Truely.... I've been living and working in Indonesia for 8 years...... Suddenly, I live in Brisbane.
Some call it a "seachange."For me its more something like "almost nice to be in a place where you can clean up spilt milk with a mop instead of an army."
Don't get me wrong Brissiephiles... it's mighty nice, but sometimes you miss the edge when you have lived it for almost too long!!! Dunno what aid worker conjures in your head... but here's a few clues about where you could have found Donna Leigh and her trusty laptop in the most recent past.. last 12 months..- a thatched hut in the mist on a moutaintop 6hrs from anywhere in Timor Leste surrounded by ruddy faced, wormy bellied, underfed kids and assorted pigs, dogs, rats and chickens as Dili burned below; on surf charter boats in Sumatera (go Surfaid!); half way up a cargo boat carried 2klm inshore by the tsunami in Aceh; in 5 star hotels in about 20 different cities (ask me where your aid money goes!); lying by the pool in my house in Bali; in dug out boats harvesting seaweed on a number of Indonesian Islands; in small aircraft in Papua; with a dive tank on my back surveying fishing boats we sank to reconstruct destroyed reefs in North Bali; on a UN helicopter and RAAF herc in dead of the night; lying under my stacked motorbike at 2am outside Kerobokan jail wearing my sons school uniform! Getting the picture? There's stacks more - these were just a few of the choicest moments! :) Outside of Indo, I grew up in heaps of places in Australia and the USA, lived and worked in Thailand and worked in other countries like Lao PDR, Timor Leste, Hong Kong, Philipines, Mongolia, UK for shorter periods of time. Travelled further including all over Indo (goes without saying), Singapore, Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Norway. Bit of an Asiaphile to date.... needs to change, needs to change....THIS IS WHERE I'VE BEEN.... ..
SO.... WHERE ARE YOU?
You have been marked on my profile map!
and..... HELLO, WHERE ARE YOU BRISBANE??
So, what make's Donna tick aside from industry based, stress induced adrenalin and seeking to make a difference? .....international issues..... other cultures..... Indonesian politics.... social justice..... all other politics..... playing.... getting out and about..... racing around with a silly grin on my face... honour.... language.... being 25m under the ocean.... roger the wonderdog...... my tribe - shea, zac, caleb (the 3 I gave birth to) and hadi (the one I didn't).... their assorted beautiful friends... BBQ chickens.... music.... giving..... laughing out loud.... beaming with pride.... big love.... red wine... sea water, sea breezes and supposedly sea changes...... my friends all over the world.....
'K so time now to get out and feed my energy levels... or maybe bring em down a bit - we'll see.. here's a tad more to keep you busy while I'm off doing that....
Stay tuned..... :)
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