After the official opening of Independence Day, we leave the central square area and walk to the ‘International People’s Park’ that is located along the bay on where Dili is situated. Many Timorese people escaped the heat and found a cooler environment near the sea and in the shade of the beautiful old trees of the park. Real festivities are not organised by the government, but the fact that many people are in the park, makes it a lively environment. There are hill tribes from different areas in the country making music and dancing about. The women are walking in circles while making whipping up rhythms, while the men in beautiful traditional dresses are dancing around the women. It is easy to see that the dresses are simple, but very traditional. The hats are self-made and decorated with feathers. To us, it looks if like they are walking around with feather brushes on their heads. The cloths are old and diverse, but it still looks like one unity. The men are dancing, making great moves while they swing their swords in the air. They are constantly laughing, making it easy to see that their teeth, as far as they are still there, never saw a dentist. Once in a while, the mainly old men are taking a short break, but it never takes more than a minute.

After enjoying the music and dancing for more than an hour, we move on to another part of the park. We see men standing here and there with a cock in their hands. They cocks are treated like their little babies and that is because the cocks are a possible key to potentially a lot of money. Other men are walking around, observing the cocks carefully so that they can decide on what cock they are going to bet in the cockfights of the afternoon. Further on in the park, a football tournament for the youth is going on. The boys of ten to twelve years old are not playing on a green meadow, but on an uneven and rocky sand plain. But the fanaticism is huge. They are playing like if they know that one of the scouts of Barcelona is present to look for new talents. When one of the teams is granted with a penalty kick, the chaos is complete. The spectators are entering the playfield in search for a good spot to watch the penalty kick. Even children on their small bicycles are showing up in the goal area. The referee and the linesmen have a hell of a job to get everybody of the field again. All the pressure is too much for the young football player who needs to take the penalty; he misses.

After our dinner, we go back to the square in front of the parliament to witness the closing ceremony. In contrast to the opening ceremony, the common people are now allowed to enter the square, making it possible to approach the president José Ramos-Horta and prime-minister Xanana Gusmão, who both played an important role in the independence struggle, to only tens of metres. During the playing of the national anthem, the flag is lowered, folded and afterwards given to the president. After the official festivities, it is time for the music concert that the government organised on the central square. We first have to listen for more than half an hour to two local presenters who really think they are great, after which the first act starts. Many people gathered on the square in anticipation of the artists. The first band plays two songs and at the moment they finished their second song and are waiting for cheering and applause, it stays stock-still. The listeners are not impressed at all or are not used to how to behave during a pop concert. The band leaves the stage disillusioned and is replaced by a Japanese woman in a blue gala dress. She is flown over from Japan to entertain the Timorese. As soon as she sings her first notes, we conclude that she is an opera singer but also hear that the Timorese listeners are not used to this kind of music yet. The spectators that were stock-still a couple of minutes ago, start jeering. Some are laughing while others are trying to imitate the singing of the Japanese lady. The opera singer seems not to be distracted too much and finishes her song. At the end, she even gets a mild applause and that is more than the local rock band got ten minutes ago. We see some more acts and around ten o’clock in the evening we go back to our hotel. A nice and exciting day comes to an end. Timor-Leste celebrated today her 7th anniversary. Congratulations!