Back to where we were. Timor-Leste was a great experience.
Every day I took meetings the Embassy had arranged for me and every evening I was left to explore the city and get to know the people and their existence.
I was impressed by how overwhelming friendly people were. For the most part, people would smile at me as I walked by and I would smile back. Men would say, "hello! where are you going?" which I imagine, for many of them, might have been the extent of their English-speaking ability.
I had the opportunity to visit a coffee cooperative high in the mountainous jungle and a police station in the valley below.
(I tried to upload pictures but failed. Technology has outsmarted me again).
I was in Dili for just under a week when I had to move on to Jakarta, Indonesia. What a different place it was in comparison.
My arrival in Jakarta was difficult. I planned to withdraw money from an ATM so when I left the airport arrivals area I went straight for the bank machines. Not a single one would recognize my card (although I realized for a time I was putting in the wrong code with the wrong card...oops) and I started to be concerned the machines would keep my card since I kept entering wrong numbers. I asked where a money exchange desk was and the person indicated it was up one floor and outside.
I exited the arrivals area looking for the exchange desks and they were nowhere to be found. At this point I am on the curb with no rupiah, the name of my hotel, and that is it. I beg my way back into the airport (something that would probably never happen in the US, they would not let someone back into the secure area through the exit door). I found a single money exchange desk open and exchanged what few U.S. dollars I had for rupiah.
Now here is where I had not done my homework. I knew that U.S. dollars were the currency in Timor-Leste but I had never looked up the currency of Indonesia. I had no idea about exchange rates or anything. When I exchanged $60 and received 540,000 rupiah, I barely knew how to compute such large numbers. I was afraid I would not have enough money for my few days there so I found a taxi desk that would let me pay with a credit card. I am sure I paid too much for a taxi to the hotel but I was just so pleased to have money and a taxi that knew where I was going, I just didn't care.
It was 11pm (but I thought it was midnight, silly time changes I do not keep track of) and there were people everywhere. There was so much traffic it took me an unreasonably long time to get to the hotel (I know because it took less than half the time for me to get back). There were street vendors out serving food, a horde of motorbikes weaving in and out of traffic. It seemed like daytime except for the absence of the sun.
I finally arrived at the hotel and it was an incredible place. The receptionist escorted me to my room and showed me all its features (including a toilet that had its own remote - fancy stuff) and every time I picked up the phone or approached the desk they all knew my surname and used it in greeting me. It was a relaxing couple days after the busy pace of meetings in Dili.
I spent my Friday at the Embassy in Jakarta, taking more meetings and meeting my colleagues there. The Embassy is huge compared to the facility in Dili. It was interesting to consider the different presences the United States has in different countries. I took a taxi from the hotel to the Embassy and had the great fortune of having an honest taxi driver. Since I was not used to dealing in thousands and hundreds of thousands when paying for items I almost paid the taxi driver $30 for a $3 tax ride. He was a very kind man and said, "Oh Miss, be careful with your money!" He handed all my bills back to me and explained how much I needed to give him. I was glad he was an honest man and the first person I tried to pay. Haha.
My last day was spent visiting a couple malls in Jakarta. I would have liked to get outside the city, but since my flight was that evening I was afraid I did not have enough time. I visited @america, an youth-engagement place run by the Embassy and located in the Pacific Place mall, and spent a great deal of time wandering through the Grand Indonesia Mall. Finally, at 8pm, I got my luggage, got a taxi and headed back to the airport for my flight home.
The flight was long and I was not as fortunate as I was with my flights to the East. I was given a middle seat for the flight home because there was no way for me to check-in in advance. However, once I got on the long flight home a young boy and his father offered to trade their seats with my so I was against the window. Turned out the man had once worked for the Department so we bonded over our work in the 13 hours we were together on the plane.
I arrived back in D.C. in the afternoon, took a long taxi ride home, and arrived to my empty apartment. I showed up bright and early for work the next morning and my understanding of my job has been so much better for it!
Things have been great since my trip. It has been almost two months now and every day is better than the last. I get to do exciting things and learn new things I did not know the day before.
