Drinking Tua and Running Races
Hello again,
Here I’ve included a few short stories from the final months of 2024.
Finadu in Venilale
This was my second time celebrating the Timorese holiday of Finadu, or All Souls Day. The holiday takes place each year on November 2 and is a chance for Timorese to return to their ancestral homes and pay respects to the spirits of their late family members. Last year, I celebrated along with my training host family in Gleno but this year I took part with my family here in Venilale. An added bonus was a visit from Maun Yo over the holiday weekend. Maun Yo was a JAICA (Japan’s version of the Peace Corps) volunteer who lived with my host family in Venilale for two years before evacuating due to COVID-19. He now works at an NGO in Dili and, just like most Timorese, comes back to his home in the mountains every year to celebrate Finadu with the family. Much to the amusement of Timorese in my commmunity, Maun Yo and I speak Tetun with one another when we have conversations, whether other Timorese are around or not; It just feels more natural for both of us!
The day itself played out similarly to my experience last year in training. Maun Yo and I headed to Mass with the rest of my family to get our flower petals blessed by the priest before we could spread them on the graves of our family members. Although our plans to head to the cemetery were briefly interrupted by a downpour, we managed to pay our respects before coming back home for a meal all together. Different from last year, however, were our activities in the afternoon. Maun Yo, my host father, and I walked into the ai-laran (jungle) to my family’s uma lulik and ancestral home (see my previous post if you want to read more about uma lulik - Timorese sacred houses). There we first sat through the resolving of an issue between two young women who had had a physical fight while living together in Dili, after which Maun Yo and I sat down with the men to chat and drink some tua sabu (distilled palm brandy). I’d like to do a dedicated post in the future about tua (traditional Timorese palm alcohol) where I accompany the process of making it, but there are essentially two varieties of these palm alcohols: tua sabu (the distilled palm brandy; very high/unkown ABV) and tua mutin (white palm wine; not very high alcohol content, refreshing and a little sweet). While tua mutin is tapped straight from the palm tree (a specific variety — black palm or sugar palm in English) and is many times fermented with tree bark during this tapping process, tua sabu is further cooked down and distilled using a series of bamboo pipes. Over the past year and a half, I've learned that I definitely prefer tua mutin, and even enjoyed some for my recent birthday that I celebrated here. Tua sabu is just quite…powerful. But to each their own. Men in Timor often sit together, drink tua, eat meat, and talk, and Finadu is the perfect opportunity as all extended family leave the capital to gather together in the foho (lit. mountains; refering to the rural areas of Timor-Leste).
Dili Half Marathon
Although I looked forward to it throughout the year, I had assumed the Dili (Half) Marathon canceled on account of the Pope’s visit in early September. To my surprise, however, the other volunteers who planned on participating found out last-minute information that the event would take place on November 16. So I headed to Dili. Although I go for runs most days at site, my training was a far cry from what had gone into preperatation the previous half marathons I’ve raced. No training block. No interval sessions or track work. No long runs. Just lots of hilly running with pretty views in Venilale. My goal was just to have fun (and beat the other volunteers as dictated by my competitiveness).
In total six volunteers ran the race which started at the Presidential Palace and looped around the whole coastal part of the city. The course was really beautiful, though it became scorching hot as the minutes ticked by. By the end, I was beat and the finish line couldn’t come soon enough. I crossed together with another volunteer, Kyle, and we downed water after water as waited for the rest of our friends to come through. I’m definitely ready to prepare better and run again next year. I might have to get creative with preparation methods out here in the foho.
Thanksgiving in Dili
This year Thanksgiving fell on November 28, coincidentally Declaration of Independence Day in East Timor and a national holiday. Our Peace Corps Country Director kindly invited all volunteers currently serving over to his house for a Thanksgiving celebration and a taste of home.
Walking through the pouring Dili rain (hence the appearance of some of us in the picture below), we finally arrived to a table of real and incredible Thanksgiving food that Country Director Jamie and his wife Esmeeh had spent the entire day preparing. Turkey, mashed potatoes, and pie galore! The evening served as a well-timed break after the end of third period exams and the school year as a whole. We indulged in the delicious food (I was particularly invested in the desserts) and fun conversation with each other. Opportunities like this are very appreciated by me and other volunteers because we can laugh through some of the humorous (and frustrating) experiences that we have as volunteers in Timor-Leste. Free, non-rice-based foods are always a treat too.
With the new calendar year 2025 comes the beginning of my second (and final) school year as a teacher in Timor-Leste. Thinking back on myself this time last year, I am amazed by how far I’ve come and how much I’ve learned. I’m entering this year much more confident as a teacher and a member of my community as a whole, and I am excited to work with my community to create sustainable and meaningful change for those in Venilale, especially for students at my school. That being said, you all can look forward to updates in this newsletter throughout 2025. I'm hoping to tell longer, more focused stories from my final year here.
Thank you for reading and obrigadu barak,
Andy
P.S. Here’s a photo of the 10 members of my cohort (TL12, or the 12th Peace Corps cohort to serve in Timor-Leste) at our Mid-Service Training in Dili last week.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this newsletter are my own and in no way represent the views of the Peace Corps nor the U.S. Government.