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Day 16 in Timor Leste

R got the phone call that our swabs were confirmed negative for COVID19 halfway through a meeting about education. I muted the zoom call and struggled to focus on the discussion with one ear while straining to filter Tetun with the other.  After the zoom call, we gulped down dinner, put on walking clothes and scampered out for a 4km walk along the beach.

It has been an almost idyllic couple of weeks in quarantine. We would wake, have breakfast, study, do some remote work for MT, eat, and repeat. We'd watch Tetun TV. Raj would do pull ups on the balcony door frame. The scrawny calico we've named Jael (she likes milk) would appear at the balcony with polite (but assertive) miaows.
I took 5 classes in Tetun this week. Too early to say if I'm ready for conversation with people who are not language teachers. But I would end the lessons with my heart pounding and generally dance around the house for 5 minutes hooting with joy. (Language classes have this effect on me, which is extraordinary because I never felt like this after Chinese tuition. Context, context is everything)

That's it for now. The next post will be hopefully from our next (volunteer housing) accomodation.

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