Christmas in Timor-Leste

Hello everyone!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I am so sorry for being such a slacker and not updating this for a while.

I have a lot to tell you and lots of photo's to show you, but I thought that maybe for now I would stick to Christmas! There are some lovely traditions here in East Timor that I wanted to share with you, and of course I wanted to show you what I got up to on Christmas day!

As for New Years...well, we might just leave those photo's for another time (and place).

As East Timor has a very high number of Catholics, Christmas is of course an important time of year. For me it felt a little odd. I almost kept forgetting that it was Christmas without the constant reminders that I really need to buy everyone I've ever met presents. While there were western influences here, mostly it was easy to forget what a big event Christmas is - especially in Maliana!

The first day that I was reminded it was Christmas was when my workmates had the radio on and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" came on. I started singing along and then realised I was singing completely different words...as it was being sung in Tetun. It was kind of strange, but nice to hear.

In their generosity, our central office in Dili sent us a Christmas tree with lovely accompanying ornaments and some very special lights that played music...my workmates loved them, except that the only time we could have the lights going was when we turned on the generator (as we have no power in our office). So, over the noise of the generator there was the very faint tinny sound of the Christmas tree lights playing music! It was very funny. Unfortunately I had a little malfunction with my camera so I am unable to show you any pictures of the Chritmas tree. But, it did make me smile everytime I saw it.

One afternoon we had a massive storm (which is common at the moment), with huge amounts of rain and wind and the poor little Christmas tree, which was sitting out on the front verandah of the building was blown over. Everyone rushed outside to rescue it. It really was a very valued part of the office, and there was a real sense of pride that we were able to have such a beautiful tree at our office.

Having the Chrismas tree out the front of the office was common throughout Maliana. If anyone had a tree at their house they would also put it on their verandah or at least in a place where other people could see it. It was kind of nice to see the trees around town, and certainly being able to afford a Chritmas tree indicates a degree of wealth...but I like to think that they just wanted to share their beautiful tree with their neighbours!

Aside from the Christmas trees around town there is also a nice tradition of people building mangers. It is actually a competition, but the work that goes into them is impressive. I have some photo's for you...

This nativity scene was put together by my friend Eugenia's family. There are around 5 houses on the street that are all the one family and so they worked together to make this one. It is probably my favorite one in Maliana. It's not in this photo, but they had a star suspended above it, as well as shells dug into the walk way (a special trip was made to the beach which is about an hour away to get the shells).

Just because I thought you might like a photo of me, this is Eugenia and I!


...and these are her nieces and nephews. Cute, huh?!

This one is on the main road in Maliana so I ride past it at least 4 times a day, which the guys building loved. I would occasionally stop and chat with them to check on the progress of it (which they also loved!) I really like Eugenia's but this one certainly gets points for innovation. These guys have not only pulled up grass from somewhere else to lay it inside the stable, but they've also painted the bamboo fence that they built...and the pole of the sign, as well as the fence and part of the drive way behind them which belongs to the electricity department.

But, as far as I am concerned, this is the best bit. While Eugenia and her family have a beautiful painted picture in theirs. these guys have got hold of a very small nativity set (kind of like one you or I might have) and set it up on the grass entwined with little Christmas lights. I love that they have spent a week building this enormous stable and then put tiny figurines inside it. Love it.

This is also one of my favorites. Again, it was built by a family who all live in one neighboruhood. These guys actually built stairs for their nativity scene.

The first day I saw people building these I had not idea what was going on, but all of a sudden there were heaps of them - I reckon one just about every 200 metres. They were built over the period of about a week, and were mostly finished on the 23rd of December. It was so nice to watch them be constructed, and such a nice idea that the families and friends combined their resources and creativity to build such pretty structures. Dili also has many of them around, but in my opinion (and I'm not at all biased) I think the quality in Maliana far exceeds that of Dili!

I decided to stay in Maliana until Christmas day and make the trip to Dili in the morning with some other Australians that live in Maliana. We decided to go to Christmas Eve mass together, as it was a nice thing to do, and very obviously a part of the Timorese Christmas tradition.

Driving up the hill to the church was amazing - there were so many people heading up there, we had difficulty getting through! There were so many people there, it was incredible. I think the mass lasted for just over two hours, with a few interesting moments - including the incense burners catching on fire (twice), the priest telling people that if they didn't come inside they weren't allowed to have communion, and the entire congregation scrambling to the altar to kiss a statue of baby Jesus (of which they had to have four as there were so many people). The singing was absolutely beautiful - the Timorese are very musical people. The photo above is not very clear, but that group of people in pink shirts is the choir. The church is a like a big open shed - it has no walls, which is kind of nice as it is so hot here!

Timor Leste is a place that just keeps on giving...this Christmas tree is actually a fountain near the Dili airport covered in green plastic. I love this. I can't explain how happy this made me - or why I think it is so funny. I just had to put this in for anyone who has seen the fountain (which is actually a series of replicas of woven baskets, each smaller than the one below). I thought those who know the fountain might appreciate it. You can't see it in the photo but there was reindeer the whole way around bottom of the tree. Nice.

So, I arrived in Dili at around 12.30 on Christmas day, and went to my friends' house for lunch...which we spent the afternoon preparing (all the while having a few drinks)...

...and finally eating at 5.30. It was de-diddly-icious. The fish was (on the Tiger box) was absolutely divine (thank Lizzie!).

And of course, what is Christmas day without people whose company you enjoy?! Lizzie in the red dress (and two of her friends visiting from Australia on either side of her) and Jemma in the purple dress (with her partner Justin who was also visiting from Australia)...

...and some more of my lovely ladies Rachel and Michelle.

So that's my story of Christmas! in Timor Leste. Of course, there was much more to it (but we'll save that for another time!). I have been having a little holiday in Dili for just over a week now and am heading back to Maliana tomorrow morning. (Well, I had a few "meetings" here in Dili last week, so I had to stay in town!) I am catching the bus back to Maliana for the first (and hopefully the last) time. I am not particularly excited about the journey, but I am very much looking forward to getting back to Maliana. I enjoy coming to Dili and seeing people, eating lots of good food and having easy access to things (well, easy in comparison to Maliana!), but I am looking forward to returning to the quiet life in Maliana. (I'm sure that will last about a week and then I'll want to come back to Dili!)

As yet I do not have a permanent home in Maliana. I have been lucky enough to stay in friends places while they have been away on holidays. Unfortunately it looks at though my friend Rachel (from the photo above) will not be in Maliana permanently. We had planned to live together, but until she finds out for sure whether she will be based in Dili or Maliana things are a little up in the air. While it has been a little difficult not having a place to call home, I really do feel lucky to have met some wonderful people in Maliana and made some great friends. I feel well supported by my friends in Maliana, my friends in Dili and of course my family and friends from every part of the world.

A big thank you to all of those that have sent me emails, messages, called me, skyped me and sent me parcels! On that note, if you have skype please let me know! I try to get a few skypes in when I am in Dili. The best way to contact me is by email - susiemaggie80@gmail.com

Big love to you all - boas festa ho feliz tinnen foun.