Hau nia kolega sira mai visita hau!

My friends have come to visit me!

At the beginning of April (a long time ago now!) I was lucky enough to receive two lovely visitors in the form of Alissa and Steve (who came bearing Hot Cross Buns all the way from Melbourne). Al and Steve are very good friends of mine from Melbourne. We met several years ago when Steve and I worked together and he became insanely jealous of my poster making abilities.

Al and Steve had arrived for an 8 day tour of East Timor, and of course, to hang out with me!! I was so excited in the lead up to their arrival – I could barely concentrate on work and kept annoying all of my friends with stories about Alissa and Steve and how wonderful they are. We had a whirlwind tour of East Timor traversing the East-West extremities of the country and heading into the centre of the country to visit Maubisse.

It was so fantastic to have them here, and rather than bore you with words, please enjoy some photo's from our trip!

It was nice to be reminded of how fantastic my family and friends are and how important they are to me. I had a great time. Much laughing, some great chats, several beers, a beautiful bottle of wine from home, and lots and lots of fresh and delicious fish!

Fresh fish! Delish! We bought these beautiful fish off some of the local fishermen whose livelihood is dependent on the tourists that come to this far flung corner of East Timor (Jaco).

I don't have any photo's of Jaco...but it is spectacular! (Sorry, I'll do better next time!)

Our hotel room. Incredibly cheap, amazing views, and a free wake up call.

Just a few minutes after this a boat came by with that mornings' catch...so we bought some more fish for lunch!

The road from Jaco up to Tutuala. This stretch is pretty good...some of them are terrible.

The road from Baucau to Dili...beautiful, isn't it?

The town of Maubisse

Steve shopping in the Maliana market!

Steve and Alissa on the Risky Balcony enjoying a beverage.

Thanks for coming guys.

Kapaas loos

Every week my counterpart Leandro and I try to have a meeting to talk about work issues. Because there is no privacy at our office we go to my place and sit on my balcony, drink a cup of coffee and talk about things we couldn't talk about in the office.

I commented to Leandro one day that I love the view from this balcony. It's wonderful to see the mountains, or to watch big rains come in - sometimes you can be forgiven for thinking there are no mountains there they are completely obscured by the clouds. Almost every day the sunset is reflected spectacularly on the mountain, and the light is amazing. I love that it's a corn field and that I have watched it grow from when it was planted, and how people use it as a thoroughfare. Sometimes I just sit there and watch people come and go. I told him it is "kapaas loos", very beautiful.

He agreed, "Sin, Mana, kapaas loos."

A few days later we were standing around at work and he said to me, "Mana Susan you know that corn field opposite your home that you like to look at everyday?"
"Yes, Maun, I know it."
"In 1999 my best friend and a group of others were shot there."

A little history lesson

I realised the other day when I was thinking about Timor that I am still learning so much about its history, and not just it’s recent history. I thought you might also be interested in learning a little bit about East Timor and what has been happening here for the last few hundred years…

In the 1500 and 1600’s the Dutch and the Portuguese were taking a look around this little patch of the world and both wanted a piece of the island of Timor. After some scuffles the island was divided up by treaty in 1860. The Portuguese got the East and the Dutch got most of the west, all except for a little enclave on the coast of the western part of the island, Oe-Cusse. The Portuguese held on to that. Apparently it had good Cod restaurants and the Portuguese weren’t willing to give those up. No, Oe-cusse was the first Portuguese settlement on the island and they wanted to hold onto it.

During World War II Australian and Japanese soldiers fought in East Timor. Around 50,000 Timorese died as a result of a Japanese occupation from 1942 - 1945, which was a staggering 13% of the population (or thereabouts). My friend Kirra tells me that she met people in the mountains near Baucau that tell stories of the Australian Soldiers, this is I guess the beginning of a great affinity between the Timorese people and the Australian people. Near Venilale in the mountains in the East there are caves that the Timorese were forced to build for the Japanese to store ammunition.

In 1949 the Dutch withdrew from its colonies in the region and Indonesia was born! East Timor remained a Portuguese Colony until 1975, when a change of Portuguese government meant a change of policy, and so, after around 450 years of colonisation East Timor was left to defend for itself. An independence movement had begun with East Timor (Fretliin) and an independent East Timor was established on the 28^th November 1975. Portugal, Indonesia and Australia did not accept the Declaration of Independence…

Nine days (yes, 9 days) later East Timor was invaded by sea and air in a brutal and bloody operation by the Indonesians (using equipment supplied by the US). This invasion was sanctioned by many countries, including the USA and the occupation lasted until 1999. During this times many Timorese died, estimates are in the vicinity of 180,000 people dying from massacres, torture and starvation. (Considering the current population of East Timor is hovering around the 1 million mark, and this in the middle of a population boom, this number is astounding.)

East Timor was officially annexed into Indonesia in July 1976, although the UN never accepted this annexation.

While the Resistance Movement for freedom continued in East Timor with support in may other countries, the world continued on its merry way not thinking too much about what was happening on half of a little island 800kms north of Australia… until November 12 1991 when footage from the Santa Cruz Massacre was smuggled out of the country and shown to the world. The Massacre occurred at the Santa Cruz Cemetery in Dili at a memorial of a young man who had been killed by the Indonesian troops several weeks before. 270 East Timorese were killed.

This event was a turning point in many ways, as it captured the attention of the world.

In 1996 Jose Ramos Horta and Bishop Belo received the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts in seeking independence for East Timor, and with the departure of President Sueharto from Indonesian politics in 1998 the Independence movement gathered momentum, resulting in the UN run referendum in August 1999. The year or so leading up to this referendum was marred with incredible violence and horrific fighting and murders. However, at the end of August 1999 98% of the 451,000 registered voters turned up to vote in the face of significant intimidation and threats of violence from the militia. 78% of the voters sought to sever ties with Indonesia and be an independent nation. The result was a outbreak of violence by the militia, to which the UN sent peacekeepers to try and restore order.

In the weeks and months leading up to and following the referendum thousands of Timorese were killed across East Timor. There were several massacres and many smaller attacks. Approximately 200,000 Timorese people fled to the mountains or crossed the border into Indonesia as they were understandably scared for their life.

Indonesian troops withdrew from East Timor from East to West destroying almost everything they could in the process - the scorched earth policy. I see the ruins of buildings everyday, and often my friends will tell me stories about different places around Maliana.

20^th May 2002 is the official date for nationhood of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, (or Timor Leste or Timor Lora’sae). Timor Leste has since faced a myriad of challenges…which need several entries on themselves!

Yuck

There are a couple of things that happen regularly in Timor Leste that I have slowly gotten used to...

The nose picking is definitely off putting, but I guess I can understand it. I just don't understand why it needs to be public. Yuck

The cutting of nails in any public place is a bit gross. I thought it was bad enough when a housemate cut their nails in the living room, but cutting them in the office is something else entirely. Yucko.

But, the one that takes the cake for me was when one of the guys and I went to a meeting with a local senior official. We were discussing a new employment project that we are working on. All was going well when said senior official reached into his pocket and pulled out a cotton bud (a q-tip for my Canadian friends).

Well, that’s a little werid.

There aren’t too many things you can do with a cotton bud, and surely none of them are appropriate in a meeti…oh, how wrong I was.

Within 10 seconds I had completely lost track of the conversation. As I struggled to remain focused on the meeting and suppress a giggle, he proceeded to clean out his ears…and inspect it.

Yuck. Double yuck. Yucko.

Nia koalia Tetun

The other day my work mate and I went to a meeting. When we walked in they all started speaking in Tetun, then when one of the guys noticed me and started speaking in English...at which point my work mate said "la problema, nia koalia Tetun."
"No problem, she speaks Tetun."

That was a very nice moment.

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!