Adventures with flipflops

Harvest

2011-12-04T15:15:00.001-07:00

My first harvest...corn was so good.

The largest bird in the country

2011-11-24T14:54:00.005-07:00

As you all settle down to your thursday afternoon thanksgiving feast know that I, being on the other side of the dateline, have already gorged myself, drifted into a food coma, had a full night's sleep, awoke and had leftovers. This was my second full thanksgiving of the year since my mom did up a beautiful pre-thanksgiving dinner last month when I was in the states. And if you now count leftovers this morning it is probably my fourth, and by lunchtime should be my fifth t-day feed of the year. Not too shabby.

Marshall Islands thanksgiving is much like one in the states. We gather all of our friends and family together and eat till we blackout, then drink until there is an argument and all go home to happy to sleep in the fetal position. Here though in the absence of family or a local thanksgiving celebration all the white people get together to celebrate. Basically we do this for any reason at all and thanksgiving is a damn good one. It is also another opportunity to indulge is promoting america's superiority at holidays to our non-american friends.

This year I volunteered to cook the turkey, not that I really know what I am doing but hey put it in the oven and wait right? I was first in the store after the cargo ship arrived and can guarantee I bought the largest bird on island, 23 lbs, so I was off to a good start. I picked up all the tools and ingredients and threw the bird in the oven yesterday at lunch. Unfortunately, (ya right) I was informed when returning to work that we had a company baseball game that afternoon and would have to leave work early, ah shucks. Still believing I would be home in time thought this is no problem for the bird. Well apparently the electrical company had other ideas since while we were out at baseball the power on the island went out. Fortunately this didn’t cause me too much stress, as I didn't even know until I was driving home after and a friend called worried about the turkey. I arrived home to find the power still off. Just when I thought it was the end, pop the power cracked back on. Well at this point there was nothing to loose and didn't know if it was ruined so just proceeded with the cooking now scheduled to be 2 hrs late.

Eventually it got up to temperature and was hopefully done. It looked good anyway and thought it will have to do. Now for the hard part. The flexible tin disk the turkey was in was too weak to pick up so was forced to remove the entire oven rack then take it out to my car for the drive over to the house were everyone was. Solo this was quite the task but managed to get it done although not without spilling turkey juice all over the oven, floor, carpet, table, stairs, car seat and floor. Driving down the road over speed bumps and cutting taxis didn’t help either. By the time I arrived I was exhausted and covered in sweet after gripping a 180 degree bird while driving a stick shift in the cab of pickup in the tropics.

All ended well and maybe the best turkey I ever had but I am sure the exhaustion and novelty contributed in some way. All 19 people also seemed to enjoy it so was at least edible. Glad to see that I wasn’t sick this morning either which is a good sign. The stuffing I made with Mom’s recipe using sausage was a big success too. and the gravy from turkey drippings, at least what was left after spilling on the my kitchen or car was tasting too, I guess salt fixes everything.

This morning is an induction ceremony at work for our new to us backhoe and sewer snake machine, welcoming them into the family of other rusty tools soon to be neglected and ruined. At least we got diabetes snacks: a cookie, soda, muffin, and cake.

Concrete

2011-11-17T16:35:00.002-07:00

Thursday was a Marshallese holiday, and what better way to spend the day than pouring concrete. Two friends building a church here offered me a local wage of $2/hr to help pour concrete for the day. I couldn't pass it up that kind of bling. Anyway I needed a change from my office job, get a tan and try and work off my fat belly. Not sure one day will do it but at least I got to work outside for a change.

Island Time

2011-11-06T21:47:00.002-07:00

I am back from my US tour (10 days of awesomeness + 4 days on the airplane or layovers just getting from place to place). I had a true departure from the Marshals on friday eve as I tried avoid friends forcing a few too many on me before getting on the plane. It didn't work as friend managed to get a couple beers and shots in me, so I stumbled to the gate. Was all fun and games until I woke up halfway through the flight to Hawaii with a terrible hangover and a old sock of a continental airlines omelet in front of me. I thought for sure I was going to have to bless the mile high barf bag for the first time but managed to hold it off. After the annoying transfer in Hawaii, avoid at all costs I managed to make it to Albuquerque where things got better fast. Phil and Liz took me over to my new house, first time I was actually in it since I bought it in June. Pizza and chatting about the latest tv shows and I was on my way to full dose of Americanness.

I had a great time in NM, highlights include a sewage plant tour with my mom, you know one of those things you dream about doing all your life. 7am sunday hot yoga with our new favorite instructor Liz. And of course the food. The best was the night before I left my mom went all out and prepared Thanksgiving dinner. It was no sham, and for me was the real thing just a month early. Turkey, mash potatoes, stuffing, pees, salad, cranberries, the works, it was all there. The whole gang showed up with Jake and his family were there, my dad, and phil and liz. My brother's family are doing well. Got some time with the kids who are very happy.

Next I was off to my friend Emily's wedding in Indiana. Was a bit colder there but warmed up slightly for the outdoor ceremony which was nice. Was beautiful in the colorful trees. I got to meet a bunch of new people from her life there and a couple of old friends from peace corps, Sarah and Lisa. There was even two different Marshal Island connections there, weird. As usual, as a wedding guest, the highlight was the reception. They had a band which provided many excellent dancing tunes. Although the best part was when Rob, the groom, played some songs for emily with a band made up of his wedding party. He totally rocked it. The night before the wedding we all also managed to dress up for halloween and attempt to party although many of were tired from traveling. The bride and groom did the best job as Elvira and Frankenstein. I dressed up like Rick Perry, republican presidential candidate, who I find particularly idiotic. I found a especially presidential tie and made some campaign buttons telling the truth of his slogans. For instance the flat tax: making the rich richer and poor poorer. Amazingly, a guy in the elevator told me he liked my costume and Perry. I asked him if he read my buttons and he said he did like to read.

Lastly was off to DC to see Ira's new baby and catchup with Ira, Dylan, and Sarah (who was also at the wedding). We got to see the new dc monument to MLK which was sweet, the first to a non-president. I liked the statue but wasn't a huge fan of the rest of it. Seems most favor the opposite. They say the statue looks chinese. I couldn't tell. Ira's baby, Parker, is super cute as expected. Ira and Dylan also got a day off and we were able to get out for a hike. Good work vacation team. Next is the xmas holiday. Not sure what is in the plans but probably an week in asia...

Now I am back in the Marshals. Was a warm welcome on saturday when I found my apartment with no power. A trip to the electric company and waiting 45 min for the drunk receptionist to make it in to work righted that. Yesterday got out on a boat with some friends to try my hand at skurfing. That is surfing behind a boat. It quite difficult and I couldn't master it but did do a great job at being an idiot. That is I am now sunburned and look like a ripe tomato. First day back at work is going to be fun...

lv ya - jesse

Poop power

2011-10-06T18:10:00.001-06:00

http://gawker.com/5847425/the-poop+powered-toilet-bike-of-japan

Whoosh

2011-10-02T22:43:00.001-06:00

Hey all, hope everyone is well. I had a good weekend. Took a trip over to a nearby island with a small group of friends. We had more than a good time and more than a few drinks, not necessarily in that order. I slept outside on the beach which is the best, at least until it started raining. In the middle of the day went for a quick finishing trip where I excelled in not only loosing a big fish but loosing the lure and line, watching it snap off the rod as the fish ran. Fortunately it wasn't actually my fault because it had been setup incorrectly but I still felt bad. I did however redeem myself by scoring a monstrous tiny little mackerel. Basically a pan fryer, haha. Later of course after cooking it late, after everyone was already full it got left out and quickly scarfed down by the bravest dog.

Anyway after returning to Majuro I moved house. Yes thats right, my beach bungalow was just not enough for me anymore. Well really it was too much. I was lonely in a 4 bedroom house 30min from town all by myself. So last week I found a nice small place just on the edge of town, 5 min from work and have now made the move. I have traded beach for convenience and old bungalow for sleek new appliances. I am happy with the move and now more comfortable in a clean and more sociable place.

Looking forward to my trip home in two weeks. Will be home for a week, then going to wedding in Indiana and 3 days in DC before coming back. Will be a whirlwind tour.

Hope all is well. lv jesse

Jesse Shapiro
jessepants@gmail.com

Die flowers die!

2011-09-20T00:39:00.001-06:00

I am not a flower hater, but this past week we organized total flower annihilation. Now before you think I am the devil hear me out. The flowers happen to be on the airport runway which also happens to be the main rainwater catchment for the city water supply. Unfortunately for the population it hasn't been cleaned for at least 10 years! However, as fortunate as this is for the local bird and bee population it had to end. Fortunately for me it is a high visibility activity to start up regular cleaning, code for maintenance program. We even had a bobcat from public works to help with the domination of nature and destruction of every last flower. Wow was it a lot of stuff. In fact we only finished half and have to go back for more this week. We had all 55 employees out cleaning and then threw a bbq in the afternoon once the plane needed to land.

Last week I spent in Ebeye, the second island I am working on. The place is hard to sum up but is next to a US military base and houses all their local employees. It is basically a slum and neglected by everyone. Most of the services run on a minimal level (in America this would mean unsafe, insufficient, and dangerous). Following up on my last trip there I again hung out a bit with the leadership. The wealth difference is outrageous. Picture a slum of makeshift housing, kids everywhere, and sweltering heat then see this picture. Yes, it is the newly arrived massage chair of the local leader.

lv ya, jesse

The distinctive aroma of...

2011-08-28T20:49:00.001-06:00

So I noticed a bad smell in my house last week. Once I noticed it and the hours passed by it seemed to get worse and worse. I searched high and low but couldn't locate where it was coming from, partly because it was so bad it was hard to smell without heaving, in order to find it. I figured it was a dead mouse or rat since I had recently seen one and put out traps and poison. The poison is supposed to make them thirsty, so they go outside, then kill them. I was really hoping there wasn't a dead rat in my roof or wall. Anyway the next day the power happened to go off and I was home when it came back on. Just as it did I walked into the kitchen and boom, like a wave the smell hit me. It was clear it was coming from the back of the refrigerator. The fan on the back, now on, was sending the smell out right at the entrance to the kitchen. So I took the back off and searched around with my flashlight but found nothing. I called the landlord and the next day she sent a guy over who couldn't find anything either. So two days later they all came over with another guy. This time they really got deep inside the back and low and behold found the rotting, maggot filed shell of a former crab. Now how the hell did a crab get in the back of the fridge?

Parliament

2011-08-07T20:14:00.001-06:00

This morning was the opening of parliament. Hirobo and I went to put in some face time and maybe get on tv. Didn't really work out but got to take some fancy pics.

First picture is Hirobo on left and the President of Marshall Islands on the right. I am the white one. Next picture has the Minister of Public Works in center.

Last picture was during a visit to one of the water treatment plants here last week. It was hard work so fortunately was surrounded by coconut trees and a hammock to take a load off. wooo....

Ebeye

2011-07-31T23:12:00.000-06:00

All last week I took my first trip to Ebeye. Ebeye is in the Kwajalein atoll located in the western chain of atolls (I am living on Majuro in the eastern chain) and is about a 45min flight. You get there by a flying to Kwajalein and taking a boat across to Ebeye. Kwajalein is a US military base where they still test missiles and such. In fact there was a test while I was there. They blacked out the island after 8pm and tried to shoot down a missile fired from california. Apparently though something went wrong and it was headed for a popular area so they blew it up mid-flight. Don't worry though it only cost the US taxpayers 100-200 million dollars. While on Kwajalein we also were lucky and got to go to subway on the base. The only fast food for thousands of miles.

Once on Ebeye I was introduced to the parliamentarians representing the island and the traditional king. I soon found out that my counterpart is well connected and knew them all personally. Great news for me and getting things done. We took a tour of the water and sanitation systems which I am sure I will be updating more on that over the year. Lets just say it ain't too good. See picture of the kids playing basketball on the road to the dump. Yes it is burning too in the background and also happens to be the only baseball field on the island.

The next day the Iroij, traditional king, invited us on his yacht to an outer island, Elip for a ceremony where they handed over a boat. It was interesting and we definitely travelled in style. See the picture below of me and the king on the ferry boat to the island with the boat to be handed over in the background. It was small, only 100 or so people on the whole island. They didn't have a dock so we had so get off the big boat to this fiery boat then jump in the water and walk ashore. Once we were all on land we were welcomed into the village by the whole community by singing and shaking hands. We had to shake everyone single persons hand including the kids as we entered off the beach. Then we were given a lei and a fresh coconut, not a bad way to visit a place. Next was speeches and big meal. Check out what I had to try and eat with my own personal community member fly swatter. Was a bit strange eating a whole meal with 100 people watching and a women waving a banana leave over my food the whole time but at least it was not for me but for the king. After that we walked out to a lake on the island which was a bit strange for it small size then headed back. On the way back we saw whales and dolphins. The Marshallese told me this was a sign that something big and important was about to happen. I told them that maybe the water and sanitation system would start working. They all laughed hysterically.

Eneko island

2011-07-31T22:39:00.000-06:00

went out to eneko island last weekend with for the night with another advisor and my supervisor from Australian who was here visiting. It is a small island, or as my friend Nick says, ilet since it is still part of the Majuro Atoll with maybe only two families on it. Small, i kayaked from one end to the other in about 10 minutes.. Anyway it was great weather with rains on and off. Caught a double rainbow just after snorkeling

drinking water?

2011-07-20T17:57:00.001-06:00

Anyone want a drink? This is a shot of one of the Majuro water reservoirs. Yumm.

Work is going well, had a visit from my boss and AusAid this week and looking at upcoming projects here. I am a bit more settled in my house now, had the delivery of my a couch last week and now have a great place to sit. Also had some fans and screen doors installed so am starting to feel more relaxed at home, no internet yet though. Although, I did see my first rat, he ate all my cucumber and tomato seedlings, Ahh.

Will be going out to a small island this weekend and be back just in time to download and watch the end of Le Tour about a day after it actually happens. Go Cadel! Then will be off on tues again, flying over to the second island I will be working on, Ebeye. We get to go through a US airforce base which is there and apparently there is a subway and good shopping, like a little mini amerika. My counterpart says I will have a traditional welcome out there which is cool. He knows the senators and I am sure means a big party with lots of food. Anyway will let you know how it goes.

sunrise

2011-07-14T15:28:00.000-06:00

Due to popular demand here are some slightly better shots of my new home for the next year. This is the back porch onto the beach, the sunrise this morning, and me.

Things are well here, has been quite rainy. Had our first miny crisis at work today when one of the drinking water pumps failed. It was installed 10 yrs ago and never had any maintenance done, not even a change of oil. Woops. Off to it...

fisherman's day

2011-07-11T17:31:00.001-06:00

The week I arrived here in Majuro there happened to be a holiday, fisherman's day. Its supposedly the only place in the world to honor fishermen with their own holiday. The big event of the weekend was the annual Billfish tournament and I managed to get myself onto a boat on sat and sunday. It was awesome to be on a boat with true locals who really knew what they were doing. We brought in marlin, yellowfin tuna, barracuda, and others. Check out this fish we caught on day two. It was the smallest one.

Sunday bike ride

2011-07-11T17:24:00.000-06:00

Went for a sunday morning ride down to the end of the island, only about 30 miles rt with two new friends, possibly the only other bike enthusiasts on the island. Saw an unussal sight. Anyone ever seen a boat built out of a wheel barrow and 4in rigged insulation. Paddle made of palm tree branch.

first week

2011-07-07T23:29:00.000-06:00

The end of my first full week has been great and I on the high end of optimism. I am sure I will soon learn really what is going on here and get jaded and pessimistic, but for now it is all smiles. Besides the first week flying by there has been tons great initiatives happening here that I will get to be a part of. I have been fortunate to walk in here with multiple wheels already turning with the development of the sector and improvement of the water supply and sanitation systems. There is a policy process that has already begun and at least two donor funded projects that are expecting my input to finalize. My counterparts at the Water and Sewer Company also have some good energy. Like me they are also somewhat new and young and believe we can really do something here. It is the weekend, so see ya!

Here is a picture of one my counterparts Wani in our office.

2011-07-07T19:37:00.000-06:00

The view from my new place on to beach and ocean. Well really it is the lagoon on the interior of the atoll. See google earth to see what I mean. Sorry for the picture quality as it was taken from my phone. Will send better copy once I get my bags unpacked.

Life is tough.
lv jesse

My new home

2011-07-07T19:32:00.001-06:00

Not bad eh?

I'm back, sort of...

2011-07-05T23:39:00.002-06:00

Hey all, so I am back, online that is, and decided to get this blog going again. Of course this means that I am in fact gone back overseas. So...

Here I am in the Marshall Islands. enjoy and keep in touch.

Rio

2009-02-02T17:29:00.003-07:00

Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro. Not a great shot but proof I was there. The guy in the front is selling grilled cheese. A rio must.

From the left Joao, Catherine, Beck, and Me at a hilltop castle in Lisbon. If you can believe it this was on the way from Brazil to Mozambique. Due to a missed connection, the fault of the airline, we were rerouted through Portugal and had about 10hrs to tool around. Oh yeah it was O degrees and we were packed for the beach. If you look closely we are all wearing 4 or 5 shirts.

xmas trip

2009-02-02T16:43:00.004-07:00

Which one is the real Superman?

Hyena with a leg in its mouth in Kruger national reserve, South Africa.

Me with a alligator on the amazon.

Rio

2009-01-02T10:09:00.002-07:00

got back to rio this morning after three days at the parallel universe music festival. The festival was amazing! It was on the beach, imagine paradise beach, with three stages and maybe 30,000 people. There were no hotels and everyone was in tents on the beach. Tired of the music just go to the beach or get a acai, a wonderful smoothy like drink made of fresh fruit, then back to the music. New years eve was quite exciting including lazer show and fireworks and I even danced until dawn.

There is a weird trend here at the beach to wear a utility type belt with all your valuables instead of say a backpack. I guess it is less likely to get stolen. I got to say it looks quite funny with a brazilian bikini although it does mean there are hundreds of tomb raider look-a-likes on the beach. Not bad.

I have the next five days here in rio checking out the sites, enjoying more beach, and meeting up with friends. It has been tough to find a hotel because everything is sold out with the new year so we just got a nice apartment for the week near the beach in the famous ipanema. hope you all had a nice new years. i will upload pics soon i promise. Check ya later

jesse

merry xmas

2008-12-29T01:26:00.002-07:00

just found out my bf phil is engaged to my other bf liz. congrats

i am in sao paulo airport in brazil on the way to salvador where we will rent a car to drive to the Univeral Parallel music festival for the next three days invluding New Years. i am looking forward to four days in a bathing suit eating friend food, drinking brazilian beer, and dancing all night. Got to try it once right? There we will meet back up with my brasilian friend we left behind in rio.

Three of us just left manaus where we spent three nights in the amazon basin at a river lodge, one night in the jungle. It was a great time, even got hold a aligator, catch piranas, and build my own shelter in the jungle. We ate a lot of fish and even had caparinhas, my new favorite drink, for xmas dinner, i just about forgot about xmas all together but the group reminded us. I have some great pictures but will have to wait for the cable which is in my checked luggage, probably from rio when we get back there next week.

I hope everyone had a nice xmas. sorry i didnt get anyone a present but i just know i am thinking of you all. happy new years and give a kiss to someone you love. Me, i will be looking for a beasutiful brazilian babe.

jesse

Bom natal

2008-12-23T13:07:00.002-07:00

\hey all,

Well it has been almost 9 months since my last post. Lots has happened and i will try and sum it up quickly. I have been back and forth to the US twice, once to finish my master´s and once for my friend, /thad´s wedding. Both were successful. My brother also met someone and got married in june/july. I am single again. I have finally changed jobs and know now for sure that I will be in /east /timor another 2 years. Starting in Jan I will be Sanitation advisor to the Ministry of Health. Since I am in between things I am writting you from Manaus, Brazil on the amazon. I have come with some friends to Brazil for the holidays. I will drop the details later but will be going to Mozambique in Jan for a week as well before returning to ET to start my shall I say career. Last week I had malaria and typhoid if you can believe it. It was actually quick and only new I had it after I was better and got a blood test. Only one day fever, amazing. Tomorrow we are heading up the amazon for a four day jungle trip. I am told I will build my own shelter in the jungle and will be grabbing small gators with my hands the first day? Anyway things are good. Merry x-mas and happy new year. hope everyone is well. love, jesse

SNOW

2008-04-11T10:38:00.002-06:00

Ya. I thought it was spring too?

Holy Snow!

2008-03-27T12:01:00.002-06:00

Just after take off the pilot rings in to let us know that the fasten seat belt sign is off and we are free to roam about the cabin. He also added that the weather in Houghton is breezy with a fresh dusting of snow. "What the @$#! Isn't it supposed to be spring?"This was my reaction yesterday as I was flying back to MI after almost 3 years abroad. I knew it would be colder than the tropics but was hoping for somewhat spring weather. Unfortunately my flipflops were not the best choice for footwear that day. Once inside the terminal I scrambled for my shoes and every piece of clothing I could find. It is winter here. The cannal is forzen and there is more than a dusting of snow. There is still skiing! That was the wonderful end to my three day trip from Timor back to school in Michigan. It started off a bit better with about 24hrs in Bali filled with good food and massages. Then about 8hrs in Narita, Japan on layover. I made it out to some temples and sushi. Pictures will follow.

I am now back on campus and working to get an office, my computer online, and start the work on my master's report. Last night I had a warm welcome, as it happened it was the night of the Peace Corps monthly social. Just off the plane I was in a pub with pizza and beer and meeting new student and old friends. I hope to run into a couple more old friends today that I have heard are around. My jet lag is still pretty heavy so think I will head back for a nap here in a bit. talk to ya again soon with some pictures. paz

Bike

2008-03-12T18:06:00.000-06:00

Dili is still extremely calm, which is due mostly to “State of Siege” in which there have been virtually no security incidents in a couple weeks. So, other than the 10pm curfew it has been back to normal life in Timor for us expats. I have been putting my new bike to use or at least getting out two times a week. It has been a big advantage on the flats but seems to be a disadvantage on the mountains as it has the wrong gear ratios for the steeps.

Last two weeks have been chalked full of birthdays so we have been partying within the best of our ability under the curfew. This weekend got a bit routy after a four or five hour stint of karaoke. The next day was International Women’s day. I did my best to honor women by letting my girlfriend pick movies while I made lunch. Unfortunately this resulted in watching two Mandy Moore movies back to back. Ouch, the sacrifices men have to make. I did fall asleep during one.

I have a busy schedule this month. This weekend I am going to Maubissie with some friends and we will ride our bikes back. It will be the first true test for my bike in the mountains. We may have a group of 10 which will be exciting. Then next week my girlfriend’s parents are coming to Timor for a visit and we are going to travel to Jaco island for the Easter weekend. I will get to help show them around and visit my host family a bit. The proceeding Monday I am flying back to the US. Although this time not for a visit home but to Michigan to try and finish my master’s report. After that it will be directly back to Timor and back to work.

Pics

2008-02-15T02:04:00.005-07:00

Things are still calm in Dili. They have extended the curfew to 10 days which sucks. No one on the streets "after 8pm or you must be a rebel!"

Information that has come out so far seems to point out that the attack on the Pres and PM a botched kidnapping. It seems to also be the most likely scenario especially acknowledging other recent events such as the president meeting him only days early with no security and the actions of some of the petitioners dialogging with the government separately.

On a different note, here are some photos that I promised in a previous post.
1. Me (after a bike ride) and the new baby Jesse.
2. Me after a fight with a bee.

Unfortunately the government internet system is down with little hope that it will be fixed quickly. I have been using other options but they provide fairly undependable service. I am still ok for email every couple days but internet content in photos is virtually impossible. Enjoy. Yeah curfew!

Assassination attempt

2008-02-11T17:14:00.000-07:00

Just to let you that I am ok and things are really calm here. Things are safe and I am back at work today. You may have seen on the news that Alfredo tried to kill the President and the Prime Minister yesterday. The President was shot and is now in Australia in stable but serious condition. Yesterday was a bit crazy pumped with adrenaline. I had some friends who were closely involved and even got a play by play of the gun battle. We are under a state of siege and have a curfew. Everything is quite calm in the streets but we are waiting it out to see if there is some reaction to Alfredo’s death. I will keep in touch. Hope all is well at home. lv

This is how I roll

2008-02-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

5/2/08

When I went home in December I decided it best that I return my work vehicle, which is rented, as I would be gone over a month. Now that I have returned the vehicle is no longer available to rent. My work was able to get another vehicle but of a quite different style. I am now driving a Honda civic automatic which is quite low to the ground with a rumble muffler, tinted windows, AC, and a CD player. Everyone asks about my car now and I just reply “this is how I roll.”

Bees

2008-02-11T17:01:00.000-07:00

4/2/08

I am so disappointed I haven’t blogged in almost five months but I am determined to get back on track. I could say I was busy or sick or something but really I just got lazy. Now I am back and instead of writing one long post with everything that has gone on in the last five months I will just continue to blog and hopefully the past will present itself.

Yesterday I went for a bike ride which resulted in the following picture. Less than one hundred feet from my destination was swarm of bees which I happened to ride through. Like bullets they bounced off my helmet and face. One lucky one got logged between my helmet and sunglasses. Only seconds later fending for its life as I swatted and shook it went for the kill. Fortunately I am over two hundred pounds and it probably weighs 2 oz so I survived but only nearly with these wounds.

The destination was Metinaro where my roommate Sarah was placed during Peace Corps. One of the families she is close with just had a new baby and guess what they named it…Jesse. Yep and not randomly either. Sarah had actually suggested it. Sarah now calls it my namesake so I thought it important I go for a visit. The baby looks great and seemed to take a bit of a likening to me. The Timorese think it is hilarious and we spent the afternoon trying to decide how to distinguish between us. Either big Jesse and little Jesse. Or white Jesse and black Jesse. At this point either one gets a laugh. This now accounts for at least the fifth Jesse in Timor that I know of. Me, other peace corps Jesse, jess my girlfriend (see told you the past was coming), jesse my friend Catherine’s sister, and the new baby. Watch out we are taking over and your neighborhood is next.

Halai 5km

2007-10-08T17:38:00.000-06:00

Last weekend was a 5km race in Dili put on by Timor Telecom, the communications monopoly here. It was a lot of fun and had a good turn out which inlcuded predominately Timorese. If you can believe it my huge posterior actually joined in all the fun too. Here is a picture of me running into the finish. I still don't believe I finished the race in the 4pm heat with my steady regiment of beer drinking and pasta consumption but somehow I managed to stay in the middle of the pack. Also running was my roommate Sarah, shown in the next photo, and another friend Nelson. Sarah did quite well, infact she came in second for the women. The top five finishers for men and women received prizes. Sarah won something which they kept calling a "wifi," we can only assume it was some kind of stero thingy. As the good humanitarian though after trying to give it the next girl in line ended up giving it to the sixth place girl. We waited all the way unitl last night and the race was finally on TV. We all huddled around the home owners TV and caught the amazing 90sec broadcast. Surprisingly or not we all made it on. Nelson and I were only flashes as we ran across the screen or where in the back ground you could see my hair but Sarah got the hard time. They aired her 20second section of the prize ceremony. Funny she was the only one to later give it away. Para benz.

Bball Finals

2007-10-05T01:32:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of the Ministry Natrual Resources, Minerals, and Energy (MRNMEP) basketball team. I am the one in the center. No way! Amazingly we have made it into the finals which will be played later this month. So far we have lost only one game, which was by only one point and against the team we will now have to play again in the Final. We are but humble water or electricity workers whereas their team has three of the East Timor national squad.

Timorese are quite small and the uniform doesn't quite fit so well as you can tell. I had to use another pair of shorts. Unfortunelately our team receives a technical foul every game for this. Normally I would feel bad as I am the only foreigner in the entire tournament but I don't. One reason is I am not much better than most the players anyway. Also I do actually work in the Ministry and should be able to play, which is more than I can say for other teams which have clearly recruited outside their sections.

Anyway wish us luck in the Final and if you happen to be in Timor on October 18th, 3:25pm at the UNAMET(?) courts in Comoro give us a cheer.

Jago

2007-09-16T17:24:00.002-06:00

Back in Timor again after a relaxing and cleansing week in Bali. I have included just one photo from my second to last night when I went to see a traditional dance. It is the same one in the opening scene in Baraka the movie. You know with all the "click-click-click-ing" It was beautiful although a bit more catering to tourist then the one in the movie.

This weekend we were up for another trip especially since it was my roommate, Sarah's, Birthday. Sarah had always wanted to goto Jago island at the eastern tip of East Timor and this was a big reason to finally do it. 9 of us took the 7 hr car ride out. My car stopped in Baucau for Friday night to break up the long trip and I were able to spend a short bit of time with my family who were all well. It was interesting to hear their stories about the troubles in Baucau from last month when multiple buildings were burned down or damaged. All the buidings were in a rocks throw of their house which was quite scary. Even the preschool was burned out leaving the oldest child in the family, who is only 5, with no more school. Now he is back to being a trouble maker around the house. The UNpolice investigating the violence in Baucau in Viqueque from last month now say that the perpatrators were as much as 70% children under the age of 15. Can you imagine your 15 yr old burning down a government building or a school. I guess Timor needs some help with their parenting skills!

Jago and the new Eco lodge a local NGO is building there was beautiful as usual although it had hardly made any progress since I was there in Feburary. There has been major work done thoughout Los Palos though, especially to the roads which the project is improving for the eventual tourism. This trip we were able to visit some cave paintings near Jago which I never had time for before. It was only a short hike from the road and was well worth it. Although the actual paintings were mostly weathered and non-existent the location is amazing. The caves are not so much caves as overhangs on the bottom of huge cliffs. The spot is about 1km above the beach and overlooks Jago island. Awesome spot. I couldn't help but think it was the best rock climbing spot in the world although doubtful many have rock climbed there for sport. The location was actually quite developed with a path constructed during Indonesian occupation leading through the woods to the caves. It even had picnic tables in two spots. Some of the rocks on the ways were very smooth as if thousands of people had been to visit. No doubt it was a popular tourist attraction twenty years ago. They must of only recently cleared the path through the jungle as they are really fixing the area up for tourism. It was a great trip and even included the mandatory fish and coconut rice lunch on the beach the last day. mmm....

7 day fast

2007-09-04T03:15:00.000-06:00

I am in Ubud, Bali. I know I am lucky. This time just came for a week for my three month R&R. Not happy with the prospect of another vacation alone so I decided to make it worth while and booked myself into a health resort. I am now 4 days into a 7 day fast. Strictly speaking it is not a true fast as they give me supplements three times a day and fresh juice if i want it. I have also been doing yoga and meditation everyday, I have at least one massage, and colonics. So far it has been easy and I have just been real tired. Yesterday I took a mid day nap from 1pm to 7pm. Life is ruff. I think I am finally starting to detox now. My tongue has changed color and I have a light headache. The cravings for food are becoming stronger. What I would do for a pizza. I am done on friday and will go to Seminyak for another three days. I will be meeting up with some friends there. Hopefully will be doing some shopping and a day or two of surfing. Getty up! lv jesse

Rapid Assessment

2007-08-24T01:30:00.000-06:00

After a week delay a team was finally able to hop on a UN heli and fly out to Uatolari and Uatocarbau in the Viqueque district to due a rapid assessment after some unrest. Earlier this month multiple communities in these areas were burned down and pillaged by a large mob. Here is a photo just as we were re-boarding the helicopter after the assessment. It landed in the village soccer field.

Although the reality of the violence was not what had been suspected it was still quite bad. One village had almost every building burned to the ground including the school. Most of the other villages had only selected burned houses including this one pictured which happens to be right in front of the local police station in the rear.

Back in Dili things are good. Next week I am going to Bali for a 7 day fast and some relaxation. Will send an update from there. paz. jesse

Timor makes Wikipedia

2007-08-09T20:56:00.000-06:00

Timor makes Wikipedia front page news.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Jesse Shapiro

-----------------

IDP Technical Support & Service Advisor to

Direccao Nacional Aguas e Sanemento (DNAS) Timor Leste

Oxfam Australia

-----------------

jesses@oxfam.org.au

(+670) 732-6275

New Government

2007-08-08T04:20:00.000-06:00

Today Xanana was sworn in as Prime Minister and the new government announced. It was almost a clean sweep as the AMP alliance cleaned out most of the Fretilin government even the Minister of Health who was loved by all. Xanana has promised a lot, like most politicians, let’s just hope he can live up to some of it. Hey, I am an optimist. Quite a bit is going to change in the government besides just the changing of people as the structure has been changed. New ministries have been created even one for fisheries. Huh? People laughed as they heard announcements of certain ministries new ministers cause they believe they were inappropriate people or like the Ministry of Planning and Finance… who’s office was burned to the ground only yesterday by demonstrations alleging this illegal formation of the government. I don’t know what the constitution says but it does seem weird that Fretilin, with 30% of the vote and the winner of the election, has not been included in its formation. Oh well.

The department of water and sanitation will also be moved back under the Secretary of State along with Electricity and a new department called Urbanization. This looks real good for water and sanitation as the secretary of state has some technical background which will help to make good decisions. Only hours after being announced he even came by for a visit. That has got to be a great sign right? Laters

jesse

Wake boarding

2007-08-06T18:23:00.000-06:00

Not usually found in Timor are extreme sports but this past weekend we went wake boarding here in Dili. It was a blast. I think I might of found something similar to skiing and snowboarding which I still fantasize about since I haven’t even seen snow in almost three years. It was actually my second time and I was able to stand up and do some basic turns. The rough sea made it a bit tough and has given me the killer ache in the legs. One of our friends was quite good and could even jump the wake and do flips. Here is a picture of him upside down just in front of the Dili landmark Jesus statue, the second largest in the world. Guess if he landed it or not? Then one of me surfing the wake.

Yesterday was the moment East Timor has been waiting for, for over a year, when the new government is formed and partially announced starting with the prime minister. Surprise, Surprise… it is Xanana, who was previously president. Now the president and the prime minister have switched positions. Although we have waited for this moment to move forward with development again the political problems are not over. Fretilin the party that won the most seats in parliament do not support the new government and will start causing problems here in Dili. This morning there are already some illegal road blocks and stone throwing which is normal except not usually in the morning. NGOs are restricting movement of their employees so we are staying put to see how the situation develops. It is likely there will be little work for a couple days.

jesse

Best purchase I ever made

2007-07-30T17:15:00.001-06:00

This weekend decided again for another physical adventure. 7 of us including one Timorese whom had never ridden a bike more than a mile were off to Maibissi for the night. The plan was to ride the 65km through the mountains back to Dili on Sunday. Being extremely intelligent about things I decide to drink a whole bottle of wine the night we stayed in maibissi during a intense game of Taboo, men vs women, which was dominated by men*.

*This was following the logical and moral score keeping of rob (picture 2), on the boys team, in which we removed the points posted Sarah, on the girls team, who is the game owner and therefore has home field advantage. In some cases it was even relevant to count her scores as negatives. I must state the boys had additional difficulties as all members were from different continents whereas the girl’s team was all Americans.

The next day we climbed aboard our amazing cheap Indonesian made Wal-Mart quality performance machines and set out on the road. Although the 65km is mostly a decent, which was the main motivation for the trip, there were some tough hills. The longest about 15km and quite steep. On one particular decent as I approached the group on the side of the road who were taking a break I thought of pulling a skid to scare them. I will later say I was trying a trick, but really who knows cause I have forgotten to be honest. I thought it was no biggie as I have done it close to 1 billion times as a kid on the dirt roads in Canoncito. Of course what I forgot was I had just tightened my brakes for the long decent and had switched right with left because I was having trouble with the back. So what happens when you slam on your front break at 20 km/hr.? I would love to say a flawless endow 360 or a seesaw flip but instead I went over the handle bars head first into the ground.

10 Timorese who were standing right there and would normally laugh at any painful occurrence were dead silent. I think they thought I died. Even I lay there a moment to make sure I had all my pieces. Yes I did. In fact, I ended up with only minor scratches and cuts. The one time use helmet I thought was a necessary purchase only the morning before was cracked and had probably saved me.

We climbed back on a finished the remainder of the ride and pulled into Dili about 2:30 a half hour before the cutoff for free sticky date putting from Castaways, a local treat promised to us by Rob if we arrived before 3. Took us just under 7 hrs. It was a sweet victory.

Mantebian at last!

2007-07-30T17:08:00.001-06:00

So two weekends ago a group of us managed to finally get out of town with the objective of climbing Matebian mountain, the second tallest in Timor, which is quite difficult or at least more so than the tallest, Ramelou. We took a night in Baucau where I got to visit with my host family again before heading to the base on Saturday morning. From there 8 of us headed for the top. We were unsure where we would actually make it in order to camp but wanted to get as close to the top as possible. Exhausted, in the dark and wet from rain we made it to a spot with some traditional sacred houses that had been abandoned about 2 hrs under the summit. This was our lodging.

By then we had also managed to drag along a posy of about 8 children which kept requesting to be our guides. The 7 foreigners and 1 Timorese in our party had food, clothing, tents, water, shoes, and jackets whereas the children had nothing. I was sure they would die during the night of the cold or maybe hunger but that was not the case. In fact, if the cold and uncomfortable conditions didn’t keep us awake it was definitely the children’s singing which lasted until about 5 am at which point someone actually flipped out and yelled at them. The sun broke that morning revealing a absolutely amazing view into Baucau district below (first pic). Arriving the night before in the rain, darkness, and clouds did not prepare us for what we say that morning. Matebian is quite steep and can only imagine it is similar to what mountaineers see when they ice climb steep mountains.

Unfortunately the night was not kind to us all and most had trouble getting up unless to throw up or take a long trip to the bushes. After trying to motivate the crew it was to be only two of us who would go on for the summit. Even I was feeling a bit queasy having to use those same bushes myself twice already by 7am. We left camp with one more motivated member and had a total of seven including the guide and three children with only t-shirts and no shoes. After one more trip to the bushes we made the summit in only hr and a half. Fog covered the accent but suddenly opened up a 180 view when we hit the top (second pic). The decent was hard on the legs and felt like stacks of jello by the time we hit the cars. We travelled all the way back to Dili for a Kalan bo’ot arrival of 9pm. All I got to say is the hurt of the next two days was severe.

Rice harvest

2007-07-18T20:53:00.000-06:00

During the first presidential election this year my Baucau host family had been in a motorcycle accident just after voting. It wasn’t good especially with the five of them on the one bike. Only my host mom and the 1.5yr old who she was holding fell of the back of the bike and were hurt. The baby bumped it’s head and my host mom cut her face quite bad. It is amazing to me for one that five people can fit on a bike and secondly that given the risk with three children under 5 they drive that dam fast and with no helmets. Anyway it is normal here. I think Timorese are either really good drivers (NOT) or just extremely lucky, if not people would be dying daily.

On Saturday I spent the day in the Natar (rice patty) with my host dad watching as they divided up the rice harvest. It was fun to see their traditional method for how it is done. There was a bit of chanting which we had trouble translating into Tetun from their local language but I got the idea. They kept asking God for thanks and making sure that the soil and water is healthy for the next year’s harvest. We then killed a goat and ate it with rice right in the natar. They took palm leaves and quickly wove bowls and spoons for all of us. At sun down we climbed back in the car and headed home where I was of course forced to eat again, not that I am complaining.

Election

2007-07-10T17:40:00.001-06:00

The election is over, but are the problems in Timor? For now the answer is no. It seems we have stumbled upon a weak part of the constitution and it is now under debate. Fretilin won the election although only has around 30% of the vote. All the other winning parties decided to immediately form a coalition contacting the remaining 70%. Now they are debating over whether Fretilin can just form a minority government or that the coalition which does not contain the election winner can form the government. The debate is over two words in the constitution alliance and coalition. Fretilin says they are not the same and the rest say they are. Of course the debate is on the Portuguese words in which the constitution is written and which many Timorese poorly understand and don’t know well enough to speak. Getty up.

Jesse

Bibi maten

2007-07-01T23:15:00.000-06:00

Last week I had a meeting in an IDP Camp with the site coordinator. When I arrived there was a crowd surrounding a person lying on the ground. The site coordinator was already there and was quite worried as he was having trouble getting questions answered. There was a woman was unconscious on the ground. She was breathing and had a pulse but was totally out. A man held her and claimed to be her husband. He said this has happened multiple times before and it was due to black magic. Previous times he has brought her to a spiritual healer which helps her regain consciousness. We sort of debated for a minute what to do. They said they had already called the ambulance and there was no answer. I agreed to do what the husband wanted which was give them a ride to the spiritual healer. I did and upon arrival realized the healer was a some type of martial arts master. Anyway there were many police around so we just dropped them off and went back to work. I still don’t know what the right thing to do was. Morally I did what I thought was right, follow the wishes of the husband. Although according to INGOs and such I probably should of only called the ambulance.

Then late in the afternoon I got pick up some 1400 plastic jerry cans and deliver then to the airport to catch a helicopter ride to Suai, a southern part of Timor which has recently had a large flood. All the bridges have been knocked out so helicopter is the only way in. Some Oxfam staff got to go along on the ride to do an assessment. Unfortunately I didn’t get to go but maybe next time.

This weekend was the parliamentary election which went off well. There were very few problems reported even less than the previous two elections this year. I heard of some people voting multiple times, some police restricting media access, and patients in clinics not being able to vote although prisoners were allowed. We should get the initial results of the election early this week with official results at the end of the week which hopefully won’t result in any violence outbreaks. So far it Fretilin in the lead followed by CNRT as expected.

Jesse Shapiro

-----------------

IDP Technical Support & Service Advisor to

Direccao Nacional Aguas e Sanemento (DNAS) Timor Leste

Oxfam Australia

-----------------

jesses@oxfam.org.au

(+670) 732-6275

Halo tinan

2007-06-26T00:59:00.000-06:00

I’m back. Sarah and I moved into a new house. It is a bit smaller than our last place which is a good thing. Our new place is perfect for the two of us with no wasted space. We had some significant upgrades in lifestyle as well. We have a hot water shower now which I is nicer than I originally thought. We also share the building with a Timorese family that owns the rental so we have our own Timorese security detail. The location is also great and I have only a 2 minute commute to work each day.

The election is coming up and is only a couple days away now on the 30^th. It is still highly contested with a couple possible outcomes. Security has been ok although there seems to be an increase in violence in some parts of the country causing some new IDP camps to form. One in Dili although the people came from out of town and one in Ermera district. Life in Dili is calm and fairly normal.

Work is good and I am settling into my new position. It interesting to be involved directly with the processes that affect so many. The vulnerabilities and complications of the government are not simple. For now I am trying to patient and learn as much as possible.

Jesse Shapiro

-----------------

IDP Technical Support & Service Advisor to

Direccao Nacional Aguas e Sanemento (DNAS) Timor Leste

Oxfam Australia

-----------------

jesses@oxfam.org.au

(+670) 732-6275

Roda Kuak

2007-06-26T00:57:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday I went out to my car to find it had a flat tire. Whether the work of a trouble maker or just all the multiple sharp objects I encounter everyday this was a common occurrence. Before I could do anything I had two Timorese there asking, really almost begging to give me a hand. As I had just showered and was clean I took them up on their offer. When I tried to help they just shooed me away. They made quick work of the change although as usual they had a bit of trouble getting the jack in the right place to get the car high enough. They had to run off and get some random hunk of metal which added to the jacks height. I tried to tell them they were putting the jack in the wrong place but they didn’t listen. They finished and I was off. I offered thanks and to buy them cigarettes but they were already satisfied and had their own.

Jesse Shapiro

-----------------

IDP Technical Support & Service Advisor to

Direccao Nacional Aguas e Sanemento (DNAS) Timor Leste

Oxfam Australia

-----------------

jesses@oxfam.org.au

(+670) 732-6275

Timor fali

2007-06-11T01:13:00.001-06:00

Monday morning I packed my bags had lunch with some friends and made it to the Albuquerque airport for my return to Timor. When I tried to check-in I was informed my ticket had been cancelled that morning at 4am. Well, I was at Albuquerque airport, I had no cell phone, all my friends were at work, what was one to do? Who was responsible? I grabbed my bags and huffed it about 200m across the street to the nearest hotel with Internet (ABQ airport has no Internet). From there I found out that my ticket had been cancelled due to some confusion over payment. I was stuck in ABQ. I called a friend and got back to my brother's house where I got on the Internet and purchased new ticket. Unfortunately I was only able to get on the wait list for the flight from LAX to Hong Kong. When I got to LAX the next day the decision proved itself. The flight was overbooked so I lost another day and was stuck in LA. Because of the the flight timing I didn't do much but hang in the hotel and use the hot tub over and over. Not too bad actually. Wednesday I finally got on a flight for Asia. With another night in Bali I screeched into Timor on Saturday morning in just under 6 days. Woo. Back at last.

I am outta here!

2007-05-08T20:52:00.001-06:00

It has been 10 months and I am finally taking a trip back home. i can't wait to see all of you. I am flying to Bangkok today for two nights check in with the dentist and doctors. Got to get at least one of those a year. I am then flying straight into AZ to meet dad, brother, and fam for another Jesse's wedding. From there it is NM then NY the PA then NM and back to Timor. It will be a quick three weeks no doubt. I hope to see you along the way. paz

jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
IDP Technical Support & Service Advisor
Direccao Nacional Aguas e Sanemento (DNAS) Timor Leste and
Oxfam Australia
jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Re:

2007-04-24T04:26:00.001-06:00

Just about sums it up.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/JAK308090.htm

I started laughing when the argument to keep Portuguese is "it is needed to be fully itself"

Going to America

2007-04-19T18:30:00.001-06:00

Wow, has it really been a month since my last post. Sorry. Anyway things are good. I just got back from Bali again after a week there for a Timor friend's wedding. The wedding was amazing although it is hard not to be when in Bali.

I have decided to go back to the US finally. Although work with Plan for the last 5 months has been great and challenging I have gradually grown less and less happy with the situation here. The weight of the security situation as well as the distance from home has continued to bear down on me and have decided to finish up position by May. Additionally with the passing of my grandfather I need a visit with family. I will be flying home in early may to attend a couple weddings as well as visit with family.

Although this will not be permanent as I have just accepted another position here in Timor.. The position is for three months to work directly with the water and sanitation department of the Timorese government. I will be an advisor to the cheif of urban water supply. This job is an excellent opportunity and I can't pass it up.

As you may of seen on the international news Timor has just had the first round of the presidential election here and it went off surprisingly well. It looks as though things are actually calming down and getting better although there still seems to be a lot of tension in the street. I think it will be fine and the signs are all around. This week what used to be the largest market in Dili has started to come back almost doubling in size in a couple days. It seems people are feeling safer and thinking about returning home.

I hope to see some of you soon! I will be in Tucson, AZ in early may followed by NM then Rochester, NY then Philadelphia, then back to NM. Take care
love jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
Water and Sanitation Engineer
Plan International
jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Calma Fali

2007-03-12T01:29:00.000-06:00

Wut up y'all. The security situation here has been good the last couple days. In fact, we haven't had a single security incident in almost 5 days which is unusual. It is incredibly calm on the streets. I moved back into my house and spent the whole weekend there. It was nice to be in my own place again. In Dili everyone has returned to work, all stores are open, and people seem to feel security is good. Last week when the Timorese military came to town everyone stepped into line quick. They are afraid of the Timorese military unlike the international forces because the Timorese will actually punish someone. There was some violence suspected as a verdict from the trail of Lobato came out last week. Although it didn't happen. Turns out he actually got jail time although only 7.5 yrs for 4 counts of manslaughter. It was enough time not to upset some people and not extreme enough to upset others. It seems to have been a political verdict decision, but who knows. So things are calm again at least until the presidential election on April 9th. take care. lv jesse

metinaro pics

2007-03-06T00:16:00.000-07:00

Water truck filling at the well we rehabilitated in Metinaro drastically reducing our expenses and increasing our water trucking efficiency.

My crew building a pit latrine. As you can see we a firm belief in safety. We also have the standard "guy leaning on a shovel", a guy sitting down, and the comic relief pointing at there shotty work.

Here we are finishing up a temporary 5 latrine block in the Metinaro IDP camp.

2007-03-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

Finally able to upload a picture. Here is me at work doing a water survey in November.

More news

2007-03-05T18:18:00.001-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6418299.stm

Back in the doo doo

2007-03-04T23:04:00.001-07:00

Got back into Timor last night after a week in Bali. I ended up doing just what I needed to and nothing more. a little shopping the first day then just relaxed the remainder of the week. I was going to go for a hike, go surfing, go to ubud, and some other stuff but just decided sitting by the pool, eating well, and hanging about was a better. I did end up going to a good dance club which I haven't done since coming back to Timor and got my dancing feet going again. But really I just slept a lot.

I came back to Timor just as security has begun to get worse. Timor is on the international news again. You can read about it on bbc and cnn. Tension has risen and most people are not going to work, they are just waiting to see if the violence blows over. I have asked that none of my staff come to work this week as it doesn't seem worth the risk. Although we will keep some basic services going such as water trucking as it is important and could make things worse if it was stopped. It is frustrating as we can't get work done in this automosphere. I don't know but best case scenario for East Timor doesn't look great and worse case probably means civil war. Who knows really with tons of rumors flying around. I am pessimistic about Timor future but optimistic that the violence and political instability will not get worse. The upcoming elections do seem unlikely to happen though and violence will probably continue at its current level. AVI has decided to evacuate Timor again which is not a good sign.

The situation near my house is not great so sarah have are not staying there right now. Our area is not bad but two really bad areas are on either side of us. We got out yesterday after I returned and are now staying with friends. As I left my house there was an illegal road block just down the street with glass rocks and maybe 50 youth. They waved my by as to get me out before they were about the fight. We will definitely wait until it gets a bit calmer before going back. anyway still safer that US and way more interesting. lv jesse

jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Bali

2007-03-04T22:34:00.001-07:00

Safe and sound in Bali at last! Bali is gorgeous. It is weird being
in a real city again it is sort of making my head spin but i am on top
of it.

I left timor on Saturday with my giant duffel bag, an extra change of
underwear, my swim suit, and my toiletries. Basically not much. when
i got in I went straight to bed. Woke up the next day to rain and
decided to jump into it early and get shopping out of the way. I went
to the mall and bought some new clothes and a laptop. With all that
out of the way I am going to spend the rest of my time relaxing on a
beach somewhere.

I met up with some other Timor people who are also in Bali last night for
dinner. we ate at a french restaurant on the edge of some rice
patties. It was quite spectacular, food and atmosphere.

Now i am at the beach near my hotel and making the hard
decisions...where to get a massage? paz and lv

jesse

The worst of weeks

2007-02-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

Although I am excited to finally take a vacation at the end of next week I have had a rough week. First off I have been told that my grandfather well and is in the hospital. My mom and brother have gone to see him and are keeping me informed. Second due to a financial problem at work I had to fire 16 workers over night. It is amazing how making a decision and executing it like that is really so difficult. It was complicated by the fact that they were all good workers and were given no warning. I really felt bad and couldn't eat much all day or sleep a wink. These men were my friends and they used to trust me. This is really my first time ever managing people so I guess it I have taken it a bit hard. Being someones boss sounds all good until you have to do the dirty work. Especially when it is someone else's. This experience has made me look forward to my coming vacation even more than before. I just need a bit of an escape from this world to reorient myself. Cheers,

lv jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
Water and Sanitation Engineer
Plan International
jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Vacation

2007-02-13T00:55:00.000-07:00

After 7 months back in Timor I have arranged to finally have a small vacation. At the end of Feb I will be going to Bali for a week. This is a common destination for people to go to from Timor especially when they need a short holiday or a visa run. I am so excited. I have been so jealous after I have seen most foreigners leave once, twice, and some four times for Bali just in the last 7 months. I don't know what I will be doing. Probably what everyone does. Sit on the beach and relax, have a beer, maybe go see a temple. Anyway I need it as Timor is starting to get to me. I will leave on feb 24th and be back in Timor on the 4th. Join me if you can. paz

lv jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
Water and Sanitation Engineer
Plan International
jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Look! Timor has traffic signals?

2007-02-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was the beginning of a new age in Timor. The first traffic lights in Dili began working. Recently everyone watched as they were erected and sat dormant for maybe a month or so. Everyone in Dili theorized about what would happen when they turned on. How were they to work when electricity goes on and off multiple times a day for hours at a time? We also imagined the chaos and wrecks when some cars follow the lights and others didn't. Well this week we all got to see.

Thursday morning I was driving through a central area where there is common violence problems, the Jardim. I saw a large crowd ahead in the road and heard lots of noise. I immediately slowed down but soon realized that it was just the new traffic lights that cars were slowing down for. At the intersection was a large gathering of mostly youth all watching as if were a comedy show. As everyone, even taxis, stopped on red and went on green. The crowd pointed, shouted, and laughed. Cars actually came to a complete stop.

It is now four days later and I have not seen any accidents yet. Most people seem to actually be following the lights and the system seems to be working. My only complaint is that the light pole was built directly at the line in the road you are supposed to stop at. So when you stop there it is difficult to actually see the light. If you go past by even a meter it is impossible to know when the light changes. Anyway lets hope it continues to work. paz

lv jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
Water and Sanitation Engineer
Plan International
jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Photos of Timor's struggle

2007-01-21T23:28:00.000-07:00

Check these out.

http://www.dominicnahr.com/gallerytimor01.html

--
Jesse Shapiro
Water and Sanitation Engineer
Plan International
jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Leaving the PC behind and coming back to Timor.

2007-01-18T02:18:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all. Things are good and busy.

Some peace corps volunteers have started to return to Timor for visits and to look for work. They include Joe and Sarah C who used to live on the island. Sarah M also returned last week to start work with Tais. My group is making a serious come back! oh yeah, that is a challenge.

Cedric and Jen came back from their vacation and are now married. Para benz! Just as my house sitting gig ended for them I found a great house in town. Sarah m and I just moved in this week and are enjoying are new place. It is in Villa Verde and is an old Portuguese house which is great because it has revolutionary things like good ventilation and passive lighting. It is also got colored concrete floors, a good layout, high ceilings, and ac. I think we were real lucky on this one.

All the foreigners are coming back from vacation now. It makes me real depressed when everyone of them asks what I did as I have not much to say but I do like their stories. I am quite jealous. I have just realized I have been here over 6 months with no vacation. I gotta do something about that.

Work is great. Water and Sanitation at Plan is going strong and we now have close to 40 staff, most who are dedicated to the emergency work. We have made some changes and looks like we will separate the emergency and development programs here. This will work out well and keep things from dragging down the development program. It is also good for me as I will now be running the emergency water and sanitation side. We are still discussing it though as no one knows how long the emergency will last, in fact Timor has basically moved beyond the emergency. My first week at Plan the Metinaro refugee camp had 3L of water per person per day. Now we are at 17 or 18. That is good news and is one indicator that Timor is moving away from the emergency. Although no one knows what could happen once the election starts later this year.. We will all just have to wait and see.

I will write again soon. Hope y'all are well. take care. lv jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
Water and Sanitation Engineer
Plan International
jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Happy holidays

2006-12-22T02:26:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas and happy new year to everyone!

--
Jesse Shapiro
Water and Sanitation Engineer
Plan International
jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Address

2006-12-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

I got a PO Box in Timor.

Jesse Shapiro

PO BOX 223

Dili, East Timor

(via Darwin Australia)

paz jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
Water and Sanitation Engineer
Plan International
jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Rain

2006-12-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

Hello y'all, I am now into my third week at Plan working with water and sanitation in 14 IDP camps. I will extend my contract to at least the end of January and see how the work progresses from there. The work has continued to be challenging with long hours. The situation in these camps is anywhere from desperate to pitiful to ok but has only gotten worse with the rains. Although it rained a bit last week it wasn't that big of a downpour. Yesterday was the first big rain and it has started to cause some real problems especially in the Jardin and Metinaro camps. Sanitation and Drainage is and will be big problems in the quickly approaching weeks. The security situation has been the same but could change as the rains become more frequent. Yesterday the rains started to cause some tension as some people had there tents and house washed away with all there belongings in Metinaro. My boss at plan, Dinesh, has left on vacation and another foreigner has come in as his replacement. Ian has been here a couple days already and is great to work with. Just like me he feels more at home in the field then sitting in an office so we are dividing up the work with more of a focus on the priorities in the IDP camps, which is great. Now the amount of work for one is more manageable. I think I start getting more sleep at nights at least.

One big success we had this week was cleaning out and pump testing a well I identified about 5km from the camp which proved successful. We now have plans to truck water from this well to the camp rather than from Dili which is the current situation. We will develop a system for filling a truck to deliver the water in the next week or so if everything goes well and can begin to bring the IDP's in metinaro a larger supply of drinking water.

Today I will start living in my ex-boss's house closer into town as he is off to New Zealand for a couple weeks to get married. I will be keeping an eye on their cat, busa, which means cat in Tetun. It will be nice to stay in a proper house for a while as theirs is well decorated and even has a couch. Take care. Happy holidays. lv jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
Water and Sanitation Engineer
Plan International
jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

2006-12-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

Health Promotion in a school in Manatutu during Triangle's water and sanitation program.

2006-12-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Me, Ann, Dave, and Jesse on the top of Ramalau. Highest mountain in Timor

2006-12-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

Look I am actually working. I am doing a water pipeline survey in the mountains of Aileu.

2006-12-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

From left to right: Kiyoe, Erin, Bree, Dave, Ann, Jesse, Jesse, Penny, and Ron on a sailboat a couple weekends ago.

2006-12-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

View from small hilltop in the Metinaro IDP camp.

East Timor email list

2006-12-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

It has recently become aware to me that my blog postings are forwarded around on a East Timor email list. I was not previously aware of this and did not give my consent, but it is not much of a problem as the blog is publicly available on the internet. I would just like to mention that the main purpose of this blog is communication with my friends and family, mainly in the US. It is not to be taken as a chronicle of my life or as a commentary on East Timor. Mainly just to let my friends and family in on a bit of what I am doing and maybe some funny stories. Anyway if you still like reading. Enjoy.

--
Jesse Shapiro
Water and Sanitation Engineer
Plan International
jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Timor Calendar

2006-12-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

BUY A BEAUTIFUL CALENDAR FROM EAST TIMOR!

You can buy a Timor calendar where the net proceeds from sale of this calendar will support women from Manatuto, East Timor in their efforts to gain an education from a university in Dili. Click here to view a low resolution version pdf of the calendar. High quality versions of this calendar, printed out to hang 22 inches by 13.5 inches, are available for order at $10 each, plus shipping. You can order by e-mail to mjones@fjac.com with your name, address, and quantity. Shipping is free for orders of ten or more.

Thanks

--
Jesse Shapiro
Water and Sanitation Engineer
Plan International
jessepants@gmail.com
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Ramalao or bust

2006-12-03T17:47:00.000-07:00

My first week working in the IDP camps was a good one. The job is challanging and stressful with long hours but is very rewarding. I am back at it again today. The main IDP camp I am working in is Metinaro with about 7000 people. There it is no water there and finding it has been tough. It is a rough spot with more than one problem. Right now water is trucked in from Dili, 30min away, with not enough to go around. We identified some other possible sources last week and should test them soon. Even then water will still be trucked in. If this camp turns into a permanent village like others before it all around the word then they will need a large and expensive project.

This past weekend it was my friend Bree's birthday so we took to the mountains for a trip to Maibissie. Fifteen of us stayed at the Pousada and enjoyed the cool weather. Jesse, Ann, Dave, and I got up a bit earlier than others with the goal to climb Ramalao, the highest mountain in Timor. I think it is roughly 2900m, about 8500ft. It was only a two hour hike from where you can leave the car and wasn't too tough. Just as we reached the top though clouds rolled in closing off our view. We stayed at the top for a hour getting sunburned and eating our lunch. As we started our decent the rain started. In combination with the wind and our stupidity it got pretty cold. Some of us managed to only wear timor dress, flipflops and t-shirts. It got hairy as the rain got harder and the trail got slicker but we made it back to the car. We got back to Maibissie to meet the others and the sunshine. We had a good dinner and played some Foosball (mini soccer) until the early hours before finally hitting the hay. Oh man the cool weather was nice. I miss it already. Happy holidays. lv jesse
--
Jesse Shapiro
jessepants@gmail.com
http://notashoealifestyle.blogspot.com
http://cee.mtu.edu/~jsshapir
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

Plan

2006-11-21T19:54:00.000-07:00

Howdie. has it really been two weeks since my last email. Things are good. Megan, a x-PCV, was just here for a visit but leaves today. It was good to drum up some old PC memories. She spent most here time out at her site so we didn't hang out that much but it was good to see her. My work for Triangle has ended, well actually ends on Sunday. The project has gone well and is being finished up at lightening speed. Everything has been coming together nicely and should be working by the weeks end. The systems will be handed over to the communities this week. Although work for Triangle there has ended it won't for me. I have officially decided to my Master's project about the water systems there and will be going back in a couple weeks to do a final survey of the systems. This week I have been in Dili and will be for good. I have finally moved to Dili. Wow I can't believe it. I have looking for work and just this morning agreed to start work for Plan. Plan is an international NGO I think there website is www.plan-international.org . I will be helping to do water and sanitation in the IDP(internal displaced people), otherwise known as refugees, camp in Metinaro just on the east side of Dili. They believe there is about 7000 people there and they have almost no access to water and sanitation. It will be exciting and a big experience for me. I have a one month contract with them and then possibility for becoming staff in January. I start on Monday. Happy thanksgiving. Miss you all. lv jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
jessepants@gmail.com
http://notashoealifestyle.blogspot.com
http://cee.mtu.edu/~jsshapir
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

T minus two weeks

2006-11-05T17:05:00.000-07:00

Water at last. On Wednesday Cairui one of the driest desolate and miserable places in Timor had flowing tap water. People were ecstatic. Us too for that matter. It looks like all the hard work has paid off and the people will get the water they deserve. Of course we have already started to have problems where people have tried to increase their water flow by messing with the taps resulting in broken pipes and facet heads. One location people won't turn off the water facet. People down the line get less and less water as it runs out creating lots of mad people. Half are mad at us saying we didn't build it right. Half are mad at each other and have already started fights. Needless to say there will still continue to be problems the community will have to sort out but at least the system is working.

The last concrete pour is tomorrow completing the last of three water tanks and my main work will be finished. I will continue to stay on until the end of the program which ends about thanksgiving. This week Vincent is off taking his vacation days in Bali. I am not sure it is the best timing in the middle of crunch time at the end but it is ok. We still have quite a bit to do. There are lots of tap stands still not done and only one of three solar systems is finished.

This weekend some friends and I camped on the beach again. This time near Manatutu on the way to dili. This last week was a holiday for most in Timor. At least the people in Dili. Me, I had to work.

The situation in Timor is still not good and seems to be in a perpetual holding pattern of lousiness. No one sees the way out either. The raining season should start any day now. I am looking forward to it and not. I can't wait for things to get lush and green again yet fear for what the rains will do to the situation here. With rain in the IDP camps the sanitation problems might get worse leading to more disease and then problems. Lets hope not. Anyway things are moving alone. lv jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
jessepants@gmail.com
http://notashoealifestyle.blogspot.com
http://cee.mtu.edu/~jsshapir
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

T minus two weeks

2006-11-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend some friends and I camped on the beach again. This time near Manatutu on the way to dili. This last week was a holiday for most in Timor. At least the people in Dili. Me, I had to work.

--
Jesse Shapiro
jessepants@gmail.com
http://notashoealifestyle.blogspot.com
http://cee.mtu.edu/~jsshapir
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

2006-10-30T01:02:00.000-07:00

Pouring the concrete for the walls of the third and last tank. Thank god this one is in the shade. I am done 100+ degree work locations.

2006-10-30T00:59:00.000-07:00

The solar array for the first of three solar pumps.

2006-10-30T00:55:00.000-07:00

installing pipe up to a tank. Laleia in the distance.

2006-10-30T00:54:00.000-07:00

Shot of the round-the-world cyclist eating a crepe with our pig at our house in Laleia

Miles from nowhere

2006-10-30T00:52:00.000-07:00

Miles from nowhere

I started reading a book I have wanted to read for years called Miles from nowhere last week. It is about a couple who bikes around the world. Three days later my boss meets a guy on a bike on the streets of Dili who is riding around the world. My boss stopped after the site of the bike which he only recognized because he too has tried to ride around the world. He has made it from france to East Timor. The biker here was spanish and has been going about 4 or 5 months so far. He is alone and has been in Australia, New Zealand, Papau New Guinea, and now East Timor. He plans to be travelling for 2 years. My boss offered him a place to stay with Vincent and I Laleia. Sure enough the next day here appeared in laleia after biking from dili. He left the next morning for Laga I think. He is going to an full loop of Timor going all the way the Los Palos and back through the south road to Ramalou and then to Indonesia and west Timor.

Work

We are reaching the very last weeks of the water and sanitation program here. The last tank is near completion and we have started the installation of the solar panels and pumps. This week we should have the first one installed completely with water flowing in the town. I will extend my contract once again until the end of November. After that I will truly be done and will either go back to the US or find a new job. I actually hope to do both. I have some vacation days that I can use at the end of nov and if I find a new job here can then come back to start that in dec or jan.

Beach/Party

There was a large party in Cairui this weekend put on by the church. It was a celebration for a new Amo or Padre or Priest. It was by far the largest party I have been to with a couple thousand participants. We heard a rumor in Dili that one or all of the malaes there made it on TV as well. The only negative part of the party were the speeches and announcements by what must of been Portuguese missionaries. Either way they represented the catholic church. My reaction to their words includes anger and pity. If nothing else their words are a formal declaration of war. There goal to keep East Timorese poor and suffering and fight against development. Actual comments by them included them pleading for East Timorese to have as many babies as possible to populate the country. (East Timor currently has the highest birthrate in the world about 7.3 children/woman) They said foreigners are rich and have material excess but have no spirt whereas the Timorese have nothing but are very rich in spirit. When ever they announced anything they never mentioned the people as people but as baptised people. It was interesting to see although it enraged me.

In my group was me, vincent and his girlfriend, cedric and his fiance, and two friends from Dili. We hit the party left after dancing and camped on the beach. It was a good eclectic time with the foreigners, cultural experience, and the beach camping. It ended with us enjoying some barbecued fish and coconut rice on the beach. Not a bad way to end the weekend.

miss ya!

lv jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
jessepants@gmail.com
http://notashoealifestyle.blogspot.com
http://cee.mtu.edu/~jsshapir
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

2006-10-14T20:11:00.000-06:00

Pouring the tank's roof. You can see the dry river in the back ground. It is sooooo hot and dry we pour concrete and cover it immediately.

2006-10-14T20:08:00.000-06:00

the first water spewing out of well head

Water at last

2006-10-14T20:07:00.000-06:00

Hey yall. sup? It has been a while since my last post. We had a couple busy weeks where we were drilling wells and finishing the construction of the largest tank (check the photos). I didn't make it into dili on weekends as we were watching over and praying that we would find water. If you wonder why i am not back in the states yet it is because I have signed a one month contract extension to mid November. After that will still look for more work and probably stay even a bit longer.

We drilled three bore hole wells all three ending up productive. Two of them produce just about a 1L/s and the has over 5L/s. The system design only requires 1L/s so looks like it will be just fine. There was a lot of stress involved as almost a year of work has been put into this project to date all hinging on whether we will find water or not. This is not how it should of been done but we had to drill in the dry season and the project started in the wet season so they had no choice. It was a big risk but has payed off. The community is now only weeks from clear water with the river close to empty it is perfect timing.

Adat

Here in Timor the word "adat" means traditional ceremony. As I have described previously Timorese will use there traditional culture for many things including sickness, death, and nature. In Timor when you drill a well or dig a large hole in the ground it is proper to perform an "adat". In the case of our wells these past weeks the community needed to perform this ceremony. The ceremony is run by a spiritual healer called a "matan dook" (far eye) who performs the rituals. They ask their ancestors for the the licence to make the hole, they throw in money, sacrifice some animals and food, and use beetle nut. At the end everyone sits around and eats. Well I might add for a Timorese. We ate goat and pig freshly killed and roasted during the ritual. It was quite good.

Jesse visit

Last weekend Jesse Wright and a friend came for a visit to Laleia and Cairui. I don't know if I mentioned it before but Cairui is Jesse's former Peace Corps site. It is quite a strange coincidence that I ended up working there too. Most people in Cairui only know two foreigners both named Jesse, both former PCVs. Anyway his visit was needed and I for sure wanted to be there too to see the Timorese wig out. The first night we camped on the beach in Laleia. On Saturday we walked into Cairui and hung out for the day. It was fun as we joked around with all the timorese. It was also good to see Jesse interact with people he had spent almost two years with.

Wells and Tank

The second tank. The ginormous one is finally finished, with just under 250 sacks of cement and one month of time in the hottest driest part of timor. It should eventually hold 60,000 Liters of water. With two tanks down there is only one to go. It is small by comparison. This week we already poured the floor, tied the rebar, and have built the forms for the walls. Two more weeks and the heavy work will be finished.

Master's Research

I have started my master's research project and will include my current work in Cairui as a case study. The topic is contract management of construction of water and sanitation systems in the developing world. Sound boring. Not to me. In fact it is quite the hot topic in Timor right now. How to build a water system? with free community labor? food incentive for work? or payed professionals? All have there pros and cons. The project I have working on gives the workers lunch and a bit a food for each day of work. It is not the norm of free community labor. I will explore these ideas and do a case study for three communities on this project.

Ok off again. take care. miss ya. lv jesse

2006-10-14T19:25:00.000-06:00

A happy boy bathing in the well water just after we hit water and it spewed from the well head.

2006-10-14T18:57:00.000-06:00

The second tank is finished. Only took a month too but probably a year off my life. This is a shot of the crew on the last day. I am the white guy with the blue shirt.

2006-09-24T20:19:00.000-06:00

The car accident. I took this only after we had rolled the car over.

2006-09-24T20:18:00.000-06:00

Some graffiti in Dili. "Timor ida deit" (There is only one Timor) a response to the current fracture between east and west.

2006-09-24T20:15:00.000-06:00

Installing pipe over Samali the smallest village with the school and soccer field in the back ground

2006-09-24T20:13:00.000-06:00

My crew of 48. Sand and cement comes from lower left and up to the tank by bucket passed hand to hand.

Car accident

2006-09-24T20:07:00.000-06:00

bondia. Things are well as usual. The project is proceeding well. We finished the tank walls and I am quite happy that none of the forms burst open so we will have perfect walls. Now that the walls are done and the tank has taken its shape you can really feel the size of it. It is enormous definitely the largest thing I have ever built. When we poured the cement for the second half of the walls we had the largest crew of timorese to date. I ran a crew of 48, hopefully not to many people stood around smoking. I was on them hard and made them all work. It went well except we ran out of plates at lunch and had to eat in two shifts. My contract is up in only two more weeks but I will extend to finish the project or at least the water tanks as they really need me. For now that brings me to sometime in November.

The only other thing that happened this week was on the way out to the project last monday. As I went slowly through a spot on the road covered with water another whom was trying to pass for a couple kilometers decided to go around me and proceeded to get stuck in the mud. Another car and I both stopped and helped him out of the mud. He seemed in a rush and instantly took off after a quick thank you. I got back in my car a continued down the road. 5 minutes later around a blind corner I see a man standing on the side of the road pointing over the edge. I stopped to find that the same car we pushed out of the mud came around the corner to wide hit some gravel and flew off the edge. The car dropped 10ft over the ledge and rolled twice. The guy inside was not injured except a small scrape on his arm. the other car came and we went down to check the car. We found a tree impelled through the windshield and stuck straight through the drivers seat. I don't know how it missed the guy but luck was definitely on his side. We helped him with his stuff, rolled the car over, called the police, and was again on my way.

Ok. Have a good week. Miss ya. lv jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
jessepants@gmail.com
http://notashoealifestyle.blogspot.com
http://cee.mtu.edu/~jsshapir
------------------------------------
flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

2006-09-17T19:19:00.000-06:00

The truck after felling an intire forest for wood to support the tank forms.

2006-09-17T19:18:00.000-06:00

Inside the tank preparing the forms to pour the upper half of the wall.

2006-09-17T19:15:00.000-06:00

The water tank in Cairui

2006-09-17T19:14:00.000-06:00

Cairui from the water tank above to village.

hash run

2006-09-17T19:03:00.000-06:00

bondia! another week has gone by after hard work in the dry hot sun. This week started off on the wrong foot as I left Dili last week without the key to the house in Laleia. I was then able to stay with the head of the water committee in laleia which was nice and reminded a lot of my host family in Baucau. I finally was able to make it out the job site the next day after borrowing motorcycle and was able to start work again. Since there is so much to do now on the project and vincent is back we have split up responsibilities. I have been managing primary the water tank construction which means long days in the hot sun. I started to get a great farmers tan and my hair has turned blond again on the top. I bought a Timorese grass hat which I think looks a bit silly but the timorese love it and says I look great. It is a bit like a Vietnamese hat although flairs up near the edges. anyway it serves its purpose well and keeps my face in the shade. I went back to Baucau again this week and spent another week with the fam. It was good and I think I will continue to try and get there every weekend since I live so close. I got into Dili on Saturday just in time to join in on the East Timor hash run. If anyone is clueless on what that is don't feel bad as I didn't know what it was either until I was doing it. I thought it was just a group going for a jog. Not to simplify it too much but it is more like a fraternity for people who want fit exercise into their drinking regiment. It is very social and fun. You basically run in a group around the city following marks on the road. The marks are scarce and usually result in the group breaking up at intersection to find the right direction. We ran through yards toxic drainage ditches and over barbed wire. The Timorese watched with extended jaws as they couldn't possibly understand what was happening. Heck I barely got it. Upon the finish after being well dehydrated the group proceeds to drink as much as possible. They have a song and a bit of ceremony which coerces the shy into taking part. Since it was my first time I also had a mentor who ran with me a pried for dirty secrets which were then told to the group at the end with a bit of exaggeration. Erin and Sarah also had a house warming party at their new house near tibasi. It was a good time and I even won the best guest prize which consisted of taking home two beers and the leftover chicken. Score! This morning is busy then I am back out to the project. We are pouring cement again tomorrow as the tank nears completion. Two more weeks and it should be done. Then only one more to go. My contract is up soon so hopefully can fit it in before then. I have started to think about an extension or looking for a new job. I don't know yet what I want but will definitely want something that will be good for finding a research topic to finish my master's degree. Ok talk next week. take care. lv jesse

biasa

2006-09-10T18:04:00.000-06:00

This week has been good. Vincent came back and we went out the project together. He is still not one hundred percent and has trouble on the bad roads. Because of this I think I will still have to run most of the day to day project activities while he will focusing on the organization part especially since our boss has gone on vacation to France for three weeks. Things are going well and we should be drilling some wells soon and finishing up with bulk of the project before my contract is up. I had a good weekend in dili. went to the beach and ate tons of good food. the security situation is normal. sorry not much else to report this week.

This week on "Living in a Dili"

While biking through Dili I got passed by two tanks on the street. you know the giant metal boxes that don't have tires but run on rotating metal teeth. I thought to myself. That was awesome and wow they can really go fast. Then the relative difference between me on a bike with only as much as a helmet and sandals vs the Australian troops in the tank with full battle gear and giant guns that could probably survival a direct hit by a bomb really sank in and I got a bit scared but kept peddling.

Miss ya. lv jesse

--
Jesse Shapiro
jessepants@gmail.com
http://notashoealifestyle.blogspot.com
http://cee.mtu.edu/~jsshapir
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flipflop...not a shoe...a lifestyle.

2006-09-04T17:35:00.000-06:00

Before shot.

2006-09-04T17:34:00.000-06:00

The line of people passing cement in buckets up the hill to the tank.

2006-09-04T17:33:00.000-06:00

Pouring the floor slab.

2006-09-04T17:32:00.000-06:00

Tying rebar. many mentioned they were in prision