Visit Port Watson

Port Watson has sprung up rapidly and has the taste of a goldrush town despite its tropical languor.  Its architecture appears eccentric,  and "city planning" is considered a dirty word. Everyone builds where 

and what they like, from thatch-hut to junkyard to geodesic dome or

       quonset, pre-fab or traditional, aesthetic-personal or functional-ugly.  Most streets are unpaved, and automobiles are rarely seen – although several hundred "free bikes" (painted white) lie about for anyone who needs them.

The population of the enclave is said to be about 2000, although no census has ever been taken. Perhaps half are native Sonsorolans;  the other half consists of many nationalities, the largest percentage  probably North Americans – then Chinese, Australians and New Zealanders,      Europeans (British, French, German, etc.), Scandinavians, South Americans,  a scattering of Filipinos, Javanese and other Southeast Asians; and  individuals from such unlikely places as Iran, Egypt, South Africa.  Most of the "settlers" came to work for the Bank or one of the other

            Port Watson concerns, although a significant number "just happened by, and decided to stay." Living styles range from Gauginesque beachcombing  to the international jet-set (the Bank’s roving front-people), but  the majority fall somewhere between such extremes.

Important: the traveler should constantly bear in mind that Port Watson differs from the rest of the world in one major respect: the absence of all law.  Some Watsonians like to depict their town as a cross between The Heart of Darkness and Tombstone City there’s gossip about duels and feuds, stories about "little wars" between communes, etc. – but in truth these incidents are quite rare,  possibly even apocryphal.  Nevertheless, the newcomer should be aware that no

            authority exists to pluck anyone from danger or difficulty;  every Watsonian takes full responsibility for personal actions;  the visitor  must willingly follow suit.

More about Port Watson

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Living together

I think living with others is important.  Sharing a home and resources means we tread more lightly upon the earth.  Interacting with others helps us grow.

Truly living together is more than just sharing a space for economic reasons.  It means cooking, cleaning, diy, childcare or whatever else is needed happening together.

It can be challenging as people have differnent standards of cleaniliness and different motivations.  This can lead to feelings of "unfairness" i.e. "I always wash up", "so and so never buys toilet paper". When this feeling of unfairness arises there is the posibillity of supression and resentment or blame and confrontation.

Steering a middle way between these extremes is a function of maturity.  In my case I seem to have a greater desire to get our house sorted than my beloved housemates do.  So what to do.  It seems like the solution is to do a lot of it myself while at the same time keeping a pressure on them to contribute.

This pressure seems to be best applied without blaming or pulling guilt trips but nonetheless being firm about my desire to keep moving with things.  There is definately frustration at times with the slow pace of progress yet still the judgement does not get too far before being spotted and anger never leads to hatred.

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