A New Journey Begins in Timor-Leste - Notes from a Long, Hot Summer

Life in the Foreign Service is full of twists and turns. There is no telling about what’s gonna happen to us. We may plan ahead, but life always gives us unexpected surprises. After nearly three years of stint at the Home Office, I had a choice on whether to obtain a post-graduate degree or get a new Foreign Service posting. Frankly, my first choice to obtain a masters degree in international relations at the Escuela Diplomatica in Madrid with the program supposedly commencing in August 2016.

But life had others plans for me other than gallivanting in Madrid. Unexpectedly, my study grant was not approved by Spain at the last minute. Saddened and disappointed, I asked for the Foreign Service posting with the most urgent need for an Foreign Service Officer (FSO). There was Baghdad beckoning. They bumped off a young FSO who was not really given a choice of whether or not he wanted to go there for me. I got cleared for posting and I immediately accepted.

Baghdad was really a journey that I was looking forward to go to. I have always been a history nut and I would have been very happy to see with my very own eyes the so-called Cradle of the Civilization. To walk in the grounds of Nimrod, Nineveh, Babylon and Ur, to name a few, which were cities that we only get to imagine through the power of books, would have been a one heavenly experience.

Yet I wasn’t meant to be. Life threw me another curve ball when my path was deviated at the last minute to somewhere closer to home. Timor-Leste, seemingly a place where none of my Foreign Service colleagues were looking forward to go that, had an urgent need for an FSO. So, even if I was already given marching orders to go to Iraq, I was reassigned to Dili since no senior FSO had the balls to go there. As usual, I accepted the challenge with open arms.

I didn’t hesitate at all because I used to handle bilateral relations with Timor-Leste and I found their people to be very warm and welcoming. I was familiar with the background of our relations with them so the adjustment, I thought, would be easy. Who best to send than the one who handled bilateral relations, right? And I was right. Life in the youngest democracy in Asia does not faze me at all. I have always took pride in the fact that I could survive in any situation. Having grown up in a provincial atmosphere in the Philippines, I crave for no comforts nor luxuries.

I arrived in Dili on exactly 14 February 2017, Valentine’s Day. While everyone else was busy with finding their dates, I was busy adjusting to a new lifestyle. My heart beat so fast as I viewed Dili from my plane. Looking parched from afar with its mountains looking brown and dry due to the lack of vegetation, the view of the sea and the strands of white sand beaches was immaculate. I indeed fell in love at first sight with Timor-Leste.

Timor-Leste is truly a land undiscovered. One of the youngest democracies in the world, it is one of the world’s least-trodden places with barely 100,000 tourists visiting annually. While visiting the country does present a high barrier cost and is quite difficult to access, Timor-Leste has so much to offer for those who dare to go off the beaten path. This is basically an eco-tourism hot spot with beautiful white sand beaches, immaculate diving sites, awesome mountain trekking, picturesque coffee plantations, and quaint Portuguese colonial towns spread around.

I welcome the challenge, Timor-Lorosae (as the locals call their country in Tetum). I think we are gonna be having a few good years together. I’m already looking forward to discovering what you have to offer.