When I signed up for Gofar, I was aware that it would involve going to a third world country. However, I think that the reality that I'm about to leave Singapore to go to some backwater for over two weeks has not sunk in yet.
It will probably sink in on my first day in Dili, the capital of Timor Leste, when I look at the food and realise that maybe I didn't think through my decision enough to join the programme. This is also probably my last break before FYP and I'm about to spend it working my socks off in muddy villages while travelling on pothole ridden roads. I have been told that it's going to be crazy fun, which means that I know a few basket cases who are also eternal optimists.
I love eternal optimists, because they are my FML indicator. When I actually see them anything but optimistic, I know some shit has really happened. That is when I pull out my Forrest Gump lecture, which doesn't really help but I give it anyway.
"Life is like a box of chocolates. Sometimes, you get the expired ones. They taste bad, but you won't die."
Really, I would have welcomed a break after internship. I extended because I enjoyed the experience so much, but now that manliest of manly commitments called IPPT is looming and I have no means of training unless I undergo a guerrilla course in Timor.
Perhaps I could wake my roommate every morning to the sound of me jogging on the spot and doing pushups on the floor while huffing and puffing like an elephant. Because in exercise, no pain, no gain. Sometimes got pain, still no gain, except around the midriff area.
I'm pretty sure at the end of the trip we will be bosom buddies, if he doesn't try to kick me out of the room first.
Really, Timor Leste is really one of those places that I can't make up my mind about whether it's cool to visit. I mean, if I tell people that I went to South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina or some far flung but exotic place, people will start wondering what happened to their lives.
When I tell them I'm going to Timor Leste, they go "Huh where is that? Sounds damn tribal sia." When I try to explain, I realise that their attention has already shifted to something else. And nobody ever tells me that they envy me for going to somewhere so unique.
It's one of those places that people don't even put on their list of 100 places to visit before they die, because chances are they don't even know it exists. And even if they do, it'll probably be the 101st out of 100, and that is me being optimistic.
The most unique comment I've heard so far is that the service industry is extremely good there, particularly of the female escort variety. Well, now you know where to find great chicken.
I'm also rather miffed that I will not be able to play Starcraft 2 back at home. Did you see the number of grown men that shed tears or cheered like little boys at the countdown. It almost felt like they had seen the messiah. It was so big that the Straits Times gave its launch a cover page mention, which must be a first for any game anywhere.
So in preparation, instead of reading reports about the country, I'm now downloading shows to watch, because I realise that every night I will have nothing to do but catch up on them, which isn't really too bad. We're actually getting curfewed. How cool is that. Better buy more insurance.