July 26, 2009 3:54pm
Re: Thought on ET
It’s Sunday, and it’s a beautiful Sunday. I’ve had quite an adventurous last couple of days. This coming week will be my second week of Tetum classes in the morning. They have been very helpful and I certainly feel more comfortable speaking tetum but I’m still have a hard time figuring out what people are saying to me when they talk quickly (and when they talk slowly). The funny thing about Tetum is that it’s the product of Bahasa Indonesian, Protégées and Tetum. Which means that people count to 100 in tetum, tell you the price of something in Bahasa, and look at you as if you’re crazy when you try to bargain despite the language you choose. In addition, you can learn a word in Tetum but depending on who you’re talking to they may or may not understand what you’re saying. However, I am making progress in some sort of language because I’ve been talking with the students that are interning at the LOL office and they seem to have a general idea what I’m saying. Often I am too quick to just agree with whatever they say in reply and then they think I understand and then we usually end up standing there looking at each other until one of us just starts laughing and we’re back to square one. One of my favorite parts of the day has been sitting down with the three students after I get back from tetum class and having a little informal language class where I practice sentences in tetum and they practice sentences in English. I have to keep in mind that although it is very important that I learn Tetum, it’s actually more important that they learn English. And I think they get as much joy out of teaching me tetum as I get out of teaching them English.
Besides tetum, I’ve learned a lot about ET in the last couple of days. On Friday I was asked if I wanted to take an overnight trip to Los Palos for the graduation ceremony of one of our interns. There are two school in Fuiloro, Los Palos that are private schools that are run by the catholic church. The Sisters run one school that has an administrative, sewing and sisterhood track and a Father runs a neighbouring school that has an agricultural track. LOL operates one of its programs out of the Father’s school. Boys and girls attend both schools although all the boy sleep at the Father’s school and all the girls sleep at the Sisters’ school. Our secretary intern was graduating from the Sister school and it was a great opportunity to travel to the country side to support her and to see the agricultural school where LOL has one of its programs. As soon as I got the text (I was at tetum class at the time) asking me if I wanted to go as soon as I got back I jumped at the opportunity. We left as soon as I got back stopping just to pick up my toothbrush and a change of clothes for the night. The drive took about 6 hours and apparently it’s the nicest time of year (the dry season) to make the trip. Although the school is the furthest away of the three LOL schools, it has the nicest road so it’s the easiest to get too. Note, that although the road was paved most of the way there were pot holes the size of our truck, hair pin and cliff hanger corners and the width of the road was not big enough for two vehicles to pass without me shutting my eyes. When my eye weren’t slammed shut they were glued to the window as the scenery was spectacular. The beach was always at our side with the hills of the country rolling out in front of us. The villages that we drove through were small but always full of children playing outside with stray dogs, wandering pigs, and roaming chickens. It was refreshing to get outside of Dili and really see ET’s stunning countryside.
During the ride up I learned a lot from my boss and coworker about the history of ET and the current economy. What is especially interesting is the land ownership situation. Currently most land ownership is done in a traditional fashion where people live on the land that their family has lived on and everyone in the community knows that its theirs because that’s the way it has always been. However, due to the 1999 conflict and again in 2006 many people had to leave their properties and live in IDP camps throughput Dili and the country side. The last of these camps is closing down now as people are being moved back to their original homes, however, there have been disputes over properties rights as some people want to go back to land that may or may not have been theirs traditionally, or may have been theirs during the Protégées rein, but then was taken away from them during the Indonesian rein and then they wanted it back now that ET is independent. My boss was saying although this is confusing and there isn’t any documentation as to who actually owns the property there is surprising few land disputes after the IDP camps were dismantled.
However, the lack of proper ownership documentation is an issue for Timorese who wish to open a bank account and borrow from the bank as they do not own any collateral. My boss was saying that in Africa small group microfinancing has been very successful as say a group of women can get together and take out a loan to start a sewing shop and each woman has to pay back her loan and the peer pressure from the rest of the group has almost guaranteed that the loans will be paid back. However, the Timorese culture doesn’t seem to support borrowing of any kind, there’s a belief that it’s almost better to do without than to borrow.
The lack of proper proof of land ownership and a culture that does not support borrowing has contributed to the lack of economical development . Surprisingly ET imports almost all of its rice and the food in the grocery stores all imported. The vegetables that I buy from the local markets are local, however the eggs and milk are not (except in Los Palos, apparently they sell local eggs, some from the agricultural school that LOL supports), the rice is not local because the government buys it internationally and then sells it to the people at a subsidized price. As a consequence it is cheaper to sell the imported rice than to grow it locally and then sell it. There are a number of NGOs here that I know are in the ‘food security’ sector. These organizations are trying to prevent potential disaster if there is a drought or a flood and the crops are ruined. The vegetables and fruit in the market are all similar products of the weather and harvest, thus with a lack of diversity in production many people would be out of jobs and without food if the crops failed. The grocery stores target the international community so the prices are very expensive and local people never shop there.
We came home from Los Palos Saturday afternoon after attending mass in the morning then the graduation ceremony and then doing a quick tour of the Father’s agricultural school. I was very impressed with the agricultural school. The school owns about 200 acres and consists of a small milking operation, a pig breeding operation and a chicken hatchery. Currently the chicken hatchery is the only operation that is making a profit and part of the reason why is that there is a lack of confidence in the profitability of the diary operation. The pigs are currently being raised and then sold/given to the local people so that they can raise them and then possibly sell them back to the school so that the school can deport the meat.
An interesting observation in the whole operation of this part of the agricultural world is that all the pigs, chickens and chicken feed have been imported. Now that the school has pigs they will start breeding them and hopefully will have to import less and less. However, growing crops for feed, such as chicken, cow and pig feed is not part of the agricultural mind set. Because growing corn for cows/chickens rather than humans has not been pursued it is difficult for the local people to create large chicken/pork/beef/diary operations. I was talking with the head of the USAID cow fattening project and he mentioned that feeding animals, ie taking the food to the animal rather than letting the animal roam the countryside in search for nutrients, is an idea that hasn’t really developed here. Thus people have chickens, but the chicken walk around and peck at the ground and eat whatever left overs they can find. This gentleman was also saying that his cow fattening project suffers because so often the families that have the cows that are supposed to be fatten and then exported to Indonesia, are slaughter prematurely because the family needs the money at that moment in an emergency.
In addition to a missing animal feed market, there is also a missing slaughtering market. There are no formal butchering practices and as a consequence the meat that is sold is not standardized in anyway. Although meat is not eaten often among the locals, it would be an interesting experiment to have a practicing butcher that could standardized the cuts and then even sell it to the grocery stores that target the international community. There are many many pieces to this puzzle but what I really like about the LOL project is that it starts somewhere. Although these students may never own their own diary farm they will have experience caring for animals and will understand the basic operations that are needed to make a profit from farming. These are skills that they can take home to their own family farms.
We got back from Los Palos around 8pm Saturday night. Sunday morning there was the annual First Lady’s Cup funrun 10k race. Almost every expat in Dili had signed up along with a number of local timorese. I’d say there was over 400 people present, some running, some walking, some just watching. The race went from the government palace building along Beach Road for 5km and then back. The first 10 men and first 10 women received a metal and a flat of canned orange juice. LOL represented very well, my boss finished within the top 40 of the men (the race was dominated by men, many of which were in the UN armed forces) and I finished 8th out of the women. The coolest part was that after the race the actual first lady, the Prime minister’s wife, who is Australian, was the one giving out the metals and flats of orange juice. I have only been here 2 weeks and I have already kissed the first lady on the cheek! The Prime minister was there as well in his running gear, as was their child and body guard. It was such a cool experience but the best part was certainly just competing and making LOL proud.
Today is Monday and I’m back in tetum class. I did learn something interesting today, I learned that in Tetum when you tell the time you either say the hour exactly or you say the hour and a half. For example, if you wanted to meet someone at 12 o’clock you would say “tuku sanulu resin rua” but if you wanted to meet someone at any time between 12 o’clock and 1 o’clock you would simply say “tuku sanulu resin rua o’balu”. ‘O’balu’ just means ‘a half’, it doesn’t matter whether you want to meet at 12:01 or 12:59, you always just say '12 and a half’. I’m sure there are ways around this, but it certainly is not clear and our teacher kept on telling us that ‘the hour is the only thing that matters here’.
Welp, off to bed I go! Much love,
mariesa
Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Exciting weekend!
July 20, 2009 9:54pm
Wow, has it even been an interesting weekend. On Saturday I got up and went into the office and helped a colluege of mine with an application essay for a US scholarship that is only offered to five Timorese each year. The more I learned about my college who is applying the more I was convinced that if anyone deserved a college education this woman did. She is the oldest of 6 children and currently is the provider for her family. She handles all of LOL finances and is as sharp as a whistle. Not only is her English almost perfect but she can also speak Portugese and some Indonesian. She studied in a convent to become a nun for four years but then had to drop out because she needed to support her family. And to top it all off she is the most patient Tetum teacher there is and as such a wonderful happy laugh. When I talked to her about living through the revolution in 1999 and the crisis in 2006 she is very honest about her family’s story of survival. And when I look at her incrediously and ask her how she does it all her 75 pound frame just chuckles and she responds, ‘it’s a life.’ I feel so fortunate to have her as such a good friend.
After we worked on the application and I used the internet in the office for a bit we went back to my place and had lunch and then headed off to the beach. It was nice just to float in the water practicing my Tetum and laughing about how ‘Jesus’ must be getting hot (referring to the giant Jesus statue on top of one of the mountains). After we went home and changed I needed to head off to my soccer game so we caught a cab and made plans to meet for mass Sunday morning at the Dili cathedral.
Now, the soccer game was a blast! I hadn’t played soccer for over 12 years but it was so much fun just to get out there and run around. I’m on a team with a bunch of international girls and we played a local Timorese girls team. They kicked our butts pretty cleanly but I managed to get our team’s only goal! We had quite a crowd out watching us and they would ooohhh and ahhh over ever save, bump, crash and kick. The best part was that both teams were having so much fun that we didn’t even care about the score. There were refs and everything so there were a few rules that I had to pick up mid match. But the other team was the nicest bunch of girls and I can’t wait to play again this weekend.
Saturday night I went to a friend’s going away party. Mostly I knew the soccer girls at the party but it was nice to hang out and meet some more international folks. The hard part was getting up Sunday morning at 6:30am so that I could catch a cab to the catherdral. When I thought I was going to a catherdral I though that I would end up at a pristeen European style giant Catherdral. However, this was not exactly the case. The ‘Cathedral’ is currently underconstruction and right now looks like a empty half built cement church. The church service was actually outside in the back yard of the construction where everyone stood or sat on plastic chairs. A lot of people were there, probably around 400 who either walk or rode their motorbikes. Although the service was in Tetun and I was a little tired, it was a great experience and I think it’s a nice was to integrate myself into the local community. This weekend my college and I are going to go to an English service that she has heard about.
After going to church my next big adventure was shopping with another friend and then heading to the beach with the soccer girls. We went to “Jesus’ backside beach” which is the beach behind the Jesus statue. It was actually quite overcast and it started to pore later on in the afternoon but not before I got the chance to walk all the way up to the Jesus statue and take a look at the bay from the balcony. What a beautiful sight. The island really is stunning and the ocean goes on and on forever. You look out and feel like there’s nobody else on earth.
That evening was my last evening at Bess’ place. It was sad to leave but Monday (today) after work I moved into my new home. This place really is wonderful. It’s a beautiful home that is not far at all from the city center. I think that once I have a bike I’ll be able to go anywhere fairly easily. It felt really good to unpack all my things and set myself up. The house is right next to the biggest farmers market in Dili. It’s huge! I walked in and was the only malae (foreigner) there. I got a lot of stares but I also got a lot of smiles and a lot of veggitables and fruit that was really inexpensive. The market also sells almost anything you would want to buy in a grocery store and it also has clothes and any sort of trinket you can imagine. I am so thrilled about its location.
This week Bess and I are taking tetum language classes every morning. Tetum is fairly easy to learn and I have made pretty good progress since I got here. It really helps to have coworkers that are willing to teach you all day. And this afternoon I went with a coworker to one of the USAID projects that our students are interning at in Dili. It was really fascinating to learn about this other project that focuses on cattle fattening, coffee growing, and tree planting. It was also good to meet some of the students and ask them about their experience thus far. The idea is that these students will get some work experience and knowledge that they can take back to their own family farm or use in the agricultural sector. I’m looking forward to seeing some of the other projects and being able to converse more easily with the students.
Off to bed, I’m going to walk to work in the morning and this time it may be a little bit of a hike! Bonoite!
LOVE
Mariesa
Ps. I’m having a difficult time trying to get my pictures off of my lap top and on to the internet. Soon they will come!
Wow, has it even been an interesting weekend. On Saturday I got up and went into the office and helped a colluege of mine with an application essay for a US scholarship that is only offered to five Timorese each year. The more I learned about my college who is applying the more I was convinced that if anyone deserved a college education this woman did. She is the oldest of 6 children and currently is the provider for her family. She handles all of LOL finances and is as sharp as a whistle. Not only is her English almost perfect but she can also speak Portugese and some Indonesian. She studied in a convent to become a nun for four years but then had to drop out because she needed to support her family. And to top it all off she is the most patient Tetum teacher there is and as such a wonderful happy laugh. When I talked to her about living through the revolution in 1999 and the crisis in 2006 she is very honest about her family’s story of survival. And when I look at her incrediously and ask her how she does it all her 75 pound frame just chuckles and she responds, ‘it’s a life.’ I feel so fortunate to have her as such a good friend.
After we worked on the application and I used the internet in the office for a bit we went back to my place and had lunch and then headed off to the beach. It was nice just to float in the water practicing my Tetum and laughing about how ‘Jesus’ must be getting hot (referring to the giant Jesus statue on top of one of the mountains). After we went home and changed I needed to head off to my soccer game so we caught a cab and made plans to meet for mass Sunday morning at the Dili cathedral.
Now, the soccer game was a blast! I hadn’t played soccer for over 12 years but it was so much fun just to get out there and run around. I’m on a team with a bunch of international girls and we played a local Timorese girls team. They kicked our butts pretty cleanly but I managed to get our team’s only goal! We had quite a crowd out watching us and they would ooohhh and ahhh over ever save, bump, crash and kick. The best part was that both teams were having so much fun that we didn’t even care about the score. There were refs and everything so there were a few rules that I had to pick up mid match. But the other team was the nicest bunch of girls and I can’t wait to play again this weekend.
Saturday night I went to a friend’s going away party. Mostly I knew the soccer girls at the party but it was nice to hang out and meet some more international folks. The hard part was getting up Sunday morning at 6:30am so that I could catch a cab to the catherdral. When I thought I was going to a catherdral I though that I would end up at a pristeen European style giant Catherdral. However, this was not exactly the case. The ‘Cathedral’ is currently underconstruction and right now looks like a empty half built cement church. The church service was actually outside in the back yard of the construction where everyone stood or sat on plastic chairs. A lot of people were there, probably around 400 who either walk or rode their motorbikes. Although the service was in Tetun and I was a little tired, it was a great experience and I think it’s a nice was to integrate myself into the local community. This weekend my college and I are going to go to an English service that she has heard about.
After going to church my next big adventure was shopping with another friend and then heading to the beach with the soccer girls. We went to “Jesus’ backside beach” which is the beach behind the Jesus statue. It was actually quite overcast and it started to pore later on in the afternoon but not before I got the chance to walk all the way up to the Jesus statue and take a look at the bay from the balcony. What a beautiful sight. The island really is stunning and the ocean goes on and on forever. You look out and feel like there’s nobody else on earth.
That evening was my last evening at Bess’ place. It was sad to leave but Monday (today) after work I moved into my new home. This place really is wonderful. It’s a beautiful home that is not far at all from the city center. I think that once I have a bike I’ll be able to go anywhere fairly easily. It felt really good to unpack all my things and set myself up. The house is right next to the biggest farmers market in Dili. It’s huge! I walked in and was the only malae (foreigner) there. I got a lot of stares but I also got a lot of smiles and a lot of veggitables and fruit that was really inexpensive. The market also sells almost anything you would want to buy in a grocery store and it also has clothes and any sort of trinket you can imagine. I am so thrilled about its location.
This week Bess and I are taking tetum language classes every morning. Tetum is fairly easy to learn and I have made pretty good progress since I got here. It really helps to have coworkers that are willing to teach you all day. And this afternoon I went with a coworker to one of the USAID projects that our students are interning at in Dili. It was really fascinating to learn about this other project that focuses on cattle fattening, coffee growing, and tree planting. It was also good to meet some of the students and ask them about their experience thus far. The idea is that these students will get some work experience and knowledge that they can take back to their own family farm or use in the agricultural sector. I’m looking forward to seeing some of the other projects and being able to converse more easily with the students.
Off to bed, I’m going to walk to work in the morning and this time it may be a little bit of a hike! Bonoite!
LOVE
Mariesa
Ps. I’m having a difficult time trying to get my pictures off of my lap top and on to the internet. Soon they will come!
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Jesus Statue
Blog post: July 16, 2009
After work yesterday Bess and I rode bikes out to the beach and went for a run towards the tip of the island where there is a giant statue of Jesus (although he’s in scaffolding right now). This was the first of a few things for me. It was the first time that I navigated the roads on a bicycle (this was a little nerve racking but I managed to remember to stay on the left hand side of the road and Bess and I stayed close together). We were going to bike all the way to the Jesus statue but then Bess’ tire was flat so we decided to park our bike and run. This was the first time I had been that far down the beach and it was the most beautiful run I have ever been on. We were running as the sun was setting and I was lucky that I didn’t fall flat on my face because I was looking out on the ocean with the sun setting on the horizon the entire time. Breath taking. There were actually many people (both “malae”, who are internationals, and local people) running along the road. In two weekends there is a big 10km race that I’m going to try to sign up for.
I have also joined a women’s soccer team here. We practice every Tuesday and Thrusdaya nd this Saturday I have my first game. Our coach is from Sweden and is a UN police officer. Last night the two girls I’m currently sharing an apartment with and I hosted a girls’ night. There was about 6 of us in total and most were from the soccer team. I’ve never been great at ball sports but I’m excited about playing a game on Saturday with a bunch of girls that I now know. Anyway, at the girls night, we made a bean dip and we all just sat around talking and devouring delicious food.
Today I went out to lunch with a bunch of people from the UN. One of the UN guys that we were eating with is from Vancouver. Within 5 days I’ve already met 3 people from Vancouver. Usually when I meet Canadians (and that has been relatively rare in the last couple of years) they’re from Toronto. But this nice Vancouver fellow who gave me information on how to contact a NGO that has a recycling project in Dili. Apparently because there isn’t a paper recycling in Dili this organization is collecting paper from offices and is going to make them in to paper bricks that you can burn. The paper is going to be burned anyway, but at least this would decrease the number of trees that are going to cut down and it would provide jobs for Timorese who work at the paper brick making factory. I noticed that LOL separates its paper and glass bottles and my boss said we are hoping to start recycling, perhaps we could contribute to the paper brick factory!
Next week I start an intensive Tetum language course that is every morning all week. My tetum is getting a lot better (I can piece together sentences with my co-workers. They are so patient it’s unbelievable). But I was thinking about how cool it will be to actually understand what they are saying to each other. It will take a bit of time to get to that point but I have time.
Much love,
mariesa
After work yesterday Bess and I rode bikes out to the beach and went for a run towards the tip of the island where there is a giant statue of Jesus (although he’s in scaffolding right now). This was the first of a few things for me. It was the first time that I navigated the roads on a bicycle (this was a little nerve racking but I managed to remember to stay on the left hand side of the road and Bess and I stayed close together). We were going to bike all the way to the Jesus statue but then Bess’ tire was flat so we decided to park our bike and run. This was the first time I had been that far down the beach and it was the most beautiful run I have ever been on. We were running as the sun was setting and I was lucky that I didn’t fall flat on my face because I was looking out on the ocean with the sun setting on the horizon the entire time. Breath taking. There were actually many people (both “malae”, who are internationals, and local people) running along the road. In two weekends there is a big 10km race that I’m going to try to sign up for.
I have also joined a women’s soccer team here. We practice every Tuesday and Thrusdaya nd this Saturday I have my first game. Our coach is from Sweden and is a UN police officer. Last night the two girls I’m currently sharing an apartment with and I hosted a girls’ night. There was about 6 of us in total and most were from the soccer team. I’ve never been great at ball sports but I’m excited about playing a game on Saturday with a bunch of girls that I now know. Anyway, at the girls night, we made a bean dip and we all just sat around talking and devouring delicious food.
Today I went out to lunch with a bunch of people from the UN. One of the UN guys that we were eating with is from Vancouver. Within 5 days I’ve already met 3 people from Vancouver. Usually when I meet Canadians (and that has been relatively rare in the last couple of years) they’re from Toronto. But this nice Vancouver fellow who gave me information on how to contact a NGO that has a recycling project in Dili. Apparently because there isn’t a paper recycling in Dili this organization is collecting paper from offices and is going to make them in to paper bricks that you can burn. The paper is going to be burned anyway, but at least this would decrease the number of trees that are going to cut down and it would provide jobs for Timorese who work at the paper brick making factory. I noticed that LOL separates its paper and glass bottles and my boss said we are hoping to start recycling, perhaps we could contribute to the paper brick factory!
Next week I start an intensive Tetum language course that is every morning all week. My tetum is getting a lot better (I can piece together sentences with my co-workers. They are so patient it’s unbelievable). But I was thinking about how cool it will be to actually understand what they are saying to each other. It will take a bit of time to get to that point but I have time.
Much love,
mariesa
Monday, July 13, 2009
first day at work!
I just had my first day of work and it was like Tetum Language Immersion: SUPER INTENSIVE. I can walk to work from where I'm living right now which is absolutely lovely. I didn't really have any set tasks once I got to work so after meeting everyone in the office and giving them all chocolates I decided that I'd spend my time studying Tetum with a little girl who seemed to work in the office as a cleaner and cook. We practiced all morning and then at lunch I went out with one of the staff that speaks english very well because he was educated in Australia. He wanted to hear all about Bernie Madoff. We had a quick lunch and then I came back to the office and started hanging out with the local staff, all of whom were more than willing to teach me Tetum (often all at once). It was really fun hanging out with them and I asked what they had been working on in the morning. Apparently they are planning trips out the organisations where the students are doing their internships this summer. I asked if I could join in on a trip and now it looks like I'll be treking across E. T. to at least one of the districts later on this week with some of the other staff. The idea is they are checking in to get some feed back from the organisations and from the students that were getting work experience for the last couple of weeks before they graduate. I'm going to head out now to go the market before it gets dark. More is coming on the adventure stories I missed from my trip here.
much love
mariesa
much love
mariesa
January 12, 2009 5:42pm, Dili (Bess’ place)
Boatarde!
I think that means “good afternoon”. Wow, what a crazy last two days it has been. Yesterday I flew in and as I looked at the mountains coming up out to the beautiful blue sea I thought to myself “wow, the trip was worth it.” It was a long journey here. But when I arrived Casey was at the airport terminal to meet me and give me a big hug. I had been up since 3:30am because my body hadn’t adjusted to the time change yet. But as soon as I saw her I got a good shot of adrenalin and I was ready to explore my surroundings.
First Casey took me to where I will be living for the next little while. I still have my eyes and ears open for a place and pretty much I’m asking anyone and everyone that I meet (and can communicate with) if they know of any places that are opening up. Right now I’m sharing Bess’ room which I’m actually quite thrilled about. Living with Bess I think will be kind of nice for the first little while as I make friends and get a bit of a routine. Right now Bess’ isn’t here because she went on a camping trip out into the districts with some friends. But she’s coming home this evening. Bess has a room in an apartment right below Casey, but Casey will be moving out on Tuesday as one of her friends is leaving and she’ll moving into her friend’s old place. This sounds rather confusing but it seems to be the way of life here as so many people are coming and going and all transactions are done by word of mouth. Bess’ has one room with a washroom in the apartment. There are two other rooms, a living room area with a TV, and a very small kitchen (pictures coming soon). There are two other people living on the flat and thus far I have only met one of them. He seems very nice and plays good African music in the morning. The other person is a girl who I think is on vacation right now.
Last night after I had bought a cell phone, had a nap and showered, I went with Casey to her friend’s goodbye party. At the party I met a bunch of people who work for Casey’s organization (IOM, it’s a branch of the UN that works with the Internally Displaced Camps). I made sure that I asked anyone that I met at the party if they knew of any places opening up where could stay. The people I met were mostly from England, Australia, USA, Portuagal and even one girl from Vancouver!
After the party I fell asleep so fast I barely made it my bed. I woke up around 10am and Casey and I went to the super market where I bought a SIM card for my phone from a kid who was selling them on the street and some oatmeal and bananas. Afterwards I met my boss, for lunch and I found out what Land O Lakes does here in Timor and what I will be doing for them. I'll explain that part in my next post.
Boatarde!
I think that means “good afternoon”. Wow, what a crazy last two days it has been. Yesterday I flew in and as I looked at the mountains coming up out to the beautiful blue sea I thought to myself “wow, the trip was worth it.” It was a long journey here. But when I arrived Casey was at the airport terminal to meet me and give me a big hug. I had been up since 3:30am because my body hadn’t adjusted to the time change yet. But as soon as I saw her I got a good shot of adrenalin and I was ready to explore my surroundings.
First Casey took me to where I will be living for the next little while. I still have my eyes and ears open for a place and pretty much I’m asking anyone and everyone that I meet (and can communicate with) if they know of any places that are opening up. Right now I’m sharing Bess’ room which I’m actually quite thrilled about. Living with Bess I think will be kind of nice for the first little while as I make friends and get a bit of a routine. Right now Bess’ isn’t here because she went on a camping trip out into the districts with some friends. But she’s coming home this evening. Bess has a room in an apartment right below Casey, but Casey will be moving out on Tuesday as one of her friends is leaving and she’ll moving into her friend’s old place. This sounds rather confusing but it seems to be the way of life here as so many people are coming and going and all transactions are done by word of mouth. Bess’ has one room with a washroom in the apartment. There are two other rooms, a living room area with a TV, and a very small kitchen (pictures coming soon). There are two other people living on the flat and thus far I have only met one of them. He seems very nice and plays good African music in the morning. The other person is a girl who I think is on vacation right now.
Last night after I had bought a cell phone, had a nap and showered, I went with Casey to her friend’s goodbye party. At the party I met a bunch of people who work for Casey’s organization (IOM, it’s a branch of the UN that works with the Internally Displaced Camps). I made sure that I asked anyone that I met at the party if they knew of any places opening up where could stay. The people I met were mostly from England, Australia, USA, Portuagal and even one girl from Vancouver!
After the party I fell asleep so fast I barely made it my bed. I woke up around 10am and Casey and I went to the super market where I bought a SIM card for my phone from a kid who was selling them on the street and some oatmeal and bananas. Afterwards I met my boss, for lunch and I found out what Land O Lakes does here in Timor and what I will be doing for them. I'll explain that part in my next post.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
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