Hello from Susan and Aaron. Remember, you should NOT have to join Google + to read my latest blog post. Simply, click link in this email.
We leave Lombok and return to Bali for our 3rd time in 25 years, 1990, 2010 and now. In many ways, this beautifully lush, spiritual Hindu home to the Balinese people has not changed and yet, in ways it has (Internet, more cars, Starbucks,...) however, the rich traditions remain.
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| Flower offerings In Front of Home |
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| Lotus garden and temple NEXT to Starbucks! |
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| Starbucks in Ubud! |
Candidasa is our first stop. We fondly remember sitting outside our bungalow 25 years ago, figuring out how long we could live on the $4 dollars/day it cost at the time, for beachfront property, including en suite western toilet and meals, free tea and fresh fruit delivered to your door! It may have been the "trigger" to get us to work and save toward an an EARLY retirement!! LOL.
Our home for next two weeks is in the village of Penestanan, just outside Ubud, the cultural center of Bali. We learn that due to the number of volunteers here, our accommodations have been upgraded. Our "villa" apartment is a large one bedroom, with outdoor covered living area and kitchen, wifi and a fabulous outdoor shower. The stars at night are amazing. We are in a walled in space with a beautiful garden, including a sculpture of Ganesha. It is just lovely. Meals are delivered by Green Lion, the local organization we are volunteering with. We have had better food....and often go next door to the laid back Kopi Desa Cafe, and buy lunch and/or dinner, with an average good meal costing 5 - 7 dollars for the 2 of us!
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| Ganesha in our garden |
We walk 1/4 mile to the Green Lion office, passing by homes adorned with flower offerings, wishing our "neighbors" "Selamat Pagi"......a good morning, in Balinese. Aaron and I easily agree this is our best volunteer accommodation location to date. Candra (pronounced Chandra) and his wife, Made (pronounced Ma day) are our gracious hosts. They live in his family compound with Candra's 5 brothers in small one or two rooms along with their families, roosters, chickens, birds and cats. Our place is unique within the walled compound.
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Our meals are delivered for every meal
in plastic divided containers. Cute huh! |
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| Made, Candra and their grandson |
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Made dresses up and brings flower offerings
to our home each Friday |
Our first week with Green Lion was a mandatory Orientation. We were skeptical initially, thinking, we sorta "been there, done that" but that was not the case! Green Lion staff provided a very hands on, authentic introduction to life on Bali. Below are highlights from our week! Hope you enjoy them?
Monday. We start with a walk to Ubud and the Monkey Forest. Ubud stores range from local paintings and wood carvings to, yes, a Starbucks, Pollo and Pandora. The market is traditional and full of crafts, wood and fabric, souvenirs as well as fruits and vegetables. Local fruits include mangosteens, dragon fruit and smelly durian. The Monkey Forest is just as we remember it. Full of monkeys and their antics. This time, we saw one monkey take a child's hat off his head and climb up a tree and another, trying to open the zipper on a girl's purse! Even one trying to break open a coconut for a fellow monkey, perhaps his kid?g
A class on Cultural dos and dont's reminds us not to touch any one's head (considered holy), or use your left hand to point, touch or eat (considered unclean), though lefties fortunately, are given some leeway! Lucky for Aaron.
A visit to Ubud is not complete without attending a traditional Balinese dance show at night. This one, mostly by local men, who volunteer their talents, so ticket sales can go to the temple, enact stories of lore, such as the popular, Ramayana. They also perform a fire trance dance (walking through hot embers etc), at the end. The click "kecek" rhythm of their chant stays with you long after you leave. Check it out
here.
Tuesday. Our cooking class begins with our cutting up many different fruits and mixing them in a blend of water, condensed milk, sugar and ice - filtered water of course. Called Ice Fruit, it was quite refreshing! Next we made Spring Rolls, full of garlic, carrot, onion and cooked pork, followed by Gado Gado, a local favorite, made with beansprouts, green beans, onion, cooked in peanut sauce. Just yummy!
Bahisian language class included two, two hour sessions, covering all the basics. Greetings, colors, numbers, animals, fruits and more. It is here, as we practiced out loud, we learned the ages of our fellow volunteers. Most are 19 to 25, one 30 year old from S Korea, us and a 65 year old couple from New Jersey! This time several Brits, Americans and a couple of Canadians and Chinese. A total of 100.... 60 new volunteers joining 40 others.
Wednesday.
It is time for our Batik painting class. We walk to a woman's home which is also her workshop. Patterns are distributed and we are told to trace them. Next, we are hands on and go through the entire process ourselves, well, mostly ourselves, with help from the local woman. She outlines our work in wax, we handle color selection, painting, it drys, gets washed and wa la, a pink and purple Batik wall hanging for someone special, to hang in their new apartment next Fall! Hmmmm...
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| Aaron helps fill in the color! |
In the afternoon, we take a Village walk through rice fields and a painting village. I totally surprise myself, falling "in like" with a picture painted in acrylic, allegedly by the gallery owners father. An even bigger surprise, is Aaron chimes in that he likes the same one in a different color and why don't I try to get a better deal for 2? After some serious negotiating, we walk out owning BOTH! Happy more birthday to me or early happy 30th anniversary to us! I'll take it! Ha!
Thursday. After our 2nd language class, How to Make a Flower offering class is next. Only fresh flowers can be used. Each color has a different meaning/purpose and goes in a particular place in each of the small square baskets we make. Boy, you need nimble fingers! Some woman can make over 100 offerings a day for all their needs. Example offerings are for your house, food, fields, motorbike, intersections, temple and the list goes on. The next day, the SAME and the day after, the SAME....
Friday. The day before the important island holiday of Nyepi, we take a spiritual tour to a Holy water temple, where hundreds of people come to make wishes, offerings and avail themselves of the never ending flow of Holy water. When in Bali, do as Bali.....dressed in proper temple garb-------- sarong tied with belted waist, in we go! Aaron first. The locals go to each of the 12 fountains, making offerings, a wish, sipping water and then splashing water 3 times over their head.
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Aaron's turn, then mine. Wish made, water
sipped, time to splash 3xs |
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Our volunteer "class of Jeffrey" our
Coordinator for the week |
The week Orientation wraps up. We now have our volunteer assignments, teaching 5th graders for me and construction at a school, for Aaron. We are ready to go!
But first, we are lucky to be here for the parades leading up to Nyepi, a holiday of COMPLETE SILENCE for 24 hours. Everything is closed; all shops, restaurants, even the airport shuts down, no use of lights, no movement outside. For me, it is a hybrid of New Years Eve parade of Monsters (called Oga Oga locally), and the Jewish holidays of Passover and Yom Kippur!! You REALLY MUST read more about this special and sacred holiday by clicking
here. Aaron dresses so he can join the day before Nyepi Eve temple procession.
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| Recognize Aaron? |
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Nyepi parade begins
in Ubud. |
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| Boys carrying an Oga Oga. |
We survive the day of silence, thanks to our host, Candra, leaving the Internet on! Reading, blogging, Skyping, and eating within the walls of our garden, the hours pass. On Sunday, the village wakes and goes back to "normal" save for cleaning up from Nyepi Eve celebration and packing up remains of the Monsters for next year!
Week 2 - Volunteering with IVHQ's partner, The Green Lion
It is our 6th, yet shortest volunteer stint. Orientation took up one week of the two planned to be in Ubud. I am hopeful to get a meaningful assignment where I can apply my TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) skills, teaching kids older than pre-school.
I luck out. I have 9, 5th graders in an after school program from 2pm to 430pm. The school is a half hour drive each way, that I share with other volunteers, including Olivia, a 21 year old Brit who is co-teaching with me. Although 10 years old, we quickly observe that our students know very basic English, little to no grammar and need help with pronunciation. Mission accomplished. At the end of the week, we hear improvement, we have all had fun and, all done without a translator! I feel good. The week ends and we pack up for Lovina Beach, in the north of Bali, where we are joined again, with Donna, our friend from Quebec.
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Practicing directions.
Olivia looks on |
Aaron's construction project is to help spruce up a school. He works from 1 to 4pm, after the kids go home around noon. Although the hottest time of the day, he finds what shade there is to sand and paint tables and chairs, mix plaster and cement to reinforce the garden as well as a few classroom walls. The volunteer crew is made up of 4 gals, 4 guys and a Coordinator. Aaron is joined by one other + 60 year old, an Electrician by profession....
We say goodbye to the Green Lion staff, our hosts, Candra and Made and Ubud. Another wonderful visit in a wonderful part of Bali. Who knows when we will return again?
Over the next 10 days will be on Bali beaches for last minute R&R (Ha!) and returning to Singapore as we make our way back to Boston. I am looking forward to seeing Welch Allyn friends and visiting our former home (2009 - 2010).
We have a 7.5 hour layover in Istanbul, where by coincidence, my brother Jerry is vacationing with his wife, Marti and my nephew, Ethan (who is teaching in India)! I will deplane and meet them for a day before flying the final leg!! Another opportunity to celebrate my BIG 60th over dinner with family in Turkey! Pretty cool.
Our Blog will now come to an end along with our travels until next time. We hope you have enjoyed what we have shared? We have!
Susan and Aaron
I fly home via Montreal, but not after a long delay in Istanbul (oops, should have moved on Jerry's offer to get boarding pass on line but even more so, grabbed the earlier direct flight home). Aggggh Turkish Airways. Missed connection and after stay over in Montreal, finally arrived in Boston the next day. Aaron was already unpacked, laundry ready, taxes done and ready to start planning our next trip!!! Yes, it will be Greece and Israel. Our 30th, my 60th and my fantasy! Within weeks, we pushed "enter" on 3 week rental in Old Town of Rhodes, Greece.
