In the lead-up to moving overseas for two years, I have moved out of my house and been house sitting. I’m currently staying in a beautiful architectural home, and have use of the car while I’m here, a near-new Mazda 3 which I’m getting around in happily. Another friend is also away. I house sat … More A Life of Contrasts
It’s not really mine, but belongs to a neighbour/friend. In just over a month I am moving to Cambodia to live and work for nine months. I would love to be going back to East Timor, but at this stage, for employment and experience purposes, Timor doesn’t offer the same opportunities. For starters, Medecins sans … More My First Cambodian Story
Our social media has gone crazy with “funnies” about Tony Abbott’s election win on Saturday. He’s a very conservative man, and many of us are not happy with various aspects of his politics. But he won in a landslide victory, and so we’re going to have to “wear it”. The only thing I want to … More Australia has a new Prime Minister
It turns out that Red Cross in East Timor (CVTL) have a “water team”. They have emailed me to explain that they may well be able to assist with the request for water access for the small village who lost their water in the recent disaster. They need the request for assistance to come directly … More Timor-Leste Correspondence
Occasionally in my microbiology studies I’ve encountered mention of HeLa cells, but didn’t really know what they were. Recently, in the virology course I’m currently enjoying so much (https://www.coursera.org/course/virology), the lecturer referred us to a 2010 book called “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, by Rebecca Skloot (which I’ve downloaded but am yet to read). … More Ever heard of HeLa Cells?
Update 17 August 2013 I have now heard back from both Friends of Baguia, and CVTL (Red Cross Timor Leste). CVTL said this: Dear Helen Our apologies for not getting back to you sooner – but we went on a bit of a mission to find out what had happened in Baguia. No one, either … More Not a word about this in our media
http://www.coursera.org is a website offering hundreds of free short online courses from many reputable universities around the world. It’s well worth taking a look at what they have to offer if you’re at all interested in undertaking any type of informal but structured study. There is an enormous range of subjects, and the website is … More Meanwhile Some Social Epidemiology
The last time I wrote a book review, was probably in the mid 1980s when I had to for school. So I don’t know how this will go, but it’s worth trying, because the book was great. Some months ago, when I was still fostering, I was talking to a social worker about things, and … More The Boy Who Was Raised As a Dog
There’s something strange about living in this place ↑ and then visiting this place ↓
“If we think only of ourselves, forget about other people, then our minds occupy very small area. Inside that small area, even tiny problem appears very big. But the moment you develop a sense of concern for others, you realize that, just like ourselves, they also want happiness; they also want satisfaction. When you have … More The Wisdom of Forgiveness
alicespringstomind 