It was an eventful day, watching the world turn as CNN staffers unveiled the latest election results. I was in a classroom at the Universite Nacional de Timor Leste. The east coast polls closed at 10 am local time, and when I arrived at 10:30, the classroom was full. By the time I left at 2:30 pm, there were a few stragglers. Like two instructors, an IT assistant (Janu’s cousin who’s studying Civil Engineering) and another hanger-on.
The Timorese were disappointed in the results, fearing that the Donald will take a hard nose stance on foreign affairs, and stomp on small countries. We thought of waiting for the speeches, but they were probably still a few hours away -- at least after Hawaiian polls closed.
There was one commentator on CNN that I thought summed up the results beautifully: people who voted do not like what has been going on in Washington for the past several years, and do not support the status quo. This was an anti-government vote. Another commenter on the same panel said it was a whitelash vote. He was capturing the esssence of “Make America Great Again” without hiding the fact that this really meant make America monochromatically white.
On to more general things. It’s hot here today. The weather report says 32 degrees with 74% humidity. It feels hotter than that to me. The sky is hazy; this morning, I could not see Atauro Island as I walked along the waterfront. I can hear thunder rumbling in the distance.
The walk along the waterfront continues to amaze me. Dili is a long city, stretching about 15 kilometres along a bench between the hills and the sea. Most of the built-up area is on the flats, although you can see houses sprinkled along the hills. The closest I’ve been to the hills was on my first day, when Bob and I went to the former prison, and when we left town to go to Tutuala.
There is one main road -- Avenue Nicolau Lobato -- and some other roads that are almost main roads. The road along the waterfront falls into this category, as does the road that joins it with Avenue Nicolau Lobato (which is commonly called the Colmera Road). The waterfront road and Colmera Roads merge at the Jardin Cinquo de Mayo. I have only been east of that point one time, so I can’t tell you how to find the eastward road leading out of town.
On the way back from the university (I accepted a ride because I was too hot to walk), we drove along a lovely paved road that had hardly any traffic. It felt like a pleasant urban road that you’d find in any city, and ended (miraculously) at the Indonesian Embassy. I need to go there this week to apply for my visa for my next round of volunteering.
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