Experience Kelsey's adventures through the poetry, prose, and imagery of her journal. Click on the haikus below to read the different days of her story.

Sulawesi - Three Days Until Departure
Date September 18, 2006

Mary Devine Elementary School - Teaching the 3rd Grade About Indonesia

As part of my internship package, I was to learn from the professionals and then pass on my experience to younger students. The Imaging Foundation leaders want to fulfill their mission, and empower their students and interns. I scheduled a class with the Mary Devine Elementary School 3rd grade class. I not only wanted the students to know what I learned, but I wanted them to understand that many possibilities are open to them as well. I wanted them to know that they should stay in school.   I also wanted them to know that reaching for dreams can be great, but also frightening. I wanted them to embark on my trip with me. I made the trip to the local elementary school and discussed my upcoming trip with a group of third grade students. I talked about Indonesia, SCUBA diving, marine biology and many other topics. The questions that ensued were not only interesting, but showed the students were very curious.

The class ran smoothly. The students were cooperative and attentive. I launched by telling them about my very busy summer! I am a student intern. An intern is a person who is taught skills required for specific job or career, by a business or foundation. The group who is teaching me is named the Imaging Foundation. They have helped teach me advanced photography skills and we are now about to embark on a field expedition. All summer I raised money so I could join the expedition team on their latest mission to North Sulawesi, Indonesia. It has been a lot of hard work but I am close to making my goal!

I broke out some maps to show them, “Where in the world is Indonesia?” I explained time zone differences and explained the 12 hour time difference between here and there. For example, if it was 1:00pm in Croydon then it would be 1:00 am the next day in North Sulawesi. A lot of the kids asked me how I would sleep. I answered that I would be gaining catch up sleep on the airplane so it would be easier for my body to adjust to Indonesian time. I also explained travel issues such as currency, language, climate, and geography (mountains, volcanoes, and the ocean).

After I explained where Indonesia and North Sulawesi were located, I showed them images of what the land looks like, what the people look like, and an example of what it looks like underwater. They really liked seeing images of the children. One even said, “Look what they’re wearing!” I explained that perhaps that is all the clothes they have and perhaps that is the best clothes available to them. The students were surprised by my answer. I think they thought that every kid in the world wears Oshkosh.

After our discussion I showed off the SCUBA gear and the kids really enjoyed it! I was surprised how many of them knew so much. The only items they did not know the proper names for were the BCD and the computer. They all participated and even told me how the equipment functions to keep me safe underwater.

Then it was question and answer time, my favorite part of the class. Examples of the students’ questions were:
- Have you ever seen a shark or stingray?
- Do you want to see sharks and stingrays?
- What are you most afraid of?
- Are you going to be taking pictures?
- Is the water warm?
- What is SCUBA diving like?
- Were you afraid when you first dove?
- Do you like diving?

I asked them to write down on an index card a question they would like me to ask an Indonesian child. I really love the idea of a US-Indonesian Ambassador Program. It was my experience that children in the United States have no idea what it is like to live in true poverty. One goal of the Ambassador Program is to open up the minds of the US kids and allow them to see how fortunate and blessed they are. The program has the potential to teach kids in both countries to see the world in a different way and to realize we all have more in common than things that separate us.

Sulawesi - One Day Until Departure
Date September 20, 2006

Night before departure
Tomorrow I will be departing to meet up with the IF group in Los Angeles. This is my first airplane ride ever. I am so unbelievably nervous. I just don’t know what to expect. I am so worried I am just going to mess up and end up in China or something. I’m also nervous of actually meeting the group. I’ve met them over the phone but not in person. I just don’t want to make a bad first impression. Oh well, no guts no glory.

Date September 21, 2006
Sulawesi Departure

Today was my first flight and it was insane! My family helped me and we checked the bags through to Los Angeles and went through security. We waited for about 2 hours before I boarded the plane to LAX. It really hit me when I actually got on the plane. I was on my way to Indonesia! Well actually….. Los Angeles.

The pressure from the take off felt really strange, but we were in the air! Thankfully I had a window seat. The houses appeared so little and as we ascended we were in the clouds. I observed the clouds almost the entire time. My first observation was that the clouds (the whole entire picture) reminded me of something you would see in Alaska or Antarctica. There were so many different tones within the clouds. Some were thick and others were thin. The thin ones were bluish and the thick ones were white. I also flew over some mountains that I thought were really interesting. Some of them were snowcapped and just beautiful!

I landed in LA and met Judy, an expedition leader. We collected my luggage and rendezvoused with Georgienne, Sooki and Jay. We shuffled gear so each piece of luggage would make weight. We checked in and were off to Singapore! The plane was beautiful. I liked the flight attendants' uniforms - a cool Asian style. My mind raced, I did not see how I could possibly sleep... the stewardess with the cute outfit fed us dinner and I promptly fell asleep.

Date September 22, 2006
Enroute Across the Pacific

I slept for about 8 hours. It was a night sky the entire time as we zoomed past multiple time zones. They kept us nourished and entertained as we crossed the Pacific Ocean. We landed in Singapore at about 4:00 AM. I also had the opportunity to enjoy a hot shower, e-mail my dad and then, after a 5-hour lay over we were off to Manado, Indonesia on the island of Sulawesi.

Date September 23, 2006
Sulawesi Arrival !

As soon as we got off the plane we were in line for visas. From visas to security, security to the shuttle. The shuttle transfer was my favorite part of this day. We rode straight through Manado. The houses were made of wood and tin. A few more affluent families owned homes constructed of cement. They were able to afford glass to cover their windows. The only thing covering windows were cloth, no glass. I also noticed that an attachment to many homes was dedicated to a little "convenience store." Kind of like our 7-11 or Wawa.

There were many mopeds on the road, a few cars, some trucks, and a handful of vans. Our shuttle was built very differently from the cars that we have back home. The passenger and driver's seats were reversed. And I thought my parents were bad drivers! Our driver kept inching over to see if anyone was coming from the other lane. If there was a vehicle coming then he would quickly get back into our lane, but if not he would accelerate to pass whoever was in front of us. And when people from the opposite lane would pass, they were literally inches away from us. Phil Coles sat near me and is a member of the Imaging Foundation board of advisors. He shared my enthusiasm as we each pressed our noses up against the windows. Phil, I later learned has produced many documentary television shows for National Geographic and Animal Planet. You would think he had seen it all.... But he was so excited. He pointed out cows pulling a cart. This reminded me of Lancaster, PA where the horses pull buggies for the Amish. People here appeared so happy, waving and smiling at complete strangers. There are so many cultural differences between Indonesia and the US.

After about 2 hours, we arrived at our destination. Here we would meet the boat that would become our home for the next week. We used the short bit of down time to explore the area to look around and actually met some locals. Phil, my new best friend, and I decided to go on a mini photo adventure. We walked down the shore where three local girls were swimming in the ocean. They laughed as they posed for pictures.

Then we climbed up the hill and discovered a village. We walked past the first house and saw that in the yard there was a huge pile of coconut shells. As we walked down the trail and we saw a man in the distance. As he walked closer, a girl and a little boy joined him. The girl was carrying a heavy sack of God only knows what, and the boy was following her with what looked like a mini wheelbarrow. They were extremely friendly and posed for pictures.

 

Date September 24, 2006

 

Today was the first day of diving and WOW, this is nothing at all like the rock quarry. The fish are fabulous. Small critters are everywhere. They were camouflaged or just too small to see unless you got really close and were really still. Frogfish, wonderpus, stargazers, urchins, nudibranchs: there was SO much to see!

 

 

 

Today I logged my first night dive. I wasn t sure if I wanted to do it but I figured if I didn t then I would always wonder what is was like. We were riding out to the dive site in complete darkness and I felt my heart beating like crazy and I actually began to sweat. Once I hit that water I deflated my BCD and sank into this darkness. Richmond, the divemaster was my buddy. He held my hand most of the dive. Night diving is completely different than day diving. Beyond the obvious darkness factor, different animals come out at night and there is much more behavior to watch.. Gorgeous urchins appeared, red and purple with vibrant blue dots. The light I carried just illuminated everything to such brilliant colors. I m really glad I did the night dive. Not only for the what-if factor but also because the animals were fabulous.

	Recap Today I learned my first words of Indonesian - Salamat Pagi - Good Morning. I added to my personal SCUBA knowledge. After my first dives in seawater, I learned that I needed just 12 pounds of added weight to dive in salt water. I also learned that it is often good to push myself and do things that might seem frightening.

Date September 25, 2006

Today was the second day of diving and I was already beginning to catch onto the skill of identifying. I did three dives today. On the first dive we saw a lizardfish eating a pufferfish. I glanced over at Richmond and he was pointing at this animal with what I thought were eggs in its mouth. It was real nature up close.

On the second dive we saw an octopus that changed color. Then there was the frogfish! Their modified fins look like legs, but they can still swim. We followed one particular frogfish, which would hop along except when he would come across a divot in the sand. He would swim over it. As we were swimming along all of a sudden another fish shot out and sat on top of the sand. Apparently, this was a camouflaged stargazer and Richmond had accidentally hit it with his rod. We searched for Jay so he could film these fish with the high definition camera. Diving was fantastic today.

Date September 26, 2006

On the second dive we saw two octopi, some bump head parrotfish, and a scorpion fish. Richmond played with the octopus by petting it with his rod and persuading it to come out. It actually changed color as well. We saw a white scorpion fish. It was hanging onto a piece of coral. Lastly, we saw some bumphead parrot fish. They are the biggest fish I've seen here. Their faces were flat in the front. Today was a great day of diving. I also interviewed Captain Niall. I wondered how he had found his way from the United Kingdom to being the Captain of a diving live-aboard in Sulawesi.... I was realizing that anything in life is possible.

Date September 27, 2006

 

Coral is so beautiful - it's like swimming into a rainbow. The colors are breathtaking. After my second dive, Richmond and I swam to a beach from the boat. The shore was an oasis - clear water, white sand, a little village, it was just stunning.

 

When we returned from the last dive we went on a "boat photo tour." We ended up getting close to a fishing boat. Actually it was a combination boat/hut propped up off the water by bamboo rods. It was lined with net and was inhabited by a family of three. We came to within 20 feet of the boat. There were about ten of us, all armed with long lens cameras and Jay with "the beast", our high-definition video camera. The family smiled and waved.
After about only a few minutes Georgienne and Jay were invited aboard their boat. The family was proud to show off their catch and their boat. Jay and Georgienne were able navigate the thin bamboo poles as they climbed onto the floating homestead. It was like walking on a balance beam while carrying very expensive equipment.
The family has been living on that boat for one year. At one point the young boy reached down into his net and pulled out a huge cuttlefish. I took some good photos and had a healthy reality check. I tried to imagine what it would be like if my family had to live like this family.

That evening, Phil Coles gave an informative presentation. He talked about what it was like producing natural history documentaries. He told us a little bit about what it is like to build a story, and the challenges facing documentary producers today. I began wondering what it would be like to create television programs that would teach people about animals and the ocean. I had never considered this as a career option, but I pondered the idea and took lots of notes as Phil spoke.

Later, the crew played guitar for us. This was a totally cool bonding time. The crew who spoke broken English knew more American songs than we did. Lawrence and Richmond took turns playing guitar and everyone sang. I remembered starting the school year learning about equality, justice, freedom, and the American mosaic. Living on this boat has given me many great examples of these principles.

 

Date September 28, 2006

Date September 29, 2006

Today was the last day of diving which was really sad. We did 2 dives and I almost topped my record time of 1:10. We also did a "swim through" which was SO cool.

We got back to the boat after our BBQ and Georgienne helped me pack my suitcase. Or rather, throw my stuff into my suitcase from the top bunk. We turned in as early as we could. Tomorrow we are off to the Tasik Ria Resort and the land adventure begins!

Date September 30, 2006

The Tasik Ria is a beautiful resort. It's right on the beach, with a pool, spa, restaurant, and beautiful walkways. We arrived late so, we unpacked and ate dinner. A group of school children were on hand to entertain us. They were dressed in traditional costumes and put on quite a show! It seems there are special dances for girls and others for the boys. The boys tried to look like fierce warriors, which was very funny because they looked for young and innocent.   After the dancing stopped the children gathered around. I love their smiles.

Date October 1, 2006

We embarked for Tangkoko Park. En route, we stopped at an ancient cemetery, which was right up my alley because I love all the archaeology, history, and stories of burial rituals. The cemetery had many tombs. The oldest one was 1,200 years old. These tombs would hold families in a sitting position when they died. The carvings were interesting. I soon learned that lines within the carvings represented how many people were in the tomb. There were also carvings throughout the stone to represent ethnicity and occupation.

After visiting the cemetery we were back on the way to Tangkoko. The place is infested with monkeys! They were up in the trees, walking on the grounds, hiding in the bushes, everywhere! I wanted to get as close as possible to get a great photograph.... Hmmmm. After about five minutes I climbed up on the log, straddling a stream, and I shimmied my way across the log. I had to juggle my camera, camera bag, AND try to balance as I shot the monkeys! Success! I got some great shots, but this is not easy.

Date October 2, 2006

Today was whitewater rafting. We went through the Sulawesi rainforest. The greenery towered around me. A few egrets and kingfisher birds flew past our small rafts. There weren't any cars, or motors. The sounds of our voices and the river were the only things I could hear. At a few spots there were cables strung across the river. People living near the banks would use pulleys to cross the river when the water was high. I would have loved to have gotten out to explore the forest. Many of the massive plants looked like potted plants we work hard to grow at home. Here they were growing wild. This was nature in its purist form

Date October 3, 2006

Today we visited the North Sulawesi Highlands. There were a series of stops and so much to se. First we visited the Japanese caves, people collecting soil created these. There is a complicated process that insures only the best soil is collected for market. It reminded me of how the forty-niners sifted for gold. Their ladders were made of bamboo with foot cut outs.

Our next stop was a coconut plantation. They use every part of the coconut....no waste here ....

Then we visited a local market. I have never seen anything like it. We walked into the fruit section and I was thinking to myself, "Oh, this isn't too different!" Well, I was in for a shock. We got to the meat section... It was horrific! They were slaughtering animals out in the open. Ana and I almost got splattered with dog blood. They had bats, rats, pigs, dogs, and fish. It smelled terrible, and I tried to force a smile to the friendly people. Then we hit the coffee stand. There was one coffee stall in the whole market and we needed about 25 bags of coffee. I think we made his whole week!

The next stop was a Buddhist temple. This was probably one of my favorite parts of the day. I approached the first temple, took off my shoes, and walked inside. There was an altar containing several Buddhist statues. There were paintings on each side of the altar. Candles and incense were lit. There was a large chandelier right above the large Buddha, which illuminated his face. It was spiritual indeed.

Carrol called to me and was awed by a large lizard a few local craftsmen were sculpting. It was so detailed, and they were building it into a cave-type of meditation area.

Our final stop was a mosque. I was initially frightened to enter the mosque. I only knew the perception of Muslims in America. So I was a little apprehensive, but it was gorgeous. I had a big audience following me. Freddy, our guide came with me so I would have someone there to help me communicate. I approached a group of people; they all looked so serious and mean, smoking their cigarettes and blowing out smoke through holes where their teeth should have been. I was terrified, but all I could do was smile. When we asked permission to tour and take pictures, one of the men asked me "Are you here alone?" By this point I was already hiding my terror behind my smile. I just laughed and said, "No, I am with a group called the Imaging Foundation."

We finally entered the mosque. It was a large empty room. There were prayer mats in one area and one man praying. Then the priest took me to the washing station. It's like a bathroom with a foot wash.

I walked outside and it seemed that the entire town was waiting to greet me! All the kids saw me with my camera and kept screaming "PHOTO PHOTO!!" So I got all of them, about twenty-five kids together and snapped a picture. They went crazy and they were so happy.

When I returned to the hotel, I found out that there was a 16-year-old Muslim girl and the leader of the Muslim community waiting to meet me. I have never tried to get out of a vehicle so fast in my whole life. On this particular night, they were celebrating the breaking of the fast that is required of Muslims during Ramadan. They are not allowed to eat or drink for the entire day... so I am happy they began eating before I arrived!

I was introduced to a beautiful young girl and her priest. The girl's name is Lialy and my mission was to interview her, asking questions about her culture and religion. When I return to Croydon, I would share the information I had gathered.

It is difficult to interview people and ask personal questions to complete strangers.   Lialy has a warm smile, but we also have a bit of a language barrier. I was delighted to learn that Lialy would return the next day. I thought our second visit would be easier.

Today one of my favorite days in Indonesia.

Date October 4, 2006

We started off the day visiting the local school. First we went to the office to gain permission to visit the classroom. Within minutes I was on my way to visit the third grad class and ask questions from the cards my hometown third graders had written down several weeks before.

We introduced ourselves and then we asked the questions. Some of the kids were shy and others were right in the action. We asked them if they had any questions to ask me, which they did. One little girl sang the song that was written in her book. Before leaving I taught them a couple of words:

Hello

Goodbye

Love

Friend

Back at the hotel, I anxiously waited for Laily's return.   She arrived around 1:00 in the afternoon. She brought the Koran and her scarf. Jay shot some photos of us by the beach and by the pool. Then she taught me how to read the Koran. I repeated after her and together we read a prayer.

After that we went back to my room and I asked her more questions about her culture and religion. We had about 30 minutes for questions then she handed me her scarf and said, "for you." I was so honored.

I also had a surprise for Laily. Earlier in the day I had bought her a dolphin anklet that matched the dolphin necklace I had seen her wear the day before. It was so nice to have something to share with each other. She asked me if I would come back to her village and meet her friends. After receiving permission from Georgienne, I was on my way. We walked around to her friends' homes and I took pictures with them all. I met her family also. Its incredible how religiously diverse these villages are and how they all live together in harmony. Laily invited me to stay with her! I really do not want to leave tomorrow. I promised Laily I would come .... I miss her already.

Date October 5, 2006

I'm sitting on the plane as I type. I cannot believe I am on my way back to the United States. I have seen and learned so much, but it seems like only a short time ago I was packing my suitcase and worried about making a good impression...  

We landed in Singapore and transferred to our hotel. As we drove from the airport I was impressed at how modern this city-state was compared to the towns in Sulawesi. Skyscrapers and manicured gardens were everywhere.

Georgienne arranged a small brunch at the Raffles Hotel historically, this was the meeting place for influential people, the décor was elegant and the food, delicious. After breakfast we had to leave for the airport really cannot believe we are on our way home! I do not want to leave!!!! But I do plan on returning. ...Soon.