Raj and Lois in Timor

 R and I spent the holiday in Atauro, an island north of Dili. Officially part of Dili district, its geographical isolation has been a mixed blessing-- it separated islanders somewhat from political violence in the past, but also from water, building materials, reliable electricity and an urban economy. It was often pressed into service as a corral for political prisoners and exiles. We came here with JB and their family to spend the holiday (Heroes Day and Feast of the Immaculate Conception).  This was a good decision. The stories I'd heard about crystalline waters, dramatic drop-offs fringed by reefs so shallow you could cruise over coral just inches from your belly; the inky night sky full of sparkling constellations and the odd nebula; the sun rising before your eyes, adding brushstroke upon brushstroke of rose and amber to the swirled cloudbanks... all true.   At the Eco Lodge that we stayed in, the food was delicious, the staff prompt and friendly and the toile...

 If you're jogging along a pavement... and you violently slap a passerby's hand away because you thought  his hand was coming a bit too close to your hip at midswing... and you turn back midstride to see instead a rather decent and shocked-looking gentleman looking astounded at you... In such a situation, do you say " Lisensa!" (Excuse me) or  " Deskulpa!"  (Sorry)? I said both. And jogged away rapidly. 

This is how long it takes to bury your firstborn, your baby. Not included: An hour or so to mound a pile of cement powder, a little further away from the spot, and slosh water into it. Mix it well. Ave Maria, grasa barak liu iha ita boot. Maromak ho ita boot. Ita boot diak liu feto hotu-hotu. Ita boot nia oan Jesus diak liu. Santa Maria, Maromak nia Inan, harohan ba Nai Maromak tanba ami ata salan, oras nee ho oras nebe ami ata besik atu mate. A morning and a night to consider the spot in the family cemetery, the lush green hills framed in boughs heavy with ivory belladonna. To dig the child-sized hole... four feet, not six. To line it with cement, smoothing the edges down like a bedspread. Two days to greet the guests, feed the guests, change the flowers, accept the wreaths. Show them to the little coffin in the hallway. One night, the longest night, of watching the struggle to breathe, struggle to feed, the rosy skin mottling, fingertips chilling, slipping out of reach of a kangaroo ...

We're in the middle of a blissful 4 day holiday (All Soul's Day); the time has been spent moving into a new apartment (new to us; a few doors down in the serviced apartment block that has been our home since leaving quarantine); we have been mostly looking at trays, many trays; trays of trays; shelving units, and cutlery. I have an oven now! We have been visiting various churches and it has been refreshing to experience different communities within a common bond of fellowship. As we sat in a service today running in what we call "Tetun Speed 15" (I find 4-5 comfortable, 7-8 briskly challenging- TV/radio speed- and 10 impossible to follow), I reflected that to the Timorese colleagues we seek to train, we must sound as incomprehensible. I considered that I need to practise speaking slowly and dial my speech speed way down, consistently. We went out today with the few team members who remained in Dili over the long weekend. We talked over live music, black sand drying be...

Brief updates on the week that has just passed: I spent the mornings at the Centre for National Rehabilitation (CNR) in Becora. It's a beautifully neat and well-run day rehab centre (with dormitory, no inpatient wards) entirely staffed by Timorese physiotherapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, orthotists and social workers. I met the Rehab lead, a cheerful senior physio who had trained in Indonesia. His love for the work is infectious. I was assigned to supervise Dr O and Dr P from the Family Medicine (FM) training programme- one lean and sinewy, the other burly and squarish, like characters in a 相声 . They have a lot of ground to cover in this four-week posting (the first and fourth weeks are on rehab, the middle two on Nutrition and Interventions in Domestic Abuse). I am proud of them for fighting through a great deal of condensed Adult + Paediatric Neurology this week. My first moment of joy – when Dr P grinned from ear to ear as he successfully performed the mano...

R and I just finished a week of intensive Tetun. 4 hours a day, for 5 days. (I achieved my short-term goal of being placed in the same class as R, hooray!) In the afternoons, we work on various projects- R on a strategic review, me on the manual for village workers. On Tuesday, I delivered my first tutorial to a group of 20 Timorese doctors who are in training for a postgraduate family medicine diploma. On Thursday, I went to a lovely clean rehab centre in Becora, on the east side of town. They deliver physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy and prosthesis and mobility aid manufacture and training. Kapaas , super. We met J today, who advised us to 1) be patient 2) remember to invest in relationships 3) understand that trust takes time We are house-hunting. The dry season is turning to the rainy season ( tempu udan ), though our tutor explains that this intermittent light rain is not the true tempu udan but a preceding tempu haas funan - mango flowering season.   My ref...

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 ex...