Dili - Maliana B.M.

On my way back to Maliana after my Dili Christmas/New Years break the bus was the only option, and so my friend Su-Lin and myself caught a lift out to Tasi Tolu to catch the bus last Monday morning at 6.30. There are many stories about buses in Timor Leste, and most Malae won’t/ don’t/ aren’t allowed to catch the bus due to the condition of the buses and the condition of the roads. But, I think it’s all part of the fun...right?

So, Su-lin and I sought out a Dili-Maliana B.M. bus (B.M. means Baa & Mai, or going and coming). It was certainly an eventful day, and there are several things I will remember next time I need to catch a bus…
• When catching a bus just turn up and hope that the bus fills up sooner rather than later so that you can leave.
• Set aside an entire day for the 153km trip.
• Don’t put your pack on the top of the bus in a tropical country during wet season.
• Your bum will get numb. It’s unavoidable.
• Two malae (foreigners) sitting in a seat made for Timorese is perhaps a little squishy.
• Don’t forget to take your travel sickness tablets before leaving. They work wonders.
• Don’t step on the chickens.
• Don’t step on the chicken pooh.
• If you only have to stop for an hour when the bus breaks down it’s a good day.
• The bus WILL break down.
• Yes, the bus leaks.
• Be prepared to spend some quality time with sacks of rice, boxes and bags of various shapes and sizes…and smells.
• There is a reason there are no safety signs limiting the number of people allowed on the bus.
• …and limiting the number of people allowed to hang out the door.
• …and limiting the number of people allowed to sit on the roof.
• Don’t forget to look out the window – it’s really pretty out there!
• Smoking is allowed and it’s best to sit in front of someone who likes to exhale directly at your head, or better still – right in your face if you happen to turn around at the right time.
• Don’t freak out too much when your bus turns away from your destination towards the Indonesian border. Chances are it will get back on track soon.
• You will feel uncomfortable when random Paksitani soldiers ask to take a photo with you when stopped at the border while your bus is being repaired. Don’t try to understand it, just say yes and smile.
• Don’t be fooled into thinking you’ll be home in 10 minutes when you pass the town limits. The bus driver will probably need to pop by the office to do a little business on the way. Just be patient.
• Buses in Timor Leste drop you off at home. That’s nice.
• When you are within 40 metres of your home and can see your bedroom the bus may reverse back down the road AWAY from your home to drop off someone who lives up the next street first.

Christmas in Timor-Leste

Hello everyone!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I am so sorry for being such a slacker and not updating this for a while.

I have a lot to tell you and lots of photo's to show you, but I thought that maybe for now I would stick to Christmas! There are some lovely traditions here in East Timor that I wanted to share with you, and of course I wanted to show you what I got up to on Christmas day!

As for New Years...well, we might just leave those photo's for another time (and place).

As East Timor has a very high number of Catholics, Christmas is of course an important time of year. For me it felt a little odd. I almost kept forgetting that it was Christmas without the constant reminders that I really need to buy everyone I've ever met presents. While there were western influences here, mostly it was easy to forget what a big event Christmas is - especially in Maliana!

The first day that I was reminded it was Christmas was when my workmates had the radio on and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" came on. I started singing along and then realised I was singing completely different words...as it was being sung in Tetun. It was kind of strange, but nice to hear.

In their generosity, our central office in Dili sent us a Christmas tree with lovely accompanying ornaments and some very special lights that played music...my workmates loved them, except that the only time we could have the lights going was when we turned on the generator (as we have no power in our office). So, over the noise of the generator there was the very faint tinny sound of the Christmas tree lights playing music! It was very funny. Unfortunately I had a little malfunction with my camera so I am unable to show you any pictures of the Chritmas tree. But, it did make me smile everytime I saw it.

One afternoon we had a massive storm (which is common at the moment), with huge amounts of rain and wind and the poor little Christmas tree, which was sitting out on the front verandah of the building was blown over. Everyone rushed outside to rescue it. It really was a very valued part of the office, and there was a real sense of pride that we were able to have such a beautiful tree at our office.

Having the Chrismas tree out the front of the office was common throughout Maliana. If anyone had a tree at their house they would also put it on their verandah or at least in a place where other people could see it. It was kind of nice to see the trees around town, and certainly being able to afford a Chritmas tree indicates a degree of wealth...but I like to think that they just wanted to share their beautiful tree with their neighbours!

Aside from the Christmas trees around town there is also a nice tradition of people building mangers. It is actually a competition, but the work that goes into them is impressive. I have some photo's for you...

This nativity scene was put together by my friend Eugenia's family. There are around 5 houses on the street that are all the one family and so they worked together to make this one. It is probably my favorite one in Maliana. It's not in this photo, but they had a star suspended above it, as well as shells dug into the walk way (a special trip was made to the beach which is about an hour away to get the shells).

Just because I thought you might like a photo of me, this is Eugenia and I!


...and these are her nieces and nephews. Cute, huh?!

This one is on the main road in Maliana so I ride past it at least 4 times a day, which the guys building loved. I would occasionally stop and chat with them to check on the progress of it (which they also loved!) I really like Eugenia's but this one certainly gets points for innovation. These guys have not only pulled up grass from somewhere else to lay it inside the stable, but they've also painted the bamboo fence that they built...and the pole of the sign, as well as the fence and part of the drive way behind them which belongs to the electricity department.

But, as far as I am concerned, this is the best bit. While Eugenia and her family have a beautiful painted picture in theirs. these guys have got hold of a very small nativity set (kind of like one you or I might have) and set it up on the grass entwined with little Christmas lights. I love that they have spent a week building this enormous stable and then put tiny figurines inside it. Love it.

This is also one of my favorites. Again, it was built by a family who all live in one neighboruhood. These guys actually built stairs for their nativity scene.

The first day I saw people building these I had not idea what was going on, but all of a sudden there were heaps of them - I reckon one just about every 200 metres. They were built over the period of about a week, and were mostly finished on the 23rd of December. It was so nice to watch them be constructed, and such a nice idea that the families and friends combined their resources and creativity to build such pretty structures. Dili also has many of them around, but in my opinion (and I'm not at all biased) I think the quality in Maliana far exceeds that of Dili!

I decided to stay in Maliana until Christmas day and make the trip to Dili in the morning with some other Australians that live in Maliana. We decided to go to Christmas Eve mass together, as it was a nice thing to do, and very obviously a part of the Timorese Christmas tradition.

Driving up the hill to the church was amazing - there were so many people heading up there, we had difficulty getting through! There were so many people there, it was incredible. I think the mass lasted for just over two hours, with a few interesting moments - including the incense burners catching on fire (twice), the priest telling people that if they didn't come inside they weren't allowed to have communion, and the entire congregation scrambling to the altar to kiss a statue of baby Jesus (of which they had to have four as there were so many people). The singing was absolutely beautiful - the Timorese are very musical people. The photo above is not very clear, but that group of people in pink shirts is the choir. The church is a like a big open shed - it has no walls, which is kind of nice as it is so hot here!

Timor Leste is a place that just keeps on giving...this Christmas tree is actually a fountain near the Dili airport covered in green plastic. I love this. I can't explain how happy this made me - or why I think it is so funny. I just had to put this in for anyone who has seen the fountain (which is actually a series of replicas of woven baskets, each smaller than the one below). I thought those who know the fountain might appreciate it. You can't see it in the photo but there was reindeer the whole way around bottom of the tree. Nice.

So, I arrived in Dili at around 12.30 on Christmas day, and went to my friends' house for lunch...which we spent the afternoon preparing (all the while having a few drinks)...

...and finally eating at 5.30. It was de-diddly-icious. The fish was (on the Tiger box) was absolutely divine (thank Lizzie!).

And of course, what is Christmas day without people whose company you enjoy?! Lizzie in the red dress (and two of her friends visiting from Australia on either side of her) and Jemma in the purple dress (with her partner Justin who was also visiting from Australia)...

...and some more of my lovely ladies Rachel and Michelle.

So that's my story of Christmas! in Timor Leste. Of course, there was much more to it (but we'll save that for another time!). I have been having a little holiday in Dili for just over a week now and am heading back to Maliana tomorrow morning. (Well, I had a few "meetings" here in Dili last week, so I had to stay in town!) I am catching the bus back to Maliana for the first (and hopefully the last) time. I am not particularly excited about the journey, but I am very much looking forward to getting back to Maliana. I enjoy coming to Dili and seeing people, eating lots of good food and having easy access to things (well, easy in comparison to Maliana!), but I am looking forward to returning to the quiet life in Maliana. (I'm sure that will last about a week and then I'll want to come back to Dili!)

As yet I do not have a permanent home in Maliana. I have been lucky enough to stay in friends places while they have been away on holidays. Unfortunately it looks at though my friend Rachel (from the photo above) will not be in Maliana permanently. We had planned to live together, but until she finds out for sure whether she will be based in Dili or Maliana things are a little up in the air. While it has been a little difficult not having a place to call home, I really do feel lucky to have met some wonderful people in Maliana and made some great friends. I feel well supported by my friends in Maliana, my friends in Dili and of course my family and friends from every part of the world.

A big thank you to all of those that have sent me emails, messages, called me, skyped me and sent me parcels! On that note, if you have skype please let me know! I try to get a few skypes in when I am in Dili. The best way to contact me is by email - susiemaggie80@gmail.com

Big love to you all - boas festa ho feliz tinnen foun.

Maliana

Well, it was only a matter of time before I got lazy and didn’t update the blog. Although, my argument could be that I have been trying to adjust to life in Maliana! After spending four weeks in Dili feeling like a backpacker, hanging out meeting lots of fun and interesting people I jumped in the car on the morning of the 16^th of November and headed out to Maliana with my boss. The four hour drive was beautiful, mostly along the coast with pristine waters, picturesque villages…and the slightly scary roads.

The first three hours of the drive basically followed the coast, until about 6 km’s shy of the Indonesian border where we head up into the mountains. The climb up towards Balibo is spectacular. The flame trees are in bloom, which meant the brown earth of the dry season and the green were beautifully disturbed by this incredible bloom of red, while behind us there were amazing views of the coast line far below. We climbed the mountains and dropped over into an enormous plateau, on the other side of which is the town of Maliana. Half of the township sits on the plateau, with the remainder of the town snaking its way up onto the side of the mountain.

I have been in Maliana for three weeks now. I’m in back in Dili at the moment, which is a nice change from Maliana but feels very surreal. Maliana is very small, with three restaurants or Warrung’s (where the food is prepared and you select from what is on offer). There are probably about 10 shops, and thankfully a great market that is on everyday. The produce in Maliana, in Timor in general, is really beautiful. It is mostly local, fresh and organic (as there are no pesticides here). I am looking forward to finding a house so that I can start cooking with all this delicious and local veg.

The first two weeks of my time in Maliana I stayed in a guest house, and then in my third week I was lucky enough to stay in Sally and Ben’s house while they went way for the week. Sally and Ben are two Australian volunteers working at the hospital, which is especially great as they have one of the best kitchen’s in Timor Leste and it means they are connected to the hospital generator during the day. Maliana has electricity from around 6.30pm – 6am every night, so being able to use a fan during the day was pretty special! For the first two weeks I had been waking up pretty much as soon as the power went off at 6am, as the fact that there was no air movement was pretty noticeable!

So, most mornings I have been up at or around 6am, and then heading of to work just before at 8am for an 8.00 start. The work day in Timor is pretty nice – 8am – midday when there is a two hour lunch break, followed by 2pm – 5pm. The lunch break is pretty good, although it is fairly hot by that time of the day. The nice thing about staying at the guest house was that it was on the hill, which meant that it got the breeze that usually kicks in at about 11.30. On the days that there is no breeze it is so stinking hot and disgusting! But thankfully, in the time that I have been there have been breeze’s most days.

Also since getting to Maliana the rains have arrived. The first few days there everything was very brown, but it is amazing how quickly things have started to turn green with just a few “udan boot” (big rains). The other massive change has been that being completely surrounded by Tetun has improved dramatically. My workmates have been wonderful at helping me learn, they’re very patient! While there are certainly many moments of pure frustration I never thought that I would enjoy learning a language so much. I am looking forward to the day when I don’t need to take my Tetun word finder with me everywhere!

My workmates are wonderful, and I am looking forward to getting to know them better. Maliana has a pretty big contingent of UN staff. I’m not sure how many exactly (maybe 30 – 40), but I haven’t met any of them. I have however met most of the other Malae in town – Sally & Ben, Sue, Ida and Bas. All of us are Australian, except Bas who is Dutch. I have spent a little time with all of them, and think they will be a great support over the next year or so. So, I guess that fact that I am currently one of 6 white Malae’s in town (not counting the UN) gives you some indication of how much I stand out. I think am also the only Malae in town riding a motor bike – everyone else pretty much has a car. So, I am quite the spectacle!

That’s it for now – I’m sorry to say that my internet connection is too slow to put any photo’s up! I hope you're all well.

Last days in Dili...for now!

It feels like ages since I have updated the blog - I'm sorry it's so long...you may need a coffee break somewhere in the middle! So much seems to happen here in a relatively short time – or more probably, because everything is so new everything feels like a big event

I was lucky enough to head to Baucau for the weekend last week. I spent time with my friend Tony, who many of you know. It was lovely to see him, and to spend some time around someone I feel at home with. He and Fons welcomed me into their home, unfortunately John had needed to come back to Australia so I was unable to see him. Baucau is an exceptionally lovely place that I had spent a few days in during my trip to Timor in May. As a result, I didn’t take any photos! I’ve included some from the my last trip for you to see what it’s like. My friends Katie and Matt will be working in Maliana, so I definitely hope to be back.

TC, Tara, Lauren and Kirra at Baucau beach in May. TC, Katie, Matt and I went to the beach last weekend. Within just a few minutes of getting in the water we were surrounded by kids.

This is the old market place. It is was built during Portuguese times, but is not in use anymore. This photo is also from my trip in May - now, the side of the building is covered in murals from the Tour de Timor.

TC and I after a yummy brekky at the Pousada in Baucau last weekend.
The weekend in Baucau came at the perfect time – I was feeling a bit like a caged lion being stuck in Dili and having lived in a container for two weeks…our hotel is seriously blocks of portable containers! Containers with air con – love it. I had a chance to chill out, have some space, read lots, wander around, go to the beach, see the country, and see a good friend. It was exactly what I needed. I also got to catch up with Nat Houlihan, who I haven’t seen in years.

Baucau is much cooler than Dili, much quieter and just a generally nicer to be in than Dili! Friday night we all went to one of the local restaurants for drinks and dinner. I met some of the Aussie’s that live in Baucau, as well as some more who had come up from Dili for the weekend.

It is pretty easy to meet new people here and make friends. Most people seem willing to have a chat, at the very least, but it usually ends up with an exchange of phone numbers and plans to have a beer or a meal at some point. Everyone has an interesting story to tell, and Dili has its fair share of quirky people.

Having now had 4 weeks in Dili I have spent a good deal of time with my friends in my AYAD intake, and have met lots of others. I am sure when I come back into Dili I will enjoy catching up with everyone, and will no doubt miss everyone and be more than a little envious of the choice of restaurants, latte’s at Hotel Timor, karaoke (not that I would ever sing…), and air conditioning. I will really miss the air conditioning. I mean I will REALLY miss the air conditioning...and the people. I suppose I'll miss them too!

Mana Lizzie, Mana Abi and Mana Jen at Abi and Jen's house. The house has no walls - it is an indoor outdoor place...very cool, although a few issues with rodents...

This is Mana Rachel, myself and Mana Katie. Rachel is going to be in Maliana as well, and Katie is in Baucau.

Tomorrow I am heading off to Maliana, which am both excited and nervous about. I have come to rely on my friends in the last few weeks. It is amazing how quickly friendships form in different, and sometimes very trying, circumstances. I will miss everyone, but am looking forward to finally getting to work and starting to build new relationships in Maliana. Most of the friendships I have made here have been with malae (foreigners), so I am looking forward to spending more time with Timorese people. I am also looking forward to my Tetun improving. I have found being at work this last week difficult, as the training I’ve been attending has all been conducted in Tetun. There were several occasions that I was so close to falling asleep it was embarrassing! I was trying so hard to concentrate…but the room was so warm, and I got too sleepy! I ended up having to get up and go write an email, or talk to someone to wake myself up. I was lucky though that the 4 trainers all spoke really good English, so they were able to translate different things for me, and when I got stuck trying to remember a Tetun word that could just tell me. I won’t have such a luxury in Maliana, I think only one of my colleagues speaks only a little English. I have met two of my workmates, so at least I will know some people when I arrive at the office tomorrow.

This last week I have done lots of stuff. The big challenge for me was to sort out my licence – work have supplied me with a motor bike to ride (a scooter really), but refused to give it to me until I have my licence. Apparently it would be confiscated if I ever I get pulled over. Fair enough – I can live with that.

Luckily, work was able to assist with the process, and took me the Transport offices 3 or 4 times over the space of a week in order to get it all done. The third time we went 9I honestly lost count of how many times we went there) I had to follow up with a practical test for my motor bike. It would be too much to ask that you would complete your paper work and do the test at the same place, so of course I had to ride the bike out to Hera, which is about 30 minutes away to do the test. It sounds simple enough, but considering I have not really ever ridden a motorbike that much, I didn’t really know where I was going, and the chaotic nature of the motor bikes, cars, taxi’s, four wheel drives, mikrolets, buses, trucks, dogs, goats and pigs that use the roads here it was a bit of a challenge.

I managed navigate my way through town, avoid most of the potholes, not kill anyone or anything, and importantly not get killed (there were only two or three times that seemed likely to happen, which I am quite proud of). I got out to the testing ground, where the guy showed me what I needed to do, and off I went…and failed twice! Going slow around tight corners it really hard!! He told me that I wasn’t allowed to have my license, but I managed to talk my way into one more go (well, I had to have a couple of practices). Third time lucky, so I am not the proud holder of a Timor licence! (And I passed legitimately, contrary to anything any of my brothers may tell you. There was no bribe. I swear.) When I finished the test I realised that I had quite an audience – about 10 guys from the building site across the road had wandered over to watch me. I guess I was a built of a novelty – not only a malae, but a woman to boot. Oh well, what can you do?! At least I entertained them for a little while.

In the midst of my week, Thursday the 12^th November was a public holiday to commemorate the Santa Cruz massacre in 1991. My mates Zena, Lizzie and I went to the cemetery for the ceremonial part of the day. There were so many people there and as far as we could see for ages we were the only malae there. Of course, we were getting loads of looks and were just starting to question whether it was appropriate for us to be there when this lovely older gentleman came up to us, greeted us and shook our hands. It was such a lovely, moving moment. It made it clear that it was definitely ok for us to be here.

Mana Zena at Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz Cemetry

Getting the licence was definitely the highlight of my week, but we had a less pleasant incident yesterday. Some friends and I went out to Dollar Beach for a swim and unfortunately the car (which was about 20 metres away) was broken into and my friends bag was stolen along with my new Digital SLR. It was pretty awful, and is a real pain but it could have been much worse. One lovely thing though, some men were out fishing just off the beach and saw the whole thing. They came onshore and ran off to try and find the guys who had done it. They were locals and spent about an hour with us trying to figure out if they knew who they the guys who had stolen our stuff were. As much as it was an awful thing to have happen, these 4 fisherman were wonderful. They didn’t hesitate to stop working and help us.

Today I have had lunch at a friends house and will soon be having dinner with some other friends (sorry Dad, that’s “tea” with some other friends). I’ve only been here for 4 weeks and I’m already saying good-bye to my friend Mohamed who is going home to Jordan after 18 months here. Tonight we’re celebrating his birthday…even though it’s not really his birthday. It’s too ridiculous to explain.

In the morning I am off to Maliana! I’m not sure when I will be back online, so I apologise for any delays in responding to emails. Sorry this has been such a long entry! There is really too much to tell you all.

I hope you’re well and doing something fun!

Stepha, I’m not sure what the temp is – I think it’s pretty consistently in the mid thirties, but it could be higher. I have no idea! The killer is the humidity, which I am sure you had your fair share of in Vientiane. Whatever it is, it’s hot. Even the locals are starting to say that it's getting hot. Hot hot hot.

Photo's as promised!

Happy Birthday Tori - I hope the par-tay was fun.xo

A little reminder of what I left behind! This is taken on the way into Tinamba, close to Maffra


This is most of our group in the Mikrolet. We're not all in the photo, as a couple of people were squeezed in the front seat, with one of the Timorese guys hanging out the door (which common and by far the coolest way to travel!). If you think it looks uncomfortable, you're right - it was so cramped in there. When we have told our new Timorese friends and colleagues about the number of "malae" (foreigners) that were in the Mikrolet (which is probably smaller than a Tarago) first their eyes nearly fally our of their heads and then they kill themselves laughing! It was so small that we couldn't even sit up straight. We were glad to say good bye to our green, bass thumping Mikrolet, although our drivers were cool!


This photo is taken out the back of the Mikrolet window. It is the road into the Dili Institute of Technology - for about 7 of the 9 days (until we begged off the Mikrolet) we crammed into the Mikrolet and entertained the locals by driving through Dili and finally turning onto this road, which may look ok, but was "la diak", not good! It was bumpy and rutted and we had to drive so s-l-o-w-l-y so we didn't stir up dust for the people that lived along the road. Besides, the Mikrolet was struggling with all of us in it! It got 2 flat tyres during our time with it, one day a tyre popped while we were driving alonf Dili's busiest road! (We were all fine, and it explained why the driver kept putting his head out the window to look back at the tyre...)


This is us waiting for the Mikrolet to arrive at Dili Institute. We did a lot of waiting for the Mikrolet! By 12.30, when we finished classes it was very hot, so we would stay in the shade until we saw the Mikrolet come bouncing along the road.


Friday afternoon futebol on the beach. It might be a little hard to tell, but at sunset the light on the hills around Dili is incredible. The earth has a real richness to it, and the light makes it look stunning. We are at the end of the dry right now - apparently after the wet these hills are lush and green. I'm looking forward to seeing it!


On our first Sunday the previous intake of AYAD's organised an Amazing Race around Dili. Tori and Steph, disappointingly neither of you were available to participate, so Katie and I and some Timorese english language students had fun exploring the city. Katie will be doing the same position as me in Baucau, about 3 hours East of Melbourne. This photo was taken just after a brief visit to the Santa Cruz cemetery, which was the site of a terrible massacre on the 12 November 1991. This is a fairly typical Dili Intersection. The little booth on the right is a UN Police and local Police booth. They are not in use anymore.


This is Mana Rachel, Mana Zena and Mana Abigael getting all bohemian at our Hotel.


This is the street at the back of our Hotel. The hotel is actually a series of containers....kind of like offices on building sites! but, they've got air con, which makes them ok in my book! You can't really see it, but Mana Lizzy is having a motorbike lesson down the other end of the street.


This is Mana Lizzy on Maun Jason's bike, after her riding lesson!


The beach front around the corner from our hotel. I went for a walk during deskansa (like siesta), so there were not many people around.


This is the soccer pitch near the hotel. Again, is was deskansa, so not many people about. About 2 hours later this would have had a game pumping with lots of spectators. Mostly young boys. I'll take a picture one day and put it up. One day I stopped while they were playing to have a chat to them and practice my Tetum - so much fun! Normally this road would be streaming with motorbikes, scooters, taxi's, UN vehicles and other vehicles, but everyone was at home resting during the hottest part of the day...except me!


On the left here is a small market, and it might be a little difficult to see but there are 2 guys standing in the shade towards the right. These guys are guarding the entrance to Xanana Gusmao's house (the Prime Minister). Our hotel neighbours this house, one street back. Most afternoons we see somebody walking his horse along our street. It's kind of strange! These guards are always holding massive guns, but give you the biggest smiles and hello's when you walk past. Just passed Xanana's house is the Lita Supermarket, which comes in very handy.


Men and boys wander around town carrying these sticks with all sorts of things hanging from them - pinapples, bags of peanuts, vegetables, but my favorite is fish. Yes, fish. The fish guys usually start wandering around in the afternoon, after the catch comes in.

That's it for now! I haven't been brave enough to pull out my brand new SLR yet. I am looking forward to playing around with it, but I've felt a bit to self-conscious so far.

I have to go back to the hotel and do some preparation for my Tetum lesson. The importance of learning is becoming clearer everyday. Tomorrow I will go to work - I was meant to go today, but as there have just been two big Religious holidays most people are not at work so the government decided to make work optional today...the words "only in Timor" come to mind!

Happy Melbourne Cup day!

Week 1 - feels like a month has passed!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY H! I hope you had a wonderful time in Hong Kong.x

(Friday afternoon – 23rd October)
I’m sitting in the garden of our hotel listening to one of my friends play guitar, the sun is shining there’s a cool(ish) breeze blowing (every now and then!) and birds chirping. I just went down to the internet café to try and email everyone with my new number and stuff but after half an hour of trying to load the “compose” page I gave up and decided to come back to the hotel and write this instead. I’m hoping that I can just bring my laptop down to the café, plug it in and use my computer email account – that will make life a whole lot easier! (Hence the new email address - it is much easier to do it that way - susiemaggie80@gmail.com)

On the way back from the internet café I passed men selling phone recharge vouchers, boys selling pineapples they’re carrying across their shoulders, guys hanging out doing not much, security guards (lots of security guards) working around the place, dogs, cats and pigs running up the street, lots and lots of NGO 4 wheel drives speeding down the dusty back streets narrowly avoiding pedestrians (they’re crazy!), kids hanging out, people selling fish…among other things. Dili is quite lovely in a way. It's hard to believe that this will be my life for the next 12 months.

I met some young girls today and was able to practiced a bit of my Tetum with them. My lessons are going ok – I was feeling very frustrated yesterday as I was able to follow what was happening and what others were saying but when it came to speaking I was completely lost! It’s only normal I guess but it was very frustrating. I had a minor break through today with one of my teachers today. I realised that she came from Suai which is kind of near Maliana. I was asking her about the languages she speaks and that I was heading to Maliana in a few weeks to live and work and was wondering what language they speak up there. The conversation lasted for less than a minute, but it was great! It wasn’t until after I had finished that I realised what I had done! Then I organised for our Mikrolet driver to come back later and take us somewhere at a specific time. I was riding on such a high I headed to the market to do a bit of shopping (which was mostly about practicing Tetum). It seems that I am mastering the basics (the very basic of basics!)!!

(Saturday morning 24th October)
I had a little sleep in this morning – 7am. I guess I’m still adjusting to the time difference a little, but also getting into the habit of rising early. Most mornings I’ve been up at 6 or so, so it is nice to have be able to make some of my own decisions – it feels a bit like we have been being ferried around since arriving, which is a little trying at times, although I have to say that I think our group is really great. There are 11 of us that have arrived all together, and while we are all very different personalities we seem to get along and compliment each other well. I have started to connect with a few of them especially. It is a little strange at the moment as the 8 who will be living in Dili are running around looking for housing and wanting to start getting settled, however I won’t be going to Maliana until around the 14th of November.

We have also met quite a few of the other AYADs from previous intake, most of whom have been lovely and very helpful. Today we are heading out to the beach for a swim and snorkel and tomorrow we have an “Amazing Race” around Dili.

I hope you’re all keeping well and I’m sorry about the length of this post!! I will put up some photo's soon.

I'm here!

So I'm finally here in Dili! Monday was a looooong day starting 5am and finishing somewhere around 10pm Dili time (I think midnight in Melbourne). It was great to see the other AYADs on the plane, and to have the chance to catch up with my cousin Amy who took me out on the town in Darwin. It was a nice distraction during the 4 hour lay over to Dili.

Monday was a funny day...it was a real mix of emotions - sad to say good-bye to my lovely parents who had come to Melbourne to see me off, impatience to get going and surprise that the day had actually arrived. At no time did it not feel right though. I have no idea what lies ahead, but I am so glad to be here.

We (the 11 AYADs - Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development) flew into Dili at around 4.30 and were met at the airport. We threw our gear in the back of a truck, jumped in a mikrolet (like a tarago) and headed into town to our Hotel...Dili is pretty much like I remember it from my brief time here: busy, dusty, lots of movement and colour, cars and motorbikes everywhere, roosters, goats, cows, well manicured memorials and parks dotted along the esplanade and lots and lots of people.

We dumped our stuff and were taken straight out to dinner at a restaurant on the beach (I mean literally on the beach) to meet AYADs who have been in Dili for anywhere between 3 and 9 months. It was nice to meet them, and mostly be reassured and encouraged by them, although it was a little overhwhelming to suddenly be surrounded by so many people.

Incredibly I slept like a log on Monday night - and even used a blanket! Yesterday we started out Tetum lessons at Dili Institute of Technology. We will have lessons every morning this week and next - so hopefully I will be able to speak little when I head out to Maliana in a few weeks time.

While the lessons have taken up most of our days, the rest of the time has been spent trying to wrap my brain around the fact that this will be my home for the next 12 months or so. I am slowly getting used to the idea, and am looking forward to being able to understand some Tetum so that I can understand more of what is going on around me.

The weather is of course hot, and it is coming into the rainy season so the build up is beginning. Hopefully as I am in Maliana it will be a little less humid and disgusting and a little cooler. I really have no idea, and everyone tells me something different about Maliana! "It's hot there", "it's cold there", "it rains a lot there", "it's beautiful there" and my personal favorite..."Maliana at its best, is boring". Nice - sounds like a fun place to be! I am trying to take everything that is said with a grain of salt and not have too many expectations. I want to take it as it comes, (some might say PIBE it).

I am heading out now to meet one of my work contacts. It will be good to see her and hopefully get a few questions answered, and find out a little more of what I will be doing for the coming year.

Pull my finger

...less than 12 hours to go and I find myself in the midst of a game of "pull my finger" with my Dad. Not surprising, eh?!

Am feeling excited and ready to hit the road. I've had a lovely evening with my parents, spent some time with my good friends Alissa and Steve, Jo, Steph, Gab and H...and many many others over the last few days, not to mention the family funtimes.
It's time to go...See you in Timor-Leste

Farewell tour!

I'm currently sitting in my dear friend Jo's lounge room waiting for her to come home from night shift so that we can sit down and have brekky togethr before she heads off to bed and I head off to go off for a day of shopping and catch ups. (Hmmm, new camera - excited!)

I'm in the midst of my farewell tour (ha!), which is very weird! It's an enjoyable task, you know. Seeing people you think are marvellous, savouring those last great conversations, enjoying coffee/beer/food (or maybe all in one sitting) in the delightful city that is Melbourne.

I have spent my days since finishing work packing up my room and moving out and hanging out with cool peeps. I had a wonderful catch up with my aunt and uncle on Friday (thanks for the coffee Moss), a quick drink at the Wesley Anne on friday night, brunch at my place with Janey and Steve, drinks on Saturday night at The Pinnacle with a whole mob of mates, Sunday catch ups with Shez, Mads and Caroline and a Monday ahead of Ange, Thomas, Meredith, more Mads and Steph B, with some Jo time sprinkled throughout for good measure.

Saturday night was good fun...lots of awesome people, it was hard to say farewell. I have some cool friends. Well, I reckon they're cool anyway. I love the way my friends form different parts of my life seem to enjoy each others company too - they generally like to chat to each other as they've met each other enough times now to know each other a little. Saturday night reminded me that I will be missing some significant life moment for some of my friends, like Nick and Issy's wedding in early April. I would love to be there (a rockin party for sure), but will have to drink to them from Maliana instead, and I'll be missing a few 30ths. Anyhoo, it was great to have such a great crew there, and especially great to have a couple of kids running around! The surprise visit from Fatima, Rick and Jack Jack was lovely.

I've said it before, but it truly is feeling very odd and surreal, this process of packing up and saying "seeya in a year". There is sadness in the strangeness, although the sadness seems to hit me in waves and at very odd moments (like driving down the eastern chatting about Shez's holiday), and it's usually a good 12 hours after I've seen someone.

I've been thinking alot about some of the people I met at pre-departure training over the last week of so. Many of them were headed to Samoa, Tonga and Indonesia (mostly Jakarta). I have been thinking about the natural disasters that have occured there, and the tragedies and trauma the communities have experienced. I hope that all of these people still get to go to their respective countries to complete their AYAD assignment. Obviously the need is still there, but I am sure their assignment will be considerably different to what they may have experienced had it not been for the devastating natural disasters. I was thinking about how I would feel if something were to happen in Timor-Leste and I couldn't go...I would be at a loss I think. It feels very right to be heading there, but I hope that I have not built it up and am expecting too much out of the experience. I am trying not to have to many expectations, but I am only 'uman and it is inevitable that will happen!

I am officially in my last week now. It's taken a while to get to this point, but I reckon it will fly now. A few jobs left to do, but otherwise time to spend with some friends and a few days of hanging out in Maffra with my family, which I am looking forward to.

Bring on 4.36

This is my last day of work…it is very strange. I kind of feel like I should be sadder than I am, but I am too excited to be sad or concerned about leaving. I have certainly valued my work in my current position far more, and in different ways, than I had ever expected I would. It’s not to say this job has not been without its challenges – I have experienced significant personal and professional challenges associated with this job (as those who have lived with me or spent much time with me during this period will know), but for the most part I have worked through them, and feel that the experience has been invaluable. The bottom line is, that if I had not had the experiences and been given the opportunities through this role I would not have been successful in my application to AYAD and Timor-Leste.

I am almost constantly in a state of impatience at the moment…impatient to finish work, impatient to move out of my house so that I can enjoy my last few days in Melbourne, impatient to get back to Maffra to hang out with my family, impatient to have some fun times with my friends, but most of all – impatient to get on the plane and make this idea of Timor as my home (for a short time) a reality.

I’ve just realised that it has been exactly five months I made the decisions to apply applying to live and work in Maliana. No wonder I’m getting impatient!

I am sure there will be times in Timor Leste that I regret being so impatient – but for now…bring it on!

Things seem to be coming together (I have inherited my mothers organisational skills) and am trying to achieve a little each day. I will be ready to move out of the house by Saturday, which will be sad as I have had lots of fun times in that place over the years. But, moving is the last big job I have to do and after that I am sure the time will fly – I’ll be in Dili before I know it.

My fellow Timor AYAD’s have been very helpful, and almost everyday there is another email with an idea or a reminder (bring a surge protector, don’t forget your snorkel!). I am looking forward to getting to know these people a little. They all seem lovely (so far!).

Technically, I’m still at work – so I better get back to it. (It is almost time for a nice glass of red wine...)