The other side of the East Timorese postcard

Hi, Julien,

It’s a little difficult see the same things for the first time every days, and be enchanted with,... isn’t? Can be also possible...

At Timor-Leste/East Timor we have a lot to discover and to be enchanted with every days. Just to remember that is the most recent country that we have in the world! So, we have a lot to be enchanted with over there! You can imagine how interesting could be?!

“Mister, mister” are words that we going to hear a lot during our stay. Is a beautiful country to go as a tourist, with beautiful beaches and mountains around, to discover... mountains that hide a lot that we don't see at Díli and at television/ news.
At Díli we have, and we found, everything that we need (that we are accustomed to have).
Most important is not to contract malaria (“bee-doko”), or dengue, as I had; we gonna need to have insect repellent with us all the time because “susuk” (mosquitos) like a lot to have “malae sira” (foreigners) around! 

If we want to discover East Timor as a tourist... we should to go to the districts. Also, if we are working there we have the opportunity to know better this country and travel to other countries in Oceania and Asia too...so, more to be enchanted with and it will be worth it for sure!

Is very good for us if we learn to speak Tétun  or Portuguese because it’s gonna  help a lot when we need to go to the traditional market to buy vegetables, fruits.... or for shopping at Timor Plaza. Words like “ita di’ak ka lae?” (how are you) are easy to learn. East timorese people like to greeting people even if they don’t know them, they are welcoming and friendly people... so, “Ita di’ak ka lae?” could make on them a good impression about you!
If we care about their culture, we live their bank holidays, their celebrations and we live with community...and we learn and, at the end, we gonna be speaking tétun language like a “Timor oan”  (east timorese) does. There is a lot to learn there and I warn all of you that East Timor will changes you... we don’t come back to Europe equal like we were before.

Something that I learned during my stay at East Timor is that we need to respect the culture from another people for sure!
Some people forget that they are living in another country, with native people that have a different culture- we need to respect their culture, because it’s not our home, it’s not our culture, it’s not our country, it’s not our continent! Even when they believe that when “one Crocodile (“lafaek”) eat a person is because that person was a bad person”... we can’t change minds, the culture from one community, from the night to the day! Everything is a question of time! We need to try do understand why they think like that (why we are correct and they are wrong?! Are we correct?! ) And, because is not our country we don’t have political leanings there, or religion, but we respect all of them. There is a beautiful culture and island to discover if we want to live as East Timorese does but, unfortunately, only a few do that!

Also, there is a magic place to discover: the islet of Jaco, that is also a good side of the postcard, and is the paradise. But, to get there, we need to pass through the hell (because of the “bad road” that leads us over there) what is a good challenge! After the hell we have the even... so paradisiacal!   

I can summarize “the Timor-Leste postcard” as Julian says, with two sides where we have "the hell" (a big trip to do to a small island on the Pacific and far away from your family, home and ideas,...) and "the even" (all the enchantment when you are discovering a new place, people, culture, language, history or working to contribute to the development of this country). We need to live with both.. and try to be enchanted by the first time every days. Life should be that isn’t? Enchantment, fascination?! But...when someone/something breaks that spell/enchantment, or when we wake up from that enchantment... we also see a lot of frustration and “odium” and that is the other side of the postcard too... people from East Timor lived many years with oppression, frustration, dictatorship, blood.

The other side of the East Timorese postcard gonna changes you for ever...people says: "if you drank coconut water during your stay, maybe you come back again one day"! Julien, you know what? I want to come back again 

(sorry my english, I'm not a native english speaker)

Cheers,
Lubaptista