house and parking on the narrow streets and alleys. Once you find it though, if the door or gate is open they are receiving visitors. So you walk into their home and shake hands and tell them Happy Idul Fitri. If they are a close friend then you say mohon maaf lahir dan batin, which is essentially asking for forgiveness for sins or wrong you have committed against them. Then you sit and they offer you cookies and other treats. It is polite to wait till they ask you at least two times and usually three before you get up and take some. They are usually also sweet drinks available. Depending on who you are (someone to be respected or a close friend) and who they are (considered wealthy or at least well to do) you might be offered a full rice meal with meat. You will eat at many houses during the day, so it is wise not to take a big portion! Most of the food is quite tasty but can be on the hot and spicy side :) You do have to remember though that it will be out most of the day, so you want to go for those dishes that were well cooked!

While you snack or eat, you talk. Think of it like a family reunion or Christmas party where you see people you don't get to see very often or at least spend much time with and so you spend the time catching up on what is happening in their lives and yours. It is pretty standard to ask about the family and kids and grandkids. Usually if you are in their home, there is a family photo and that helps. Then it is a good idea to ask which of the snacks the woman of the house made herself and make sure you try that one and compliment her. These snacks are usually quite intricate and it takes a lot of work! Once you have eaten and chatted for awhile, it is time to excuse yourself. Always a bit awkward because you basically wait for the conversation do die down and when you have people who like to talk that doesn't happen frequently. My trick in these situations is to suggest we take a picture together and that has us all standing up and then it is easier to leave :) So you all shake hands and head off to the next place. 

Day #2 we headed to the mayor's house and a judge's house, who also happens to be a patient. These tend to be more formal. You come in and shake hands and get your plate of food and sit down at chairs and sometimes tables that have been set-up. You eat and then go out again after shaking hands again. There is not a chat time etc but the key is that you were there and showed your respect. 

There is of course the fact that they usually don't get a lot of Americans doing this visiting, so I am a bit of an anomaly and fascination. Frequently, there are questions about why I am here and what I am doing. I have a legal visa to serve as a teacher at the nursing school, so that is how I explain my presence. Then come the the frequently asked questions, but why would you come to Indonesia or why do you stay here? I usually say I enjoy the friendliness of the people, the good food but not so much the hot weather, all very true but which usually gets a laugh and then we move onto the next topic. During Christmas visiting my picture was taken while I visited a government official and I ended up featured in the newspaper. Not sure if that happened this time around yet or not :) 

While these days can be very long, tiring, hot and you end the day not wanting to eat another thing for a week, I don't usually dislike them once I get going. It is a good time to continue building relationships with Indonesians that I serve with and others who I come into contact with. For me it is all about showing respect and honor and continuing to build relationships, despite our differences. 

This year I went to a total of 7 houses over the two days. Not bad! My record is 21 houses in one day but I was younger then!! Here are a few pictures from the weekend... 

Headed to Pak Tambi's house (our driver)

At the Mayor's Office in Singkawang

Visiting...

... and more visiting

A couple of quick prayer requests 

~ After all that hand shaking and cheek touching I came down with a bad cold. It is making me quite miserable at the moment. It doesn't help that we have guests right now that I am responsible for helping to host. 

~ There was some violence between Christians and Muslim over the Lebaran weekend. Apparently in Papua (considered a more Christian island) a mosque was burned and stones were thrown at people, because they refused to lower the volume on their loudspeaker. In retaliation a church was attacked in Java a day later. Please be praying that those who caused trouble will be held accountable in both situations and that tensions will calm down again quickly.