Well, we are finishing up our last day in Timor-Leste; this really has been a ‘rapid assessment program.’ Tomorrow, we will have been in country for 19 days, and by the time we get home, will have traveled for 23. We still have more than 40 hours of travel to look forward to tomorrow, more than half of it in the plane, which means I have almost a solid day of my knees rammed into the seat in front of me or my tray table. Air North and Qantas both were good about giving me an exit row, but United Airlines decided that it wanted to charge more than $150 for an exit row for the Sidney to Los Angeles flight, and another $50 from LA to Denver – money that I don’t have. Honestly, shouldn’t there be some rule about making the flights somewhat comfortable for people? Or at least about putting the people who actually need it in the exit row? Joann is awesome and tries her best to give the exit row to tall people when she is flying, hopefully she will rub off on others.
Unfortunately, our last couple of days here have pretty much been spent locked in our hotel rooms, compiling and analyzing data, and writing reports. Yesterday we went to a fundraiser by Ba Futuru, the NGO that John Bano works for. It means “For the Future” in Tetum, and is dedicated to children’s issues. We all made a small donation, and watched as the had bands play and had their drama group act out issues important in Dili, including child labor, domestic violence, and martial arts groups (basically fronts for training combatants). I was glad to be there to support John, but now I have a better idea of what the people I brought to similar stuff at the schools I taught at felt like. These shows are a lot more interesting when you know the kids and have a vested interest in them. Young people’s acting is bad enough, and made worse when you don’t understand a word that they are saying. We stayed for more than 2 hours, but I was fairly glad when we left.
Tomorrow we will leave our hotel around 8:30 am, go by Ba Futuru again to talk to their co-founder, and then off to the airport for our flight that leaves at 11:15. Unlike on the way here, we won’t be leaving the airport on the way home, and we land in Denver at 3 pm on Tuesday. I’m anxious for the flight in. From what I hear, much of the state is burning and clearly visible from the plane, I hope that relief comes soon for the areas affected. I had planned on camping in Poudre Canyon and seeing Devotchka at the Mishawaka Amphitheater when I get back, things that I probably won’t be able to do now.
These few weeks in the developing world have definitely given me an idea of the things that I will miss when I’m in the Peace Corps. I’m planning on spending the next couple of months gorging myself on pizza, cheeseburgers, craft beer, Netflix on high-speed Internet, and real showers. Plus of course seeing the people I care about as much as I can – my family, friends, girlfriend, and dog. Plus KK just booked her tickets to come out to Colorado for 6 days in August, which I can’t wait for! Now I’m trying to figure out when my trip to NYC will be. For my friends out there: I am planning a week or so either end of July/beginning of August or end of August/beginning of September, I expect to see all of you and get into trouble!
Alright, I’ve got some more Game of Thrones to read. I’ve gotten through the first two books so far, and want to finish the third before I get home and actually start studying French again. I’m looking forward to some camping, hiking, breweries, and barbeques when I get back. I’ll see most of you next week!
Outside of one of the water systems we visited: most were gravity fed, meaning coming from the top of a hill to a lower elevation. Those are mostly rice fields behind me
One of the performances at Ba Futuru's fundraiser
One of the many campaign billboards we saw around the country.
Too much trash in your gutter? Burn it!
When we interviewed people, it usually turned into a community affair
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