Goodbye!

'All good things come to an end'

That's what they say, but I have my doubts...

Although I have said goodbye to Indonesia for the time being and am back at my desk in Oslo, the amazing experience of living in Banda Aceh will stay engraved in my memories. Furthermore, it has made an impact on me as a person and I hope to be able to share my experience and enthusiasm with others.

So let's regard this as a beginning. A beginning of stories, pictures and action!

For the meantime, sampai djumpa teman! (see you later, friend)

Religion

How can I live in a place that is also referred to as 'the Gateway to Mecca' without writing about religion in my blog? And believe me, Indonesia, vibrant as this country is, is filled with all kinds of belief...

Since the moment I first stepped out of the plane in Banda Aceh, religion has been evident all around me, in whichever activity you're engaged and at absolutely every location. I know the first picture of my last chapter was also of young girls wearing a jilbab, but it has made such an impression on me that I had to include this picture of two little girls on their way to school. Every morning I first see the gigantic strawberry bobbing along the side of the road -this is definitively the favourite schoolbag in town! - attached to a little human shape. Much like the strawberry, the jilbab is a sign of today's fashion. Only just five years ago women were wearing head scarves, much more casually wrapped around their heads à la Grace Kelly. But now, as confirmed on MTV, it's all about taking a stand, making a statement and, of course, the tighter the better! Last week I had my own little experience of what it's like to be all wrapped up during our visit to the Grand Mosque. After a trip to the rector of the Islamic University - who introduced us to the main pillars of Islam - we headed off to the Grand Mosque to talk to the Grand Imam (it was all very Grand, I can tell you!). Unfortunately we never made it past his office as a traffic jam caused us to arrive just before prayer time leaving us with crushed hopes of ever seeing the mosque from the inside.. Every village has at least one mosque, it is the first building constructed in a community. Although the 5 daily prayers do not have to take place inside the mosque (our meeting room often has little carpets adorning the white tiled floor), all men must go to the mosque on friday at noon prayer. Other than that, one can come and go as one pleases and use the mosque as a meeting place - for prayer, business, gossip or a game of chess. Since yesterday, that seems to be all that happens throughout the city during daytime, well, if you don't count sleeping. We have entered the month of Ramadhan and everyone is fasting (including some of the experimental interns - not me!) and therefore slow and sleepy. Imagine a busy, lively city and then take away all of the factors that have to do with food or drink. Scrap all the people who walk around with a coffee in their hand, chewing on an apple, or buying food at the market. The result: the city is like a ghost town! It is quite eery...

Good thing all those Muslims did not go to Bali, like I did! Enjoying three wonderful days on this breathtaking island, I was lucky enough to arrive for the celebrating of Kuningan, a Hindu ceremony dedicated to the ascendence of ancestral holy spirits to heaven. Offerings include flowers, incense and food (mostly rice and lots and lots of fruit) and are made at every holy symbol on the island. If you imagine that every village must have at least three temples, that every family lives in a compound with three tempels in it, that every shop or institution receives daily morning offerings and that all large artifacts of nature (huge rocks or trees) also have a temple built by or around it, then you can understand that the amount of food on the streets of Bali could seriously damage the principles of Ramadhan.. To me, Bali seemed like a much more religious place than Banda Aceh, but in a completely different way. The Balinese do not practice religion, they live it. Or rather, it lives through them. The tranquility, humbleness and peace shines through all the actions of these beautiful, happy people. Everything revolves around tradition and rituals and can be found through all the generations in a completely natural and unforced way. The young participate in dance and worship with the same dedication as their elders. Symbols such as buddha statues, elephants, dragons, and dancers can be found everywhere and banana leaves and bamboo are transformed into beautiful decorations that are used for offerings. For Kuningan, in addition to the decorating of streets, even cars and honda's were more colourful than usual with ornaments draped over their hoods. Seems to me like the prefect way to avoid a speeding ticket!!

Another thing the Balinese are very religious about: Rice. The island is covered in beautifully stepped rice paddies, wet basins with the very green and young rice plants are alternated with basins of the full bushy adult plants and the dry, yellow mature plants ready for harvesting. The plants are cut by hand and the rice grains are beaten out of the plant by hitting the 'grass' onto a wooden grate - all done on location, in the paddies. the grains are then scooped up into a shallow dish and slowly poured out of the dish onto the ground again, letting the wind blow away the unwanted skins and bad grains. After three days of drying the rice on sheets in the sun, they are bagged and sent to a 'factory' (little machine that one of the villagers has in his garage) where the skins are removed and the rice is ready for final packaging. In the meantime, ducks are driven over the harvested paddies to eat up all the insects and small snakes - while they leave good fertilizer behind them and fatten themselves up so that they can land on our plate, all nicely roasted and crispy mmm..

There is so much more to reveal about this island, but I think I will just extend my newfound knowledge to anyone who reads my blog and needs a personal guide on their next visit to Bali. Count me in!!