Flowers and Family in Kupang, Indonesia

Berty and I are staying in Kupang, Indonesia with his family for a week. It seems that every island we go to, there is some sort of family connection. I especially, am having a lot of fun meeting Berty’s relatives and hearing about all his childhood stories. Berty and his brother, Robin, were born in this town. Right now, we are staying at his aunt and uncle’s home. They have their own floral and landscaping business right outside the city, as well as a laundry business in their home. The house is always bustling with people coming in and out, and flowers are permanently spread across the porch. When we wake up, we see flowers greeting us and the sun shining in our window. Can you say…paradise? ๐Ÿ™‚

Kupang, Indonesia themandagies.com

This morning in particular, there are a large amount of flower orders. Berty’s mom among other company are outside on the porch moving colorful buckets around, cutting ribbon, wrapping, tying, and creating masterpieces all morning.

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Kupang, Indonesia themandagies.com

 

Kupang, Indonesia themandagies.com

 

Back in Seattle, in my college days I used to work at a flower shop. (By the way, in another life, i would 100% be a florist!) There’s something about flowers that strike a chord in my heart – I can’t help by feel inspired! I recognized the way they handled the flowers and spent a good chunk of the morning following Berty’s aunt and her assistants around snapping their photos. Berty spent the majority of the morning in our hammock!

Kupang 3-32 Kupang 3-33 Kupang 3-17

After watching Tante Jenny (Eny) work her magic for a while, we went over to check out a piece of land they own called Taman Dewa. Here is where they grow flowers, plants, and other things to provide for their landscaping business. They also have a store front with the same name in the city. There, it functions are a store by day, and cafe by night. Clever! The land is filled with hundreds of plants and trees. It was also perfect for Berty to practice flying his drone!

Kupang is beautiful and we love every second we are here! Because a lot of Berty’s family could not make it to our wedding in Seattle, we had a small party here at the house on Friday. Many people came and we stay up until all hours of the night listening to stories about Berty’s childhood. I was so happy to meet his extended relatives and find out more of his history here on this island. We even discovered a few older family photos in some drawers and I enjoyed hearing about who was in the photographs and their backstories too. What a blessing to be married into a multi-cultural family! There are so many new things to discover and I’m excited the journey is only starting. ๐Ÿ™‚

 

Keep a look out for more posts about our time here. Right now, we can only share a few pictures (because recently my photos haven’t been uploading…grrrrrr) but we have lots to show you!!

Thanks for reading!
Love,

The Mandagies

Discover More of Indonesia – click on the map below!

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2 Comments

  1. In next visit to Indonesia then you both should go to Sabu Island. That is the land of our ancestors from Berty’s mom side. Many more beautiful landscape and beaches for you both to enjoy and take a panoramic photo. There is a place called Kelaba Maja in Sabu Island. It is like an Indonesia version of Grand Canyon. I also haven’t gone there before. So maybe we can all together go there during your next visit. By the way my name is Sonny. I am one of Berty’s mom cousin in Jakarta. We have met in your wedding party at Jakarta, but only in a glance. I am a web developer and programmer. So below is my company website. I created it in 2014. Now I work there as one of IT Specialist. Take care and see you both on next trip to Indonesia.

    1. Hi Om Sonny! Thanks for your comment. I would love to see Kelaba Maja sometime! Berty and I plan to go back to Indonesia often, so if we are around that area we will let you kno!