Almost a month of no blogging, say whaaaat? Well, I’m here now and that’s all that matters. It’s been a busy month. I feel like I say that every month, but I am happy to say that since the new school year has started back up, I’m occupied by lesson planning, preparing material, teaching, and taking long, hard naps in the afternoon when I’m home.
In my last post I talked about how I was sent to Surabaya on medical due to my mysterious viral infection that they still don’t know was. I was there from Wednesday until Sunday, and had my flight scheduled the next day to Bali. My sudden trip scared me a lot, because the doctors didn’t know what was wrong, but they also told me they didn’t know if I would be able to go to Bali. Bummer! But, don’t worry devoted readers, I was well enough to get on the hour-long flight from Surabaya to Denpasar with fellow volunteers, Trum and Chelsea.
Bali is an interesting place, and writing this post almost one month after my trip there is helping me remember my initial reactions to the island. It’s… different. I understood that the island is full of tourists, but I was truly not anticipating the crowds, especially in Ubud or at the beach. Westerners donned their fanciest outfits and flooded the beach an hour prior to sunset, girls were having photoshoots on the sidewalk for the perfect instagram, and I heard more German spoken than Indonesian. Bali is catered to tourists. Most waitstaff and employees in tourism speak English, menus and signs are in English, and there is delicious Western food served at countless restaurants. Indonesians are not asking for selfies with the bule, or staring at me when I walk down the street, and I didn’t have one Indonesian meal while I was there. In a lot of ways, it’s a combination of my Indonesian experience so far with the conveniences of home, which makes it an interesting experience for volunteers that have already lived in Java for 9 months and have acclimated to the culture there. I also was not expecting the traffic, it almost puts NYC to shame. In short, Bali is not what you see on Instagram. It’s different, but still a really cool place to visit and experience for yourself with beautiful scenery, a rich culture, and friendly people. It's also majority Hindu, so experiencing an Indonesian destination that isn't majority Muslim was also so interesting. Temples and shrines are found everywhere, and you can smell incense as you travel down the street, and sidewalks are dotted with small offerings in front of shops and cafes. I’ll definitely be back, and I’m glad I had this time to get a feel for the place.
For the first five days, I joined ten other Americans (both volunteers and friends of volunteers from the States) in an Airbnb close to Canggu beach. The beaches were nice, we ate great food, and it was nice to see West Java volunteers for the first time since December. However, after the second night, I was sick once again, so the intense head cold and severe sore throat I had put a major damper on the trip. I tried my best to make the most of it though, and that I did.
After Canggu, I left my friends to do some yoga up in Ubud for three nights. Ubud, about an hour north of the airport, is known to be a cultural destination for wellness. I stayed at this giant yoga… facility… I guess you could call it. It’s a huge property with five yoga studios, a restaurant, a spa, and a hotel. I did yoga and meditation classes, ate amazing vegan food, and had a massage. It was a dream, but because I was wrought with a new illness and couldn’t breathe through my nose for most of the trip, focusing on my breath, aligning my chakras, and finding oneness were proven to be rather difficult. I’m grateful for the experience in Bali though, despite the minor hiccups. Here’s some photos:
What else has been happening around here, you ask? Well, we’re now into week 4 of the new school year, and class has been going relatively well! I’m only teaching 10th grade this year. The first week of the semester is devoted to 10th grade orientation, so while I wasn’t teaching, it was a good transition back into the routine of going to school after not teaching for almost three months. Last Sunday I took a day trip to the beach with my ibu, two aunts, and ibu’s colleagues. She is the head of administration at the local medical clinic in Lengkong, my site (called a puskesmas in bahasa Indonesia). I’m so glad I was able to spend the day with family and go to a really beautiful beach in Malang regency. I also spend the last several week busy planning an event, which I will talk about in my next post. All good things! Sampai jumpa, friends.
