What I am doing in Timor-Leste (and what this blog is doing here)
Letefoho Cafe in Dili, a western style specialty coffee shop using Timorese beans. Forefront is the always vibrant Beach Boulevard. The kind of place I could spend plenty of time.
No, I did not know where Timor-Leste was when I was invited to serve here, even though I’ve always been the map guy
Finding out where Timor-Leste is happened to be one of the most exciting moments of my life up to that point. Not because of any long running geography BINGO I had been playing, but because it coincided with my long awaited invitation to serve in the Peace Corps. For five years service abroad with the Peace Corps has been a major life goal of mine. Studying international political development at UC San Diego, the Peace Corps was always the next step after college. I remember the exact moment when the spark ignited.
It was my junior year (first quarter at UCSD) I was taking a class on international political economic development. My professor was telling us a story about doing research on corruption in Brazil. In this project he went out to rural villages to measure the amount of materials used on freshly paved roads then compared it to what the government allocated to estimate how much money was being skimmed. To me, that was and remains one of the coolest careers I could imagine. I had always been interested in ideology regarding development, but in that moment I knew I needed to leave the US to do meaningful work in far away places. My degree is in political science concentrated in comparative politics. The basis of my field is looking at policies abroad to find out what works for other states and what doesn’t. I find it fascinating to consider all the possibilities we have in choosing how our societies function. This same fascination that inspires me to learn from other governments also inspires me to learn from other people. Every person, family, community, and region has their own way of answering the same questions we all face. The Peace Corps is unique as volunteers live in the communities with the people they serve. So through a mix of altruism and curiosity, I found myself yearning to be 8000 miles away from home.
Those misty coffee rich mountains of Ermera
Due to COVID, I was forced to wait two years for my invitation to serve. Though initially bitter at the hiatus, I have grown tremendously as a person and gained a small wealth of knowledge during the wait. There is so much more I can both contribute and learn being the person I am now as opposed to who I was two years ago. I am grateful that what was frustrating turned out to be very valuable in the end. The wait is over and the time is nigh! I write this as I am staying with my first host family in the misty mountain town of Gleno for three months of training. I did it, I accomplished one of my main goals, I got in. Now it is time to accomplish some more goals. There are three extremely relevant ones that come to mind.
Meeting our Country Director on the tarmac of the Dili Airport
The Peace Corps has three goals, all of which are in the scope of this blog. The first two delve in what I am doing in Timor-Leste and the third is accomplished largely by the blog itself. Goal number one is the one we typically associate with Peace Corps service because it is the actual service portion. We are here to support the need for skilled labor in our country of service. I am an English education volunteer. I will be working at a school in Timor-Leste teaching both students and teachers English while expanding educational capacity of the school. The second goal is one I’ll have the opportunity to do everyday. This is achieving a better understanding of Americans for the Timorese. Essentially I am showing the people here that Americans are cool, kind, and all the positive adjectives one can conjure up. In addition to being a good example for Americans, it also means introductions to what Americans do. I can confirm I have played American football (bola ai-dilla, papaya ball) with my neighborhood kids every single day. They love it and so do I. Doing American things has the unexpected benefit of bringing home a little closer. A well needed game of catch!
My buddy Ben’s host family has a lovely garden, as many families in Gleno do
You are taking part in the third goal right now. It is sharing a better understanding of the people of Timor-Leste to Americans. In this blog, there will be no shortage of content regarding the stories and lives of people here and my fortunate intersection with them. The Peace Corps is more than just any 9-5 job, it is a full immersion into a way of life. I am incredibly eager to learn everything I can about the people and culture of this beautiful place. As there are billions of people alive anytime on this planet, there are thus billion ways to live our (alleged) singular life. It will be my mission to better understand as many as I can of these various and unique perspectives to then share with my dozens of readers! Though some ideas and practices will be foreign, people anywhere are people everywhere. While much will be dedicated to explaining the unique parts of life here, plenty will be dedicated towards our many commonly shared features of life as well.
Though this blog is borne of the desire to share my adventures doing the hardest job I’ll ever love, it is not the only inspiration I hope to share. Though I previously mentioned the Peace Corps is more than 9-5, there will be many more adventures to share, Peace Corps related and not. All the real ones know my deep love for sharing all which I find fascinating in this life. Come to see what’s going on in Timor-Leste, stay to see me wax poetically about a water buffalo I saw (post coming soon). I hope for this to be a platform where I could show and write about all the quirks I would want to see. This is also the part where I would love any suggestions on what to write about. What do you want to see? Any and all feedback will be very much welcomed. Including resources on writing. This is a skill I admire and wish to improve. Are there resources any of you suggest? Help me help you read a better than mediocre project. Help me help you read something greater than a Bourdain tribute act.
I am incredibly fortunate to be in a situation in my life where I can volunteer two years of my life doing the little things to make life a bit better, a point brighter, and a maybe a smidge happier for our friends abroad. Earlier I mention how grateful I am for all I’ve learned and grown in the two years between college and the Peace Corps. That was an incredible experience, but it was just living as an adult in San Diego. It’s difficult to imagine all I’ll be able to take in living on a south east Asian island for the same amount of time. This chapter has been long anticipated, but this portion of my life is not about me. It is about the people and places I encounter and the friends I make, we make, along the way. Actually, most importantly, it is about you, my precious reader. I genuinely hope each of you kind enough to click the link enjoys my meanderings and musings. Even if you don’t, at least my Mom will. This is just the intro, the ground rules and raison d’etre. The real fun starts now.
The content of this website is mine alone and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Government, the Peace Corps, or the Timor-Leste Government.
