11,753 Mile Trip

Things are moving along - I just received my itinerary from the NDI office. On the 29th I will be heading to Washington for a couple of days of orientation and then on the 31st I will start a marathon 38 hour and 35 minutes of flying. Despite its length, the route is quite direct: Boston, Washington, Los Angeles, Sydney, Darwin and then Dili.

Below please find a map of my route:

Madison, WI

Hello and welcome to the East Timor Journal!

I have been spending the summer in Madison, WI attending intensive Indonesian language courses in preparation for my early-September departure for East Timor. The classes are tough - immersion is in and students are expected to stay engaged and chatting from 8 am until noon each day. The instructors - three women in their early thirties - have been working hard getting us ready to answer the question of why aren't we already married and making sure that we don't confuse the pronounciation for map and the Japanese army (a sore subject in Indonesian history.)

The highlights of living in Madison have been my coop - Lothlorien on Lake Mendota - and the Olbrich Botanical Gardens on Lake Monona. Please see the pictures below.



Lothlorien Cooperative, home to 35 "elves."





The Olbrich Botanical Gardens herb garden.