Tag: expat
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Farol is a triangle
I live in a central suburb of Dili called Farol, which stretches inland from the little white lighthouse on the coast (guess what farol means in Portuguese). It’s a quiet, leafy suburb with wide, paved streets, and is home to a handful of cute coffee shops, several NGO offices, almost every embassy in the country and…
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January thoughts
Hello, February. I’ve been back in Dili after my end-of-year trip to Perth for just shy of three weeks, but it already feels like months — this is a very, very good place to settle back into. While my dizzy declarations at the end of last year that I’d be working less and taking more…
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My (new) favourite places in Dili
Nearly a year ago, I wrote a long blog post called My favourite places in Dili, where I listed the cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants I found myself returning to, time after time. Since several have shut down and I’ve found new favourites, I thought it prudent to update this list. Here are my new…
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My last trip back to Dili
Exactly ten days ago, I returned to Dili for the last time — my trip home after a Christmas visit to Perth my very last arrival before I fly out for good in April. I’ve done this Christmas trip once before. One year ago, I published a blog post titled How it feels returning home…
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9 ways to find work in Timor-Leste
Coincidentally, two different people have asked me this week how to find work in Timor-Leste. I do not consider myself particularly expert on this — in fact, I feel more like a hapless good-luck magnet who’s somehow flopped from job to job and remained gainfully employed for the entire time I’ve lived here — but…
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A Dili packing list
Are you about to move to Timor-Leste? Have no idea what you can get here and what you must devote your precious checked-bag kilograms to? Here’s a short list from my experience of what you need when you arrive in Dili. Read more: Your first weekend in Dili First-day stuff Chuck this in your carry-on.…
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19 things for 2019
Several years in a row, my friend Fiona has set a numbered list of goals or intentions for the new year, linking the number of goals with the year. Nineteen things for 2019, this year. After our coffee-shop reflection the other day, I finished a list of my own. This blog doesn’t quite feel the…
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I love love
Last week I posted on Instagram asking what people would like to know more about with my life in Timor-Leste. One reply — the first reply — asked about Felix, my boyfriend. “I’m nosy and I love love!” the asker wrote. Same. I feel a bit shy with this one; I don’t quite know what’s too…
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2018: In summary
My friend Fiona and I are sitting at the very back table at my favourite Perth coffee shop, Satchmo, on this last day of 2018, preparing to set our goals and intentions for the new year. She’s written out a long, thoughtful list of prompts in her journal; I’ve suddenly decided I need to spend…
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2018: Favourite blog posts
I’ve written 83 posts on this blog this year, which feels like a lot. If you’re like, hey, I wonder what Sophie got up to this year, but wow I don’t want to have to look through all her posts, here’s a list of some of my favourite blog posts from 2018, broken into four…
Sophie Rai Liur 