NIAS – the only constant is change

Back again after an absence of nearly a year. Back to monitor the progress and performance of the final post tsunami and earthquake project, that is, the Multi Donor Finance / World Bank project to improve the livelihoods of the island's poorer communities through strengthening their organisational base by creating Farmers Groups, and helping them to increase the income generating potential of their rubber, cocoa and rice crops. Wow, what length (of the sentence). It could have been divided into more comprehensible sections. But I'll leave it as is.

Coming in from the airport—first Jakarta to Medan on Garuda, and then Medan to Gunungsitoli on a narrow-bodied prop plane operated by Wings—nothing seemed to have changed. Even the bad patches of road were still there, as were the churches every kilometre or so, the doorsmeer/doorsmer places to have your car washed (the meaning of the original Dutch word is 'oil change'), the sea on the right and the many mopeds overtaking cars on an outside bend. The office, however, had grown. There was a proper nameplate on the outside and many new faces inside.

And the next day life took up its normal routine of the short term project worker.

For lunch I went to my usual place, the BPK eatery, a mere three-minute walk from the office. The owner smiled broadly when we shook hands, and enquired whether I had come back. Yes, obviously, but that is of course not the proper way to respond to a friendly but meaningless remark. I placed my order and the staff even remembered that I took my terong belanda juice without sugar… The place was crowded, even at this fairly late lunch hour. The baby that a year ago was learning to walk on the cemented floor was now running, and a smaller version was carried around. The owner, a Karo Batak, was sitting in his customary place counting the customers' payments and dropping it into the drawer of his little des. Day in day out… supervising his staff, counting the money, greeting a customer, counting the money, supervising his staff… the only change from last year was a third item on the menu: instead of only roast pork and pork soup, there now was gold carp. No idea how it is prepared, grilled or in a curry or pan fried as I don't like the muddy taste of gold carp.

I wonder whether he is a first generation immigrant from the Karo lands on Sumatra just across the sea. That would have been the most important change in his life because till his now toddler son takes over he will be sitting behind his little desk supervising his staff, counting the money, greeting a customer, counting the money, supervising his staff. The restaurant has ten or so long tables with some 50 to 60 chairs. My guess is that each chair is occupied between four and six times a day. At an average of say 20,000 Rupiah per serving, the daily take would provide him with a pretty middle-class income.

But how does one spend that, how does one enjoy the fruits of one's work when for the next 20 or 30 years one is tethered to a daily routine and a desk. He is such a cheerful fellow so I suspect that he has found the answer.

Maybe I should ask him to start a blog to share his secret with all those unhappy rutinistas out there.