Rock and Roll Star

Hey Everyone,

So this week has been pretty easy going. I've been planning classes and preparing to write a grant for CDB, but for the most part life has been pretty slow. I will say however I am extremely excited to go to Dili in a couple of weeks because I plan on picking up a Guitar which will be very fun to learn. I've been wanting to learn guitar for a while, so I decided since I have a lot of downtime here that I'd pick one up. Beyond that I'm planning on picking up the kindle one of the PC staff is picking up in Australia (thanks again if you're reading this!). I also heard from a couple people that they liked to see the quotes from last week, so I'll add a couple more here for you all to check out.

I was goaded by the pro-independence fighters. One man said to me, ''Autonomy has lost... You must give us your home and land because our homes have been burned by your friends." I answered, "My house and land aren't political, people are political. If you want a house find an empty government building, I won't give up my home." I was attacked by the man's son and friends who broke into my house. They tried to get me out: "Leave quietly. If you don't we'll strip you naked and throw you in the fire." I reported the incident to Interfet... ...but after they left, my house was taken apart, all my plates and glasses were smashed and my furniture, cupboards and wardrobes, were taken. For whom I don't know. I let it happen because these are the consequences of struggle.

~Fernanda dos Reis Araujo Vila Verde, Dili District, 1999

After attacking Manuel Carrascalao's house on 25th April 1999, the militia accused my son of keeping weapons and arrested him. We were taken to the Caicoli Village Office. I watched them beat my son and others from RT 1 Caicoli till they were a bloody mess. Some were stabbed. Some were in so much pain they cried to die. I was so upset I screamed at them to kill them rather than continuing the torture. We were both released that afternoon but others were not. Around May 1999 the TNI found an apelo (a Falantil donor's card) in a friend's home. They asked who had given her the card and she said I had. The TNI took me to the Babinsa in Caicoli village. They mocked me by saying that a woman is of no use in politics, can never become a leader and could only ever be a servant in the forest for Falintil. In other words my only use was as a Falantil concubine.

~Fernanda Soares Liquica and Dili Districts, 1976-1999

These are some extremely powerful stories and are humbling when I think about the ease to which I can live my own life in this time of relative peace. I just hope that these stories can help others gain a better understanding of the struggle the people of Timor have gone through. Because although these are historical accounts, the effect the war had on the people of Timor is real and something that will have a ripple effect for generations to come.

To bring it back to a lighter topic I was able to find the garlic bread in the pictures below a few weeks ago, and that was a wonderful surprise to find here in the land of rice and cassava leaves. I also found this Disney garlic which I think was a wonderful move by the Disney cooperation 😂. These small things keep me feeling chipper when the stress of working in another country weighs on me. I've also found an arcade out here in Baucau which was a cool thing to find, so I can only hope to find time to visit it soon.  I haven't been to a legitimate arcade for years even living in the States!

Well this has been a good stress reliever today, I look forward to writing up the next blog post. Before I sign off though I want to bring attention to the last photo I posted and tell a short story. A week ago I was walking back home from work as usual thinking about if I wanted to pick-up some apple's at the Loja down the street or not. It then hit me that I had never looked up on this path home for the last 3 months I've been here. So upon looking up I discovered a sight that was as eye opening as it was breath taking. I saw Foho Matebian (or the Mountain of the Spirits of the Long dead) it was named this because of the Timorese that were killed there during the resistance fighting. I will link to a blog I found from a Timorese describing the stories he heard as a child (http://karaudikur.blogspot.com/2017/07/foho-matebian-my-favorite-stories.html). So as I do always I'll talk to you later and leave you all with this.

Grit is that 'extra something' that separates the most successful people from the rest. It's the passion, perseverance, and stamina that we must channel in order to stick with our dreams until they become a reality.

~Travis Bradberry

Much Love,

~BW

Update #2

Hey everyone,

This is just a basic update, because unfortunately I'm still sick. I've been resting often, but my stomach troubles still persist. I am in contact with my PCMO in Dili, but due to my symptoms they suggest I stay at my site and wait it out. I am pretty sure I know what I have, and if I'm right then I should be able to just wait it out. Regardless the holidays have been less than excellent.

This is a good lesson for myself and one that I hope any soon to be volunteers will take to heart. The lesson is that you will get sick, period. Don't be afraid of that fact, because it is something that is natural when you move to a new region for an extended period of time. Just know that the PC has your back, and you should always update your PCMO on the symptoms you are experiencing.

I just hope that this news doesn't upset my loved ones, and that you all know I have the situation under control (with the help of my PCMO). I will try to make the next post's on time it has just been difficult as of now due to my intestinal situation. 

I love you all and sorry for the lack of pictures in this post. However, until I message you again, I'll leave you with this!

"Riches do not respond to wishes. They respond only to definite plans, backed by definite desires, through constant persistence." 

~Napoleon Hill

The New House

Hey Everyone,

So I've been living in my new site for about 4 day's now and the transition has been pretty smooth. Last Friday I had orientation at work and went around to a bunch of the places my organization works with. It was interesting and made me realize how different my site is from others. 

Regardless today I will most likely be going through and repairing laptops and PC towers. I sure hope my tech repair kit comes in the mail lol, because this is where I need it! I'm interested to see where my work is steered. Are they going to use me to fix computers or something else. Whichever way the wind blows though my sail is sure to follow. 

Just like is normal daily life we can be sidetracked by assumptions about the future and feel slighted in some way. I encourage all of you to recognize the moment's in your life where you let expectations dampen an experience. When you find this happening try to wipe the expectations from your mind and just live in the moment.

I hope your future is full of love and amazing opportunities. Until we get to walk that road together, I'll leave you with this.

"There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it." 

~Dale Carnegie

Much love,

~BW

LPI Update

Hey All,

Yesterday we all took the LPI, and I'm glad most people I've talked to feel confident about how they did. I'll keep this update brief, but I do want to say that I'll miss my family for PST. There is a reason everyone has to live with a host family at some point. I can see now why living alone, while it has it's perks, isn't always the most beneficial. Aside from having a group that supports you, a host family also gives you the comfort you need after a long day working with new people. I'll miss my family here, and I hope any of you who are planning on joining the Peace corps also cherish your host family. I'll talk to you in a few days from Dili, but until then I'll leave you with this.

"The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things." 

~Ronald Reagan

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

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

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

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