Ok, I believe that after tonight's events I am ready for anything this country can 'throw' at me!
After a great day in Dili, which included a bit of sightseeing and a chill out session at the beach enjoying the sunset, we came home to take our respective showers and do some film sharing (we'll need all the films we can get out in the districts!). I had just stepped into my shower and turned around to close the door when suddenly a shower of glass came tumbling down and I found myself holding the shower door surrounded by a river of shattered glass all around me!!! I had the door, or what remained of it, in one hand, I was using the other hand against the wall for support so that my feet wouldn't touch the ground too heavily and get cut and I couldn't get out of the shower because the glass had gone everywhere! I was trying to gently put the remains of the door against the wall to free my hand when my next door neighbor, another UNV, X, knocked asking if I was ok, to which I responded a very weak and nervous 'no!' (I was shaking and in shock!)...You're probably thinking, that must have been awkward being that I was in the shower and probably naked but luckily, very luckily, I still had my bathing suit on, which I was going to wash in the shower! So X comes in , followed closely by T, my other neighbor, and helped me out of my very awkward and scary position! X then asked me why I hadn't screamed when the door fell, to which I didn't know what to reply, I hadn't thought about it! I'm usually not hysterical and quite reasonable but this situation definitely called for a scream of some sorts! I was probably in shock and trying to rationalize how I was going to get out of that situation without cutting myself further! And the funniest thing is (if you can call it funny!), the landlady didn't even find it strange that it happened!! The door was already broken so it was just a matter of time that it would come off its hinge and onto someone's head, it just happened to be mine's! But I'm ok, no worries, only a little teensy bit of flesh was ripped off of my finger and I have now only a partial door to my shower, luckily the water pressure is so low I don't think it will even matter!
Did I also mention that yesterday we also had rocks thrown at us?!
Rocks are the Timorese's weapon of choice. Every time a situation escalates into conflict out come the rocks and stones! Yesterday we went out at night to a concert and then to a party. I think pretty much all of Dili's expat community was there considering there aren't that many places for entertainment out here. The party was also full of UNPOL (UN Police) and GNR (Portugal's National Guard) who look, as a Brazilian expression would say, 'closets' because they are literally the size of closets due to probably an extensive amount of steroids, testosterone and weights! And what is it about buffed up guys and stretch t-shirts, do they really think it's pleasant to see because I (and I think every normal woman) can guarantee you it's not!! Being 'surrounded' by them (no, I was not alone at the party but their group outnumbered ours!) I don't know if I would want them to protect me or rather run away from them, they're scary BIG! This party looked more like a massive hook-up session - yes, there were prostitutes there! - than a party to be honest! But anyways, we stayed at the party until the end - let's face it, out in the districts we'll have a curfew and likely nowhere to go so if there's a party in Dili we're gonna go - and when we were leaving we started walking towards our car when a group of Timorese boys started throwing rocks at us, they hit my foot and T's hand, we picked up the pace and reached our car but it was a tense moment to say the least...we're not quite sure but we think that what happened was that because we hadn't parked the car around the party the boys wouldn't get their coins for having watched the car in the first place so they 'retaliated'...I hope that's all it was because if it's anything more serious, like hatred for the Malay or something like that I'm not sure I feel very welcomed anymore...And where were the UNPOL and the GNR during this, being picked up by their non-drunk designated drivers in their armored cars, couldn't give a toss about the safety of the rest of the party-goers...so much for protection!
Hopefully that's as much 'excitement' as I'm gonna get out here - I did say it was going to be an adventure, but I'm crossing my fingers for a pleasant one!
After a great day in Dili, which included a bit of sightseeing and a chill out session at the beach enjoying the sunset, we came home to take our respective showers and do some film sharing (we'll need all the films we can get out in the districts!). I had just stepped into my shower and turned around to close the door when suddenly a shower of glass came tumbling down and I found myself holding the shower door surrounded by a river of shattered glass all around me!!! I had the door, or what remained of it, in one hand, I was using the other hand against the wall for support so that my feet wouldn't touch the ground too heavily and get cut and I couldn't get out of the shower because the glass had gone everywhere! I was trying to gently put the remains of the door against the wall to free my hand when my next door neighbor, another UNV, X, knocked asking if I was ok, to which I responded a very weak and nervous 'no!' (I was shaking and in shock!)...You're probably thinking, that must have been awkward being that I was in the shower and probably naked but luckily, very luckily, I still had my bathing suit on, which I was going to wash in the shower! So X comes in , followed closely by T, my other neighbor, and helped me out of my very awkward and scary position! X then asked me why I hadn't screamed when the door fell, to which I didn't know what to reply, I hadn't thought about it! I'm usually not hysterical and quite reasonable but this situation definitely called for a scream of some sorts! I was probably in shock and trying to rationalize how I was going to get out of that situation without cutting myself further! And the funniest thing is (if you can call it funny!), the landlady didn't even find it strange that it happened!! The door was already broken so it was just a matter of time that it would come off its hinge and onto someone's head, it just happened to be mine's! But I'm ok, no worries, only a little teensy bit of flesh was ripped off of my finger and I have now only a partial door to my shower, luckily the water pressure is so low I don't think it will even matter!
Did I also mention that yesterday we also had rocks thrown at us?!
Rocks are the Timorese's weapon of choice. Every time a situation escalates into conflict out come the rocks and stones! Yesterday we went out at night to a concert and then to a party. I think pretty much all of Dili's expat community was there considering there aren't that many places for entertainment out here. The party was also full of UNPOL (UN Police) and GNR (Portugal's National Guard) who look, as a Brazilian expression would say, 'closets' because they are literally the size of closets due to probably an extensive amount of steroids, testosterone and weights! And what is it about buffed up guys and stretch t-shirts, do they really think it's pleasant to see because I (and I think every normal woman) can guarantee you it's not!! Being 'surrounded' by them (no, I was not alone at the party but their group outnumbered ours!) I don't know if I would want them to protect me or rather run away from them, they're scary BIG! This party looked more like a massive hook-up session - yes, there were prostitutes there! - than a party to be honest! But anyways, we stayed at the party until the end - let's face it, out in the districts we'll have a curfew and likely nowhere to go so if there's a party in Dili we're gonna go - and when we were leaving we started walking towards our car when a group of Timorese boys started throwing rocks at us, they hit my foot and T's hand, we picked up the pace and reached our car but it was a tense moment to say the least...we're not quite sure but we think that what happened was that because we hadn't parked the car around the party the boys wouldn't get their coins for having watched the car in the first place so they 'retaliated'...I hope that's all it was because if it's anything more serious, like hatred for the Malay or something like that I'm not sure I feel very welcomed anymore...And where were the UNPOL and the GNR during this, being picked up by their non-drunk designated drivers in their armored cars, couldn't give a toss about the safety of the rest of the party-goers...so much for protection!
Hopefully that's as much 'excitement' as I'm gonna get out here - I did say it was going to be an adventure, but I'm crossing my fingers for a pleasant one!
I personally believe that X acted in a truly heroic manner in this story!
ReplyDeleteSmashing shower doors, stone throwing... This trip is turning out a little different from what I imagined. Can't wait until you go deep into the countryside, can we expect snapping crocodiles and high altitude tree house building? :)
ReplyDelete