Going to the Farm

Hey Everyone!

It's been a couple days since I took this picture, but it was of a farm near my host family. We walked there to see what one of the family farms looks like.  It was a great walk and the experience let me test my linguistic skills so that was a plus. If you are given a similar opportunity in your PST (assuming you are reading this because you are in a similar place I am) I would recommend going with your family to the places they recommend.

 I've been meeting a few TL8's and they have all reaffirmed my conviction to see this commitment through to it's end.  I've been getting some more resources and stockpiling them for when I'm at site. I just got a Telemor SIM card in addition to the TT SIM I have. The Telemor plan I have gives me unlimited data so it's something I am taking advantage of until I leave for my permanent site. If you have any questions let me know and I'll try to make up a FAQ page or a blog post that answers them.  OK, I have to sleep so I'll leave you with this!

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. 

~Confucius

Much Love,

~BW

Sick Day!

Hey everyone,

Today's been pretty relaxed, I got done with language classes in the morning and found out a lot of people were home sick today. It's something that's obvious when you think about it that a bunch of Americans heading to a place with a new set of bacteria would kick our immune systems into overdrive. From what I've heard it's mostly gastrointestinal, but something to be expected.

CED classes were pretty chill with us spending the time learning how to teach English and writing up mock lesson plans. We also met a current TL8 (Jacob) who taught us what teaching English looks like in the field and he was a great help (shout-out!) as well as the other day with Emre (additional shout-outs!).

Sorry for the lack of pictures today, but there wasn't much to shoot. I'm planning on putting up a page on here with a picture gallery, so if you like that idea let me know in the comments. As for the comments, I've found that I can't respond on my phone. So I'll try to use my computer to respond, but it might be a while. Know that I do see them abd appreciate the support.

If you have any ideas for the blog let me know as well! Until I see you next time, I'll leave you with this.

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." 

~Confucius

Much love,

~BW

Washing clothes on the river.

Hey everyone,

Today we went to the river to wash clothes. The walk was nice as it was previously and...

It's been a couple days since I started this post, but the trip to the river went great. The majority of the time was spent helping my host dad on his farm. We washed the clothes pretty quickly and had lunch, the farming was the first time I have ever seen slash and burn farming in person. 

The photos below follow that narrative and the trip overall changed my view of what I here to do. I can see that the methods being used are ingrained in the heads of the people who have been using them for generations and I can not try to change everything right away. I need to work with the people to find methods that work best for their situation. 

The power is still out, and I had to travel to Central to charge it so I could write this. I'm sure it'll be up soon, but I wish I'd brought a solar panel like some of my cohorts, lol. Other than that thing's have been pretty same old same old.

I look forward to seeing you all again, and I'll leave you with this.

"I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong." 

~Abraham Lincoln

Much love,

~BW

Power's Out!

Hey Everyone,

I'm going to keep today pretty short since the power is out, but the reason is actually pretty interesting at least in my eyes. A few days ago the power went out in my village and since then I've been living off my power bank. However today we went for a walk and we found out the reason for the outage! I tree had fell on the power lines and knocked down the cable. I've been told that it will probably take a week to fix, so in the meantime I'll be charging my power bank at the building we have our economic classes in.

Below are a few pictures I took while we were picking cassava leaves for tonight's dinner, but I hope you enjoy the holistic nature of this dilemma as I have. I find these types of problems to be great ways to create solutions for the future, so I look forward to finding out how this outage will develop. I promise to keep you updated regardless and miss all of you, for the one's who wrote letters I thank you as they have been a source of encouragement in the time's were I am frustrated at a problem I am facing in the moment. This kind of stuff happens so it's nice to be reminded to just roll with the punches. I hope this blog can be a comfort to anyone who is in the same situation I'm in and that you take the problems in stride as is the way of a volunteer. I look forward to seeing all of you in time and will leave you with this quote.

“We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.”

~ Kenji Miyazawa

Much love,

~BW

My Room for PST

TWIMC,

I was asked to make a blog post about my room for the next few months, and here it is. The first picture is my beautiful Tinkerbell dresser. It is where I hang up my nice shirts, towels and where I keep my first aid kit. I also tend to keep my shoes next to it at night.

The next picture is of my bed which is pretty standard. It has the mosquito net which is pretty usual, but the most important feature is the princess bedding, which as most people know keeps out the majority of household pests.

Thirdly I have the table and chair where I filter and treat my water. I also keep my toiletries there behind my books. The chair is where I fold up my clothes so that they are off the floor and easily accessible.

I hope the short tour has eased the minds of those who wanted it 😉. I live pretty modestly and have mostly just the basics to get me through PST. I am drinking plenty of water and take a multivitamin and fish oil with my malaria medication every morning at breakfast. I hand wash all my clothes and use a squat toilet which has been a swift yet painless adjustment from the habits I had in the US.

For anyone reading this who is hoping to join the Peace corps, I hope this little tour helped and that your passion to help other's thrives just as mine is here. I'll be helping my host dad out this weekend so I look forward to sharing that adventure with all of you!

Much love,

~BW

Lao(s) ba Mota

Hey everyone,

I just got done walking down the river with my family, and it was beautiful. We went to go see the place where my host father work's which is a farm on the side of the river (mota).

It was nice to go out in the afternoon and see the district. It's so hot midday that most people (including me) just like to sit and rest in the shade. It's a great time to practice tetun with the family. 😊

We went to Mass this morning and not only was it strange to go to mass for the first time, but it was also in another language. Lol, it was definitely different, but a great way to let my family know I'm on their side. All in all I'd say today was a great success and I look forward to my community walk tomorrow.

I love and miss you all, and look forward to telling you all the stories I'm slowly accumulating. I'm in good health (for you mum 😉) and I am surrounded by great people, regardless of the language barrier.

Much love,

~BW

The Road to Success!

Hey everyone,

I've been in Timor-leste for about a week now, and I feel like I'm adapting well. The bathroom situation is interesting, but that is vastly juxtaposed by the wonderful people and the gorgeous countryside. The below picture is from my walk back home from CED classes, and reminds me that the walk through this new adventure may be tough at times, but will lead me to a wonderful tomorrow.

Learning the language has also been challenging but, as with the walk home, brings with it a beautiful promise on the horizon. I don't have much as far as extreme change, but every day only serves to reaffirm my aspirations. I'll leave you with this quote, but tell me in the comments if every 2-3 day's is a good upload schedule!

"We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us thru that darkness to a safe and sane future." ~JFK

Much Love,

~BW

Meeting my First host family!

Hey everyone!

I've been finishing up all the logistical stuff and the vaccines and now it's finally time to meet my first host family. I have no idea what to expect, but I know it will be a wild ride.

We're driving along the coast on the way up the mountains in order to get to the village our team will be in before we go to our permanent site. My Tetum is pretty bad, but I know how to say good day and introduce myself. (Bondia Maun, ha'u-nia naran Brandon. Ita-nia naran saa?)

I love all of you, and can't wait to see you again! Have a wonderful day!

Ate Aban!

~BW

Getting some water on a hot day!

Hi All,

It's a hot second day as we get Vaccinations and some training at the top of the day. I'm feeling the heat, but keeping cool in the shade. Drinking water is super critical, but I'm keeping up with it.

The enthusiasm I felt on day one has increased as I experience the day to day. Also my little milk buddy (su su been kabosu) is a great facilitator of cross cultural humor. I look forward to meeting my host family in a few days, and can't wait to get to work.

Much love,

~BW

First day in Timor-leste!

Hey Friends and Family,

It's been a couple hours since arrival, but we are here in Timor-leste. Everyone is pretty excited for the days to come, and besides vaccinations I am too. 😋

Thank you to everyone who has been checking out the blog. I've seen the numbers and just hope that this is of some value to those reading it. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Much love,

~BW

Getting an ice cream leg massage!

Hey all,

Short update here. We just got to Singapore, next stop Dili!

Much love,

~BW

The Layover II: The Awakening

Hey guy's!

I just landed in Germany and decided to drink some German craft beer. If you are looking to contact me, Facebook messenger would be the easiest.

Much love,

~BW

In the airport drinking some milk!

Hey all,

Next time y'all hear from me I'll be out of the country! We're just stoping off at a pub in the airport to grab a drink, and I wanted to say how thankful I am for all the support I've received.

I look forward to being with you all on this trip in spirit, and look forward to sharing my time in Timor-leste will all of you. From the bottom of my heart... hold up, the plane's here.

With love,

~BW

Singapore here we come!

Hey everyone!

We're on the bus getting closer to the 23 hour flight to Singapore. I can feel the excitement in the bus, as our group comes to term with the commitment we've made. It's not an easy choice, but one that we've made regardless.

We chose to do this, "not because it is easy, but because it is hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too."

~John F. Kennedy

I'll talk to you soon!

Much love,

~BW

Staging!!!

Hey Everyone,

Staging is going well, and I've realized how hard it'll be to learn everyone's names. 😅

I'm feeling excited at the surreal nature of the task that lie's before me. I can only wonder what tomorrow will be like.

Keep it breezy,

~BW

Passing the Time

Looks like my flight has been delayed. I'll probably record an audio blog somewhere. In the meantime though, time for a refresher course via the Peace corps handbook!