Raj In Timor 2

20/11/2007

Hey guys.

End of an eventful first week in East Timor. Phase 1 in progress: settling in, language acquisition, community penetration, data collection and community analysis.

Settling in.

[Picture: Yudha + Chocolate]

I've moved in with Yudha, PPHBC's missionary and community development consultant in Vatunau, a seaside village about 40 kilometres West of the capital, Dili. Amandi, Yudha's live-in helper, is the best-looking single male among the three of us. Our house is small and squeaky, but wholly adequate.

[Picture: House]

Electricity is erratic - but more 'erra' than 'tic'. We get maybe 8 precious hours a day now. One of the three main generators that supply all of East Timor is down, so I expect the rationing to continue at least for the next couple of weeks.

The allegedly November to April rainy season is around the corner, so fresh water from the mountain spring/reservoir isn't a problem right now.

Wastewater from our house goes either to the septic tank or the 500 square metres or so of vegetables, fruit trees and maize in our very respectable garden.

We have a varied schedule for most days of the week, but most start and end the same way. Up at 430. (Yes, 430!) Bible study. Clean the house. Gas the ants. Feed the chickens, the dogs, the pigs, the parrot, the fish - in no particular order. Water the garden. Breakfast. Amandi sets off on his 2-hour walk to school. Yudha and I on our assorted work. Amandi returns. Lunch. Nap (after all, it was 430...) Clean the house. Work on the garden. Dinner. Study, study, study. Bed 10-12.

Kitchen duties: Yudha cooks, Raj/Amandi eat. Good deal. Yudha is a sheer wonder in the kitchen, he managed to conjure up a pizza earlier in the week. With Bee Heng Chiang's bak kwa and canned sardines on our gas stove, no less! I am unutterably blessed.

Language acquisition.

Studying Tetum is consuming a tremendous amount of time, energy and brain cells. Having spent the preceeding 4 months learning from texbooks, I'm in the curious position of having a reading/writing fluency far ahead of my halting oral fluency.

Mealtimes present a useful, if exhausting, opportunity to practice Tetum. Between the three of us, Yudha, Amandi and I end up flinging some combination of English, Indonesian, Tetum and Portuguese at each other. Yudha insists on expanding our already embattled frontiers with occasional monologues in French.

The trial by ire came on Sunday when I subjected our local church congregation to my 15-minute sermon, almost entirely in Tetum. And elicited nary a raised eyebrow! Suffice to say, they are an exceptionally gracious bunch.
[Picture: IPTL church, Vatunau]

Community penetration.

Identifying, meeting and getting to know some of the key players in our village of 260 households has been made easier by the groundwork already laid by Yudha and PPHBC's short trips in the last two years. The strolls around the neighbourhood, house visits, the twice-a-week primary health clinic and weekly English classes are making the bearded Indian man progressively more recognizable in Vatunau.

The children are a joy - the entire brown-haired (protein malnutrition), wet-nosed, barefooted, giggling lot. So far, I've got a lot of social mileage out of wiggling my ears. I'm saving The Amazing Glove Of Death for later.

Data collection and community analysis.

Understanding the playing field is the single most complex task I have right now. I'm studying country information, mapping with my GPS (thanks HT!) and started spreadsheeting some of the data from our clinic for later epidemiological analysis. But it's the long, calculatedly casual conversations with various people met along the way that have been the most enlightening.

And humbling. The number and intricacy of the community's moving parts, is astounding. As is the depth of some of its wounds. There is much to do. I have no illusions of my adequacy to address all of the needs. I am glad I have Yudha beside me, and PPHBC behind me.

-raj