an entry somewhere else

Since The Jakarta Post doesn’t archive its posts, I’m including a summary of a recent article.

Virginity test idea withdrawn

A controversial proposal to conduct virginity tests on female high school students in Indramayu regency, West Java, has been dropped following strong objections from students, parents and activists.

The rest of the article goes on to say that everyone except the one who proposed the idea objects to it. Or nearly everyone.

I also received an email from another in my organization giving me some tidbits on going to Banda Aceh. I’ll include some choice quotations:

IAIN Ar-Raniry lost a big number of it’s lecturers when the tsunami struck, and among the few that survive, a bigger number is more attracted to join the mushrooming NGOs than teaching. So they keep on recruiting the fresh graduates to be teachers with the hope that they will be staying, but in vain. The calls from NGOs are louder.

What this means is that people are going where the money is for the time being. Eventually, the teachers will start teaching again, but we don’t know when that will be as the speed of rebuilding cannot be predicted.

More information: Since many of the donor countries provide scholarships, there are now more scholarships available than suitable candidates.

This could put a curse on any down time I might have envisioned. There is no telling how many people will be calling on me to increase their TOEFL score–fast. That doesn’t really happen and won’t happen with me. It’s great that many people are getting the opportunity to study abroad, but the donors also don’t want to send someone that is going to fail. They want to see people succeed.

I did take picture of the Lecturers’ Apartment where you will stay later. Most of the remaining lecturers stay there. It’s very close to campus, but it does take effort to go out. I am still in communication with your counterpart about local transportation especially when you need to do your personal things. But to find a decent house for you will be a real struggle.

Hmm, living in a dormitory-style housing isn’t my first choice. I’m flexible, but I’m also an avid fan of privacy and separation of work and leisure. It’ll work out somehow.

Aceh is less developed than Makassar. So, be ready to live less decent than when your were in Makassar. I did not have time to locate a gym for you, since I was there only a very short time. I arrived at 13:30 PM, went around the city (and remember that a woman is not supposed to still be out after 5:30 PM, and, since Aceh’s situation was warmed around the celebration of Indonesian Independence, it was suggested to go straight to the airport to catch an earlier flight after the short meeting with the Rector. The hotel they helped arranged for me happened to be a small pavilion with no facilities at all, and yet the rate is similar to a five star hotel in Makassar. Things are more expensive in Aceh.

Yes, it will be different. The price inflation is something that I had read about and am ready to see. I may be applying for a little extra living allowance if it’s as bad as it seems. Only time will tell on that one. That’s all for now. I think I’ll be off to Indonesia by next week, if not before.