Category: Work
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9 things I wish I knew before I started my AVID assignment
I’ve recently completed the mid-term evaluation of my AVID assignment, which means I’m just over halfway through my 18-month-long placement in Timor-Leste. Here are nine things I now know that I wish I did before I started. 1. It’s really that slow In the pre-departure training required as part of the AVID program, staff warn…
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What’s your job?
A couple of days ago, I asked on Instagram what kind of posts people would like to see on this blog. “I’ll have a lot of time to write in transit as I return to Perth for Christmas,” I explained in an Instagram Story. “What would you like to know more about?” A lot of…
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Lunch in Lecidere
Most lunchtimes I walk the 10ish minutes from my office in Audian to the suburb Lecidere, which sits just back from the beach road. It’s a busier suburb than Audian, with more cafes and lunch options, and if I don’t make lunch plans with a friend I’ll often run into one anyway. Today I walked…
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I’ve totally got it this time
Two scenes. On Monday. My boss enters my office to let me know the English classes I had been teaching at the Universidade de Paz every Friday will resume from this week. They’ll happen every Wednesday at 12pm. To be honest, I didn’t love the classes when I was teaching them before — I’m not…
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Daily life in Dili
A few months ago, I wrote a post describing my working life in Dili. Between the sunsets and the fresh fruit juices and witty friends and weekend dive trips, I wrote, you’d be forgiven for thinking my life glamorous and exotic — which isn’t quite true. I wrote that post just one month into my…
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Back in
Back in the office after five days off, with a smile on my face because of: A thoughtful first-thing email from an old friend A big piece of work sent off, finally Stomach butterflies for a lunch meeting I know is important Sneakers in my bag for boxing post-work Dili sunshine and a $2 taxi…
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An update on my anxiety
“Is your anxiety better or worse in Timor?” Two friends now have asked me this question since I’ve moved here, and I’ve answered each differently: to one I said better; the other, worse. Both answers were true. The first friend asked me in the weeks immediately after I moved to Dili — acknowledging that an…
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How I deal when I don’t know what comes next
Late on Friday afternoon, I received an email from a colleague in our admin team, informing everyone about a staff meeting to be held at 9:30am on Monday morning. I asked my boss if I could spend a few minutes of it speaking briefly about my work; he said yes, and I sat for several…
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Some things that help
A couple of weeks ago, I published a post called “The Six-Month Slump,” in which I wrote about the apathy and melancholy I was feeling five-and-a-half months into my time here in Timor. I wrote it the day after I’d lost my bank card to an ATM, stumped home in a sulk with a bottle…
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A perfectionist’s guide to working in Timor
Last week, I sent a sheepish email to the old boss I used to freely accuse of micro-managing me. “I need some help,” I typed. “I’ve never had this much free rein in a job before, and I don’t know what to do. I’m feeling directionless and I need you to help me make some…
Sophie Rai Liur 