Temples and Too Many Ants

Unlike Java Island, Bali is not primarily Muslim. It is more a mix of Hinduism and traditional religion. There are temples absolutely everywhere, nestled within the houses, along the streets, or out in the open depending on size. Little banana leaf baskets filled with flowers are brought to the many shrines, daily it seems, and prayers / recitations are offered. The people are also very superstitious. On the way over in the travel car there was a man, his wife, and their toddler daughter. The driver said these innocent people were using magic. The car apparently couldn't go fast enough while they were inside, but once we dropped them off we were able to zip around. Hmm, I have a hard time believing that. Maybe the driver just wanted an excuse for dropping us off late.

Tuesday afternoon we visited one of the largest temples. Massive stone rectangles rose into the sky around a central courtyard, mysteriously and impressively cut into the earth. At the head of the courtyard was a massive stone sculpture of a bird-like god, and even father up was the stone recreation of one of the Balinese princes. It was a beautiful view of the island from the heights of the temple.

There are also statues everywhere of warriors, uniformed soldiers, or sea-oriented gods, like the one driving the chariot shown here. We got lost so much, so I saw this particular statue much more than what would have been necessary. Traffic in Bali is also absolutely terrible, so we often went by moped. Weaving in and out of the cars, you can get around a lot faster. Since we were staying at Ocha's uncle's house, he was kind enough to lend us one for the week.

The showers this week: barrel and scoop. And by no means was the water warm.

I don't think I have talked about the ants yet. In Malang, they are everywhere. In Bali, they are everywhere. They are in the bed, on the toilet seat, and around my stuff that sits out on the counter. I don't eat food in the room for that reason, but I am sure I have swallowed or eaten my fair share of the little critters. In Bali, all the ants were tiny, and there were swarms of them. In the bathroom, there were two solid lines of ants crawling from floor to ceiling. On Tuesday I took a swig from my water bottle. And then there was a sharp prick and burning sensation on my tongue. Ant. Ew. The little sucker was soon crushed and promptly rolled out of my desecrated mouth.

Bali

After graduation on Sunday, I went to the AIESEC closing ceremony. They had some traditional songs and dances in a really neat, historic restaurant. After this, Ocha and I headed out for the beautiful tropical island of BALI.

14 hours by travel car--what we would consider a large van, with six other people--was not so bad. We drove through the night, from 7pm until 9am, and I tried to sleep most of the way. At one point I opened my eyes just briefly to see the silhouettes of palm trees and the rolling waves behind. I drifted back off to sleep in pure happiness.

The first day in Bali, on Monday, we went to Kuta beach. Many local and foreign tourists crowd this popular beach, ideal for beginning surfers, sunbathers, or wading into the forceful waves. The locals are constantly trying to sell you things. Mats, hats, bracelets, hair braiding, henna tattoos, etc. Some walk back and forth down the beach, but most hang out in the shade to catch the foreigners just as they are entering the beach. It is rather funny actually--westerners want to be in the sun as much as possible, to get that coveted golden brown tan. But the Indonesians...they stay under the trees, to be as white as possible. It makes you think; why are we always trying to change our skin color? Is it really that important? Anyway... I was sprawled out on my towel, peacefully reading a book (Ocha was, naturally, back in the shade), when this surfer dude comes and just plops himself down next to me. His name was Mars, and he stayed right where he was until Ocha and I left the beach. He spoke English pretty well, after only living in Bali for two years and learning English on his own. He wasn't super pushy either like most of the locals, but he was trying to get me to rent a surfboard and take a lesson from him.

On Tuesday, we went to Sanur beach. In my opinion, this beach was wayyy better than Kuta. There were not as many people because huge resorts lined this part of the coast. (And one great thing about being an American tourist here...they think you belong on private beaches! Hehe). The water here was crystal clear. I could see my toes and the white sand in water up to my neck. This is what I had been waiting for, what I had dreamed of Bali being like.

We walked along the beach for awhile. It was beautifully lined by the fancy resorts and cobblestone pathways. Palm trees and other tropical plants were cleanly arranged around the restaurants and lawn chairs. We stopped at one place to eat a much needed lunch. I only ordered a smoothie though- I hadn't seen prices so high since the states! I have had the pleasure of cheap Indonesian food for the past six weeks: With Ocha, two full meals and two drinks is only about $2.50. After this, we didn't eat at any more fancy looking places. Roadside warungs for us.

Graduation

They had told me I had to do an American song or dance for graduation. But this all changed a few days before...when they told me I would need to give a speech instead. And this speech would be in Indonesian! I had Ocha help me out with the translation, so three days before appearing before the families of 85 children, I started memorizing. Memorizing a speech in your own language can be hard, but it is even more so when you don't know what any of the words mean! And to pronounce them! I practiced all the time, and I had all the words down. Of course my accent was terrible, and there was one word in particular- mengajar. Mba Ikha, one of the sisters, was trying to help me with the pronunciation. She was apparently saying two words, but I couldn't tell the difference. If I said mengajar one way, I was saying "to teach." But most of the time I ended up saying the other, which meant "to chase after someone." So yes, I messed it up in the speech. I said I was glad to be chasing after the kids. I also completely forgot part of the speech once I got up on stage, had to take out my scribbled notes. I hope I at least brought some smiles to their faces. I am sure I sounded pretty bad. The rest of the ceremony went well. All the kids came in their cute Indonesian attire- elaborate costumes with gold and shiny fabric, a ton of make up, fancy headdresses, and decorated hair. Everyone was served the white box with cakes like all other formal occasions. Afterwards, the teachers all had lunch together. They are a great group and I will miss working with them.

End of the School Year

We are winding down the last week of school here at the Global Ednovation kindergarten. Graduation will be this Sunday morning, and we have been practicing for it for the last week and a half. Different classes and groups of kids sing and dance. I just sit on the floor and try to keep the kids who aren't on stage from running around and completely tackling each other. Some of the girls really enjoy climbing over me or sitting in my lap. One girl, Calista, gets especially excited about me. She says I look like Barbie. Ive learned to brush my hair well before going to school, she likes to twirl it around, pet it, or tie it into a nest of knots. If I sit with my knees up, she will crawl under them like a tunnel, or climb on top and slide down my shins. It doesn't really matter, though, how I am sitting. She will push and pull on my legs to position them how she wants- to sit in my lap or crawl under my knees. Apparently my arm hairs are also incredibly fascinating. She likes to pet my arms and pull on the hairs. Oww. Last week I also went through English testing with the kids. Each student took between 10 and 40 minutes to complete the whole thing. I would first ask them simple questions: what is your name, where do you live, what is your favorite color. They then had to identify which word on a list said mother, and which said father. I went through about 30 flashcards with them. Knife proved to be the challenger, very few kids knew it. They then had to read a list of days, shapes, and nature. The final, and most challenging task, was to write down the letters and numbers I said. We often ended up with Indonesian letters, backwards letters and numbers, or completely random numbers. Oh, and remember how I found a fish in the sink while brushing my teeth one night? Well a few days ago, there were about 25 in the tank with the big fish. This morning...there were three. So yes, these 3 inch long fish are mere appetizers. Yesterday afternoon, Ocha and I went to a hair salon for a hair spa. I've never even done this in the states, but they put a bunch of cream on my hair and then gave a wonderful head and shoulder massage. After the steamer, they dried my hair and straightened it. It felt great. We went to the mall to buy something for Ocha's friend's birthday. We stopped at a photography place and took some pictures too. I never really know what we are doing until it actually happens. I either don't understand Ocha's translation, or I can't decipher the accent. Keeps things surprising though!

On the River

We went rafting this Sunday. It was amazing, and by far the best rafting I have ever gotten to experience! Mr. Naim, Kiky, a bunch of Mr. Naim's friends, and I drove up into the mountains and loaded into the back of a pickup truck around 10 in the morning. 14 of us in the small bed made for quite a squeeze! We rode a short distance, and then the truck started backing up to a complete drop off. And then he stopped. I thought, okayyyy, what now? We piled out, and started to hike down the mountain. Far below, the river was rushing along the curves of the mountains. Large, black, volcanic rocks lined the riverbed. Banana trees and bamboo stretched high into the sky. It was such a beautiful setting, photographs cannot capture it's majestic grandeur. We hiked for quite awhile, occasionally slipping on the loose dirt and clutching at the plants creeping up the slopes. Eventually we reached the river and loaded the rafts. Joining me was Mr. Naim, Kiky, one of Mr. Naim's friends, and the guide. There were so many rocks, we never got too far without getting stuck. Every once in awhile, we would hit a rocky bank overgrown with branches and ferns. You had to make sure you ducked, but even then we all got covered with leaves and bugs that had fallen from the plants. And spiders liked to hang out in the plants leaning out over the river. I tried to avoid the webs best I could. Still, I ended up with three sizable spiders crawling on me throughout the course of our trip. And of course they laughed at me for being scared of the ponytail holder-sized spider that was in ninja position on my thigh. (sorry for that weird size comparison). Most areas we passed through there was little sign of human occupation, but every so often there was a small bamboo bridge stretching low across the river. Local farmers may be passing overhead, carrying their loads of harvested sugarcane or various other crops. We stopped for a rest near one such bridge. We were served apples, bananas, and tea. When we got back in our rafts, the guide motioned for me to sit a certain way. I heard something about a "photo." So I obeyed and just sat down in the bottom of the raft, holding my paddle firmly on the side. We went through some rapids, around some rocks, got stuck on a few rocks, and then we were going backwards. I was sitting in the front. So I went over first. It was a four foot drop that I didn't see coming. No big deal, I guess that was why they had me sit in the bottom. But then we quickly spun around. And then we dropped again. 10 feet. I hardly had time to know what was happening. I submerged up to my chest. What a blast! In total, we were on the river for at least four hours. When we returned, a full meal was provided. We ate the delicious rice and vegetables while sitting on the mountaintop, enjoying the amazing view in the clouds. A fine end to a fun-filled day.

Birthdays and McDonalds

"Happy Birthday to you..."

Seems I have heard this phrase 100 times this week. We had three birthdays in the Kindergarten in the past five days, and every time we sing the song over and over again. It was fun to watch how a another culture celebrates birthdays differently.

The parents and extended family came to the school with the cake and presents for everyone. A large birthday backdrop is hung on the wall, and the birthday boy or girl sits in a chair next to a small table with the cake. And it is no ordinary cake! The first one, for example, was an elaborately decorated Lightning McQueen from Cars. Some of the kids would sneak up to swipe their finger at the frosting.

Sooo many pictures were taken. Put your hand here, sit up straighter, let's try from this angle, and this angle, and with this person. The candle was lit and re-lit at least five times, sometimes with the dad blowing it out. When we would sing the Happy Birthday song, the kid wouldn't even wait until the end of the song to blow out the candle. Obviously, it isn't really too important.

The elaborate cakes were never eaten, at least with the guests present. Guests are given small cakes separately, wrapped kind of like our cupcakes are (but they aren't round, individually baked like cupcakes). Guests are also given a full meal. The Lightning McQueen birthday, for instance, gave each kid a new backpack with a nice new Tupperware container inside. The meal was some mixture of rice and meat. For the second birthday, we got two boxes—one full of cakes, and the other another rice meal. I ended up having five pieces of cake in one day! They aren't so sweet though, so I didn't feel too guilty. Everyone always gets a hat and a balloon.

We may think of birthday parties as fun, running around, playtime for the kids. Not so with birthdays here, however. After songs, pictures, and handing out the cakes, some adults read / recite a bunch of words that I don't understand. I think part of it is Muslim recitations, or a prayer maybe. 

The last birthday this week was on Saturday at McDonald's. I have only ever entered McDonald's to use their WiFi, believe it or not! And this was certainly the first time I have heard of a birthday party there. All of the girls were dressed in the five year-old version of prom dresses. Many had bright makeup all over their faces. They were cute. The same birthday routine was followed, except this time a few games were played. Again, the beautiful cake was only for display to the guests. The presents were balloons, hats, and a bag with a McDonald's cup, McDonald's meal of chicken and rice, and a milkshake. So I still didn't eat or drink any McDonald's haha.

The Knife-Wielding 2 yr-old

Faris, Mr. Naim's two year-old son, is quite a handful.

Sitting on the tile floor in the living room, I was trying to figure out how to work the DVD player. Faris came running out of the bedroom completely naked. (Faris and Ais usually run around naked in the mornings, trying to escape their bath times.) And then I felt splashes against my leg. I turned quickly and jumped up. Faris was peeing... All over the floor.

He really likes hair. He and Ais fight a lot. His defense as the younger, smaller warrior, is to grab a handful of hair and run. Any girl knows from experience how much this hurts. It makes Ais scream so the whole neighborhood can hear. Once when we were all sitting on the couches in the living room, he tried to get to Ais's hair, but the aunts quickly took her under their guard. So then Faris started wandering around... I pulled my hair into a bun on the top of my head. Faris was on the back side of the couch, jumping. He was trying so hard to grasp some strands of my hair.

There is space behind all of the couches to run around. The kids enjoy riding their bikes and scooters in endless circles in the living room. They occasionally crash, or run into each other, and this always brings screams or punches. I was once reading in my room with the door open. Ais started screaming like mad, so I glanced out into the living room. Faris was running after her with a five inch long kitchen knife.

He will open the cap on any drink that you give him and just turn it upside down. All over the floor, the table, and beware if he is near your bed! If he has a juice box with a straw, he may take a few sips and then squeeeeze.

He likes to chuck things too. They have a bunch of marbles in a bowl. Well, they should theoretically be in a bowl. They almost never are. Faris will turn the bowl upside down and watch all the marbles bounce across the entire house. Pencils, phone chargers, food—whatever is lying around—is likely to be picked up by Faris and thrown at someone. And if you try to keep him from doing something he will probably hit you and cry.

Is this how most 2 year olds are? I really didn't know what to expect.