Another Risky Week

16-22 October 2013

This week saw me heading to Maliana again for more surveying in another place known as Tapomemo, which is about 30 mins drive from Maliana, near the Indonesian border.  This is the location where my water divining skills were called upon several weeks ago.  Just like last week, I stayed at Toko Risky – I think that there is market for creating hotels with weird names to draw people into staying there.  This one has a variety of showers in different states of repair - really is this my latest obsession?

We were able to complete the survey in good time as the rain predictably fell at around 2:00 pm every day.  I would imagine that a lot of farmers would love that type of climatic predictability, especially if the weather could be controlled by satellites (I won’t go all sci-fi on you this week).

I was teaching different counterparts to last week, Maun (translates to Brother) Franklin, one of the Dili-based Timorese engineers and the Bonbonaro District Technical Officer.  I sometimes forget how powerful modern technology can be in improving people’s ability to perform certain tasks.  “Older” surveying techniques were mainly manual in their recording of data and there was a lot of faffing around at each point before the measurements are taken.  So there was a large potential for making mistakes when transferring the data into other documents or onto the computer.  

(Maun Franklin setting up the rover, the surveying cheer squad (Malae! Malae!...), another NGO has been here before)

The “new” way is a vast improvement, everything about a point is captured by a single tap on the screen and through the processing power of computers, additional data created back in the office.  This is where I have struggled to understand some of the Differential GPS surveying, the elevations captured in DGPS were those based upon the earth being ellipsoid in shape (imagine a round ball squashed in at the poles).  The ground levels given on the DGPS in the field are based on this shape of the earth.  The DGPS processing programs back in the office translate this data to height above sea level, which is what we need to design water supply systems.  This survey was the last task for me to do this side of Christmas, manipulating the survey results will be the first to do when I get back in 2014.

On the way back on the Thursday, we stopped at Balibo, it was good to stop and look around Balibo which most Australians and New Zealanders know about.  For those who do not, this is the location where two Australian, two New Zealand and one British journalists were murdered by the invading Indonesian army in 1975.  There are several books and websites devoted to this, so I won’t be repeating the details surrounding their murder and subsequent inquests that took many years to resolve.  They painted the Australian flag on one of the building just across the road from the fort in an attempt to protect themselves from the Indonesians.  This building has been restored and converted into the small museum to commemorate this fact as well as some of the Timorese that happened to get in the way at the time.  The journalists were not murdered at this house but further down the road, which I did not go to.

(“Australia” House in Balibo, the real flag is underneath the Perspex replica, uncovered by the Australian Army), yours truly at the Balibo Fort entrance)

We finally found the gate keeper to the Balibo fort, which commands spectacular views of the surrounding area including all of the way to Batugade, TL’s border post town with West Timor.  A few happy snaps were taken of each other in and around the fort.  As we were leaving, a manand two boys (sons I presume) were scampering around pulling seedlings from out of the ground in the fort compound.  It turns out this tree, whose name I forget, is coveted as it grows reasonably straight for making furniture as well as the leaves can be ground and mixed with water (I think) to make a tonic which reduces blood pressure.  About 50 seedlings were harvesting from a 4 by 4 metre area.  I hope the trees grow well and no I have no problems with my blood pressure that I am aware of.

(The view to Batugade and coast from the Balibo Fort, goats are everywhere including the fort, some of the fort wall)

(The US$10 lunch time view, no crocs to be seen today, yum! But my teeth were bigger, knives are very rare in TL - someday people will sharpen the spoon edge for cutting)

It is hard to believe that Christmas is nearly here and I have to say that the way it is celebrated here is an interesting juxtaposition.  Everywhere you go, all of the youth are busy making Prezipius (Nativity scenes) which they effectively live in throughout the night, you can hear Christmas Carols and songs being played loudly, even at 3:00am in the morning.  The Prezipius now include flashing lights, stars hanging on power lines with string representing starlight onto the manger and on Christmas day the baby Jesus will appear along with three wise men 2 weeks later (photos in a later post).  The thing I find weird in Australia and more so here is there are so many Christmas carols about snow blaring throughout the night, sometimes they are in Bhasa Indonesian.

I fortunately have ear plugs so I can sleep through the night, although the other night I did not wear them and was woken up by someone walking on the front porch.  I went back to sleep as my security guard (I have two Timorese in my direct employ, Tia Madelina my house cleaner and Joáo my security guard) would have responded.  So imagine my surprise to see that it was Devil the (Mildly Brain Damaged) Dog on my doorstep.  Devil is a scrawny looking critter that is owned (if you can call it that) by the landlords, being scrawny is the norm for dogs here and no, I certainly don’t pat him – he smells bad and regularly eats the contents of nappies.

(Devil: Where’s my breakfast? Can you let me out please? I will find my own breakfast now!)

Not that I am counting, on the 22^nd December is the end of my fourth month here in TL.  It feels so long ago when I look back to when I started in August but at the same time, it sometimes feels like only yesterday. 

So I have finished my working year here and will now enjoy a well-deserved rest – I have been a very busy boy in 2013 with little or no downtime throughout the year…  I have to admit that it is strange to be spending Christmas away from home but fortunately there are a number of expats here in same boat so a celebration of sorts will be had on the day although I still do not know the details just yet.