Sabang - Aceh's Slice of Paradise

Yesterday morning I took a ferry over to the island of Sabang, which is also referred to as Pulau Weh.  I was recommended this hotel/resort destination called Freddie's Santai Sumur by a friend of mine at IAIN. 
There are two ferries that go to and from Sabang - the express (which I took, and was only 45 minutes), and the big slow boat (takes an hour and a half).

The resort was AMAZING, and very affordable at only $25 per night.  And since I was only staying for one night, even better!  The rooms are actually individual bungalows, complete with a mini fridge and complimentary drinks, western toilet, and hot shower.  This was my first hot shower in 7 weeks, and I enjoyed every single minute of it.

The first thing I did when I got there (after basking in the luxurious delight of my bungalow) was go snorkeling.  As a matter of fact, that was pretty much all I did - snorkeling, swimming, and basking in the sun.  This was only my second time snorkeling, and it was great.  There were so many fish and some beautiful coral.  I recognized a lot of the fish I saw from the movie Finding Nemo, and I also saw Rainbow Fish :)

I had such a relaxing day - I just wish that I could have stayed longer.  But as it turns out, I need to pick up my passport from the Immigration Office here in Banda by 3.00pm this afternoon, and the only two ferries that leave Sabang are at 8.00 am and 4.30 pm.  But I'm glad I got to spend at least one day relaxing and simply enjoying myself with no worries. 

The view from my bungalow

Sunset on the beach

Sunrise

 

Beach Trip

On Sunday, Sarah invited me to go along with her and a group of people on another jungle hike and then the beach.  There were six of us total: me, Sarah, Self (an Australian guy who works at ARTI), Ken, Jesse (male), and Jesse (female).  All of us (excluding Self) are American, and they're all doing their own cool things here in Aceh.  They were all very nice, and we had a really good time.
The trail we took in the forest was about an hour long, and it was tough!  Not as tough as the 8 hour GAM hike, but still...pretty challenging.  My legs are still sore from that trip!  At the end of the trail we finally stopped at another secret beach; a different one than where Sarah had taken me the first time.  It was beautiful secluded; it was like we were at our own private resort.
We played in the ocean, and the boys made a small hut out of pieces of wood lying around and tied sarongs to it so that there would be shade.  It was super cool, like they were practicing to be on Survivor or another type of wilderness challenge reality show.  Self had brought along a fish, watermelon, and pineapple...all of which he had stored conveniently in his backpack.  He started a campfire and cooked the fish as well as noodles so we could all have lunch.  It was very impressive.  How he managed to fit all that stuff in his backpack is beyond me.  At least I'll know who to contact if I'm ever stranded on a desert island.
We stayed there all day and didn't get back until the evening.  It was such a fun day, I'm glad to have had this experience with them.
I'm also glad that I was able to meet some other westerners close to my age around here.  I was the baby of the group - they're all in their mid 20s, but we were still all close enough that we could have fun with each other and not be awkward.  Of course, I've also made tons of wonderful Indonesian friends, but nevertheless, it's nice to have a few people around who understand the culture you're coming from and with whom you're able to connect with on that level.  It's like having a little piece of home right there with you, and makes being far away not that big of a deal.

A view of the beach

One last hill before paradise!

 Eating lunch

The fish they cooked - complete with portable grill

Yummy

Our hut.  Charming, isn't it?

Secret Beaches

The past few days have gone really well.  I love my English conversation groups at IAIN and Al-Kafi - they're all such great people, and so enthusiastic about practicing their English!  I'm enjoying getting to know them all better, as they're all very interesting and have a lot to say.

Ibu Eka asked me to give a little presentation about Islam in the United States for her Sociology of Religion class, which I was more than happy to do.  It wasn't anything big, I just talked about how Islam is practiced in the United States, cultural differences, etc. (in Indonesian, of course).  I'm happy to report that it went very well, and that there was a lot of discussion afterward.  Her class had a lot of interesting questions, and the discussions that we had were really good.  The best part about this was at the end, when one of the students raised his hand to speak.  He thanked me for doing the presentation and said that he was glad that I came, because before he didn't feel very positively towards Americans.  However, after our discussions and having had interacted with me, he said that he had changed his mind and didn't feel that way anymore.  I felt excited to hear that, because however kind and hospitable residents of another country may be towards Americans, they still may have a lot of negative stereotypes about us.  It's times like these when I thank God that I speak fluent Bahasa Indonesia, because without this skill I don't think that I'd be able to communicate and interact with people on a deeper level.

On Saturday, the girls at the asrama all woke up early to do what they called "guteroy", which is basically yard work.  Once a month, they all get up early on the weekend and weed the garden, sweep, etc.  I joined in and helped out where I could, and I felt that the girls were all kind of surprised to see me up and out doing chores with them.  One told me that she was very happy to see me, another didn't even bother to mask her surprise and said "Oh, you're doing guteroy too?!", and the head of the asrama even said that I could go back inside if I wanted.  We were only outside for an hour and a half, if that, and it wasn't even back breaking labor that required muscles and loud machines.  It was an easy task, and even someone who had never gardened or done chores in their entire life would have been able to do it well.  But I think instances like that are good to have, just to send the message that I'm not just a foreigner staying in their dorm, but that I'm also their peer and friend.

I'm trying hard every day to be positive, friendly, and culturally sensitive.  Sometimes it's a little trying, because after a long, hot, exhausting day, the last thing I want to do is make small talk, smile, and be pleasant and engaging.  But if I just hang in there for a little while longer, my patience always pays off and people won't see me in a negative light.  It's also so much different being in Aceh than it is being in Jakarta; they're like two completely different countries, united only by language.  It's even crazier to think about how different the U.S. is compared to Aceh.  Despite this, I feel like I've adjusted extremely well and fit in with most of the people here.  I'm having fun, making friends, and being as productive as I can.  Well, maybe I could be a little more productive, but I'm trying my best! :)

On Sunday, I went to the beach with my friend Sarah, who teaches English at Syiah Kuala University.  It was maybe about 30 minutes from Darussalam, and was absolutely breathtaking.  The beaches here are pristine and simply gorgeous.  We didn't go to the main beach in that area, but instead hiked for about ten minutes through the jungle and finally came to a beautiful, secluded beach.  And by secluded, I mean that nobody else was there.  That was a lot of fun, and I didn't feel self conscious swimming and being goofy because it was just the two of us.  

 

The trail we hiked through

                          Overlooking the beach!

                                                    Gorgeous!!

                                            The water was PERFECT.

                                                       The jungle!

This week should be good, too.  Tomorrow I'm going to do an interview with Pak Marzi Afriko, who works at the World Bank and has published papers about Sharia in Aceh, why pesantrens don't accept terrorism, etc.  Next week I will be going to Lhoksmawe to meet with another contact, Pak Al Chaidar and do an interview with him.
I'm really excited about doing these interviews.  The most experience I've had doing research has been greatly facilitated by Wikipedia, and I'm ecstatic about having the opportunity to do some actual qualitative research.  Hope it goes well and that I'll be getting some good information!