Entries Tagged 'travels' ↓

In the village of Busung, on the Southwestern coast of Simeulue. Where waves patrol the coves edge and coral is sharp as razors, there is a life in the fringe. A community, a village, a people. Lacking luxury; they live life than many cannot imagine. Life here demands community.

Taipei, Taiwan
On our first leg of the journey to Indonesia, we had a refueling in Taipei, Taiwan. A mere 12 hours after leaving LAX… it was a sleepy flight as we were lucky enough to Joe and I each got a middle row of seats in the back of the plane for ourselves. This allowed us to put the armrests up, pop an Advil PM, and lounge across the empty seats to find some rest. In the refueling stop in Taipei, we had just enough time to order some rice noodles, take some pictures of some AIDS awareness ads and stretch our tired legs, then it was back on the plane. Destination: the city of Medan, on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia.

Medan, Indonesia
We landed in Medan, Sumatra after a quick change of planes in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, after an incredibly long 28-hour travel day. The first thing that struck me was that I was a giant in this new land, and secondly… well, Indonesia is sometimes referred to as the ‘land that left logic behind’ and this was my initial observation as a 50 passenger bus pulled up to the plane to transport us to the terminal, which was no more than 20 yards away. We could have walked to the terminal and back 20 times, in the time it took for the bus to transport us to the passenger let-off area. R for ridiculous.

We were picked up by Jim and Laura, two of the directors for the NGO (non-governmental organization), IBI. They were gracious and were excited to talk to Joe and catch up on the news from the States. Jim was a surgeon as he dissected his way through Medan traffic were dotted white lines mean nothing and the horn is used to say hello, tell them your turning, warning the car next to you that they are too close, and all other sorts of times for reasons I could not figure. It was a trip. Picture this: two lanes of road but being used like it was a five lane road, with motorbikes zooming in and out, and a complete lack of organization… Road rules seemed to be loose suggestions rather than sort of mandate.

We spent a total of two days in Medan, one when we arrived and one before we departed… Joe’s friend Gabe met us in Medan before we departed and his company was exceptional, as he added a bit of comic relief as well as some perspective on life in Indonesia. After our first day in Medan we hopped on a prop plane and headed to the island of Simeulue, 1-hour west of Sumatra and only recently equipped with a modern airport facility. Joe told me stories of his first arrival, landing in a field on an old jalopy two-prop plane, praying that the rivets stay together on the bumpy landing.

Points of interest: Sun Plaza - a mega-mall in the heart of Medan, five stories tall and a plethora of stores to choose from, including a full grocery store and a movie theatre; a $7 foot massage, head massage and hair tonic at a Salon in the Mall; a $13 two-hour full body massage at a spa close to our hotel; Tim-Tam Slam’s; Indian food that did a work on my digestive system and fresh Sumatran coffee at $2 per Kilo.

Simeulue, Indonesia
The flight to Simeulue was beautiful, we passed over the uninhabited western region of Sumatra that was staggering in its lush highland rainforests and white sandy beaches along the western coast. The weather was clear on the approach to Simeulue, so we were able to see the islands of Nias and other smaller islands that make up chain of western islands. After landing in Sinnebon, Simeulue, Scott (the director of IBI on Simeulue), picked us up and took us on the 5 km drive to camp, a drive that took over 30 minutes as the potholes in the road made driving over 10 mph impossible. It looked as if the island had sustained heavy mortar fire as the road was dented with potholes and dips that threw you in around the car and made the most steel of stomachs sour. The drive from the airport took us through a couple of small villages, to IBI’s home village of Busung (Boo-sue) which was located on the Southwestern coast on the edge of a cove with two very large waves patrolling the edges. The cove itself was beautiful with clear blue water and a postcard-esque view of the sunset.

IBI’s camp was located on about 2 acres of land with the back side of the property consisting of a rainforest rising into a small mount. About a third of the camp was being utilized for gardening, with Jas and Jufinar as the head gardeners and Juel and C-Par rounding out the crew. Most days were spent with these four, doing gardening practicums, making compost, preparing and planting melons, and we even made a worm factory which will hopefully add to their variety of compost techniques.

Most nights were spent in camp with Brooke (Scott’s wife) cooking up a delicious meal, followed by time of conversations, debates and stories. Joe spent 6 months with these two before he left for the states in December, preparing them to take over the NGO’s daily operations on the island. So there was no shortage of stories and antidotes on island living. Stories ranging from catching monkeys and other wild beasts to skinning snakes and many techniques or best practices when using a squatty potty… think hole in the ground with nothing but a bucket of water to clean up with…. sick.

Highlights from Simeulue: Mea Ache and Kopi (noodles and coffee) at the smoke filled Kopi shop; painting a house with a termite killing mix of diesel, motor oil and diaoxinol (a pesticide which has been illegal in the states since the 90’s); bogey boarding in Alos Alos; drinking an chocolate avocado smoothie; cleaning and grilling red fish (one of the favorite locally caught fish); playing Friday night soccer with the fellas in the village; and hanging out with the crew in the garden (Jas, Jufinar, Juel, and C-par).

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
While we only spent a total of 6 hours in KL, I will say this would be a place I would like to visit more extensively. Not only was the airport top-notch (cleanest and most modern airport I have ever been in), it was beautiful outside. KL seems to be a city on the rise one that will probably be tracking close to Singapore in the next 10 years.

Pictures of Indo (click pic below):

A few videos:

A List:

• drank Koppe and read some scripture
• prayer walked on the beach
• shaved my beard off (too hot!)
• changed a flat tire
• ate a bunch of things I cannot explain for lunch (with no utensils)
• drank an avocado choclat drink
• drank Koppe with 4 Indonesian gentlemen (Joe left for about 20 minutes), I was left to explain why I wasn’t married… and then why I wasn’t going to marry an Indonesian girl from the island (any girl… it seems they all are available… no further comment).  sidenote: I speak no Indonesian, and they spoke very little English.
• went to the fish market (smell was more than fishy…)
• played catch with a flat football for 30 minutes during a downpour
• chased some village kids through a rice patty
• pulled a fat leach of my foot (between my toes to be exact)
• killed said fat leach… with salt water
• snorkled for 1.5 hours… cool
• body surfed
• made flour tortillas… from scratch
• laughed with my new friends
• washed the dishes by hand
• emailed an American girl
• slept under a mesquito net

Tomorrow should be a great day, we are going to a neighboring village to work on a  house, it seems some termites are invading the premises and we are going to use a mixture of some sort to paint the inside wood… don’t know exactly what that means.  Yesterday I finished reading “jesus for president” by Shane Claiborne… wow.  It is a really provacative book, especially relavant in the context of where I am right now… more on this when I get home.

For those of you in America still sleeping… Friday is going to be a beautiful day!!  The sun is up the sky’s are clear and the waves are pulsing.  It is a rather odd thing to blog on a computer (not my computer) in a third world country, where the cost of this machine is more than an average villager makes in a year.  Here, the average daily income fluctuates around $4-$5 a day… which seems upsurd but is enough for the average family to live on… though not luxuriously as we American’s are accustomed to.  It is a sobering place, a place that continues to drive me to the scriptures and to the words in red.  A place that causes my mind to wrestle with spiritual, economical, and social issues and a place that causes my selfish habits to cry out in want (A/C anyone?).  It is a place I wish many could see, so that they too may have their ‘comfort’ paradigm shifted and their ’Western’ perspective challenged.

This island view is beautifully sobering.

I’m sitting at Coffee Slingers, a new coffee shop just north of Downtown OKC… it is right next door to Bicycle Alley, so with one stop I can knock out both of my vices: spandex and latte’s.

In other news:

Life is busy and I am finding it harder and harder to sit and write. It is like stealing away is getting to be impossible, because when I finally get away, I just want to vege out and relax. But that is not what I want. So hopefully this trip to Indo will clear my head and give me some downtime to think and reflect over the past 9 months. OKC is great and I am becoming more comfortable calling it home, though it is really hard to say that with confidence. If work continues to go well (and I foresee it to do just that) than I will be here indefinitely and hopefully in our growth be able to bring on some more employees. I have a secret short list of who I would want to hire [I couldn't tell you... because then it would not be a secret short list], and just thinking about this possibility makes me excited to be apart of this company. The project I most want to be working on right now is a “book” form of our workbook. Complete with cover art, funny anecdotes, and a completed Intentional Leadership process, that requires little or no personal touches. It is a big challenge, and is making us all think outside our normal parameters to come up with ideas on how to write a book that is about relationships without actually having a relationship with those who read it. A connundrum.

Here are the books I am taking down to Indonesia with me, along with a journal, a waterproof camera, a pair of manpri’s, a pair of shorts, a couple t’s, a pair of lightweight pants and some grundy undies… cool.

The Writing on The Wall by Will Hutton - read half of this in Tobago and just got it off of half.com to finish

A Community Called Atonement by Scot McKnight - halfway finished, may finish before I leave

The Mind Changers by Em Griffin [out of print] - this would be my second reading

Jesus For President by Shane Claiborne - can’t wait to delve into this one

Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs - supposed to be hilarious

music you’ve  never heard, but should… this is for those who live to love.  some have asked for some new stuff to spin in the decks, and i have delivered.  if you’ve heard of all of these bands, you are as cool as me.

Alternative/Melodic -
Band of Horses - cease to begin

Sleeping at Last - keep no score

Ester Drang - rocinate

Stars of Track and Field - centuries before love and war

Progressive Folk -

Kunek - flight of the flynns

Deas Vail - all the houses look the same

Intrumental -

This Will Destroy You - young mountain

Singer/Songwriter -

Dustin Kensrue - please come home

Rap -

Swollen Members - black magic

Check more Independent music out at:  IndieUprising.net

The following contains thoughts and observations from this spicy bowl of life.

Books you need to read:
The Shack by William P. Young, toted as a Pilgrim’s Progress for this generation… explores the relationship between the triune God and us, his creation. It is a magnificent allegory and gives a very beautiful picture of God’s interactions with Herself. Go to Amazon, buy it, read it, and ponder it; you won’t be disappointed.
Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely; now I just began reading this book and it is fascinating… I equate it to Freakonomics by Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner economics from the behavioral science side, rather than the sociological side. It has been getting some rave reviews and pub, here and here.

Obama actually won Texas:

Obama: 61 delegates from the popular vote + 38 delegates from caucuses = 99 delegates.

Clinton: 65 delegates from the popular vote + 29 delegates from Caucuses = 94 delegates.

NYC is a fun place… to visit:

There was a lot to see and do, and I felt like my head was on a swivel the entire time. The MoMA was really cool, though it was “Free Friday Night” and because it was rainy, I’m afraid everyone came into the museum to seek shelter rather than look around, so it was crowded and noisy, but fun nonetheless. Saturday, we went to Spring Awakening, and much is to be said about that… but I’m saving it for a later post. Sunday took us to Greenwich, CT, and I got to walk on the beach and see the ocean. All in all a fun time and a place I would like to visit again, though probably not a place I would want to live.

NY firsts:

1st subway ride.
1st Broadway show.
1st Farmer’s Market at Union Square.

Tomorrow morning I will be flying in an airplane to NYC, this will be the second attempt as 2 weeks ago, my flight was canceled due to this. So I am trying again tomorrow… It will be my first romp in NYC and I am looking forward to the big city experience. Though I live in Oklahoma, I am not a complete Midwesterner and have some big city cred, in that I was born in the Bay Area and lived there for the first 9 years of my life.

Also, my brother lives south of LA and I have visited him often. Now I’m just trying to bolster my rep… which is saddening.

The agenda has been set by Candace Westgate, a stunning South African, who has been living up there since August as a 3rd year med student. We seem to have a packed weekend but amidst the schedule, I’m sure we will find moments to relax and take in the New York City vibe, here are the definites on the schedule:

We will be visiting The MOMA on Friday afternoon, followed by dinner somewhere, either in NYC or there is a seafood place on the NJ side of the Hudson (where Candace lives), I’m leaning toward seafood.

On Saturday, I am eating brunch with a former classmate of mine, Dami Cole, we survived MBA school and now he is working for The Man in NYC. Afterwards, Candace found some rather cheap tickets to Spring Awakening, and by ‘cheap’ I don’t mean Oklahoma cheap… the musical has gotten some great reviews, it won a Tony award in 2007, the music was done by Duncan Sheik, and the book and lyrics are by Steven Sater. Below is a little promo video from the site:

1. To confess going to Spring Awakening, and
2. To take in a Lent service in a beautiful Cathedral.

After some brunch, I will be flying back to Oklahoma ending a much anticipated weekend in The City. Wooohooooo!! Should be a blast and I’ll mos def be taking plenty of pics.

Here is a cool thing… this company is adding members and when the membership gets big enough [20,000] they will begin production and become a bonafide sustainable clothing company… check it out here:

[WARNING: Too many uses of the root word "blog" in the following]

Over the next few months I will be blogging on a few blogs, one of which is blogging through “Everything Must Change” a book by Brian McLaren. It can be found here:

I am working on a follow-up article to “What is Truth?” on:

I think I will also be adding in on submergent.org but it will be a link from blogs already posted on my site, you can find those and other articles here:

In other news I am reading, “A Letter to America” by current University of Oklahoma President David Boren, he tackles issues relating to the upcoming Presidential election, as well as the political apathy found in a majority of young Americans. It was a quick read and he had a lot of good things to say on Campaign Finance Reform, Education, and the War. He was not only critical but offered suggestions and solutions to the problems of today. I am probably going to go to his book signing and discussion at Full Circle Book Store on February 29th and see if I can pick his brain on a couple of issues.Also, I’m going to NYC this weekend. Should be fun, as it will be my first time in the Big Apple, I’m mos def gonna wear my cowboy boots. Cool.

Just got back from MC’ing Konnection in Branson, MO… It was a blast, a lot of great speakers and concerts coupled with some sweet time of praise and worship, both in singing and in conversation. Being an MC at a conference is a hectic, fluid, and completely fun. I tag teamed MC’d the conference with Allen Befort, he is hilarious, organized and covered every time if forgot what the next announcement was (which happened… twice).

The conference itself was dynamic with speakers like Pete Newman, Shaun Groves, David Nasser and Soup Cambell; coupled with musical performances by Pete & Bekah Majors, Ben Rector, Shaun Groves, Phil Wickham, and Cairyo (pronounced: K-Rio). All in all a great weekend - I caught up with all my K-Institute family and my K-Colorado family, although it seems that encounters were brief, they were cherished.

Look for the podcast of some of the speakers here.