Dreams of Route 2

Driving to and from Manatuto this weekend I passed the Metinaro IDP camp across from the F-FDTL training center and was struck by its transformation. When I first arrived, it was a jumble of white UNHCR tents. Today, most tents are gobbled up with palm thatch and squash vines climb onto the roofs of small stands selling washing powder and noodles.*

I realized that this permanence made sense – after all, these people have been living there for almost twelve months

This has been a week or so of thinking about the passage of time and its neat divisions into years: birthdays, the anniversary of the crisis, and decisions about where I want to be and when.

My yearlong contract here is up at the end of August, after which I will be home for a month. I will then be coming back to Dili to work at Belun – an innovative local NGO, which, among other projects, supports civil society organizations across Timor Leste.



Deciding to stay in Timor Leste has changed my thinking, and I notice it in small decisions. For example, last year I got really into cycling in the States – taking spinning through the winter and once the spring came, screaming down to Bristol a few times a week, reggaeton on my headphones. I adore my perfect bike, yet when Jess mentioned selling it, it made sense.

The sensation is of shifting my center of gravity towards the Pacific – having fewer things in the States and finding a comfortable living place, a community and a good bike here, now.

The paradox is that making the decision to stay makes me want to go home. O to see New England, family and friends! Before, to fantasize about the Harvard bookstore and what is coming up mom’s garden felt like I was being unfaithful to under-dog Dili. Now, with another year ahead, I believe I have adequately professed my love.

I can now let my thoughts tiptoe back a bit… daffodils, hockey rinks, squirrels, Ahhlington.


*The be-palmed tents reminded me of the trailer on the road Red Top that had a wood frame house squatting on top, and the strange, engulfing, Eye, Ear and Throat hospital in Boston.

Photo: Dollar beach today; Fi, The Vegetarian and Mustang in attendance. Built a magnificent shelter. Can I really be missing Route 2 when I spent my afternoon like that?