Reflections in Korea

Presently I am on a layover in Seoul Korea (its 2:30am), and even though I have yet to share about the rest of my Nepal and Tibet trip, there are some things stirring about in my mind that I want to get out. Also, I'm trying to get a headstart on Canadian time, so I'm staying up all night so I'll sleep through my 11 hour flight to Los Angeles tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

I had a number of "wow I'm glad I'm Canadian" moments today (which I'm finding happen regularly the more I travel). One of them was at the Kathmandu airport where at immigration the line for locals is so long, they honestly must have to wait hours for that. The "foreigners" line...just me. I walk up and the guy jumps to attention, my passport is stamped and I'm through in a matter of minutes.

I got invited to switch seats on the KTM-Seoul flight, so I had 5 to myself... I shared though, because really I only needed 3.

Another involving immigration...this time here in Korea. The flight here from Ktm I was talking to some Nepali people, some of who were going to a pastor's conference in Seoul for 2 weeks, and needed visas, other a couple of guys who live in America, and had a ridiculous 18 hour layover (that I almost had) but because they didn't have transit visas, they were enduring it in the aiport instead of exploring Seoul. But I rock up to the immigration, with no hassle or money, and I don't even think the immigration officer looked at me and... bam I have a visa to stay in Korea six months.

Also, Korean Hospitality. Long story short...I didn't know when I was going to be leaving Seoul because I was waitlisted. But as soon as I got through the airport here, I went up to the desk, found out all my flight info, they called a (sweet) hotel for me, and the hotel manager came and picked me up. After I told him I was just in Nepal, he told me a story about how good Mongolian people's eyes are. Random. He also said he felt bad for me because there are no McDonald's in this part of town, just local resturaunts...I was like, really, thats quite alright. I would choose local Korean over McDonalds anyday.

Then because the hotel is booked I got a score of a deal on their nice suite. I have 2 tvs, this computer is in my room, theres a jet bath and it's like fort knox to get in here. I'm a fan.

I wonder why its like this sometimes... because I have a Canadian passport, and was born there instead of another country like Nepal, Tibet, or Indonesia, I have incredibly easy access to many parts of the world. Events like these today and ones that have happened before, remind me how lucky I am to be Canadian and to not take this for granted.
So much is so easy but its so easy to forget how easy it is.

Monks and Monkeys

After being in Canada for about 10 days I headed back to the other side of the world. This time, ending up in Kathmandu, Nepal via Los Angeles and Seoul, Korea.

Arriving in Nepal I had no idea what to expect, having little knowledge of the country and with still recovering from going back to Canada from Indonesia, and the busy 10 days I had in Alberta, I hadn't had much time to prepare for this trip.

But despite the fact that it was a little strange globe-hopping like I did (the fact that I can make it to the other side of the world in 2 days is amazing to me) I am so incredibly glad that I came here to Nepal and I think this trip will take a while to process and also be deeply impacting.

I arrived about 10 minutes before my friend I was meeting here, so I waited for her in the immigration line, very thankful to see a familiar face and someone I could speak Indo-glish with. After making it through the impossibly long immigration line and getting my visa, I was grateful to be at baggage claim, except for the fact that my bag was not there to meet me...super. But, this was an easy problem to solve, just filled out a form and went back to the airport the next day where my bag had just arrived. I was very glad that I had packed some toiletries and a change of clothes in my carry-on. So despite the fact that on the flight from L.A. to Seoul my sandal had broken so I was wearing a pair of expensive-too-small-airport flip-flops, it wasn't much of a bother that my bag came a day late.

The first day me and Llindsay wandered around, checking out the shops and little resturaunts, and getting completely lost as the streets here are unlike any other I've ever seen, directions don't make sense and maps are more like suggestions. Just last night we finally were able to make it for dinner and back to the hotel without getting lost. The food here is fantastic. After being in Canada for a while, being back in Asia I am kind of anti-western food, so I've been greatly enjoying the local cuisine of curries, momos (dumplings filled with spicy meat), lentil soups and of course...rice!

On Wednesday we went on a sight-seeing tour with another travelling girl from England. Because I can't pronounce the names of these places, I'll just tell you about them and then later I'll fill it in. We went to a stupa (like a Buddhist temple) up on a hill, we had to climb 350 steep steps to get to them, along with monks and monkeys. Stunning view, countless prayer flags, amazing.
Then we went to a Tibetan Refugee Camp. We watched beautiful women tireless weave beauutiful carpets, and then bought some for ourselves and to help support the camp. Then we went to Patan, an old, old city with many temples and old buildings and a museum.. with lots of old statues of Buddha and other Hindu gods were showcased, it was a good place to learn more about these faiths.

Next stop was the equivalent of Mecca, but for Hindus. There were many cremations being held at this place, as this is the place where Hindu people would most want to be cremated. There was also a huge temple there, which we were not allowed to enter as we're not Hindu. Here there were many beggers, many with leprosy, and Sadhus (holy men) who also rely on the generosity of others, and many people on pilgramages. Randomly there is a deer park here with a handful of deer and alot of monkeys. They were nice monleys (compared to the freaky ones in Bali)...until we were headed out and they started getting ready to attack us. My words to Lindsay "what do you do when a monkey attacks you?" my thoughts "what hospital should I go to to get rabies shots?". But, we hurried past them and they didn't attack, and we had a good laugh afterwards.

Then we went to another stupa, but this one is the highest in the world. We were allowed to enter the grounds here, and even walk around the bottom of it. Many people were walking around the stupa praying, there were monks crawling around it, and other people walking on their knees as they prayed their way around the stupa.

The next day we did the unbelievable. We got up early.
Shocking I know, me awake early in the morning, but theres more to the story. We woke up, went to the airport, got on a 20-seater plane with 10 other people and flew over the Himalayan Mountains.
I can't even describe about this experience. It was beautiful, moving and like a dream. We even got to go, one at a time, to the cockpit to see the pilot's view.

Some random things...
-As in India, cows are treated as gods here, and they take advantage of that by standing in the middle of the road in the midst of insane traffic.
-Rickshaws are fun ways to get around, just make sure the driver is strong enough to pull around your non-Nepali weight.
-When in Nepal, embrace your inner hippie...world peace and all that good stuff.
-When using a public computer at your hotel... be considerate and let other people use it... like I'm going to do now. I'll tell you more later, and when I can//post amazing pictures that will hopefully make all this make sense!
Headed to Tibet tomorrow. Wow.

Last Week in Bali

It was really hard to say good bye to all my friends in Bali. But luckily before I left I had many chances to spend times with the people I love there. I went to the Bali Art festival a couple times with different friends. Went bowling and out for food with great friends, played soccer and other games with the kids I lived with and even got to go see a really entertaining dance at a nearby neighborhood. Here are some pictures from this time...Oh, and I also ate as much Indonesian food as I possibly could.

My work at the center was basically done at the end of June, so up to the last days I was preparing to hand it over to other people so that the program will be able to be carried on!

My beautiful little sisters. Netri, Lusi and Koming.

Proud and Strong.

Big hearted Kadek.

Some girl friends.
Friends!
Ayam Bakar! (Grilled Chicken) Mmmm
Jagung Bakar! (Grilled Corn)Security Guard and his wife.

My friend who sells paintings at the beach. Balinese teacher!

Java and Sumatra Trip

Bali to Jakarta. Jakarta to Tegal. Tegal to Jakarta. Jakarta to Medan.
Medan to Jakarta. Jakarta to Bali.
June 18-23, 2009

At Wiwin's and Surgi's wedding. Me dressed up Javanese-style with the lady who did my hair, make-up and dressed me. She also gave me about 3 different lectures on walking properly with a sarong on and not sitting like a man.


My hair, with fresh Jasmine buds. I smelled good all night! The lady had asked me which (black) hairpiece I wanted to use, but I respectfully declined, saying I would just like to use my own hair, as the color of my hair and the hair piece were very different.




The bride with Matt, Sara and Emilee...

MONAS. Indonesian national monument in Jakarta:
A glimpse of North Sumatra...

Makin Hari, Makin Rok n Rol

Hey people... So it has been a really long time since I have updated this blog. Since I have about one month left here in Indonesia I thought this would be an appropriate moment to fill you in the last 3-4ish months. For your sake and mine, I'll give you the Reader's Digest version. But, I can't promise that it will make sense and/or be in chronological order. Plus, mangoes keep falling onto my roof, which is kind of a distraction ya know?

March marked another Galungan and Kuningan season. So all of Bali was bustling with ceremonies and celebrations, and all the streets, temple and gates were decorated.


At the end of March my Grandma came to visit for a day, which was alot of fun! I went to a two temple cermonies in March and April too, both were temple anniversarys. A definite memorable moment from the first one I went to was being dressed up in a sarong and blouse, sitting side-saddle on the back of the motorbike, with a mom driving and her 4 year old standing on the front of the bike... and me holding the offerings which would be offered at the temple. Definitely one of those moments... unfortunately did not get a picture.


I like going to the beach. In April I went alot with the kids from the place I live, kids from the center and just by myself! I like going there in the evening and just walking around (there is a pathway) and this way I have met lots of women who sell things at the beach, and made some friends down there too!

At the end of April I went to a ngaben (cremation) ceremony, which was huge and colorful and really interesting.

In the middle of May we had a children's min training workshop at the center, which I was organising and teaching some sessions. It started out as just for people who would be teaching atthe center, but it ended up being open for anyone who wanted to come, so alot of people from other city's centers cme and learned too! It was really fun, I think it went well.


And that brings us to June I guess.... as far as working goes... the training session was a big part of it in the weeks leading up to it. Also, I still prepare lessons for Sundays and organize volunteers. I just recently completed the curriculm for this next year. My last Sunday will be June 28. For the month of June we are doing a wednesday after-school kids club, just for fun! Last week we played water games and then had a huge waterfight... and today we "found our inner chefs" and made interesting creations with food... and then ate all of it! It was a blast!



Next week I'm going to Java. Road Tripping!

My New CrashPad

A few days after I got back to Bali from Penang, I moved to a new house! Before the move, I was living at the center's guest house alone, and although it was a great place to live, there were some major downfalls such as being alone a lot. So when the opportunity came up for me to move I was very excited about it. This house just isn't any old place. Its in a 'kampung' which is like a plot of land, surronded by a wall, with members of an extended family living in various houses inside. There are 7 houses, including mine. I have my own kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and of course a front porch. They all have "western-style" comforts and are nice, clean and spacious.

I don't know for sure, but there are definitely more than twenty people living here, including maybe 12 or 13 children (its hard to count them because they always have friends over and sometimes they just seem to come out of the woodwork). There is also a white rabbit, a wandering rooster, countless chickens, and of course cats. Bali orange trees, mango trees, beautiful hibiscus, orchid and other flowering trees color the background, along with drying laundry.

It is so awesome living here. Everytime I leave I get asked numerous times "mau ke mana?" (where are you going?) and everytime I return "dari mana?" (where have you come from?). Both classic Indonesian questions, along with: "have you eaten yet?" "have you had a bath yet?" and "why do you walk everywhere?" I'm generally greeted by a round of "Lintsee!" from the kids too, and sometimes I get jumped on or a ball thrown at me. Luckily the rooster hasn't attacked me, yet.

It took about a week for me to get used to be woken up at 4:30 by the stupid rooster, and then at 6 by the kids getting ready for school. But its good, I've started going to bed a bit earlier so when I'm woken up earlier than I would like its not as brutal. I don't live at the center anymore, obviously, but it is only a 2 or 3 minute walk away, and I still work there. It's been nice having the routine of getting up, going to the center, working and then coming home after.

In the evenings, if I'm not going out with friends, I take part in "front porch living". I sit with the women and kids that live here, talk with them, play games or draw with the kids, and sometimes help them with their Bahasa Inggris (English homework). It's great. In less than a week it became a tradition to draw pictures and then tape them to the outside of my house, so I have 16 pictures taped up outside. And needless to say, this is great Indonesian practice, I constantly learn new words and my grammar corrected (mostly by the kids).

Some people here have expressed concerns about me living here, usually just because they don't know the 'whole story' as it were. I did know this family before I moved here, other people that are involved at the center and work here have lived here. There are people here who help out if there is something that needs to be dealt with that is beyond my language and culture ability. They are really great people, I have felt nothing but welcomed so far, and they often go out of their way to make sure I'm comfortable. I really think this has been a turning point in my onsite experience. The lonliness was really getting to me in the other place, and I didn't really feel like my normal self. Maybe I'm still in the 'oh exciting, a new house' phase, but so far I feel alot better, more like myself, and more effective in my work at the center.

Thailand and Malaysia

On February 1 the OnSite students doing their internships in Asia got together for our Extended Learning Experience on the island of Phuket, Thailand. There were 6 of us in total, and we had alot of fun!

Us at a night market.

It was great to see everyone again, talk about our experiences in our countries so far, and just hang out! We did a couple fun things like going to a small island and hanging out on the beach, went and saw a movie, explored around Phuket and ate some great food.

Boats at the beach on Coral Island.

Me and the cricket I ate for dinner. Mmm Tasty.

On the 6 I was supposed to head to another area of Thailand with my friend who is working there, but because of the abscess on my leg I had to be near a hospital and go there daily, so we ended up staying until the 11th. I found a little puddle-jumper flight that goes straight from Phuket to Penang (my next destination) which was great because then I didn't have to get a connecting flight in Bangkok or Kuala Lumpor.

So after that rickety flight I landed on the island of Penang, Malaysia. The main reason I went here was to get a new visa for Indonesia, originally I was supposed to arrive on the 13, but I came 2 days early. The first 3 nights I stayed at the guest house at Dalat International School, where my mentor's daughter goes to school, so I also got to hang out with her a bit which was fun. The next 3 days I stayed in a hotel close to school and made my trips to the Indonesian Consulate.

A view of Penang

But, turns out theres certain times you have to apply for a visa, but they don't tell you those times until you're in line. So, because of that, and even though I begged, I ended up having to stay an extra night in Penang, which meant finding a new hotel to stay at, which was an adventure because almost every one I asked was already booked or ridiculously expensive, I had to buy completely new flight tickets as well. On top of all that I had issues because apparently banks in Malaysia don't like my visa or debit card, so getting money was a bit of an issue. But, Penang is a really neat place! I hope I can make another trip there sometime.

Sunset from my hotel balcony.

I arrived back in Bali on the night of the 18th, and I had the urge to kiss the ground because I was so happy to be back, but I didn't; Bali's ground is kinda gross. Since then I have been getting back to work, preparing to move to a new house, and taking care of my leg, which is almost healed! (But, I may or may not have broken my foot when I dropped my 25kg suitcase on it in the airport. Time will tell)

I Should be a MasterCard Commercial

Days of travel... 18
Trips to Medical Centers... 16
Operations... 1
Amount of gauze stuffed in to my leg... 8.5 ft
Failed attempts at withdrawing money... 13
# of booked hotels before I found one... 4
Trips to the Indonesian Consulate... 3
# of times I begged to have my visa processed quickly... 2
Missed flights... 2
Planes I thought I was going to die on... 3
Trips to Starbucks... 7
Loads of laundry... 0
Shots of tequila to get through it... 23

Making it back to Bali in one piece with great memories and countless people helping me along the way... priceless.

P.S. the 23 shots of tequila is just a joke, it really was only like 7.
P.S.S. Just Kidding! I didn't drink any tequila. Just a little humor.

The Anomaly Bali

As I'm sitting here writing this, I'm listening to the chants and gamelan music coming from a nearby temple. There is a ceremony taking place today which involves the blessing of all machinery: motobikes, cars, factories, etc. (a motorbike with the offerings and decorations showing it has been blessed -->)

As you know, Bali is an island which makes up part up the Indonesian archipelago, which consists of about 17, 508 islands. Indonesia has a large population with about 240 million people holding SIM (identification) cards. Out of that massive population, 86% claim to the Muslim religion.

There are 300 cultural groups in Indonesia, and five government-accepted religions which include: Islam, Hindu, Catholic, Protestant, and Buddhist, but Confucianism is also making more of an appearance.

So within this very Muslim strip of islands in Southeast Asia there's the "tropical playground" of Bali.

Bali Bali Bali.

With a population of over 3 million (on an island that could fit into Alberta over 100 times) Bali boasts 93% of the population adhering to the Hindu religion, which is influenced by Indian Hinduism, Buddhism, and animism. The other 7% is made up of muslims (4.75%), Christians (1.38%) and Buddhists (0.64%). Bali is far from fitting in with the Indonesian Islamic islands.

Hinduism in Bali includes a complicated mix of gods, goddesses, ancestors, and demons. For the sake of space of confusing both myself, and maybe even you, I'll just try to briefly tell you what being a Balinese Hindu looks like on a daily basis, from what I have observed, read and been taught.


There are hundreds of different gods, which represent aspects of three, and all three are one. The three are Brahma, the creator; Vishnu, the sustainer; and Shiva, the destroyer. Hindus want to keep a balance of good and evil in their lives, represented by the ying-yang symbol and popular black-and-white checkered cloth here. Ancestors also play a huge role in Bali Hinduism. (an example of a temple shrine where offerings are made-->)

Offerings must be made repeatedly on a daily basis, before anything is done. Before women do anything else in the day they make offerings for the day. You can also buy the daily offerings at stores along the side of the road or even at the supermarket. You will see offerings made on the ground (to appease the evil spirits) at entrances to houses, on the beach, on the sidewalk in front of stores, and at any intersection along a road or walkway. There are also offerings made to the good gods- which are not placed on the ground. These will be made anywhere you can think of: on fences, dashboards, cash registers, kitchen counters, in shrines on the wall...

There are temple shrines anywhere you can think of too; along the road, in the middle of intersections, and a number of them in every family home. Every family house or compound has a temple, and the ancestors and protectors of the family dwell there.

The offerings generally consist of certain colors of flowers and rice (a small portion of everything will be offered), and depending where it is sometimes a money bill, candy, or crackers. The person making the offering- usually but not always a woman- goes to make it, they dress unformally traditional: a sarong and a sash tied around the waist, they place the offering, sprinkle it with holy water, burn incense, waft the fumes around, and say a prayer. The offering is then left there, sometimes for days, but the god only takes the essence of the flowers, incence, and candy so any food that is there can be eaten after it has been offered, and money can be used. (offerings on the beach)

Prayer to the gods is a daily activity. Prayer involves a ritual of washing hands with a plant, praying to the creator with the appropriate flower between their hands, then praying to the sustainer, then the destroyer. You can ask these gods whatever you would like, and thanksgiving and worship is included. After praying with the flowers, they put it behind their ear, then after all the prayers are made they are sprinkled with holy water, and rice is stuck on their foreheads or below their neck. It is a common site to see people with rice on their foreheads and flowers behind their ears. (<-- offering prayers)

The traditional dress for Bali Hindus to go to temple in includes sarongs and blouses. The women wear a single sarong and a beautifully laced and fitted blouse called a kebaya, and a sash wrapped around their waist, and their hair is pulled back. The men wear a long sarong, with a shorter one over it, and a loose button-up shirt, or a tshirt, as well as a head covering. The colors of the shirts depend on what the ceremony is for, but generally they are a variety of different colors. (some men in traditional dress -->)

There are not the same regulations in Bali as are present in other areas of Indonesia. Women are allowed to dress how they wish, and although men are seen as 'above' women, there aren't rules about who can talk to who and eye contact. However, the caste system does still exist and the
level of the Balinese (there are three levels) one would use to talk to another reflects a small portion of that. drug and alcohol use and abuse are common .

The tourist industry has a strong influence in Bali. Having a good job in tourism in the main cities is the equivalent to the "American dream". The 'free island living' is promoted and "relax, you're on the island" is a common phrase among expatriates. A line in Bali's theme songs is this... "welcome to my paradise, where you can be free...".
I could go on. The more I learn and experience about this island, its cultures and paradoxes, the more interesting I find that stuck in the middle of one of the most populated Islamic nations is this peculiar little island that is constantly confusing and astounding me.


Disclaimer: This is based on my own research, understanding and observing. I don't claim to know all about Bali or Indonesia, and I may not be correct on all points; I've only been here 6 months.

Singapura

I spent two days in Singapore because I had to get out of Indonesia for visa reasons. I spent two days walking around a city in Asia, and my feet weren't black at the end of the day. Nice.



Singapore is a pretty cool place. It is extremely easy to get around in because everything is very well signed and makes sense. They have great public transportation. But don't get caught smoking on the MRT because the fine is $1000, and don't dare eat or drink because you'll get fined $500. No durians allowed either.

I stayed at the YMCA International House in a hostel room. It was a small room and didn't have anything fancy, but it was cheap at about CAD$30/night.


The first day I was in Singapore I took the train to Little India, which was really neat. I did some shopping, enjoyed the rich smells, and the explosions of color of the buildings, shops, and women in their saris. I ate some great Indian food there too, and also met a nice waiter who told me about some other great places in Singapore that I was sure to check out. Oh, and I had a slurpee from 7/11!!!
After Little India I went to Sentosa, which is a little resort island (sounds like Bali, but its not like Bali...) In Sentosa I went to their Marine Park, where you can walk through a tunnel and sharks and all these other big and little fish swim all around you, and also to their dolphin show, which was pretty impressive. I had dinner at Subway, which was a highlight of the day because just last week we were talking about how much we wanted Subway... and then I ate at one. After dinner I went to the show called "Song of the Sea" which was reeaally cool. They use water spry as a screen and can project images onto it, and there were fireworks and fireballs and lazers too! The plot of the story was very lacking... but the effects were amazing!




Oh ya! Best flights EVER. Singapore Airlines is amazing and on both the flights to Singapore and back were less than half full (or more than half empty?) so on both trips I had the whole row to myself. Senang sekali!

Sidebar: I've been trying to figure out what the name "Singapore" means, I'm pretty sure the real name for the city is "Singapura" which I can kind of make sense out of because it might be based on Malay, which is really close to Indonesian and "singa" is lion, and "pura" is temple. "Lion Temple" maybe? Would make sense cause the symbol for Singapore seems to be a lion. Hmm.
Ok, I looked it up. I was right about "Singa" but in Malay "Pura" apparently means city- so it's Lion City! Thank you very much Wikipedia.

"Welcome to My Paradise"

I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Years. I know I did. Let me fill you in on what I've been up to...

Before Christmas, my friend Sammy came down here from Thailand. We had a lot of fun together doing all the tourist-type things and traveling around Bali. We went to Kuta, the main tourist center (for various reasons I have 2 nicknames for Kuta: "North America" and "Soddom and Gamorah") and tried our hands at surfing. We also saw the oldest temple complex in Bali, went to the mountains, saw a cloud-covered volcano and other things like that. We also spent a few nights at a resort in North Bali where we swam with dolphins (I still have bruises from this), dolphin watched in the ocean with a wanna-be cowboy captain, and snorkelled in some great coral.


Jealous yet?

Selamat Natal! The Sunday before Christmas the kids performed a song and an acrostic poem. Despite the fact that 3/4s of the kids hadn't been there for the past month and therefore didn't know what we were doing, I think it went off well and made some parents happy! We had a great Christmas Eve service and the building was packed with about 120 people sitting, and another 30 people standing in the back. It was a very unique service, with some traditional elements, but Indonesian elements as well including a gamelan performance and Bali-style dance. After the service some of the young adults stuck around, ate nasi goreng (fried rice) and watched A Christmas Carol. Christmas day me and Sammy went with Bob and Ann to the beach where we had breakfast ad enjoyed the hot Bali sun. Then we went to the house and sat in the pool, and finished off the day with a great meal. On the 26th we joined a family for a traditional turkey dinner. So even though it was insanely hot, we walked in white sand-not white snow, and I didn't get to wear my new fleece pj's to bed Christmas eve, I had a great Christmas relatively free of homesickness; its definitely a Christmas I won't be forgetting soon.



Selamat Tahun Baru! Happy New Year! Fireworks and Firecrackers are legal here during new years, and it's pretty much a free-for-all. I celebrated with a Balinese friend and his friends in the city and it was wild! Lighting firecrackers, the streets packed with people, and fireworks going off all over the place.


Selamat Ulang Tahun! Potong Kue-nya!! January 5th was my 21st birthday. The Saturday before my birthday me and Lindsay and Melissa went Whitewater rafting and the rode an elephant. So much fun. Not something you can really do in Canada for a January Birthday! On the day of my birthday we had a get together at one of my favorite restaurants. It was great fun.


So back to work now...