Internet is frustrating and dinner is not

Internet is frustrating!

I was essentially out of the office for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday last week. I had to put off about four people with the International Women’s Day / Peace Conference excuse: ‘We’ll be able to meet with you after Monday the 9th.’

The internet worked perfectly whenever I was in the office last week.

Now that I need it to check my emails so I can see what we need to do, and have time to do this – naturally, the internet in our office is dead. (Apparently it’s the whole building.) I’d tell the IT technicians, only they’re never in the office (always on training, it seems, especially when they’re actually needed for something).

I do find this difficult about Timor – the lack of internet connections, the unreliability of internet connections I do have access too. I am super spoilt in Australia – working in a job that has an excellent internet connection I can use, and also having internet at home.

Guess I’ll just do like I usually do – pay $6 an hour to check my emails on a slow connection at lunchtime. I’m going to start getting receipts so I can claim this on my damn tax.

In case you can’t tell, I’m resignedly cranky and frustrated about this.

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Dinner on Friday night

Last Friday night we went to Libby’s farewell dinner. Libby took on a six-month Australian Volunteers assignment after she accompanied her husband George over here last year. I’m quite sad about Libby and George leaving, they’ve been really lovely to us. Libby is super fun and George baits me on every second sentence so although I get mad he’s great value.

I really enjoyed dinner, partly because it was just good fun and the food was delicious (grilled fish! Grilled prawns! Decent chippies!), but also because I met a new person from AusAID’s gender unit (I don’t usually say things like this, but we got on like a house on fire, it was great), and another woman who’ll be an excellent contact within Timor.

As well it was just nice to be able to go out and chat with people we know. I’ve said before that I feel it’s been difficult for me to make friends here. I don’t feel quite as concerned about that now. I don’t think it matters if you don’t have many friends around you if there are exhibitions or dinners or drinks to attend, because you meet people at those. But there isn’t much of that here. I’m used to having too many events to go to, I guess (swing dancing 5 nights a week, anyone?).

But now I’ve realized this, it’s easier to accept, and I'm enjoying all the other stuff I can do - or not do - relaxing is always high on my list. So hey, it's fine.