Adventures with flipflops

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Halo tinan

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

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

Monday, June 11, 2007

Timor fali

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.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

I am outta here!

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.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Re:

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"

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Going to America

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.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Calma Fali

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

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

metinaro pics

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.