Heavy storms took out the electricity for several days, but is back up and running again. Emily recently sent these photos of Halacha to share. They were taken in November while visiting Halacha’s aunt in Com, which is located on the far east region of Timor-Leste called Lautem. For reference, Com is 215 km (134 miles) from the capital city of Dili.

Emily has kept herself very busy with work at FUNDAMOR, but took a month break in December to work for Ba Futuru, a child protection and peace building organization based in Dili. In addition to many initiatives and programs, Ba Futuru opened an early childhood center in July. Halacha enjoyed his time at preschool, playing and learning with other children.

Earlier this year, Osme acted in a film called Beatriz’s War, Timor’s first feature film. According to the film’s website, Beatriz’s War, “is a love story inspired by a true 16th century French story about Bertrande de Rols and her husband Martin Guerre. In this adaptation the story has been transposed to East Timor on the eve of the Indonesian invasion of the Portuguese colony.” The film is receiving a great response and actually won the top award, the Golden Peacock, at the International Film Festival of India. The film hasn’t made it over to the United States yet, but we all look forward to seeing it.

Emily and Halacha arrived in Lospalos last week! Here is a quick update from Emily:

We have made it safe and sound to Lospalos and are settled in our new house, which is very spacious and nicely positioned on a hill secluded from the road.  The bus trip was very long, especially since we waited for at least an hour by the road near our old house for the bus to come pick us up, and then there was also a flat tire that needed to be repaired en route.  Other than that, the trip was uneventful, especially because Halacha slept almost the entire trip.  We ended up departing Dili sometime between 10-11 am, and we didn’t arrive to Lospalos until after dark, maybe 8 or 8:30.  We stayed with Osme’s amaa-kiik (lit. “little mom”; his step-mom) and family at their house in Bee Moris (“Living Water”… nice name, huh?)  Early in the morning I met up with Angelina (Director of FUNDAMOR) and she took us to our new house, right next door to hers as well as the FUNDAMOR office which is about a 5-10 min walk away.  We took a few suitcases with us and left the other half with a friend in Dili.  Don’t worry, Halacha has plenty of toys and arts and crafts supplies to play with and we are set on clothes, too.  I’ll be going back to Dili (with Halacha) either this weekend or next weekend, and we can bring back the rest then.

The new house has 3 bedrooms, a big living area, kitchen, bathroom and a small front living room with a couch in it.  You walk up a very stony path (large enough for a car, but filled with rocks and even large round coral) and then it opens up into the front yard of the houses. There is a small front porch covered with red tiles, and you have to walk up several long cement steps to get up to it.  You come straight into the front room where there is a glass-covered coffee table and a blue sectional.  There are white lace curtains trimmed with gold ruffles, not only on covering the windows but also hanging in the doorway between the front room and the bigger living area.   In that larger room is a dining room table, a small desk and a refrigerator.  The master bedroom is on the front wall of the house, while the other two bedrooms are against the back of the house.  Behind the front room is a little hallway with the bathroom and the kitchen.  Along with about a gazillion air fresheners and neon-colored hearts that are actually moth balls living in the bathroom sink, we actually have hot water in the bathroom.  So that is something to be excited for.  We have a gas stove with two burners, but the countertops in the kitchen are all set for very, very short people.  I know some of you can relate to this challenge.  But I know we will make do just fine.  Outside there are lots of potted plants, most of them flowering, a nice clothes line/washing area, and a chicken coop.  Angelina also has a pig out back and is growing maize and some vegetables like tomatoes and eggplant.  She has four kids, ranging from about 10 down to 3 years old, and they are all over here right now playing with Halacha.  They’ve had a very fun time drawing pictures and driving his little yellow CAT cars around.

The FUNDAMOR office is very close, and has 4 rooms.  There is a larger room with two desks in it right when you walk in, then another smaller office room with two desks, one for Angelina and one for the finance officer, who I met today and is named Eva, and then I have my very own office a little further back.  I’m happy to say it has TWO desks in it (made into an L) and a very comfy office chair.  They have a water cooler with hot and cold taps, and I had a little coffee and sugar supply waiting for me with my own mug (which comes with a topper to keep it warm, so fancy).  They also have a meeting room in the back, where we will probably start English classes very soon, and then they also have a separate space next to the office where they provide printing/photocopy services.

Have to run, but all my love!
Emily & Halacha

After three weeks since our last FaceTime, I got a surprise call last night! Emily and Halacha were at the internet cafe and called to say hello. It was wonderful to see them (as always) and Halacha looks taller. Emily said he is nearly to her hip already. Even though it was just me at the house (Kevin is in Chicago), Halacha said, “Auntie Ashley and Uncle Kevin!” It always makes me so happy to hear his little voice say my name. He also said he wanted to come over to our house and play – oh how I wish we could! They both look healthy and happy.

Congratulations are in order for Emily as she was offered a position as Program Manager with a local non-profit organization called Fundasaun Amizade Tamba Amor (FUNDAMOR), which means foundation for love based on friendship. It is an organization that works with youth and women on capacity building, health, and education. I searched for a website, but could not find one. I’ll check with Emily to see if they have one. The organization’s work is in Lospalos (Osme’s hometown) and they are providing Emily, Osme, and Halacha a three-room house to live in once they move from Dili to Lospalos. They plan to move to Lospalos on February 4, but until then they are preparing to move, Emily is writing funding proposals for FUNDAMOR projects, and Osme is preparing for his trip to Australia where he will perform in the theater production Doku Rai at the Adelaide Festival. If you would like to learn more about the Doku Rai, click here for a good article and some pictures. With her new job, Emily will have more frequent access to the Internet so it will be easier to keep in touch. We are all so proud of Emily and know she will do so well in this role! She is already making connections with friends to plan capacity building projects and by listening to her tell me the details, I caught the excitement of the organization and the work they are doing to partner with the women and youth of Lospalos.

Osme’s birthday is coming up in February so we finished our call by me singing Happy Birthday so they could pass it on to Osme. I love how Halacha’s face lights up when anyone sings or plays music. He had a big smile on his face after my song and it made me wish I could leap through the screen of my phone and give him a big hug!

There haven’t been as many posts because it is difficult for Emily to get to the Internet cafe, but she is working on a post and getting some pictures ready to share. She called me (Ashley) through FaceTime during the week before Christmas and I was delighted to see her face! It felt so good to see her and hear about what she has been up to. A few weeks ago, she, Halacha, and Osme traveled to Osme’s hometown, Lospalos, to meet Osme’s family. Lospalos is on the East side of the island and while according to Google maps it is a three hour drive, Emily said it took more like six hours. We look forward to seeing some pictures!

While my parents were visiting Kevin and me in Bloomington for Christmas, we connected twice with Emily through FaceTime. The first time she brought Osme’s two half sisters, Oswalda and Odete, with her to help them set up Gmail and Facebook accounts. They came back with Emily, Osme, and Halacha from Lospalos to spend some time with them in Dili. Odete is 21 and Oswalda is 19. They are both very sweet and friendly. Emily said they love playing with Halacha and giving him piggyback rides. She also said that she and Osme have taken Halacha to the beach a few times and he loves playing in the water and chasing the fish.

We hoped we could connect again with Emily on Christmas, but as it was getting later and later in the evening, we weren’t sure if she would be able to make it to the Internet cafe. Then, around 9:45 p.m. during a game of pinochle, my mom’s iPad starting ringing! It was Emily and she brought Halacha with her! We were all thrilled to see Halacha, especially since it was the first time for all of us to video chat with him since they left. He immediately said hi to all of us and said our names. It warmed my heart to hear him say, “Auntie Ashley!” He was playing with a new Thomas the Train mini figure my mom and dad sent with Emily for him to open on Christmas. He was rolling Thomas all over the table, the keyboard, and floor, so it was a challenge for Emily to keep up with her iPod Touch so we could watch him. His hair has curled up in ringlets in the heat and humidity of the Timorese climate and is very cute. They both look happy and healthy and while we were all happy to connect on Christmas, there was also an element of sadness as we wish we could all be together in person. Our Christmas video chat was the highlight of the day!

A quick update: Emily, Osme, and Halacha will be leaving Bali to  visit Osme’s cousin for the next few days and won’t have access to the Internet during that time. They will fly to Dili, the capital of TImor-Leste, on the 7th so we should have another update shortly thereafter. More to come!

Hello all and welcome to the first entry in our travel blog, sharing the details of our adventures with Emily, Halacha and Osme!  

This last week, we were in full-fledged preparation mode and everything was just moment to moment as we were getting ready to leave.  We made it successfully through the airport and our two flights, thanks in all totality to the help of my family and friends who gave everything to help us get ready to leave.  Currently, we are together with Osme in Bali and we are having a great time.  Our hotel is the Balisani Padma in Legian area (try looking it up on agoda.com) and it is beautiful, lush, and just what I was hoping for.  For $22/night, we have a spacious room with a bathtub and hot water, a sparkling pool with swim-up bar/food, frangipanis falling everywhere, and it is like being in a garden with small cottages circling the pool.  I’ve taken some pictures and hope to take more and get them sent out.  It is an older hotel, so there are some “rustic” qualities — I consider it much like camping, except in a much more exotic location.

So far, Halacha has been so happy to be with his daddy, and every time he needs to leave for a moment (such as to go get some food for us), Halacha says, “I want my daddy back.”  It is so sweet, and watching the two of them together is making all of our troubles to get here, including the two flights (one 13 hours, one 5 hours) seem minor compared with the joy that we feel together.  That said, getting here was quite a task, and I had tremendous help from my parents, Sallie, my friend Rebecca who took off work to help me pack, and many others who chipped in to the big effort.  We are missing everyone, especially Mimi and Poppop, and also Cooper (or shall we say, as Halacha does, “Tooper”).  I know that the homesickness will kick in more and more as the newness wears off, but also I can say with confidence that I am so glad we are here and that everything is right in our world.

Tomorrow we plan to go visit Osme’s cousin (–now in Timor, many relatives are “cousins” but this one is actually his cousin as we would define it), and that is about a 90 minute journey by car, out in the country.  Osme stayed there on the night before we arrived and had a fabulous time.  They hadn’t seen each other since 1984!  Apparently it was quite the reunion, and we are really excited to go and see a little bit more of the Balinese countryside.  

We will keep you updated with photos and news via the travel blog that my sister is helping me to set up and update.  I hope to be able to schedule some Skype dates in the near future and can’t wait to hear more about what is happening stateside.  We will stay in good touch, and even though separated by many miles, we are truly only a few clicks away.

With much love,
Emily