Well week 5 came and went in the blink of an eye and before I know it week 6 is about to end too! Spent most of week 5 writing grants (I have two to write before the 2nd Dec!), visiting hospitals, and conducting interviews for potential candidates for the next round of our Timor Leste Health Leaders Fellowships Program which we’d like to run in 2010 (if we can get funding of course!). Also squeezed in quite a few meetings and some nice dinners (well a girl has to eat)!The first batch of interviews at the National Hospital went really well. It is always helpful to meet the applicants face to face and although it is full on I enjoy meeting everyone and finding out more about them and what they do. There were some exceptional candidates and I really hope that we get the chance to bring some over to Australia for 3 months next year. After experiencing something similar here in Timor I know how useful such an opportunity can be. Well fingers crossed!
Visiting some of the hospitals and health centres has been tiring but definitely worthwhile. At the beginning of the week I visited Klibur Domin Rehabilitation Centre (where Joaquim – one of our Fellows this year - is the Director). Joaquim and Alice (an Australian Physio who has been volunteering in Timor Leste for the last two years) showed me around. The Centre does a great job on limited funds.
My visit to Maliana to see the Referral Hospital on Thursday was about a three hour drive west of Dili. I was with Ostelino and Jose from the Ministry of Health and we took the coastal route. I get car sick so the prospect of being on a winding road for that long wasn’t pleasant but the coastal road was much better (apparently) than the inland route... and prettier. Jose was driving and he must have thought he was a rally driver because he was going through huge pot holes and dirt roads like he had a race to win! In Dili, cars rarely go more than 20km/hr so Jose was driving at what felt like break neck speeds in comparison! I also think I might be a few inches shorter after the experience – I swear my vertebrae have collapsed in on each other in protest after being tossed around the back seat of a car with little resembling suspension! Craig – you’d better book me in for some intense chiro sessions when get back – I can’t afford to be shorter then I already am!! Anyway I did manage to see some of the view as it whizzed by and it was beautiful. Occasionally we would even slow down enough so I could snap a quick photo. 
To get to Maliana we went through Balibo so I got to see the ‘Australian Flag House’ which has been converted into a community centre. Balibo itself is a tiny place that you probably wouldn’t take much notice of normally. However, after reading so much about the place as well as seeing the movie about the Bailbo 5 and Roger East, is was strange wandering through knowing what had happened there. The road to Balibo is lined with the most beautiful red flowered trees. I took “hundreds” of photos trying to capture how magnificent they were but failed I’m afraid! 
We spent a couple of hours at Maliana Hospital where I interviewed a potential Fellow and looked around the hospital with the Director (after I’d got my ‘land legs’ back – told you the driving was crazy!). We then headed back to Dili once at breakneck speeds after a wander through the marketplace and a quick lunch (otherwise known as “something to throw up” if motion sickness set in on the windy road back). However, we got back to Dili safe and almost sound (and thankfully still with the contents of my stomach intact!).
On Friday I met with Helen and Anita (Australian Paramedics and lecturers) who were running a two week training course for the ambulance service. The training was funded by the Military Order of Malta so I also met with David (Ambassador for the Order) and Lieut Cnl Tony (the Project Coordinator for Timor Leste). It was a good opportunity to discuss how we might collaborate more especially since we do critical care/emergency training of doctors and nurses at the hospitals. I was invited to a dinner that night hosted by the Order and got to know Anita and Helen who are great fun and I suspect very good in a crisis, being former paramedics! The three of us went out for dinner again on Sunday. I took them to one of my favourite restaurants here – a little Sri Lankan restaurant close to where I live. Actually it’s the place I suggest to most people if we are arranging dinner meetings. In fact I’d already had a big dinner there with Susan, Beth, Dominique (all from HAI), Lauri and Brett (both from TAIS ) and Zoe (MoH Advisor) on Tuesday – I should be getting commission! The restaurant doesn’t appear to have a name except for “The Sri Lankan Restaurant” but has awesome food that is also really cheap! The downside is that you can sometimes sit there for an hour waiting for it – they haven’t quite got that bit down pat! Well that was pretty much week 5 for you .......
Ateja!
D x
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