In Timor-Leste, people speak Tetun and Portuguese as official languages. But every village has its own local dialect, so there’s a lot of variety! Many kids and young people also know a bit of Bahasa Indonesia because of the TV shows they watch. Everywhere you go, it feels like a mix of sounds, like a colorful puzzle of languages.
In Timor-Leste, they use the US Dollar, but with a twist! They don’t use the $1 bill. Instead there’s a coin for one dollar. Other coins are used too, and for bigger amounts they have $10, $20, $50 and $100 bills. It’s like using familiar money, but with some local surprises.
A 1.5-liter bottle of water costs about 50 cents here. Since I’m a volunteer, I don’t buy too many bottles. Instead, I filter my own water at home, pour it into bottles and add a few drops of chlorine to keep it clean. It’s like I have my own bottled water company in my room.
