on deck or in the hole?

Hello, dearest friends, family, and random readers

It seems this will be my first blog post from Indonesia. I hope it works!

Right now it is the end of the day in our FAO HPAI PDS/R program office housed in the Ministry of Agriculture, a.k.a. Deptan. (Quick acronyms: FAO = Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, HPAI = highly pathogenic avian influenza, PDS/R = participatory disease surveillance & response). Stacie - the other new field facilitator - and I will take a taxi, taksi, back to the house where we are staying. It has been another somewhat frustrating day of waiting around without much to do. We attended two meetings, one at the main FAO office, a.k.a. Thamrin, and another here. We also finally received our Blackberries! Thus, I now have phone and SMS/text message contact but still can't use email unless I am here at Deptan. Neither Stacie nor I can travel into the field until more paperwork has gone through. Lots of practice in patience dealt out by this project. I hope it comes in handy someday.

Otherwise, things have been really quiet. We did a bit of shopping this weekend and had a nice BBQ on Sunday night. I never would have imagined that I would grill salmon over the coals here in Indonesia. However, Eric & Dale, our hosts, have a lovely gazebo with orchids, mynah birds, canaries, hanging vines, geckos, a pool, and a BBQ behind the house. Mosquitos are included, of course. It turns out, though, that Avon's Skin So Soft is not only useful for repelling mosquitos, but also for lighting the charcoal. We have recently purchased two mosquito-zapping rackets. Think toy tennis racket with the electrical power of a hanging bug zapper. Loads of fun when you fry the miserable things - you get a spark, a loud snap, and sometimes a puff of smoke. As a bonus, Eric's exuberantly out-of-control pitbull, Sheena, doesn't like the rackets, so they act as Sheena repellant, too.

I blew my chance to rent a really fabulous apartment I had seen last Friday. What a mistake! We will go to look at apartments again tomorrow, but I'd be surprised to find anything quite as good as that one. Maybe I'll just have to hone my own decorating skills and try to cover up the standard bland decor and/or tackiness. I have seen some wonderful furnishings here... Shopping, anyone?

I hope to start uploading photos soon. Thanks for your patience!

Hugs,
E