Hey All,
So today was a pretty exciting day, because I got to help repair the Uma Adat next to my house. After Mass I came home and was told everyone is going next door to work on our neighbors house. The house we were working on wasn't the main house that everyone lives in though, but instead a cultural building some houses have.
I was extremely privileged to be able to work on and see the repair of an Uma Adat in my village. It was interesting to see that they didn't use exact measurements when repairing parts of the house, but instead created references from the existing wall using bamboo. The pictures below show a bit of the process and this opportunity gave me the ability to see what most foreigners wouldn't see in this community. I hope for any prospective Peace corps volunteers that this will be fuel for the passion that is encouraging you on your way.
Apart from the building I found myself being nervous about the upcoming test on the Tetun language. After I found myself this way though I thought about all the progress I've made in the past couple months, and now I'm feeling pretty confident about how this test will go. This isn't just isolated to myself though, I believe we all have these time's in our lives. So I encourage you, when you are nervous about a goal you have for the future. That you look back on what drove you towards that goal in the first place, and all the progress you have made towards the goal you're apprehensive about. Let the feeling of pride in what you've accomplished, fuel the fire beneath your feet. On the other hand if your nerves are well founded, then let that nervousness not be an obstacle, but instead be the motivation you need to bring yourself to a better place.
On another note I decided to take a picture of my lunch since people were asking what I eat. I'll probably continue doing this until someone tells me to stop, or if I forget about it. 😂 Regardless I look forward to seeing you all in the future, and hope this has helped fuel your day, week and life. Until next time, I'll leave you with this.
"Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself."
~Groucho Marx
Much love,
~BW
