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...

Sleeping on a Printer

So I suppose its about time to update this! Lots has been happening, so instead of writing a long explanation for everything that's been happening, I'll just give you the reader's digest account. And I'm going to go most recent to the least recent.

• Last night I went to a school production at an international school here. I knew some of the kids who were in it so it was fun to see, and one of the families I spend alot of time with 4 year old daughter was in it and she was the MC for the younger kid's part! She had 4 paragraphs to memorize, and she did so good and was very cute!
• On Monday I got two 5 week old kittens from Lindsay's family compound. They are so cute and I love them to bits, even though I'm allergic to them... Their antics are hilarious and I spend alot of time playing with or just watching them. They like sleeping on my printer for some reason... The black and white one is 'Tequila' or 'Teekey' and the brown one is 'Whiskey' or 'Whisk'

• Last week a Canadian couple arrived here in Bali. They will be working here for 3 months and will fill in t the center while B & G are away for Christmas. They are very fun and I have really enjoyed spending time with them.
• The last Sunday in November with the kids I did "Superhero Sunday", because our theme that month was Uniqueness and superheroes. Some the kids dressed up as a Superheroes and we watched videos. It was alot of fun. I was "Eccentric Volt"...

• 

• I got my first ever American Thanksgiving meal here! It was also the most multi-cultural Thanksgiving I have ever been to, with the States, Indonesia, Malaysia, Canada (hooray for me!) and Holland all being represented there. Even though it wasn't the crowd I usually spend time with I had alot of fun and met lots of new people.
  
• I know I mentioned this in my last update, but I thought I would add some pictures because the uploader is working now. In the middle of November we went to Lombok, the neighboring island with literally millions less people.

• Sometime in November I went on a trip with a family here, who are also Canadian. We went to the Bird Park first. It is so cool there! Hundreds of amazing birds, and it is really well kept there. I held a bird of prey that is like half owl half eagle (I don't have the picture of it yet but when I do, if I like the picture, I'll put it up). Then we went to Tanah Lot, which is a temple on an island, we watched the sunset there...
  

Coming Up... Christmas!
-Tonight I'm going to a Christmas party-dinner at B & G's house
-On the 21st the kids are doing a little production in the service, which should be fun...
-My friend Sammy is coming here on Monday so that'll be really fun. Just before Christmas we're going to go on a little trip and see some more of Bali.
-I'm spending Christmas day with Sammy, and the new couple, Bob and Ann
-Early January I'm going to Singapore for 2 days because I need to leave the country for boring visa-related reasons, but hey, I'm going to Singapore!