Potholes

Hey everyone!

So this week I have a training in Dili and now have a little time to write up this post. Last week was nice because I had a bit more work than usual. I did an interview with one of my coworkers regarding a needs analysis for a future application we hope to submit for a temporary volunteer. I also got to finally do some manual labor which was a nice change of pace!

I've seen a running stereotype in Timor where many of the people I meet think I am unable to do manual labor because I'm an American. This being laughably false I wanted to take this opportunity to show the hardworking American spirit that build our country.  The work we were doing was filling in a large pothole that has been an inconvenience for the buses and Mikrolets that use that road. We grabbed some dirt from a gracious donor and filled it in. I was getting a few of my coworkers who were trying to take the shovel from me, but I persevered and hopefully showed that I'm capable of an honest days work (as well as most Americans by proxy). See the pictures below to get a good view of the work we got done, shout out to all the CDB staff for the great work they did!

On another note I am super excited for the presentation I'm giving tomorrow on Computer Security! I've never really had the chance to give a presentation on this topic before so it'll be fun being able to bring people into the fun world of IT.  I hope to be able to make up some USB's for people that boot Bitdefender, Ubuntu and SuperGrub2 using YUMI as a boot manager. I'm also thinking of adding Portable Apps on this USB as well so if any of the volunteers interested are reading this let me know if you want any other tools! Also if anyone wants me to make some videos of Tutorials that you guys can use either in Tetun of English I'd be happy to try and make something up!!

I'm going to go play a little D&D now so until I see you all again I'll leave you all with this!

If your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-examine your life. 

~Bill Watterson

Much love,

~BW

Community Visits

Hey everyone,

So the reason there are so many pictures here is because I had an exhilarating adventure with my work. We took a trip out to some of the Eastern communities we work with and I was blown away by the beautiful scenery and the wonderful people we met. The trip itself took about 3 hours to the point where we would have to go off to each community of which we visited 5. All together the trip took the entire day and required a lot of walk, climbing and traversing uneven (rocky) terrain. I was extremely tired by the end of it, but glad to have gone through that experience since it gave me a lot of insight into the work my organization is going with the communities in East Baucau.  Thankfully we were able to make it back home before it got dark, but the trip was a long one.

This week I also helped one of one of the fellow volunteers in the breakfast club with a computer issue trying to get a printer driver to work over internet speeds slower than DSL. It was a fun challenge, but the food I had there was some of the best I've had in a while (Thanks for the food B, you're an incredible cook!).  I've also been trying to work on some computers here without having the appropriate equipment, which has become somewhat of an interesting challenge. However, I can't wait until my tools get here from the states.

This week was wrought with highs and lows, which is something you should expect if you're planning on joining the PC. It may seem obvious, but imagining yourself lower than you may have ever been is an important thing to think about.  It's also a good exercise for anyone who is about to go through a challenging period in their lives. Are you someone who doesn't handle sickness well? Are you someone who would give up when things get bad? Do you thrive in the dirt? Being able to make sure that you won't give up in the face of difficulty is important to being able to finish a challenge. One thing I can say though is that the PC will stretch your tolerance to uncomfortable and difficult situations.  

I've been behind in my posts recently which has been for a lot of reasons, but just know that I don't plan on stopping this blog. So if you check this regularly or have been wondering why I haven't posted yet, just know I will be putting something out soon enough. I can't wait to see you all again, so until next time I'll leave you with this.

We are a nation of communities... a brilliant diversity spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky. 

~George H. W. Bush

Much love,
~BW

Part of the Community

Hey all,

It has been a few days since my last post, but that's because I wanted to talk about my first actual lesson here. The class went pretty well and I'm glad people in the group are enjoying my teaching style, at least from what I've heard so far. Before the first class I did a quiz with all of my students to find out their levels in English and it seems that most people are at level 1 (Elementary). This is actually ideal because I can introduce English lessons without having to wonder if everyone already knows what I'm talking about. However this also plays the opposite way as well, because I rarely know if everyone is understanding what I'm trying to convey or not.

I have been trying to use what I've learned about teaching to help my students become comfortable in my class. The stigma of having a wrong answer here, or the fear on being incorrect is very real. My class has been a bit shy early on, so one of the ways I got around this was to show them that failure is the best way to learn. When we aren't afraid to fail we open ourselves up to more experiences and gain a lot more confident in being able to approach difficult situations in a healthy way.  I'm hoping that this idea can help them with our programs as well, because being willing to fail is extremely important in innovation. 

Some of you may have also noticed that I added a new page to my site that includes a few podcasts as well as some English resources for my students. If this can help you at all I hope you take advantage of it. I'm also going to put in a survey so if there's anything you want to suggest then it'll be easier for you! I've also noticed that a lot of my readers here are from many different countries so if you want a google translator built into the page let me know. Se karik imi hakarak tradusaun iha lingua diferente, hakerek nebaa iha fatin okos.

I have to go eat some lunch, but I'll be doing some work on the site later as well. I look forward to hearing from you all and miss everyone back home. You know what I say though, "Until next time, I'll leave you with this!"

Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best. 

~St. Jerome

Much love,

~BW

First Week of Work

Hey all,

Sorry I'm behind on posts, but I've been getting used to the new work. I've also found myself to be tired pretty often, but I chalk that up to having to speak Tetun exclusively while at site. I guess I can't say exclusively, because I have been able to speak English with a couple people, and I'm planning English lessons as well. Regardless, this will be a period of high adaptability for me and my fellow TL9's.

Most of the pictures below are from the place I'm working. I've been doing a lot of planning of English classes as of late, but I just found out my Saturday class was cancelled. It's a new experience trying to plan classes for people who don't speak my native tongue. I have had luck however in forming my lessons by using a lot of resources as well as the curriculum from Ontario's ESL program, which has given me a goal to strive towards. The people here are extremely nice and I honestly couldn't ask for a better site!

I will keep this breif, but in the future I plan on uploading my lesson plans, as well as the resources I use so that anyone in a similar spot as mine can be successful. I'll try to get back of a regular upload schedule, but until next time I'll leave you with this.

"Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace." 

~Dalai Lama

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

Repairing an Uma Adat

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

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

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

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

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