I just moved back down the West Coast of Aceh. Driving down the tsunami affected coast is such an awing experience. Imagining the way that those waves completely reshaped the landscape of the coastline, the rebuilding, the stories of initial response, and now the confusion about the future; not to mention the stunning beauty, the cliffs, the beaches, the construction out at sea that used to be villages, the islands, and so on…
We drove down bumpy dusty roads in an NGO shuttle and I finally got to my home in Calang. I live right on the beach but since the town was completely wiped out, after two years there has not been enough time for complete reconstruction/restoration. So I live right on the beach in simple pods and housing, with barbed wire fencing all around it. It’s my cozy little concentration camp in paradise. It’s paradise because it feels almost like a summer camp and right out the back gate is the most amazing bay with perfect waves, views of islands, and the most amazing sunsets wading slowly into the Indian Ocean every evening just around Maghrib—when the minarets sound off and signaling the end of swimming and bodysurfing on a beach that I often have all to myself.
1 comment:
hey micah this is cristina from romania, u probably don't remember me, though i hope u will.the downstairs neighbour.i am still dazzled that i found u after i've googled your name.if it's not much to ask i would really like to get in touch with you, catch up the 8 years i guess.:)i'd write you more but not on this blog.hopefully u will write me back on this address anachriss_27@yahoo.com.i am rally excited that i can read all these things about you, u are an amazing person...i've missed you all these years
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