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!