The thingy that changed my life.
Recently, and thanks to East Timor’s ever-so-speedy advances in modern technology, my life changed in a profound way:
I got internet access at home!
It is superficial, indeed. I never expected that an 8cm long stick-thingy could make me so unbelievably happy.
When we first arrived in Oecusse, the only available internet was at the Timor Telecom office – about 5 kilometres from my house, during business hours, subject to available generator power. At that time I had no means of transport and was completely reliant on getting lifts from Wade.
A few months after that a new “media house” opened in town – still about 5 kilometres from my house, but it was open at night (after the power came on), so if I couldn’t get a lift to Timor Telecom during the day, chances were, Wade would need to go at night to check his emails, so I just went along with him.
Within a couple of months of the media house opening up, my life changed for the first time: I got myself a push bike. Finally, I had some wheels! I had to learn to ride it first, but the first day I rode into town to use the internet was one of my biggest achievements since arriving in Timor. I was unstoppable! Except, that is, for the days when I rode all the way into town only to find that the generator wasn’t working, so no internet. Because I was studying at the time, this would often mean that my whole day of assignment research would be ruined. To avoid this situation in future, I got the phone number of the guys at the internet cafe so I could call in advance to check that all was working ok. That made life a little easier.
Some months later, my life changed again: Wade got internet at his office. Wade’s office is closer to home – about 2kms away – and much more accessible. To top it off, it was a really speedy connection so all the articles I needed to download for uni could be done in a fraction of the time than that at the internet cafes.
And then the advent of the pre-paid internet stick-thingy!
Up until a couple of months ago, a typical “To do” list on my Outlook Express would look something like this:
Google: Flights for xmas
Go shopping – food for dinner
Google: Rosella plant
Google: uni enrolment status
Pay Vodafone bill
Google: how to make ricotta
Google: online photography courses
We do adapt quickly. Now I am able to Google at my leisure, as thoughts occur to me.
I have now become so used to having my internet stick-thingy at home, that it has become a real pain in the arse to have to go to Timor Telecom to check my balance on my stick and top up the credit.
Just yesterday, I was feeling really depressed. Nothing I could do would lift me out of the doldrums. Not even the internet. I checked emails, I facebooked, I Twittered (the mainstays of my daily internet ritual) and then I was over it. There was nothing new to be learnt, no jobs to apply for, no inspiration to be found.
I could sense that my credit was dwindling and it was no surprise that when I dragged myself to Timor Telecom late in the afternoon, I found that I only had three dollars left.
I topped up: $50. That buys me 25 hours of internet time. I walked out of the Timor Telecom office, feeling a little lighter, my internet stick-thingy buzzing in my hand with new energy.
So, this morning I wake up, eat breakfast, kiss my husband goodbye for the day, get out my computer, plug in the stick-thingy and suddenly the internet is a whole new world of intrigue, excitement and stimulation. I find myself darting all over the place! Moving from one page to another! One downloaded video to the next! Chatting to friends! Downloading podcasts with ease! Suddenly, I feel alive again! The world is my oyster!
I feel alive!
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