2010 - a year of trials, tribulations - and triumphs!

After the stress and jet lag associated with flying around the world during Christmas/winter (NOT recommended; next here I am spending Christmas in Hawaii!) - and after spending 3+ weeks in the northern hemisphere trying to stay warm, it was nice to return to Timor-Leste in early Jan to heat and sunshine - well it was nice for a few days, and then chaos started to reign!

2010 had started out well enough, catching up with family and many friends I had not seen for a long time (including one ex-colleague who I had not seen for over 7 years!) - but Jan and early Feb in TL have been very challenging, ranging from issues with transportation, to my landlord threatening to evict me for some unknown reason, to an infestation of wasps in the house, to frequent and longer power outages, and various personal and professional challenges.

But the year has started to (very slowly) turn around - and some good things have started to happen, including being able to finally unpack all of my belongings that had been shipped from the UK; buying a little car to get me around Dili (on a side note, driving in Dili is not really driving per se, but rather just dodging around other vehicles and people and animals; there are no formal traffic rules, 4 traffice lights in the whole city of 200 000+ people and general chaos!); finally having an interview for my work permit; and getting an alternate power source set up in my house so that at least I can run a fan and some lights when there are power outages :-)

Before I forget again - many people have asked what my house and yard look like, so here are a few photos...

View of living room...



View of dining room, looking towards the main entrance ...



A peak at the guest bedroom...(hint! hint!)



...and most exciting of all...my new 'baby' - before she came home and sitting in my driveway this afternoon





Most expats in Dili opt for huge 4x4's but I opted for a little car to reduce the chance of me hitting someone or something, especially since I am still getting used to all of the 1-way street here and driving on the (wrong!) side of the road i.e. left side of the road. Confusing. Not fun.