At 4:30 p.m., Sr. Olga, Sr. Johanna and I left Dili and headed to Venilale. The trip was….well, it was TERRIBLE! I am not sure if I have ever felt so sick in my life! The first 1 ½ hours was okay…well paved streets and beautiful (albeit) terrifying mountain roads. About an hour and half in, though, it started to get dark, and I think the lack of light contributed to me starting to feel a little dizzy. The feeling only got worse as we continued onward. I definitely experienced motion sickness as we were constantly stopping, going, swerving left, right, making sharp drops and steep ascents. We would stop abruptly to let a dog cross the road, then stop again and slowly make our way over a broken road with a huge pothole. There were so many twists and turns that I had trouble focusing on a spot so that i would feel oriented and not sick. I tried to close my eyes, but the constant, unpredictable stopping, swerving, curving, going up and down did not help me any. When I opened my eyes, I had trouble focusing and that made me feel even more sick. I wasn’t sure if I should ask to stop or just try to gut it out by keep going.
When we arrived in Baucau, Sister Olga cheerfully announced we had just 45 minutes to go. I was so thankful, but wondered how I could survive even another 45 minutes. I wished I had taken a motion sickness pill before we left. I wished I hadn’t put my backpack with my iPod in the trunk. I wished we could stop, but just wanted to get to Venilale so badly that I did not say anything. As luck would have it (actually, I think it was God), we got a flat tire while driving in Baucau. Normally, flat tires would be bad things, but I couldn’t have been happier. A chance to stand up and move around on my own 2 feet sounded wonderful. A nice person on a motorcycle immediately stopped to help us and it only took him about 10 minutes to change the tire. Still, in this time I was able to get my backpack from the trunk, take a motion sickness pill and grab my iPod to listen to some nice music the rest of the trip-it actually DID help to distract me a little bit. I was also able to look at the stars-I don’t remember ever seeing so many of them! They shined brightly and brilliantly in the dark night sky.
During the trip I couldn’t help but feel that I was officially going to the middle of nowhere. Then I thought of a quote. If you feel like you are in the middle of nowhere, just remember that any step you take will move you one step closer to something (or somewhere). The scenery along the drive was incredible. There were sweeping ocean views and points where our car was right along the water’s edge and I knew that with one wrong turn we would have plunged straight into the water. Other times the land was so dry and barren that I was reminded of Africa (no, I have never been there, but I have seen pictures, and in my mind I imagine they look very similar), while at other times there were palm trees and thick vegetation lining the road. Small, shabby huts dotted the road and some sold various drinks and foods. I was shocked by how many people walked on the road at night in the pitch blackness.
I don’t know how the sisters knew we had arrived in Venilale, the scenery looked the same as we had seen for the last 2 hours. Still, they joyfully announced we had made it. I don’t think I could have been any happier than if I had been told we had made it to Heaven. I was excited to sneak to my room and SLEEP! As we approached the school on a VERY bumpy, rocky, steep driveway, I saw about 150 girls lining the driveway. I really hoped they weren’t there to see me, not in this condition. They were. As we approached (we had to back into the parking spot) they began cheering and clapping! The windows were rolled down and some even reached out to touch me. They were all smiling cheerfully and looked so happy to see me. Then they sang a cheerful song in English that included the refrain “Welcome to our family!” I was so honored and moved by their excitement and joy to see me. I have never been welcomed so warmly, and I am sure I never will be again. I felt like a celebrity! Despite this, of course, I felt extremely embarrassed. Why was everybody so excited to see ME? They must be expecting a lot from me! I felt nervous and a little fearful, but tried to just smile and enjoy the very sweet moment. As I got out of the car, I stumbled around as if I were drunk (nope, just motion sick) and girls came up to greet me saying, “Hello! We are so glad you are here! You are beautiful! What’s your name? Where are you from?” I told them I was from the United States and they looked confused. Then one girl lighted up and said, “Oh, Amereeka!”. I smiled and said, “Si, si!” I tried to talk to them in Tetun and they tried to talk to me English. It was great.
I felt so honored to be received with such love and warmth from complete strangers. They didn’t even know me, but were so grateful I had come to spend time with them and to teach them. I couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed and nervous-I don’t want to disappoint them! When they were singing and greeting me so joyfully, I felt like crying. I am not sure if that was because I felt so honored by their warm welcome or because I felt so very sick. I think it was a combination of the two. Soon, a young girl showed me to my room. I again felt embarrassed by all of the thigns I had brought and apologized profusely for the weight of my baggage. Sister Olga told me to get settled and then meet them …somewhere. I really didn’t understand what she said. As far as I was concerned, I wanted to lay down and never get back up. Once in my room alone, I locked the door and collapsed on the bed. My mind was racing and my head was spinning. I was still so overjoyed by the warm welcome and still felt very sick. After a few minutes I decided I should probably make myself presentable and go meet whoever I was supposed to meet. My hair looked like a mess-I can’t believe everybody saw me looking so terrible. I brushed it into a nice ponytail and headed out. I found the sisters in the dining hall. They were all waiting for me. I felt terrible because I had laid on my bed for several minutes not really sure what to do. In the meantime they had been waiting for me in the dining room. I sat at the head of the table and there was a cute placard that said, “Welcome Home!” At that moment, I did feel at home. I had finally made it!
I could immediately tell that the sisters were all very close and got along well. They liked to laugh and joke with each other and were all very friendly to me. I saw that on a white board near the entrance was a message with my name in it. I asked Sr. Olga to translate: “Welcome, we are so happy to have you with us Dear Keelan.”
After dinner I headed back to my room. Sr. Menia knocked on my door a few minutes later offering me hot water for my shower in the morning. I wasn’t sure why I needed hot water ( I had used cool water in Dili), but I gratefully accepted. I am very glad I did. The next morning the hot water was a welcome relief from the frigid water already in the buckets. Sr. Menia seemed embarrassed that she didn’t know more English. She said she would like to practice her English with me. I told her that I would love to practice English with her, but I would also love to practice my Tetun with her. We both smiled and formed a special friendship right there I think! Although I was exhausted and still dizzy, I decided to unpack my things. Before too long, everything was pretty neatly put away and I sunk into bed. What an exhausting day!
Within a few minutes of getting into bed, I heard 2 dogs outside my window barking back and forth to each other. They were so loud and the barking continued for a good 20 minutes! Finally they ran away and I was able to drift into a good sleep!
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