When people ask me about my strangest experience, it is usually my early days in New Zealand that come to mind. It was a very hard story to tell because it is simply too bizarre to be believable. For years I never told anyone because they were sure I was making it up. It is … More Culture Shock New Zealand: a New Yorker does the South Island – 1980
It was already quite late on the last night of the fasting month of Ramadhan, 1993. I was sitting on the bottom bunk bed along side Sari and her youngest brother Atong. She had asked me to come and sit here because she had something to tell me. We were staring at the old ceramic … More Untold Stories
Nobody speeds through the dusty streets of Dili, the taxi driver, named Arulio, tells me in his Portuguese accented Indonesian. This is because the Timorese have not been driving for long and few feel comfortable enough behind the wheel of these bulky machines. Plus, he continues, “The new government keeps changing the road directions. Yesterday … More Short Story: Tales from Timor Leste (2003)
Laine Berman 