Highlights from November in Dili

Hello from an unbearably hot and humid Dili! It is apparently supposed to be rainy season here in Timor-Leste by now, but all we have received so far is a few sprinkles of rain - hopefully the real rain will come very soon to cool off the parched earth and bring some us some real relief!

The lack of rain has recently been complimented by frequent power outages. Many evenings I arrive home just as the power goes out for a few hours so I end up eating by candle light, which only makes the house seem even hotter :-)

Because the internet connection in my house is linked to the wireless connection from my neighbour (a local NGO), as soon as the power goes out I also lose my internet access, which means I have not been blogging much over the past few weeks. However, today is a Public Holiday in Timor-Leste (since tomorrow is one of the three days that the Timorese celebrate the various times that they sought and achieved Independence) so I am at home and able to enjoy daytime power and internet access :-)

I can't believe it is already the end of November - the last few weeks have been incredibly busy!

In mid November, I started taking formal local language ('Tetun') lessons at one of the Timorese universities (below is a photo of one of the uni buildings) which has helped me to improve my basic conversational skills with my staff, the security guards at my house/office, etc - although now my mind seems to be so filled with so much Bahasa Indonesia and Tetun vocabulary that sometimes I forget the English word for things (or maybe I am just getting old!) :-)



Many people have asked me what I actually DO here in TL - well, much of my time as a Country Director is focused on managing Plan's operations and providing guidance to my staff members, but I am also very fortunate to have opportunities to spend time with the children and youth that Plan supports.

For example - last Friday, November 20th we celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) http://www.unicef.org/crc/index_30177.html - and what a day it was!

Here are just a few photos - after the stress of having to give a speech (thankfully one of my staff members simultaneously translated into Tetun for me!), the real fun began - starting with awarding prizes for various youth competitions that had been held over the past week, then an exhilirating outdoor concert with lots of great singing and fun dancing - and even time for some staff photos (although by that point we had almost melted in the sun!)










And there's more (albeit non-work) excitement to come in the next few weeks (God willing!). My personal belongings that were shipped from the UK in July have made it as far as Singapore and are apparently on their way to Dili this week - only 4 months and counting...

And then it will be time to travel again - I am heading to Singapore in two weeks time (Dec 12th) where I'll have a few days of rest & relaxation (and ideally Christmas shopping...) before heading to Stockholm, London UK and Toronto for work (and more importantly - to visit friends!), then finally to Saskatchewan to visit family and friends over Christmas and New Years.

Although it does not feel much like Christmas yet (probably because its +40C rather than the -40C that I am used to from going up in Canada!), I'll be attending Christmas celebrations in 4 countries in December: Timor-Leste on 6th, Singapore on 13th, UK on 20th and Canada on 24th.

Looking forward to some cool air, predictable power and fast internet :-)