Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Questions Without Answers

T - As time goes by and I think about what is it I should stuff my backpack with, I ask myself many questions. They are, for example, "Should I bring my cotton undies or should I buy some tough hiking undies that cost $20 each?" or, "If I bring a digital music player, am I defeating the point?"

East Timor, Louisiana

B- A few days ago, Travis' mom went to take our wedding announcement info to the newspaper. One question they ask is "where will the couple be living?" She said, "East Timor." The newspaper lady asked, "Is that in Louisiana?" Ha.

Things are well. Please be patient as obviously Travis is still trying to figure out the photo programs. Each time I look at the page there is another of the same photo of us.

Travis has now purchased his backpack! He got the REI Mars (mine is the Venus...they're identical except his is bigger and a different color...how cute) and luckily there was a 20% online discount for members. This means we purchased both of our backpacks at a 20% discount (mine was b/c we became members at the REI store). Men wear the Mars, Women wear the Venus...

There is a great, yet un-updated, volunteer website at www.fjac.com/timor. Lots of photos and lots to read. Check out the volunteer newsletter if you can find the link. It seems that as hard as life is in East Timor, the volunteers aim to have fun, and that's what makes it bearable. This is a tough committment, and Travis and I are talking about ways to make it through.

One way is our creed, which we have yet to write...but it will be motivational and funny and we will be required to recite it to each other in the tough times. We will be sure to post it once it's written.

The PCV that we have emailed with in East Timor has informed us that they did not feel the big earthquake the other day. If you visit http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/ you can view the earthquakes that have occured worldwide over the past week. A few small ones have taken place in ET's vicinity. I think it will be neat to feel an earthquake...I just hope it's not a big one.

I suppose that's it...stay tuned for more exciting posts from me and more of the same pictures from Travis!


Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Be Prepared

T - We've recently acquired a short-wave radio from a local Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV). She did her service in Ecuador (E) and loved it. She has not only helped us prepare emotionally and with our supplies, but she has also become a good friend. She had the radio in Ecuador but didn't use it, but another PCV says he uses his.
This PCV is in East Timor right now. He has been with the PC for 17 years now and worked in E. Our friend electronically introduced us and we've been writing almost daily for the past week. He was recently on the eastern side of the island in the "small community," as he put it, of Home but spent the last week in Dili, the capital. That is how we could email everyday. But he is now at his new site, an hour and a half by bus from Dili (though he did not mention where exactly).
He has informed me that I should bring both long shorts and pants. The shorts for working and the pants for more formal occasions. I also should bring t-shirts and collared shirts. He brought some rubber boots and says he uses them all of the time, especially in the rainy season as the ground gets really muddy. He did mention that the locals tend to go barefoot, a fact I was not aware of.
Bekah asked him about mold. We have a very special quilt Bekah's mom made for us to bring but we're afraid it will mold in the humidity of East Timor. He said he's had no problem with mold but sometimes things take longer to dry. I think I'll consider getting some sport shirts that dry quickly, just in case.
We've also come in contact with another person going to East Timor with PC. We've been emailing a bit and should even talk to her over the phone soon. We've heard that there are 35 PCVs in East Timor and that the new group (ours) will double it.
We also now have a Sony voice recorder. Bekah wants to be able to tape interviews that she can use towards a Masters when we get back. We also got all of the books we've ordered so far. The lastest three are anthropological books. I have just finished a book on the history of man v. mosquito called Mosquito. I know a bit more about them and the diseases they can carry now. I am now reading In Search of the Cure for Malaria to learn a bit about that. I am ready to finish and get on to the other books we have patiently waiting in line to be read. Bekah is reading the classic Airport.

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

Where in the world...?


We will be inside of a red rectangle. Posted by Hello

Monday, March 21, 2005

a scholarly venture

B - Everything I hear about East Timor makes me more and more excited. Lately, I have started to think of how to use this experience towards my graduate schooling. I am interested in studying Cultural Anthropology, and most CA programs require at least a year of field study...well I'm going to get two, so I am going to be on the right track. I have contacted a friend who was a PC volunteer in Malawi and is now studying anthropology at NYU. He has given me some tips, well basically one big tip: WRITE IT ALL DOWN. So I will be keeping a detailed journal from the time that I get there. I have been researching grad schools, too. A lot of schools have South East Asian studies departments along with the Anthropology departments, which is neat. The interesting thing is that with East Timor being such a new country, it doesn't have as much published about it as any other country that's been around for a while. So I'm excited about the idea of finding something new. I've ordered a couple of studies from Amazon.com (one was 80 cents used!) done by a lady named Janet Hoskins who is a professor at the University of Southern California. She is one of the only professors who studied Timor specifically (and that was before independence). Another bit of advice from my friend was to read as much history about the country as you can. Travis and I are working on that. So far I think we've bought ten books! Thank goodness for used books at amazon.com, because we certainly can't find books about East Timor at the Lake Charles library. They only have one book that comes up in a catalog search and it is a romance fiction novel.

We're looking forward to this summer and no more AmeriCorps. So far we have a week planned in Arkansas to visit when Lisa is in the US. And then we have a 10 day vacation in June split between the Lake and San Antonio, with both of our families. There should be a throw-down goodbye party on the 4th of July weekend, too...somewhere either in Lake Charles or Iota...and everyone is invited! July will be here before we know it! Yeah!

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Cruz Vermelha de Timor-Leste

B - Travis discovered something neat today, other than how to post pictures on the site. The Red Cross Society of East Timor has it's own website: www.cvtl.tp, and there's an option to view the site in Tetun, the language we'll be learning. Actually we are beginning to learn it now. One important phrase I have learned already: Hau laos dotora. Know what it means? "I am not a doctor." I have a feeling I'll be using that one...especially since the new messenger bag I got looks somewhat familiar to Hawkeye's doctor bag in M*A*S*H. I couldn't resist it! Last night we bought some Post-it notes and I plastered them all over things in our apartment, stating the Tetun and the English name for the object. For example "lilin" is candle; "modo" is vegetable; "tudik" is knife...all those I remember from memory...impressive! Well...more creative touches will be on the way from Travis, I'm sure. Who knows if anyone besides us is reading this anyway...

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

He said his first word!

T - This is Travis. Well, here we go.

Bekah and I have been together 2 years today, the ides of March, and we celebrated last night with red wine and leftovers. And we read to each other from the 3, count 'em, 3 books we got yesterday by way of the internet and its infinite supply of books. We got a phrasebook of the Tetun language (Lonely Planet), a travel book of East Timor (also Lonely Planet) and a small book about the recent genocide in East Timor. Bekah looked up the Tetun word for wine and for everything we were eating (though we didn't look for the word "leftovers") and we found the language had some Spanish-looking words. Por ejemplo, "Ola" is "Hi." So I says to the words, "Hey! Jou look espanish!"

We bought lots at REI. $700 worth. Bekah got a good sized REI backpack, I got some Chacos and some cross-training boots, we both got 3 short wool socks, I got two "Bug Off" bandanas that are supposed to be insect repellent, we got 2 LED headlamps, a Petzl and an Aurora (2 different kinds in case one type is unreliable), one lantern/flashlight, 2 travel cups (one was very hard to open), 3 Nalgene bottles, Bekah got 3 pants and/or capris and a long sleeve Patagonia shirt, and a partridge in pear tree. Thank you so much, those-who-gave-wedding-gifts, for the help there.

Well, off to work for now. I still have to "get things done for America" as a VISTA, so...

Friday, March 11, 2005

East Timor

B - Just a quick note to post this link: www.gov.east-timor.org. This is the official site for East Timor's government. It has some basic info on it. We will be learning the Tetun language, which is one of the official languages, along with Portugeuse. Other languages are Indonesian and English, which are "working languages". Probably not the people we'll be working with, though...they'll speak one of the 30 other dialects spoken in East Timor.

I heard from another East Timor volunteer that the weather is hotter than the Deep South...that's right, hotter! Holy Cow!

Thursday, March 10, 2005

my husband

B - I really do have a husband but his work makes him too busy (and crazy!) to write. Someday we'll be done with VISTA and he'll probably get really creative with this site, but until then you're stuck with me and my most basic HTML skills. Create. Publish. That's all I know.

Well, I'm lucky to say that Travis and I have an angel...a woman replied to my post on the yahoo board and she had been a volunteer in East Timor. She has written me lengthy emails answering a lot of my questions. This helps a lot because we are going to REI this weekend to buy stuff and she has already told us things we would and wouldn't need. Saves us some money! Thank you!

We are also blessed to have such generous friends and family. Without the help from our "wedding gift" savings account, we wouldn't be able to be as prepared as we need to be. We're very lucky.

Wednesday, March 09, 2005

more paperwork...

B - Today I (Bekah) have been working on an updated resume and aspiration letter for the folks at the East Timor country desk in DC. This is so that they can get to know me better, and Travis is doing the same. It's a tough assignment, putting all of my goals and expectations onto paper.

More about East Timor. I've talked to a couple of people who are either serving there now or have served there. I've seen lots of pictures. Apparently, women can really wear shorts and pants, not only dresses. That's good for me. Another thing is that all volunteers will receive a cell phone! I guess the 3rd world is not far behind us as far as this technology goes. They said it's only 3 cents a minute to call East Timor from the US with an international calling card, and that we'll be able to text message other volunteers on the island!

That's it for now...

Monday, March 07, 2005

the adventure begins

B - Hello!
This is Bekah here...setting up this weblog to keep you, our friends and family, updated with what's going on in our Peace Corps adventure. As you may or may not know, we are headed to East Timor to be Peace Corps Volunteers on July 7. Travis will be working as a Community Development Specialist and I will be a Rural Health Specialist. We are excited and really anxious to go. For now, though, I am trying to figure out how this blogger service works. Bye for now...