Hello Everyone,
All is seems well in Banda Aceh...... I've had an interesting last few weeks....... An Australian who moved to Banda a few years ago and converted to Islam explained to me how he arranged his own arranged marriage..... Another Indonesian told me how the surfers save the lifeguards here.... And I still can figure out how ordering the same 2 peices of fish, egg, vegetables and rice can cost a different price everyday ;)

We had a great barbeque on the beach this week with our staff.....it is amazing how these things get thrown together.....buy some of the days catch from the market with some spices, head to the beach picking up a grill and coconut shells along the way, dig a pit in the sand, light the shells afire while others are cleaning the fish...... and before you know it the fish is cooking as the sun is going down on one of Indonesa's gorgeous beaches.

I had a similar Barbeque when i traveled to the Island of Simeulue for work a couple of weeks back, but that time I was treated to Lobster!! Simeulue was a real interesting trip from the beginning when we took a UN Helicopter to the tropical Island of the south west coast of Sumatra. To describe this island in words would be verdent beauty, impoverished of material luxuries and the simplicity of life is so desireable. I was part of the a village site planning team and the villagers were so welcoming....it was like a village event with everyone there! We took a break for prayer and a couple of little boys had just lit afire a large fishing boat that had been washed asore in the Tsunami. Soon it was a big blase that Dirk, Irwan and I had to help to put out (I don't think this was the first time this boat had been lit on fire). The next day I went to the beach and I heard coconut dropping and someone in the tree.....soon a boy about 12 came down offering me to drink from a fresh coconut..... we chatted a bit in the little Bahasa Indonesian that I have picked up and then I got to split the coconut so i could eat the coconut inside (it only took me 5 minutes which takes the locals to swings of the knife). Then is was back to JF's house on the beach for the freshly baked bread I had heard so much about....it was amazing and I'm inspired to bake my own bread now.