Early Days in Balikpapan

These shots are from one evening, eating at a beach-side restaurant. Seafood is definitely in abundance!

First Flowers from Balikpapan

One of my goals is to learn how to grow orchids. 'haven't seen as many here as there are in Thailand but they do well here. I haven't even taken any photos of them, yet! And bananas aren't flowers, I realize that ... that shot's thrown in for free!

Balikpapan, First Photos

New construction -- very common. Fresh air -- the norm!






Well, our adventures continue! There is no comparison between Nigeria and Indonesia and to try to list the contrasts would be too time-consuming. However, this region of Indonesia (and pretty much anything outside of Jakarta or Bali) is still in the "developing" world. So the typical city things are missing. But a new mall looks almost ready to open and there's a Starbucks' "Brewing Soon!" sign. I hope that's still true (based on the fact that Jeri lost "her" Starbucks in Ubon Ratchathani, it's a bit scary!) Of course, I still don't drink coffee and I'm not a big fan of Tazo Teas but, hey, ya gotta love the ambiance!!!

Many of the photos were taken from our 8th floor hotel window. We've not been able to venture out much, yet. Security is not a problem but getting a driver who speaks even 5 words of English is!

So, I've started on my own online Bahasa Indonesian crash course! It's got to be about the easiest language in the whole world! It uses the same alphabet as English, minus a few of our letters. Get this -- each consonant that they use makes only one sound! Sheesh! And the only vowel to make two sounds is "e" -- it's usually an /uh/ sound with an occasional /ay/ when at the end of words or an open syllable.

(These last two photos were taken at a fabulous new beach-side restaurant!)


We'll be in this hotel for the rest of this week. Then, we hope to be into temporary housing by the weekend. Our assigned housing won't be ready until near the end of July. Either way, temp house or perm house, the compounds are right along the beach. I'm not crying!!! ;-)

However, the adjustments in leaving Nigeria are still pretty strong. (Okay, definitely worse for me than for Jim!) I miss some of the rare and precious people and I miss the certainty of the known. Here everything, though lovely, is unfamiliar. And many of the expats have made their summer "exodus" (their label) so we might feel more on our own here, for a time! But, all in all, we're all smiles!

Our Last Few Days in Nigeria

Jide, his youngest child -- only daughter, Grace. Wife, Iyabo.
Lilies on one of our balconies.









Jide, Jim, and Michel -- having a good laugh!













Jim's last day in his office.














Notice the spelling on our cane chair ... but the shippers did a great job of packing!









Farewell party with some girlfriends! They gave me this custom made vase with an inscription on the bottom.





















We use candles every evening because the power fluctuates so much. This is what was on our coffee table prior to packing! It is a sight I often enjoyed but never photographed until now.



















Our compound, from out of our living room windows.

As I learned from watching numerous missionary slide shows as a child, everyone must end with a sunset!
They are rare here. (Yes, the sun does set each day, but it's usually nothing spectacular. This was an exception!)



Well, the day has finally arrived -- the day that we say "tomorrow we are leaving!" It's a day we've anticipated for a long time but it's also been a time of sadness. Good byes are never easy but the good byes here are especially tough because we know that our dearest Nigerian friends will probably never leave Nigeria and we will, undoubtedly, never return. Therefore, this side of heaven, we will not see them again.

I just called Lucy, our Port-Harcourt maid, for our last visit. She thinks of me as her "momma" and looks to us for advice (and money! ;-) ) so it's tough to leave her. We've given our gifts to "our men" -- Michel, our cook, and Jide, our driver. We'll see them bright and early in the morning (4:45 a.m.) when we leave for the office to take the company's airport bus. But our more meaningful goodbyes have been said already because we know we'll probably all be pretty incoherent in the morning! Jide, ... he's the toughest of all for us to leave. What an amazing guy! We will stay connected with him and his family. I know that Jim and I will each shed tears tomorrow when we say our final farewell to him.

We are so thrilled that God has guided us to new jobs for Michel and Jide -- for good pay and with good people. And our beach hut sold to a guy who's sooooo jazzed to have it! And our flat is going to someone who's been wanting it since they arrived here half a year ago. God's hand is all over everything and we are leaving with a sense that all is settled as best it can possibly be!

The entire week in the office was a scattering of daily goodbyes. Tough stuff, really.

As I've told so many, Nigeria will always have a place in our hearts. Our ears will perk up whenever we hear any news from the place.

I believe the sadness we feel in leaving is largely due to the helpless and hopeless condition of this absolutely crazy country. Most of the locals just hope for the best but expect the worst. The worst would be another civil war (highly unlikely) or a revolution (more probable). Actually, most people believe that those scenarios would not be negative because they have hope that war would bring about positive change. For them, the worst option would be for everything to remain as it is --- abject poverty for most and vile opulence for a few, corruption squeezing out the rare, honest, hard-working folks.

I've told Jim so many times -- if I thought we could actually make a difference I'd stay here and die of old age here. But change will only come from local, God-honoring men who are strong leaders and, most importantly, men of integrity. "Scarce" would the Nigerian word for that description!

We will always remember Nigeria -- in our hearts and in prayer.

Dare (pronounced Dar-aye)

Dare loves to get his picture taken. Today, he was really hamming it up!
He's the coolest guy -- always happy! He just likes to sit with Jim, say very little, and watch this huge oyibo (white man) whose ways seem so strange.


He has family -- which is probably why he doesn't ask for handouts like most of the other boys who help us around the hut. Whenever we give him money he breaks into a huge grin, bows numerous times, and thanks us profusely.
















Dare is digging for crabs -- he knows he will be bitten when his hand gets deep enough but he doesn't seem to mind!
Jim will miss Dare almost as much as Dare will miss "Master." (It's impossible to get a young child to agree to use a title such as Mister Jim rather than Master. To force him to make the change would cause great offense.)

Our Beach Hut -- Probably our last visit

There had been some major storms since our previous visit ... (Joey, this is the same place where we walked right to the water without any dropoff!)

















Doing some final shopping -- dashing my favorite vendor, Matthiu. (If the money is given BEFORE the work, it's a bribe; if it's after the work/transaction is done, it's a dash!) When I first met Matthiu, his napkins that matched his table cloths were about 5 inches by 5 inches. For a 2 meter cloth he made 6 little napkins. For a 3 meter cloth he made 8 larger napkins. After much discussion, I realized that he didn't know why those crazy white people even wanted the things. So, I demonstrated their use ... finally he understood that it's for the lap and so if only two people are eating they need the same size napkins as the ones made for 8!!! It's taken at least another year to get the quality improved (like using matching color thread and keeping a straight line) but now I really think that Matthiu has the makings of a good business. Many of the vendors call me "Mommmy" and, as they tell others, I am their mother because I have taught them how to have success in their businesses. I'm gonna miss these guys!

Vendors, as they leave us to begin the long walk back along the beach. They hope that others will be at beach huts as they pass by ... Two different times we had friends with us at the hut who bought out the entire inventory of a basket vendor -- just imagine his burden-less walk back, carrying only the wads of bills in his pockets!


















I thought I should, finally, include a shot of "the real beach!" Always, just beyond the screen ... often, hidden in the photo for the careful eye! ... is the rubbish. It's everywhere, coming in with every wave or dropped by someone as they walk along. Trash is a part of life here because no one seems to care about their contribution to the mess. When I give treats to the kids each time we visit, they are told (by Ola and Jide in the Yoruban language) that they cannot drop the wrappers or containers. I'm certain that as soon as I am out of site, it's all dropped!









The local kids with their handmade toys! Early recycling program, aye?



Wahab, proudly wearing "Master Jim's" hat! It's Wahab's now. He's studying law. Maybe it'll become the new courtroom headpiece. The lawyers, senators, etc. wear white wigs -- what a curious piece of collonialism to keep rather than keeping something that matters like good schools/transportation/electricity!!!
















I love this about Nigerians -- the older children ALWAYS share anything they receive with the younger children. (We bring good water with us -- it's a rare treat!)
Jim with Ola, our hut caretaker (in white); Saed, one of the village boys who likes to help us; Jide, our driver -- proudly wearing the shirt we brought back from England, "his team" -- Chelsea, with the player name, Drogba, on the back!
And I never thought of this until just now -- of the whole crew that we bring to the beach (armed escorts, etc.) and those who help us at the beach -- they are all male. It took me two years to even think of this, probably because it is the Nigerian way. Women are trusted with having babies and cooking ... that's about it! (A topic of an entire blog, perhaps! When I first started my job, the men called me Sir because they'd never had a woman tell them how to do their work!!!)