June 15th, 2007

Hi Everyone!
Well, I have been in Cova Lima now for a few weeks and it is starting to feel a bit like home! My accommodations are nicer than Maliana, for example I have hot water in my room and air conditioning which works all night, a television (with two channels both from Indonesia and both in Bahasa), and a very good restaurant in the hotel. The barracks are quite a bit nicer than Maliana as well; in fact there is a full time UN doctor and nurse located on the base. The terrain is less mountainous than Bobanaro district but more like a jungle. Even in the dry season it rains more in this region, so there is a lot more vegetation and things are still very green. The Parliamentary election campaign is now well underway. There are 14 parties competing for a total of 65 seats. With my move to Cova Lima I have also moved to CNE, which is the election monitoring and certification body. So my job is to attend as many of the rallies as possible, speak with people at the rallies, market, and so on, and prepare reports on the political atmosphere and report any violations of the political code of conduct. I am really enjoying working with CNE and will keep me very busy over the next few weeks!!

Update

May 28th, 2007

Hello everyone!!

I have just returned to East Timor from a week off in Bali. It was extra special because Fabienne was able to join me there for a week. It certainly is a special place!! We spent the week touring the Island, snorkeling, swimming, eating some nice food, and of course just relaxing. One of the highlights of the trip was our visit to Besakih, the Mother Temple, the largest in Bali cosisting of 22 temples over 3 km located about 1000 meters on Mount Agung. What made the visit extra special was that our tour guide had taken the traditional clothes worn by the Balinese to our hotel in the morning and we were then allowed to actually enter the temples. The tour guide brought his wife and son, so both Fabienne and I had the opportunity to participate in the ceremonies with them. It was a chance to really experience Bali not just as a tourist but as part of their family! The weather was fantastic and we enjoyed the swimming almost as much as we enjoyed eating fish grilled for us on the beach. The service is really incredible and the hotel was beautiful! Oh well, then the week was over and now it is back to East Timor!! In the next few days I will be moving from STAE in Maliana to CNE in Cova Lima. CNE is the monitoring body that certifies the election results. It is more similar to my role in Haiti as an election monitor. I had requested the change early in May and was excited to hear that I was able to move. In fact I am replacing another Canadian in Cova Lima who was leaving the mission early. I hope that future opportunities will be more in the area of monitoring so I am happy to be able to have the experience from both in this mission!

Thats about it for now! I will update everyone once I am settled in Cova Lima!!