East Timor Travel Forum

Does anyone know about studying Potugues in e. Timor? How about getting some work teaching English or anything else? I plan on being there for a month (Dec?) and want to do something. Also, if you know how to get there from OZ, I'd appreciate a hint. I hear I have to fy from Darwin, but no one seems to know details. cheers

Laowai? Looks like you've spent some time in China already.
If you want to study Portuguese in Asia then why in the world go to East Timor when you can enjoy the comfort and cuisine of Macau and study Portuguese there? You can easily get a job teaching English across the border in Zhuhai.
Best wishes,
Confucius

I guess the best reason for going to E. Timor is because it's not Macau. But, really, China is too far from where I'm living now. Cheerio.

If you put it that away then I must agree that East Timor is definitely not Macau. It still strikes me as kind of an awkward backward place to study Portuguese though just for the sake of its proximity to Oz. The conditions in E. Timor are still very much at the lower end of the Third World standard of living.
It would be like studying Russian in Kazakhstan, doing a semester of French in Ivory Coast, or undertaking a work-study program to learn German at the remote Mennonite colony in Guatemala.
Ni mingbai wo de yisi ma? (Y'know what I mean?)

Wo ming bai a. ni ne? I reckon if they speak Portuguese, I'll take all the rest that comes with it. That's why I'm going there- not because it's close to Oz- that's just convenient.

That's where the problem is!
Very few of them do.
Indonesian, Tetun, plus the other native languages are far more widely spoken!

being the worlds newest country some of your questions are not so easy to know or answer
I have good friend living in Australia who is from east timor and so maybe i can find out more facts from him but you will have to wait a few days okay.

having seen reports on east timor while Australian troops were helping the country to gain independence I would say your going to have alot to deal with which is not to say it will not be rewarding.
you are going to find you will come out a changed person if you spend much time there.
There are a whole range of things which the country needs to set to task in order to firstly get their own *** together then to try and get people to visit for work or travel is a whole other matter.full marks to you for having a go and wish you all the best in your possible under takings

Hi, I can tell u Timor is a magnificent place to be! Ok, u may need to compromise a bit in luxuries, but I did find Greek salad in Dili durirng my last stay there last year! It costed over 6 Us, which is a problem for foreign visitors, it is quite expensive to stay there these days... Timorese are very friendly people, abit reserved to begin with, so if u approach the country and its people with respect u will soon get through most of the difficulties. Australian soldiers' comments about their duty there shouldn't be so relevant for traveller, i would claim... About language now, Timor has a minority of fluent speakers of portugues, but many portuguese citizens live in Dili as well. Most young people speak indonesian and not portugues, it,s true! U will also be able to teach English, but do not expect to earn much from it...
If u stay for a while, try the Kupang/ Bali/ australia route as well, it is culturally smoother!

I see that you're all right- about 20 % speak Portuguese there- if that from what I hear. I've made a few contacts in Timor, but am looking for more. Anyone been there recently? I heard the costs have gone down since the UN left. cheerio.

good luck for you;)

Many months after my experience, thanks for all your advice. I see that someone is still adding to the thread so I thought I'd offer any answers to questions regarding the sort I had before I went if anyone is interested. Ate Logo