Satu Hari di Kantor - Day One at the Office

Day one started with my last purchase to start up my digs - a small fridge with a little freezer even! The cost was under $200 Can. and because it was such a big purchase rupiah-wise, 1.2m, I got free delivery! This was better than us on Berti's motorbike yesterday laden with shopping bags of household start up goods, sheets, towel, cleaning supplies etc. what a picture we were, but this is very common as it is the best way to get around. At our next stop we bought my floor fan - splurged for a floor model rather than a table top as only have two tables and think I need to save that space and will want my fan to move with me from table side when eating to bedside for sleeping!

Now for the office..We rode up a very narrow, slightly winding road full of potholes up to the office which is a hilly part of Kupang "suburb" and such a welcome sight to have so many trees, banana and coconut around the area. slightly cooler - but that's just relative! Probably still high 20's and in the office area I have to be by the fan as do the local staff, so I don't feels so bad. We sat out on the veranda most of the first few hours, trying to talk - my interpreter Berti had a funeral to go to in one of her villages she is responsible for so there I was, with two staff with a bit of English, others with not much or none,  and me with my bit of Indonesian. We laughed a lot, used the kamus - dictionary - and generally did ok. Then they had reports to write and a powerpoint to prepare for a big meeting tomorrow with 4 other community partners in their Access programme serving maternal and child health in 10 villages around Kupang. I will attend once I check out of my hotel and into my new room(s) at Berti's. Kind of like a row house with her two doors away and I have a small sitting room at front, large bed/eating/kitchen room and small area beyond this for my stove - one burner propane - and toilet room/wash room for dumping water over me for a bath from a large cement tub. Water runs out a hole in the floor.
BUT back to  my first day. My first month or 3 will be mostly getting to know staff, them me and slowly assessing their stated objectives  for the disability inclusion work they proposed to  CUSO-VSO. I am to assess these objectives with them and need to encourage their involvement as we develop them further or change if needed, and develop goals, and measurable outcomes. Full SWOT analysis is requested by VSO. Sound familiar to those of you in the community development or other planning work? I'm sure it is. And, adding comfort for me, recognizable! I might really be able to manage my first 6 moths, and be able to produce a report to VSO with the staff on our 6 months of assessment and project planning.
Friendly young staff, all single, mostly devout - we pray before eating our meal, both protestants and catholics. I can use all the prayers I can get, so welcome their well wishes before our lunch. We pack our own lunch as no places in the area to go for food, which will be good for me to manage my eating healthily.
So, must go now and pack up and see if my pet mouse has left more droppings on my bathroom counter! We met at 2 am this morning quite suddenly and me moving to the lobby for a bit to recuperate then decided to "woman up" and return to bed, flip-flops in hand for protection!!

I am enclosing photos of us getting ready with bags no the bike, Christmas in the supermarket - trees very expensive and very skimpy plastic - and the office and surrounding. Enjoy.