Dili and training

Trip Start Aug 2004
1
5
Trip End Nov 2006


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Flag of Timor-Leste  ,
Sunday, August 29, 2004

I arrived in Dili two weeks ago and after 4 days in the city moved to a suburb called Hera to live with a host family. Dili is a lot different than Port-au-Prince. It is surprisingly clean and not very crowded. Everywhere you go you see evidence of the recent struggle for independence. About a third of the population was murdered by the inodnesians (200,000 people roughly), which explains the lack of people in the capitol city. Every other car that drives by is UN or some other NGO working here to rebuild. Every third building is just a burnt shell. If the building isn't burnt it is shiny and new as are the roads because everything here has been rebuilt since 1999. It is a really interesting time to be here in this country. The people here are very friendly, they don't harass you or beg for money. There are lots of good places to eat (thanks to all the foreigner!) and also you can find many of the things you can at home. DVDs and CDs are sold all over the place as are cameras and American/asain food! So that is all very comforting. However, once you leave Dili and head into the suburbs and especially in the countryside all the conveniences are lost.

I am currently living with a family of nine (I think, it is hard to tell who is family and who is just sleeping there) in the town of Hera. My house is made completely of palm and located right on the beach. It stays amazingly cool. It has dirt floors, no running water, a latrine outside, and electricity, tv, and DVD. The modern and the primitive merge in my house. We spend most of our free time playing soccer on the beach with the kids or sitting on the porch drinking coffee. On occassion we will watch Indian music videos or Van damme. The food here is very delicious. Mainly rice and a vegetable dish but you can defintely taste the asian influence. Oh my family gives me tofu and tempeh on a very regular basis!

I spend about 6 hours a day 6 days a week in class learning the local language (tetun) and also agriculture and sustainable development techniques. Most of it is a repeat of what I learned in Peace Corps Haiti, with the exception of the language and elements of the culture. They do however grow the same crops in similar conditions and suffer many of the same problems. The biggest difference is population size. Because the country isn't overpopulated and the people just recently won their indepence it is easy to believe that there is a better chance for change here. I guess I will see with time!!

From the other side of the world,

Anne
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