After living abroad for over 3 years, the Harries family have finally decided to get organised on the communication front and set up a blog site. The aim is to keep you updated and informed on our lives here in Timor Leste (TL).
So for those of you who are interested, here is posting #1......
The boys and I have been in TL for 4 weeks now (Steve a few weeks longer). First impressions? Similar to the Solomon Islands yet soooo different and we are looking forward to the adventure that lies before us. I stepped off the plane to see goats wandering over the road, 100's of chickens in big baskets on the side of the road and motorbikes everywhere with all manner of goods strapped onto them. There were guys pushing carts piled with veges and children playing the dust. It is dry season here at the moment and so it hasn't rained for over a month. This is expected to continue until October. Driving is an experience! Biggest vehicle at an intersection gets right-of-way, going right around a round-about and traffic lights that suggest you should stop, it's not a given if it's red. There are all these crazy one-way streets with a splattering of 2-way streets just to keep things interesting. But I've learnt to follow traffic not the road signs, not always correct and can change week to week.
On the housing front, we are currently living on the World Vision compound in a 1 bedroom cabin made out of refrigeration panels. It is cozy, that's for sure but it has everything we need and we are surviving nicely making our own family fun. The boys share a mattress on the floor and Mace is sleeping in a suitcase - cute! He only just fits so it is a good thing that we've got a house that should be ready for us to move into in a couple of weeks. Housing is very hard to find and very expensive so we feel blessed that we're going to be moving into a new house tucked away in the village a bit away from the noise of suburbia. It also means there is space for the boys to be boys. We need furniture though, the next challenge!
Steve is enjoying his new role as National Director for World Vision Timor Leste and the challenge it brings. A restructure of the office has been a priority as well preparing for an up and coming audit which adds pressure to an already busy schedule of planning and finance raising for F.Year10. Networking and language learning are also significant components of his role. Projects that WV are involved in are Food Security & Nutrition, Maternal & Child Health, Early Childhood Education, Water & Sanitation, Youth Work & Training. The plan is to reduce involvement in Dili and expand and concentrate on rural districts where 80% of the population live.
What does Krista do all day? Hunt, gather and survive! Similar to the Solies, finding food makes up a lot of my week. Discovering new shopping spots is exciting, however dragging 2 or 3 children with me in the heat can sometimes take its toll. I've joined in with an expat mums playgroup which has provided playmates for the boys and socialisation for me. We're still working out preschool options for the big boys. At the moment we're joining in with a local WEC run kids group on a Monday where the boys are immersed in the local language and are learning songs in Tetun. Noah is a bit confused with all the languages spoken here (Tetun, Bahasa, Portuguese & English) so he's decided to make up his own language and then translates what he's saying......Hilarious! Roman struggles with getting his English words out, let alone Bahasa (which is the language we've decided to focus on for now) & Mace is babbling away and walking around the furniture oblivious to the fact that we have even moved countries. I am struggling away conversing with a local lady who is helping me and speaks NO English. The other day, before going out, I asked her (in my bestest Bahasa) to wash the clothes to return to find her washing the baby!
So that's that until the next blog.... Watch this space!
Please feel free to leave comments on our site and forward this to anyone you think may be interested. Please continue to email us with your news, I hope this blog-site supplements emails and doesn't replace them.
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Now that gives new meaning to living out of a suitcase. Glad to hear you are getting settled over there. We miss you and the boys terribly here in the Sollies. Look forward to hearing more about your adventures.
ReplyDeleteElisa xxx
Awesome blogg...definitely have saved it on the 'favs' x.Sephen the biking tour Timor style will be fantastic for you to do I,m jealous Id like to come but next year may be a better oppotunity for me to make it.take many photo`s and keep up the Harries "Timor Times"
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat to wake up today and be greeted by the Harries! Thank you so much for inviting us to share in your adventures.
ReplyDeleteLife at Waikato goes on - winter, swine flu and the rest of the population doing what it always does - come and hang out at the emergency department!
Cold and frosty here - your hot days seem like bliss from this end at the moment.
Will look forward to keeping up with your news.
Cheers
Wendy Sinclair
Hello Steve and Krista
ReplyDeleteFinally found you... have been trying to email but the 3 addresses I have all bounced back.
Please drop us a line.
Ciao
Philip and Kim and Bump (and Boris the Cat)
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ReplyDeleteStephen & Krista and my litle grand nephews. You won't believe what it has taken me to get to this level,not being computor literate. Helen has had another daughter not long ago. You have three Harries's which is even more outstanding. Wanted to catch up in the Solomans where Peter Marshall would have been one of the good guys. East Timor - you have come in after the police and military from both countries have been through. Don't know enough to advise you, not that I ever have - you are outstanding in your own right. Luv your photo; have it displayed. Look forward to Krista on cello and you on guitar !
ReplyDeleteAll love, Dick Harries