Insect Attack

Hey all,

I had a traumatic experience last night involving a large hissing beetle and my ability to sleep. Everything is fine however, I was able to sleep and I slowly but surely moved forward with my desire to kill all insects that fly, sting and bite. Overall I'm actually pretty excited for next week since next Wednesday we will be going to Dili for our swearing in. This Saturday we will be throwing our host families a party to celebrate our time with the, which is bittersweet in a way. For one I'm happy to be moving on into my service, but I'm also going to miss my host family here. I suppose that just goes to represent how deep of a relationship I will have with my permanent host family.

I hope you all know how much it means to have the support I've received from all of you. I've been slowly reading the letter's I received before leaving, and they give me the reassurance that I can help the people here in some way. Most importantly though I hope you all get to receive as much cultural exposure from Timor, as I hope they feel I have given to them. The trip so far has felt like forever, but the journey has only just begun. I am going to head to bed now, but if any of you have a suggestion for how I can better express the culture here, please comment below. I check the comments all the time and I love hearing from friends and family. Until then, I'll leave you with this.

"Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."
~John Wooden

Much love,
~BW

Vinhu Etu ho Kobra

Hey all,

Hope everyone is doing well! We had a great Thanksgiving (sorry for lack of pictures) and our group is really looking forward to being done with PST and swearing in. I think next week I will be learning about my permanent site, and what I'll be doing there.

Yesterday me and one of my friends in the TL9 group went on a trip to Dili. That's where I got the Cobra Snake Wine, which was from one of the TL8's as a gift for giving them a backpack.  We had a lot of fun there and I feel a lot more confident in transiting around Dili after our first 3 months at site.

I'm glad to hear from those of you I've talked to that you've been enjoying the blog! I hope you will leave a comment if you have any ideas for how I can make it better. Until then though, I'll leave you with this.

"Our virtues and our failings are inseparable, like force and matter. When they separate, man is no more" 

~Nikola Tesla

Much love,

~BW

Improvisation

Hey all,

I've never seen this before it's raining behind the house, but not in front. Just thought I'd share that with you. This is coming out the day after Thanksgiving in the state's, so happy Thanksgiving. However for my international audience, happy Thursday.

I gave a presentation on our final field activity during PST, and the majority of the next few weeks will involve getting ready for the LPI. I'm not to worried for the Language Proficiency Interview though because I'm feeling confident in the language and I know that I'll be able to pass it, but aside from that I'm feeling nervous about leaving for my next host family. I will be starting from scratch with a new family, but this is good in some ways as I'll be able to make a great first impression with the family I'll be with for the next two years.

For those of you who are reading this and are planning on joining the Peace Corps, I hope so far this has been good in giving you some insight. However, for those of you who are close to me, or are reading as a point of interest, I hope you can feel as connected to the people of East Timor as I do now. I also hope that you share this blog with your friends, not for my own sake, but for theirs.

I believe having a broader view of the world, gives one a better view of themselves. That's one of the reasons I'm here in the first place, but I also believe that success is not something people achieve on their own. Success in our lives is developed by honing our skills to a cause, and then by performing that cause we have laid out for ourselves to the best of our abilities. It is my belief that the experience we need to hone ourselves cannot be obtained solely by using our own experience, but must be combined with the experience of others. Therefore we all need to share our experience, and revel in the success we have given each other.

All that to say, I hope my story and the story of the wonderful people I meet here will give you experience. That with that experience you can hone your life and abilities into what you see as success. Until next time, I'll leave you with this.

"Experience is merely the name men gave to their mistakes." 

~Oscar Wilde

Much love,
~BW

Ahi Mate

Hey all,

Pretty short post today, the power went out and I need to conserve my phones battery. Language classes have been going well and every day feels different from the other which I am prepared to have change after a year in my permanent site. The past two days they have been discussing site placement behind closed doors, so we should find out our sites soon enough.

The rain has been pretty regularly in the afternoon and has made for interesting daily planning. I hope to soon be able to talk with my old school sometime in the next few months or so. If any of you have questions or want me to write about something specific, just leave it in the comments and I'll try my best. (or just message me if we're close like that) I'll just leave you with this, and look forward to seeing you again my friends.

"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least." 

~Goethe

Much Love,

~BW

Hamartia

Hey All,

It's raining again today and I found myself looking for something to write about. I decided to write about a misconception I believe there is for what Peace corps volunteers do in their permanent site. This misconception can be a fatal flaw when it comes to a volunteers success, hence the title.

I'm talking about assumption! I feel like the idea is that volunteers are heading into a site with a grand plan for what needs to be, "fixed." This is an understandable assumption because the term, "Third world" has built up a connotation that leads people to believe that people in these countries are inept or in some way less than those living in the first world. It's important to understand this when going into any position where you're trying to assist others in development, because the only sustainable way to help is from below, not above.

This to be said, there is no room for pride or grandeur in service, only humility. It can be asserted therefore that one cannot come ito the Peace corps (or and service based volunteer work) with a plan for how to affect change. This is where a lot of frustration is started when people enter the Peace corps thinking they'll be an NGO or affect change of their own design. However, the change one can affect when serving from below is a sustainable and generational kind of change that will do much more in the way of development than any NGO can do without community involvement.

If you are in a position to help anyone, or are wondering if your change will last after you leave, just ask yourself this, "Do I want this, or did my community ask for it?" Until I speak with you again, here's the quote of the day.

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens"

~Jimi Hendrix

Much love,

~BW

A Quick Update

Hey everyone,

Just a quick update today to let everyone know that I am healthy and safe. On the health front I've lost 10lbs in the last month so I need to watch that. As far as safety goes though everything is dandy, my family here is the best protection I have against being a stranger in a new land.

For anyone looking to join the Peace corps with the desire to have independent housing, I have one thing to say. It's fine to want and be in an independent house, but having a host family gives you a much better way to integrate into your community, so don't take it for granted. Also if you are reading this from my old Highschool and will be on a future video call, I look forward to hearing from you!

I'll leave you all with this!

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals." 

~Henry Ford

Much love,

~BW

Udan Boot

Hey All,

I was trying to think of what to write about, and then it started to rain. Below is a story I experienced today that tested my humility. I hope that this can give you strength when you find yourself tripping over small stones throughout the day to day we all experience.

I tried to do laundry earlier and found myself being frustrated when I couldn't get any suds from the rinso (what I now know is freshener). My younger sister of 16 saw that I was having trouble and decided to teach me how to wash clothes. I don't know what it was specifically; the heat (90°F), the sore feet I had from Mass yesterday, or the feeling of uselessness as I was feeling while being shown how to wash clothes, but I found myself however beginning to feel the drain I had been warned about by the Peace corps staff.

It took a few hours of watching Samurai Champloo and reflecting not only on my adaptations, but the changes my host family has also had to endure. I did however eventually see the light that had brought me here, and laughed at how easily I left myself to the frustrations of those who do not live with passion in their hearts. Being human however we all find ourselves caught up in the small things from time to time, as I did today.

Ironically enough I feel that the audio recording attached to this is the best analogy I have for the flash of rash frustration I felt. I don't expect anyone to listen to it, but if you do you'll most likely stop as soon as you hear the white noise of the rain hitting our metal roof. If you listen closely however, you'll hear the beautiful sounds of my younger sisters here laughing and playing behind the deafening noise of the rain. This too is what experiences of adaptation are like. Sometimes you only hear the rain, but the laughter is the reason we listening.

I pray that you can find the laughter in the frustrations you find yourself in, and that you can laugh when you find yourself caught up in pride as I did today. Until then I'll leave you with this.

"In the intellectual order, the virtue of humility is nothing more nor less than the power of attention." 

~Simone Weil

Much love,

~BW

All Washed Up

Bondia Maun no Mana,

I decided to show you all where the business is done. So I took some pictures of the bathroom, washroom and kitchen for you all!

First off yes that is a squat toilet in the middle of the first picture, and yes my calves are bulky as all hell! The basin to the side it to get water for wiping and to wash hands. For the next picture it is right next to the bathroom and it is where we take showers and wash clothes.

The next couple pictures are of the cooking area where most foods are fried. Next to that in the same room is a place to prepare and wash food before it is cooked or served. So far I haven't really been sick, and the food's been great so I guess their doing a great job!

Just a quick update today, but if you have any questions about the food or bathroom I will try to answer them! It is important to note that these accommodations may be different in my next home, so regardless of the lack of luxury I will adapt to the environment I'm in. I hope this helps anyone who was wondering about fecal accoutrements, the lack of a seat does help you with squats though! I'll leave you with this!

"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." 

~Albert Einstein

Much love,

~BW

Rambunctious Rambutans

Hey All,

The holidays are over and this week is test week for us TL9's. By that I'm referring to the mid-training mock LPI we have tomorrow. It will basically be a test of how well we can speak on basic topics. It'll be fun, and I'm sure a good way to see what all we need to work on.

I had trouble really coming up with an idea for today, but I was able to take the picture below of a rambutan. We had a cousin of it at my going away party if you were there, and they taste great! 

I also took the other pictures using a filter program I'll probably use when I'm bored lol. If you have any ideas for topics let me know, otherwise I'll talk to you later! Also I'm working on the forum idea, hopefully it will be up soon, I'll leave you with this till then!

"Don't criticize what you can't understand." 

~Bob Dylan

Much love, 

~BW

Response I

Hey everyone sorry for the delayed post,

I just got up and realized that through the process of trying to choose a topic for this post I had forgotten to do it yesterday. I'm sure nobody cares to much, but it's a standard I'm trying to hold myself to. Regardless, if you do want to see my updates when they come out subscribe using the bar on the right. If you are on mobile and confused about what the hell I'm talking about, I'll be creating a page for mobile user's to subscribe for updates.

So this morning I'm going to mass, as well as tomorrow and Sunday. It's going to be.... boring I can admit that. However for any PCV's who find themselves being brought to mass, I hope you know it's because your host family cares about you enough to drag you along 😉. I look forward to meeting people after, even if I only understand 50% of what they're say right now lol!

I woke up and read a letter at random because I was feeling a little home sick and realized I was reading my mother's letter. So as her son I feel I have a duty to address some of the concerns in her letter. I hope for the majority of people reading who are not my mother (but maybe someone else's) that this can be just as reassuring for you as I hope it is for her.

First off I wanted to let you know that I'm feeling great and I have been eating well. I actually got a Tetun bible recently which I'm hoping will help me learn the language and get in good with the Avo's. I'm using my filter daily and have been taking a multivitamin, fish oil and my daily malaria medication. You can see from the huge first-aid kit that it's fairly easy to seek respite in the case of illness. Also on the safety note, the reason we are paired with a host family for the duration of service is because they protect us from being victims of crimes due to being an outsider. My siblings call me big brother and my host dad calls me son, which is enough for people to think twice before they are cast out of their community for going their brother wrong. Also I have like 2' on 90% of the population, so intimidation is not a problem lol.

I hope this post finds you in good spirits. I am currently working on creating a new page with a forum so we can communicate publicly for future soon to be volunteers to benefit from. Let me know if you want anything else on here and I'll try to make the next post prompt. Till then I leave you with this.

"Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding." 

~Albert Einstein

Much love,

~BW