"Com" on Over!

Ulla and me on our own private beach in Com!

Today I went on a day trip to Com with Ulla (the other volunteer who is heading back to Germany in 2 weeks) and Sr. Sylvia to sightsee and to visit with Sr. Sylvia’s family. I was excited for the trip but also a little nervous because I didn’t know how long the drive was (Sister told me it was 2 to 3 hours. Did that mean it would be 2 hours or 3? This is a very important thing to know for someone who might get carsickness and needs to mentally prepare for such a trip!). Also, as usual, I had no idea what the schedule for the day was, so I didn’t know what to expect. This has been a recurring theme during my time here in East Timor, but I still haven’t exactly gotten comfortable with not knowing what’s going on all the time.

As we were driving along in our little truck, I couldn’t help but think of that “It’s a Small World” ride from Disney Land. The ride makes a lot of twists and turns and along the way different characters pop out from the shadows. On the drive on the winding roads, the “characters” were people in the small villages we passed through. They would all stop whatever work they were doing and stare at us. Many would smile excitedly and wave, and yes, some even shouted out “Malae!” (foreigner).

We stopped in Baucau (45 minutes outside of Venilale) to have our tire pressure checked, which took all of two minutes and was free of  charge ( I think because there was a nun in the car). Then we stopped quickly at the Salesian convent in Baucau to deliver meat to the sisters. We even saw a swimming pool in the city (the first one I have seen in East Timor and probably one of the few pools in the whole country). Once we were out of Baucau, the scenery changed dramatically. The road was no longer lined with trees. Instead, the were marshy grasslands on either side of the road, with a a view of the ocean for much of the drive on our left, and a beautiful view of the mountains on our right. These wide open spaces made me feel much better-no more car sickness! The road to Com was surprisingly smooth. There were a fair number of potholes, but not nearly as many as the short drive from Venilale to Baucau or the much longer drive from Venilale to Dili. We were able to drive around 60 mph for a part of the way, but that was the topmost speed we ever reached. Usually we were coasting between 45-50 mph. When driving in East Timor you have to be prepared to stop on a dime to avoid hitting the 4 C’s: errant chickens, cattle, canines and children. At one point I saw a chicken cross the road. We did not stop to question its motives.

An hour and a half outside of Venilale we passed through Laga, a small village overlooking the ocean. Ulla volunteered at the orphanage in Laga for one month and we plan to visit this village next week so she can say goodbye to the kids. I am excited to meet all of them.

At one point we stopped and sister bought 4 bottled waters and handed the boy a $10 bill. I was shocked that water was so expensive here, but didn’t think much more of it. The boy promptly returned with $9 in change for sister! The waters had not cost $2.50 each, they only cost 25 cents each! I am not sure how these vendors can make a profit selling their items for such low prices.

Around 2 hours into our trip we passed a monument honoring those killed by the Indonesian military forces in East Timor’s War of Independence 10 years ago. Apparently a lot of innocent people were killed (including sisters and priests) and many of the bodies were never found. It is (understandably) still a very sore subject for many of the East Timorian people.

We reached Com in two and a half hours! This seemed like a reasonable time since I was told the trip took between 2 and 3 hours-that turned out to be exactly right! The driver pulled right up onto a large dock and Sister Sylvia, Ulla and I got out to walk around and then explore. We briefly met with Sr. Sylvia’s family before heading to the beach. Even though it was Saturday and the weather was absolutely gorgeous (90 and sunny!) we had the entire beach to ourselves! Ulla told me that bathing suits in East Timor are just your street clothes. I had brought shorts and a t-shirt, assuming we would change once we got to Com. Instead, we headed straight to the beach and I had to change right there out in the open on the beach. Thankfully, there was literally no one there and sister, Ulla and the driver nicely gave me some privacy. It still felt weird, though.

Looking out across the water, you could 4 different shades of blue. Ulla and I swam only in the first shade, the bright, turquoise blue. The water felt wonderful-it was actually pretty warm (i.e. not cold at all) so I jumped right in! The sand was white and soft and there were very few rocks in the water. This was my first time swimming in the Indian Ocean and it was amazing! Definitely the warmest, cleanest and least crowded (at least the part that we were swimming in) of the 3 oceans I have swam in!

After swimming for a good hour, Sister (who had walked along the beach while Ulla and I swam), Ulla and I strolled along the shore for a while, exploring little coves and stopping for a” merinda” (snack) consisting of bananas and pizza (made by Sr. Maria from Italy) around noon. After taking pictures and exploring some more, we walked back to our car and headed to Sr. Sylvia’s parent’s house for lunch. Along the way I asked that we stop to take a picture by the “Careful-Crocodiles” sign. I have never seen a warning sign for crocs before. The driveway up to her parent’s house was more of a hiking trail than a road for driving, but we cautiously made our way up it.

Sr. Sylvia’s parent’s house wasn’t much to look at. It had been overtaken and used as housing for Indonesian soldiers during the East Timorian War of Independence and the soldiers burned it down when they left. Apparently during the Indonesian occupation, all of the Como residents were forced to retreat and live in the woods. When they returned to what was left of their village after the Indonesian army left, they found all of their livestock had been killed and there was a terrible stench. Fishermen would not gather fish for an entire year after the invasion because the water had become so polluted.

Sr.’s parent’s new house was made of bricks of concrete and the floor was a concrete as well. The house was up on a hill, and it has a beautiful view of houses below it and even the ocean! The stove and kitchen sink were under a little metal roof outside the house. The bathroom was also outside. The toilet was a small hole in the ground, and the bathtub was made of concrete as well. The village had running water most of the day, which was a nice convenience. The family had nicely gathered enough water for us all to shower, but we insisted we were fine and would wait until we returned to Venilale.

Although there were very few possessions or furnishings in the house, the kitchen table was adorned with a very nice tablecloth and plates that looked like they could have come from Ikea. Lunch wasn’t too unusual-there was chicken, rice (what a surprise!), green beans, ramen noodles mixed with vegetables and that gross green vegetable staple I can’t pronounce or spell. The only really unusual thing served was the whole fish and fish soup. The fish had literally been cooked head, tail, bones and all and had been simply sliced into 4 pieces for serving. I took a “middle” piece that did not include the head or the tail, but still had to be wary of all the bones inside. It was delicious! While I had seen whole fish in Guatemala, that was almost 10 years ago and I was still a little shocked by the sight. The fish soup consisted of some type of whitish, light yellow broth with whole fish parts in it. The head was jutting out of the broth, which was not appetizing to me, so I passed on that dish. Dessert included bananas that we actually brought from Venilale. I think we also brought the drinks along too because they consisted of Coca-Cola, Sprite, bottled water or canned fruit juice (all things served at the convent).

Sr. Sylvia’s parents did not actually eat with us because they are accustomed to eating at 2 p.m. and it was only 1 p.m. Plus, the father teaches Theology at the local high school, so he was not home on his lunch break yet. Although they were very nice people, it was nice eating with just sister, Ulla and the driver because then I did not feel like I was being “watched” while I ate.  Therefore, I didn’t feel bad about not eating the fish soup or the fish head. I could eat just the foods I knew would agree with me without feeling guilty.

Besides the fish, Com reminded me of Guatemala in another way-the heat! Sr. Sylvia’s mother said they have had an unusually rainy, cool year (just like Venilale), but today was very warm. It must have been 90 degrees and fairly humid as well. As a result, I was literally sweating as we sat eating lunch. I have grown up in Texas and consider myself pretty well accustomed to the heat. I couldn’t figure out why I was sweating so profusely while Ulla and Sr. Sylvia did not seem to break a sweat. Sr. Sylvia was even wearing her long sleeved habit. I have heard that conditioned people sweat more quickly than others, but that didn’t really seem like a logical explanation as I have only run once since I have been in East Timor. Why was I the only one who seemed to be affected by the heat? After finishing his meal, the driver promptly got up and announced he had to go sit outside in the shade-it was too hot in this room. I was glad to know I wasn’t the only one who was hot.

While we waited for lunch (Sr and her mother would NOT let us help them), Ulla and I played with Sr’s 2 year old niece, Zivan. It was a great way to practice our vocabulary because we went around asking her the name of every single item inside and outside the house. Outside the house there was a pig with 4 little piglets. They were so cute! There were also banana and mango trees (neither of which were in season) and even a little garden in the shape of a heart!

After lunch we walked down the main street of Com. It is right alongside the water, and as a result, several beach resorts have sprouted up on either side of the street. We were able to walk along from one place to another, enjoying the scenery and each other’s company. One “resort” had a fun tire swing with a magnificent view. On the porch of the resort there was a large cage housing 2 monkeys! Another resort had an elegantly decorated room-apparently it is a popular spot for wedding ceremonies.

Sr. Sylvia on the tire swing!

Sr. Sylvia must have been related to everyone in town because we seemed to stop at every home  or vendor hut along the main street for her to introduce us to another family member. Some of her family sold tais, which is brightly colored material that can be made into blankets, scarves or purses. Finally, we stopped at Sr. Sylvia’s grandfather’s house to get a few coconuts before heading back to Venilale. Unfortunately, there weren’t any people who were young enough or agile enough to climb the tree to retrieve the coconuts. We had to go home empty handed. While we were sitting talking to her grandfather, I noticed a “bed” outside his house that consisted of a blanket on top of pieces of flat wood. It didn’t look very comfortable, but I guess if you are tired enough you can sleep on anything. On our way back to the car we saw a man carrying a HUGE fish-the biggest fish Ulla or I had ever seen in person. We asked the man if we could take a picture with the fish, and he nicely obliged. The fish must have been pretty big, because when Sister took a picture of the man and me with the fish, she did not zoom out far enough and the whole fish didn’t make it into the picture. Oh well!

Just outside of Com there is a “traditional East Timor house” which is elevated 20 or 30 feet off the ground. The ladder leading up to the “floor” of the house was wobbly and not supported by anything. Ulla deftly climbed up and down it, but I proceeded with more caution. Sister apparently thought I was taking too long and came to check on me to make sure I was okay. She held the ladder for me on the way down, which I appreciated. I didn’t think I took THAT long to climb up and down, but apparently sister did (haha)!

The drive back was pretty uneventful. Ulla and Sr. slept for part of the way, but I am just not comfortable enough in the car to sleep yet. At one point we came up over this big hill and a car was coming at us very quickly in the other direction. Usually when this happens both cars slow down (we did, they didn’t) and swerve slightly off the road. This car swerved AT us before swerving away at the last second. I jumped, because I was SURE we were goners. Apparently Ulla noticed in the back seat and tapped me on the shoulder and laughed. I wonder if she jumped too. How could you not? That was the closest call we have had yet.

When I got back to my room, I used twice as much water as usual to take a shower-I had sand all over me! I also noticed that my cheeks were a little red-I can’t believe I got sunburned in October! I went to bed early because I was so exhausted. What a fun day J