My life in East Timor!

To all my dear friends who do not speak Portuguese, I have to apologise for taking so long to include a post in English in this blog. In my previous blog, the one in Japan, I tried to do posts in both languages, but I am so busy here in East Timor that this would be an impossible task for me. So, instead, I decided to give you a “short” summary of my experiences in this new land.

I arrived in East Timor in the end of August, to conduct an English teacher trainer program. I train Timorese teachers of English so that they become teacher trainers, and then I will supervise their training courses to other Timorese teachers. Besides that, I also provide pedagogical support to teachers of English in a public school, called “4 de Setembro” High school. After the independence of East Timor there has been a full revision and creation of curricula for all disciplines and levels of teaching, led in cooperation between Portuguese Universities and the Timorese government, particularly the Ministry of Education. The University of Aveiro was responsible for designing the curricula for all High school levels, as well as for the design of the course books and teachers’ guides for each discipline. The design of the English language course was actually developed under the coordination of one of my former professors while I was studying at the University of Aveiro. My job here, continuing the work done by the previous English trainer, is to help the Timorese teacher trainers understand the new English curriculum, the Students’ book and Teachers’ Guide, in order for them to pass that knowledge on to their colleagues from other districts of East Timor. Of course, a great part of my sessions is spent reflecting on pedagogical issues together, in order to adapt all the scientific knowledge to the reality of this context, which is very rewarding because I learn a lot from my trainees in these discussions. My work is going well, my trainees are only 6 but they try hard and we have interesting discussions in our sessions. We are currently studying about Travelling and Mobility, which I believe is a very interesting subject for all of us. The schools in this country face significant challenges (some do not have electricity yet; some have no tables or chairs, recently I heard of one where the roof fell and there can be no classes when it rains), so we must be very precise in adapting all of our teaching methodologies in order to present alternatives for the teachers.

I am living in Dili, in a closed condominium with other teachers from Portugal. The place where I live is quite nice, the Timorese people here treat us very well and are friendly. I also love this place because there are plenty of cats here (not particularly domestic, so I can only look at them!) and one of them just had two kittens, they are so cute! The other day, while cooking and chatting at dinner time, we had a spectacular opportunity to watch a lunar eclipse, a phenomenon called “Bloody Moon” since the moon becomes red for being in the shadow of the Earth. It was an amazing phenomenon, but the rituals it originated in here were even more amazing. Shots, people banging objects against poles and other metal objects, shouts and loud noises from everywhere startled me, because I had no idea of what was happening. East Timor is still quite a superstitious culture and phenomena like this lunar eclipse are looked upon with both wonder and fright. I was later explained, by colleagues who have lived here for years, that the same behaviours happen when there is an earthquake. My trainees also explained that phenomena like this eclipse is considered a bad omen, so they make the noise to scare away the bad luck. As for earthquakes the explanation is even better, so Timorese people believe that an earthquake means God is sleeping and must be awaken (traditionally, God is believed to be holding the Earth in His hands, and when God falls asleep the Earth shakes, so by causing loud noises and waking God up, the Timorese help Him re-establish the balance of the Earth – I thought it was a great interpretation for earthquakes, I can even picture God, just like Atlas in the Ancient Greek Mythology, holding the Earth!).

The fauna and flora of East Timor are quite different from all that I was used to. Besides the crocodiles, that have a special place in the habits, traditions and the culture of this country, which is dearly called the land of crocodiles (I still haven’t seen any, only statues and other artistic representations!), other animals are quite unusual too. After arriving I was told of the ‘Teki’ and the ‘Toké’, the first are quite common in our houses, they are both reptiles, but the ‘teki’ are quite small, like a baby lizard, but of a skin-brownish colour. They have small hands and feet that look very delicate – I find them cute, and the best thing about them is that they eat insects! In a country where Dengue and Malaria are still common, having ‘tekis’ that eat insects is great! The ‘Toké’ I haven’t seen yet. I’ve heard they are bigger, maybe big like komodo dragons, or a little bit smaller than those. The other day I went to a dinner party in the Timor Hotel (a fancy hotel in here, where Portuguese food is served and therefore is a meeting place for the Portuguese community) and I was told by my colleagues that the restaurant of the hotel had a ‘Toké’ living there. The staff would even leave the food leftovers in the restaurant area for it to eat. They seem to really respect it. I found that quite amusing. Buffaloes, cows, chickens, ducks and particularly goats can be seen everywhere, even inside the school grounds, so I’ve become used to them. The trees in here are quite unique but I do not know much of their names so far, some I believe are from the same family as the Palm trees, but others are quite unique. One of the most beautiful trees is called “frangipani”, and I recently discovered that they also exist in Mozambique, but that their flowers are slightly different (in here the petals are mostly white, with only a bit of yellow inside, and their shape is rounder at the edges; whereas in Mozambique, the petals are pointy at the edge and are more yellow). I love the trees here, even more than in Portugal, because there is so much sun and intense heat that only the shaded areas are bearable during the day; I also particularly love the trees at the beach, because I can hide in their shades and relax.

I haven’t left Dili much yet, but the other weekend I went to Maubara, a city in the coast, west of Dili. It was a pleasant place and I even bought some traditional arts and crafts, but the journey to get there was like riding a rollercoaster. I totally understand why all people drive Jeeps of similar 4by4 vehicles. A big portion of the road, as far as Liquiçá, is under repair and construction, so literally we have to drive off-road through rocks and sand. The dust in the air prevents us from seeing as far as 50 meters ahead and the jeep kept on shaking all over, so by the end of our trip we were all quite exhausted and had back-pain. Nonetheless, it was a great day, quite an adventure!

I’m slowly adapting to my life in Dili, I can already cross the chaotic streets where cars, motorcycles, ‘microletes’ (small vans that take people from place to place, short distances), ‘biscotas’ (bigger vans that take people from place to place, longer distances, even to other districts) and even animals running keep moving in unpatterned motions. I am getting used to stares of people because of my ‘foreignness’ and can even have small chats with children on my way to work. This life is becoming normal to me, but I must confess that I am still dealing with my insecurities towards the physical proximity that people here seem to consider normal (sometimes I feel my personal space is being invaded, and that makes me uneasy), and also, although I understand it is just a greeting and that it requires no answer, I still feel unsure about all the strange people who insist on asking me where I am going, or where I’m coming from (in Tétum, one of the two official languages of East Timor – the other is Portuguese – people normally say the equivalent of ‘Good morning…’ and then ask ‘Where are you going’, which for me is still a bit confusing because I feel it is a small invasion of privacy; but my Tétum teacher, who is a very nice and calm man, explained to us that no answer is actually required, so in reality there is no invasion of privacy! I just need to get used to it!). I avoid walking alone, especially at night, since safety can be quite an issue for a woman, or even a small group of women, alone, but during the day I haven’t had any unpleasant experiences so far.

Dili has many beautiful views, but the beaches are a major tourist attraction. I must confess I have mixed feelings towards going to the beach: on the one hand I prefer it here, since I can be in the shade of trees and the experience is a lot more pleasant to me; on the other hand, going to the beach may also mean being surrounded by so many children and teenagers trying to touch and talk to you, while at the same time being VERY observed by male adults…which, let’s face it, is quite overwhelming (and borderline rude), so I’ve only been there a couple of times. Besides that, it is not easy to go if one does not own a vehicle, like a car or a motorcycle, since taxis can be quite rare in those parts of town. My adaptation to this issue is still quite incipient, but the views do speak for themselves, and are absolutely gorgeous!

 So that you can have an idea of what reality is like for me, I leave you with a small photo-video. Hope you enjoy ;)