"Merebut Hari" – Learning to Seize the Day

One girl's adventures in Bali

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music videos and video games.

06/07/2011 at 11:31 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: , , , , , ,

So, my dear readers, as you know, me and motorbikes don’t really get along.

I am trying to work on this relationship, considering that every week I will be on a motorbike for a minimum of 12 hours, often in traffic, often on busy roads.

If only my driver was santa..

So when I went to work on Tuesday, I decided I would listen to my IPod to ease the pain. With this, I felt like I could play games and maybe forget I am on the same bike I crashed into a wall three weeks ago. This seemed to work, at least in the morning, when my IPod began to play all my crazy guilty pleasure songs- Lady Gaga, Prince, and then, when I was at a stoplight, that new horrible song by the Black Eyed Peas that I just can’t get enough of, “Don’t Stop the Party” .. as I am about to be whisked through the light, this jungle boogie music hits and I am suddenly in the middle of some crazy music video.

Yeah, I was kind of riding at the speed of light

The wind in my hair, I let go of the back of the bike and balance like I am some super cool tough girl getting my groove on. I laugh as I think people around me have no clue they are in my music video! Here we are, flying through the streets of Bali on this motorbike. I am happy.

yeah sundown looks really pretty if you're not on a bike.

Then on the way home, I forgot about how night falls around 6pm here. I left work at 6pm. As the sun began to set, a whole new Bali appeared. We will call this, the scary video game Bali. At this point it did not matter what music was playing, we were all suddenly transported to some strange, sick game where these strange fire-flies were whisking around me, coming at me, revving their strange fire-fly engines and nearly crashing into me.

This is what came up when I searched scary motorbikes at night..

To make the chaos worse, there were also these big monster-looking things that had two lights and drove really fast and really loudly toward me. These were especially scary when they were right behind me or trying to pass me on the inside.

The trees became forest creatures with arms and legs that seemed to leap in front of the vehicle, adding to the insanity.

yeah, and the moon looked like that!

Needless to say, to calm my heart which nearly exploded on the trip, I made up some sick and twisted video game where basically every motorbike was trying to kill me. Which is, in fact, what it felt like at times.

If I thought riding the bike during the day was scary, riding the bike at night felt deadly.

 

I will leave work at 5 from now on.

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America’s Birthday in Bali.

04/07/2011 at 7:12 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: ,

Oh HAY America, Happy Birthday. Since I couldn’t be there to celebrate with you, I tried to do the next best American thing: spend money I don’t really have on things I do not really need.

I felt pretty successful about the whole adventure.

me being extra american.

Let’s talk about my red white and blue outfit that I wore to attract Americanos. First, my shirts are from India. My necklace is fair trade from Africa. Earrings: Lithuania. Pants: Bought in Struttgart. Harp necklace, thanks Ireland. Hat: All Boston. All items: Red white and blue for globalization! (No Americans found me.)

So I had Gusti drop me off in town and I proceeded to wander around looking for bargains and other adventures. I found this lovely little organic shop that had ALL kinds of fun things, including Canadian maple syrup and…

OH MY GOSH I FOUND IT

Yeah guys. This is when Bali became real. Hummus. I died a little inside. Oh but wait.. it gets better..

IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?

YES. Yes it is. A “New York Style Bagel” that actually tasted DELICIOUS. I bought an onion and a multigrain for $1 each. BEST MOMENT EVER.

Also, got myself a new book because I love this author and these stories make me pee my pants.

totally hooked on these

Also indulged my newsweek/time addiction while i travel by purchasing both! (Hey, it’s the 4th of July, why not?)

and i mean, time is about the constitution.. so appropriate

And I also got what all expats here get: the advertiser that tells you about all the things that non-balinese people do!

the only free thing i got besides dirty feet

I got this cool fish candle holder at the market.

and i bargained well.

And, to be really American I bought 10 pirated DVD’s.. and got two free! Oh, I love a bargain.

i am taking requests for the next dvd purchasing spree

Then I topped my day off with Starbucks. I hate Starbucks really, I think its capitalism at its worst- but it IS America’s birthday, so I figured, what’s more American than capitalism gone bad? And check it out, this place is the coolest, fanciest Starbucks ever.

Then I came back to my home and devoured a bagel and a half with nearly half my tub of hummus and a can of coke.

This was my lunch. Brandeis style.

I was hoping I could wear my Red Sox hat and attract Americans, but I guess they all stayed in America for the 4th of July. One of the staff here was surprised when I told him I was American, he thought I was Canadian. I think that means I’m not obnoxious. Who knows. I told him I am all red white and blue, just to clarify.

I was also hoping I could find some festivities tonight, but alas, thanks to the terrorist attacks here a few years back, American celebrations don’t happen all that often. I will just have to watch fireworks on the computer.

Another note- its my Grandmother’s 77th Birthday! WHOOO! She told me that 7+7 is 14, so she’s still young. I miss her and vow to be home next year for her birthday. (Yes Grandma, you can quote me on that)

Time to go eat the rest of my bagel and probably finish off my hummus…

Happy Fourth of July!

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Warning: First class complaining.

03/07/2011 at 8:02 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: , , , ,

I’m really trying to work things out with Indonesia. This post is me trying to deal with those things that need working out. If you want to avoid all my complaining and frustrated writing, read these two lists, avoid the explanations and read the bottom. I think that stuff at the bottom is really what this whole post is about, and all that junk in the middle is me indulging my frustrations.

In between my frustrations, I am trying to take stock of things I am really quite pleased with:

  1. The availability of vanilla oreos
  2. My mostly-decent internet connection/availability to skype home nearly twice a day
  3. The cheap cost of food
  4. How nice the ladies in the kitchen are and the fun we have when nobody’s ordering food at night
  5. How nobody really thinks its weird that I am white and I don’t get stared at 24/7
  6. The pizza delivery I had the other night with tiramisu for only $6
  7. Mango juice. Fresh mango juice.
  8. Cheap laundry that smells delicious and gets delivered to my place.
  9. How I don’t really miss home all that often

And I try to ignore the things that are frustrating me most here:

  1. The mosquitoes that every night leave me with new red bumps, making me feel like I have some strange chickenpox.
  2. My inability to drive myself places and reminder of how pathetic this is with every day that my wounds seem to still not be healed.
  3. How if I don’t go places with Indonesians I get ripped off and am completely aware of it unlike a lot of white people here
  4. How few people really can speak English and therefore, how few real conversations I can have with people
  5. How pathetic it is that I skype home twice a day here
  6. How I still have no schedule and often wait for people to come who never do.
  7. My inability to remember any of the bahasa I am told
  8. How stupid white people look in town
  9. My lack of studio space and motivation to paint without it
  10. How far I am from the beach
  11. How I keep getting new charges to pay for for my bike accident/useless bike
  12. The lack of people I can really call ‘friends’
  13. How I miss home often enough to still keep a countdown till I go back.
  14. How pathetic all my complaints are.

As you can see, my list of things that are frustrating outweigh the positives. I realize there is a lot I need to work out. Let me expand this list a bit, more for my own curiosity.

Happy Things.

  1. Oreos. And not just oreos, a lot of things from home. I can get most things here, and although the western stuff is more expensive, it is often worth every rupiah for my spaghetti and tomato sauce dinner. I think I can get more American things here than I could in Ireland, and more Irish things here than I can in America! (Can you say, whole aisle of digestives!? My UCD’ers will understand the excitement of this.)
  2. Internet. I am lucky a. I don’t pay for it and b. it is mostly reliable. I get angry when it stops working for like 5 minutes and suddenly feel pathetic. I see my family more here than I ever did in Ireland, or at home for that matter. I am on facebook a disgusting amount, even worse, my email. Especially since I told my advisees that I would probably ‘take some time to respond to their emails’ but usually write back within 5 minutes of them emailing me… I sure look busy in Bali.
  3. Cheap food. Seriously, there is nothing better. Caveat: near me is not the cheapest warung  (local restaurant) and I really should find cheaper, but I really love the woman who cooks my food and she knows how I like my gadogado now.
  4. I love the women here, especially Cadek. I feel like she is my adoptive big sister. She has the biggest, most joyful smile and the warmest laugh. She’s brilliant and seemingly understands all the junk that comes from my mouth about the most irrelevant things.
  5. The whole being white thing did not fly so well in India, but here, it’s like, “I think you’re beautiful but I won’t come nag on you for money or food, I’ll just try to sell you things at prices 10X the local cost.”
  6. OH the pizza was delicious and I didn’t have to do anything to get it other than make a phone call. It actually was really good, although cold- this place also has pumpkin ravioli, to be purchased next time having a bad day.
  7. Fresh mango juice from a ripe mango is seriously, one of the best things that’s happened to mankind.
  8. If I had known it would be 40 cents to have someone wash and press my shirts I would have brought all my clothes here to be properly steamed for once in their never-time-to-be-ironed-correctly lives.
  9. I think this not missing home too much thing is mostly because I spent so much time away already this year in Ireland, and also from the availability of skype video chat at 7am and 7pm in which Tori often can’t even think of things to tell me because we talked so recently.

Cue the whines.

  1. Mosquitoes. Seriously. The bugs here are bad. Good thing they are not filled with that scary disease called ‘malaria’ and therefore I don’t have to worry about them, only itch so much that I can’t fall asleep finding new spots on my body I didn’t realize could itch.
  2. Yeah. The whole bike thing has still got me down. This lack of independence is pathetic and frustrating and my wounds don’t look as good as I’d like them to at three weeks after the fact. Still trying to figure out if I can pretend I got in a shark attack.
  3. This is one of the most frustrating but expected things about being white in Asia. I should not be as upset about it as I am considering I get to go home to a room with running water and a fridge full of food and most of these people I encounter do not. I ooze entitlement when I tell them not to rip me off because I am a student, but alas, I am a student, and I am even broker than I was before thanks to my bike riding experience.
  4. Again. It’s pathetic how I expect people to speak English, but I do. And maybe it’s just that I’m not on a program and I’m not living with Americans/Native English speakers, but I’m finding Indonesia to be incredibly frustrating with my lack of Bahasa and their lack of English.
  5. Seriously. I need to find other things to do with my time. (No offense Mom and Dad, I love you lots)
  6. I am hoping this whole ‘lack of schedule’ thing will change soon (aka: this week since I DO have a schedule) but living without one for three weeks has been incredibly frustrating, and I can’t begin to explain how many times I’ve been stood up by someone or something that I had planned to do/see. And how pathetic I feel for not finding ways to use my time more productively.
  7. I am the worst language learner ever and the words here are so different from English I have nothing to relate them to. I can’t even remember what hello is. Kelsey is most pathetic.
  8. Seriously. I know, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones- but my gosh, white people, can you please become less awkward in public when you travel? I have seen way too many poorly dressed (or not really dressed at all) people look like fools on the streets of Ubud. Or loud Americans make scenes in restaurants. Or ask stupid questions like when the shop owner hands them a bottle of water that is double sealed with plastic if that is a clean bottle of water. White people, sometimes you really frustrate/embarrass/challenge me.
  9. I realize now that even if I had oil paints in Ireland I would not have painted. I have a huge box of them here, canvases, mediums and .. 1 painting nearly finished. With all this free time I should be pushing out paintings like its nobody’s business. Not the case with the heat and the rain and the limited space that I have without dirt and rocks and ants to crawl all over me.
  10. Bali is an Island. Everywhere you go there is a beach. Unless you are in Ubud.
  11. First my medical fees, (about $350) which I know will not be fully covered by CISI because I dealt with them last year and was graciously rejected for most of my fees connected to my Indian surgery. Then there was the $200 car damage. $40 bike damage. $45 wall damage. $200 I paid for this bike which has now ended up being a really expensive helmet rental.
  12. Other than Yuli I really feel like I haven’t been able to establish real friendships here. I am left to wonder if the people here are only nice to me because they have to be and secretly get annoyed by my wanderings in and out of the kitchen.
  13. With emailing my advisees about how excited I am for them to come to Brandeis and thinking about the second 4th of July I’ve missed in a row, I am beginning to get excited about the notion that I will be home for a full, probably mainly complete year next year. I’ve never really looked forward to this, but I feel ready to have my studio and little sister back.
  14. No need for explanation.

This post is a bit of a diversion from where I’ve been with this blog. I’ve been really trying to post nice little stories about Bali with cute pictures, which if you notice, has been something I only do every three days or so. This is mainly because in between those times where I take cutsie pictures, I am struggling not to become completely suffocated by my frustrations with things here. I don’t like to write whiney posts. I hate to complain that I am in BALI with nothing to do. Oh poor, entitled little Kelsey. Sometimes I disgust myself. This tension can eat a person inside and make it impossible to write anything of real meaning.

But while doing research for a potential year in Malaysia next year (we’ll talk about this later, I promise. It’s giving me something to think about…) I found an amazing blog by someone who did the program I want to do a few years back. He’s a great writer, now going for his master’s in creative writing, but more importantly- totally engaging, interesting and real with his blog. And he complains constantly. He tells stories in tones of frustration and anger that I try to avoid.  And somehow I really enjoyed it. He was raw in a way that I really admire.

I realize I’ve basically been cutting the skin off the mango and forgotten to have you taste the inside. This mango that I’m talking about is not ripe. The insides are not tender and sweet like a mango should be- but instead solid and meaty and grainy and actually quite gross. It’s been cut off the tree before it was ready. When I try to make juice with this mango, Cadek tells me to put extra sugar in, because it needs sweetening.

The only other way to eat this unripe mango is how Yuli showed me the other day. Cut it up into thin strips, chop up a chili and drench it with brown sugary liquid that makes it so disgustingly sweet I couldn’t stand it either.

The Indonesians have tricks for dealing with these ‘unsweet’ things, (they do love their sugar) just like I have- except instead of choosing to avoid them all together, they just cover them with sugar and hope that will fix it.

I guess that’s what I’m guilty of. I can’t blame Indonesians for this behavior of mine, even if it seems like the kind of thing that would be fun to do. No. I just haven’t been dealing with how frustrating it is to be in a foreign country where few people speak my language and less know my name. With coming with a plan and it being ‘put on hold’. Continually. With feeling like I have accomplished very little in a period of time that I feel I could have used productively doing something else. With my future career supposed to be figured out with this summer and the feeling that I am only further from figuring out my calling.

My story isn’t that sweet these days. Of course, there is still a list of things I am happy with here, and I know, I should be a bit more grateful and a litle less frustrated with my time to be alone in a tropical paradise. I will do my best to really start working on that. But I still can’t mix that second list with chilies and sugar and expect it all to work out for the better. Not yet at least.

Thanks for indulging my frustrations for the time being.

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Forgiving Misgivings.

01/07/2011 at 1:15 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: , ,

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” – Martin Buber

Every trip has its challenges. Sometimes our luggage gets misplaced and we have to wait a day for our favorite bar of soap to appear again. Or maybe you get somewhere new and it’s not what you expected. The bed is uncomfortable. The food is unsavory and the weather is dreary.

This is not the case for me. I have plenty of good smelling soap and Bali is gorgeous and wonderful and my bed is quite comfy. Indonesian food is taking getting used to, and the rain comes and goes. In all actuality, all the little ‘life comforts’ have been there for me here. And even though I dread those motorbike rides, the view from behind the driver is quite beautiful as we drive through rice paddies and green fields. Bali is beautiful.

But unfortunately, I feel like I’ve been missing all that. I’ve had my share of issues this trip, and they all came so early on in the experience that all the magic of arriving here seemingly was lost. And then when new issues came up they only pushed me further into survival mode and further from experience/enjoying/learning mode.

My first day at the internship I came here for was wonderful. I helped to choose antique items for a house we were furnishing and got to see a lot of amazing things, including plates from the Ming Dynasty- pieces I studied last year in art history. Going to site was also really exciting because it made me realize how much I really do enjoy creating spaces.

MING PLATE

The house was designed by someone with no architectural experience, and as such, was quite a mess, making me realize how much I really DO know about architecture and design. It was such a wonderful moment of clarity that maybe, this really is what I want to do, regardless of the fact I’m graduating with a fine arts/sociology degree next May.

I was so excited to really get going on this internship. It’s been delayed already because of my accident and because of travel schedules. But now I won’t be back there again till Tuesday because my supervisors are busy with other projects.

I traveled half-way across the world to work with this company and sometimes I feel as though they have no interest in me. It’s very difficult trying to communicate how important this is to me when there is always another excuse to push the dates back.

Luckily I connected with Yuli and have been going to her office to do design work with a jewelry designer there. Yesterday I was doing drawings we’re going to edit with their software on the computer today. It’s a complicated, interesting process and I realize there is a lot to be learned from doing work with them. Also, all my swirly doodles seem to be coming in handy!

I’ve been so challenged by my lack of schedule that all I’ve been doing is fighting to get a moment’s time with anyone who will offer it to me. I’m done playing games, I want to start doing what I came here to do. Who knew wanting to do work could be such a challenge?

I guess I need to try to be better at letting things pass and moving forward. I’m carrying a lot of frustration and it’s not helping me get any better at dealing with everything. I need to focus on the positive things: like Yuli’s friendship and help, the rafting trip I am going on this weekend, the late night talks I have with the girls in the kitchen, the broken Indonesian I am learning.

I need to slow down with myself and with Bali. I don’t know if we started off on the best foot after my accident. Maybe we need to rekindle our relationship. Three weeks in sounds like a good time to begin to try again.

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“You won’t find gefilte fish here” and other learning moments from the weekend.

27/06/2011 at 12:39 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: , , , ,

This weekend has really set me up for my first week of work to begin with a bang. Seemingly, everything that I’ve been begging to happen for me since I got here, (make friends, have a glass of red wine, meet some people, learn something about Bali, stop crying about my injury, see something far from Ubud, get to the beach) happened this weekend. All of it, in one weekend- enough to make me completely exhausted and the work week has yet to begin.

 

Lets start with Friday, when I finally got to meet Yuli. Yuli is a Balinese woman who is friends with my Uncles. She worked with them in their store down the Cape a while back and has since traveled around the world and now manages a jewelry company that sells products to the US and the UK. One of her staff picked me up on Friday morning and drove me to Sanur, about 50 minutes away.

 

Realization: I won’t be able to bypass motorbikes here. It’s just a way of being and I’m going to have to stop having mini-panic attacks when I pull myself onto the back of one. I think that all the horrible crazy car drivers in India prepared me for the motor bicyclists in Indonesia. I must remember that they do this every day, that they know how to not hit the pot holes and they are good at avoiding incoming traffic even if we’re headed straight for them. I’m still undecided on if I’ll try to get back on the bike myself- I’ve had a few people offer to teach me in less busy enviorments. I really should, otherwise I’ve paid $200 for a very expensive helmet rental…

 

motorbikes don't look like this in bali, but i thought it was funny

Back to Sanur. The place Yuli works is super interesting. The process of getting jewlry from the design team to the customer is quite lengthy and requires a lot of skilled people. Yuli wants me to work with the jewlry designers and learn how to do the product design. They’re also working on a series of five villas which are “Indonesian Island” themed.. each having their architecture and interiors based on a different palce in Indonesia- such as Borneo or Bali. It’s quite an interesting, tedious project that will require a lot of research that I think I’ll really enjoy.

 

But the best part of it all was (Drumroll please) THE BEACH. Granted, this ocean water was dangerously strong and I really shouldn’t have gone into the water with my open wounds.. I did and it felt wonderful. I watched two fishermen, scrawy old men, throw nets out to catch fish and felt pathetic for dodging the waves. I spent the majority of my day sitting and watching the water. It was so peaceful and reminded me so much of home. Amazing how I can be on the other side of the world, staring at an ocean that touches the shores of Boston, Onset, Goa, Dublin… so many worlds I’ve seen and one ocean.

 

Crazy Fishermen

I really enjoyed the staff Yuli works with. They were all very friendly and most spoke English, or were trying to learn so they tried with me. It is a good working environment. And Yuli and I had some great conversation about what its like to travel, missing things from home, learning from ourselves and new cultures.. and how I can get most food here but not gefilte fish. Ha!

 

Saturday I got up and brought my laundry to the laundry place. I paid something like $10 to get all my laundry washed and pressed, mainly because of how many pairs of underwear I had (HA)… it was more than I wanted to spend but still cheaper than Irish laundry. And, I threw in a blanket and a jacket which  I won’t wash again. My clothes smell so lovely now, I am overjoyed.

 

That evening I went to a movie showing nearby of this incredible feature film on Balinese spirituality and daily life. It was phenomenally done and really gave a great overview of the life of these people and all the amazing spirituality that surrounds this place. I highly recommend that people back home see it, it is titled, “Sacred and Secret”. It’s a bit intense and sometimes grotesque, but fascinating nonetheless and really gets to the heart of Balinese culture. Maybe we’ll try to have a showing when I get home.

 

That night there was a wonderful party back at the hotel where I hung out with a couple of the staff here and had a few drinks. It was really nice to get to know them better, as these were two of the staff I don’t usually get to speak with. They were a lot of fun to have dinner with and we really enjoyed the evening.

 

Sunday I went on a site visit with the landscape architect I intern with here. It was a beautiful site with impeccable architecture and it was really a great experience to see him at work, his attention to detail, understanding of the materials and knowledge of so many diverse species of plants. It was actually quite inspiring to see his ability to create such a beautiful space within the exteriors of the home. Architecture never ceases to impress me, the more I learn about it the more I do believe that it is the ‘mother art’. The way that beauty and functionality can be born of great design is art embodied in space.

 

Later we headed to a party in the mountains north of Ubud to Kintamani. On the way we stopped in a village that was built solely for use for ceremonies. There were no ceremonies going on, and consequently, the whole place was empty. It was the strangest thing, all these empty homes in tight clean rows- they were built tightly like a slum but cleanly like a beautiful little village. Amazing how these places must come alive during ceremonies. Amazing too how a place can be so impoverish yet still hold onto places like this, solely for ceremonial purposes. Religion is so important here.

Ubud is in the lower center, Kitamani is the upper right area (click to see full size image)

From there I was able to see two of the active volcanoes of Bali. This was one of the most impressive sights I have seen here, I wish I had brought my camera- though I never could have captured the sheer magnitude of space from the top of the mountain to the valley below and across the water body that separated the two volcanoes. It was spectacular.

 

It was actually a lot prettier when I saw it.

The party was beautiful as well, held in a art gallery where they were raising money and awareness about rabies here in Bali. I guess it’s a huge issue and most of the time in the south (where I live and the city is) dogs are put down if they are found to have rabies. (No wonder I didn’t see many dogs in Bali…) but up where I was they were trying to find ways to get the vaccines to the dogs to prevent the spread of the disease. Furthermore, there is a shortage of the rabies vaccine for humans if they are bitten. Six people died in this one town from rabies last year. Such a disease seems so passé to my American mind, but here, there really is no way of preventing it if you’re not near a larger hospital or in a tourist area. There is a lot of work to be done in this.

 

This is one of the special dogs native to Kitamani. Isn't it beautiful?

I had the pleasure of meeting some people at the party whom I hope I will keep in contact with. It’s wonderful to find young people to talk to and share stories to learn about the different worlds people come from. It continues to amaze me the struggles people have and the ways they overcome them. Humanity is a beautiful, strong force.

 

Today I have an off day, hoping to go grocery shopping and to the post office.. but before I do that, I need to take a shower and the rain won’t stop to let me! Oye.. tropic thunder.

 

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brutality in balance.

23/06/2011 at 8:31 am · Filed under Uncategorized

“Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it.” – Cesare Pavese

 

Truth of the day: Finding a place for ones self takes time.

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back in action

22/06/2011 at 6:56 am · Filed under Uncategorized

Well, now that I have left you all hanging on my injuries for a week+ I am back to say that things are on the up and up. My stitches came out on Monday and the other wounds are scabbing up and peeling. It’s still pretty gross and I’m going to have quite a scar, but I’m walking again and things are beginning to get moving.

The past week or so has been quite difficult considering what happened. I was bed-ridden and my every-other-day adventure was the hour long wait at the doctor to get my bandage redone for $20. (Hospital expenses are ridiculous here! It was $1 for my full foot bandage in India last summer!) I’ve read two books (Little Bee by Chris Cleave and One for the Money by Janet Evanovich) and seen enough bad movies to drive one insane. (Seriously, I’ve seen every bad movie out there by now)

But Monday I had my first meeting with one of my supervisors for work and I’m really excited with how it went. He was very receptive and they really seem to want to help me. There are a lot of projects for me to get involved in and on Monday I’ll be helping to put together an interiors project they’re setting up for the day. On Tuesday I’ll be picked up by their driver (A SUPER AWESOME COINCIDENCE THAT HE’S NEARBY) and start in the studio. I’m really excited about the work I’ll be doing and even more excited that someone is going to be able to pick me up… on Monday when I went I was on the back of a motorbike and it was quite nerve wrecking. I kept seeing myself going into a wall again, and the hour long ride weaving in and out of traffic was a bit stressful. I can do it if needed, but it’s certainly not ideal. And there is no way I’ll be driving my bike all the way to work- its way too dangerous and now that I’ve seen how crazy people drive on bikes first hand, I’d like to think I have a bit more sanity in me.

Today I went to have lunch at the warung nearby. A warung is a small restaurant here that serves Indonesian food. Once I came the woman, Coman, who I’d met before when I ate at her place, came and gave me a hug. She said she had heard about my accident and she was very worried for me. It meant so much that she had not only remembered who I was but had been thinking of me! It was so sweet. I had a veggies with peanut sauce dish that was very good, but it had funny tofu. I don’t understand these Indonesians. They love meat but they also love their tofu just as much. It’s not even that it’s cheaper, the tofu dish is the same as the meat one. It’s interesting how tastes differ.

 

When I was about to leave Coman told me she doesn’t want me to ever ride my bike again. She said she is very worried for me and she said to just ask her if I need someone to drop me off in town. It was so thoughtful of her.

Following lunch I went for a walk. It was so nice to walk again and not hurt. I found a really nice looking gelato place down the street where gelato was just as expensive as my meal and beer for lunch… but I’ll have to try it some time. Following that I picked up some oranges to make orange juice and got the price list for the laundry place. It’s so cheap to do laundry here- literally 20 cents for a shirt. I like to try to do things on my own usually, I learned to wash clothes in the sinks in India, but it’s almost more expensive for soap than to just bring my clothes there.

I’ve been feeling really low about not having friends here. It’s very difficult how little English people know. I took this for granted in India. Even though in the village most people didn’t speak English, everywhere else people did. Here it’s the opposite, and it’s surprising. There is so much tourism and money to be made by knowing the language, it amazes me how little even the kids know.

I’m really excited though, I’ve been trying to get together with a  friend of my uncle’s who lives here and been having trouble making our schedules work. Tomorrow she offered to have someone pick me up and take me to work with her, where I can meet people and ALSO go to the BEACH! The beach has been my secret desire each day I’ve been here.. I am so excited for the opportunity to get there… and even better, meet some people.

So after that day, I’ve basically got the weekend, and then Monday comes and I start work. Things are finally beginning to look up. No more time for movie watching!

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Moments of Grace.

14/06/2011 at 12:40 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: , , , ,

This morning I woke up with my back in throbbing pain, my neck made nearly immobile by awkward sleep only to pull the sheets and realize that my neck and back weren’t even the parts of me effected by the accident yesterday.

 

Ever-so-Kelsey (predictable?)  I had a minor mishap on my bike the first time I tried to ride it. I had been doing just fine for about 20 minutes through Ubud center, proud of my new ability and discussing with Gushti the photos to come… when a curve turned up. I saw it coming so I braced for it on my brake- except that it wasn’t my break- it was the throttle. I went straight into a wall.

 

The whole thing still plays back in slow motion in my head- I can remember thinking when I was in the middle of the road of what my mother always said when you’re on icy roads- you can’t break in the middle of the momentum, you must let it go. If I had braked I probably would have had a more devestating impact with the oncoming traffic I crossed over on.

 

I guess on the way I took out a car and my bike. Who knew I had this much skill? I was in such shock when I got off the bike I fell to the ground after looking at my wound. My right leg has quite a nice gash in it, but otherwise, I have large rug-burn like cuts on my arms, right hip, right leg and left food. My left leg, chest, stomach, back and head were left undamaged.

 

I am incredibly blessed. When I came into the clinic I couldn’t stop crying not just out of shock and fear but complete surprise I had made it out of the accident with less trouble. Sure, I had thoughts they might amputate my leg (they aren’t going to.. but I did clarify this, ha) otherwise, I survived one of the scariest stupid things I’ve ever done. Furthermore, I put Gushti in danger. I couldn’t think about the pain I was in worrying that somehow Gushti had been hurt in my stupidity. Luckily, he got out with scratches and held my hand as I panicked on the table.

 

My Mother would have been so proud of me. Through my dizzy tears I informed everyone of all my allergies and requests for butterfly needles and someone who knows how to do stitches the best.  I quizzed my nurse and doctor where they went to school and where they were from and if they liked their job. They laughed at my drunken-like stupor. They were very patient and I mostly just cried like a baby. They did tell me I was not the worst patient they’d ever had. (I always ask this, just to make sure.)

 

So now I’m stuck waiting around to heal. Awesome. Didn’t this happen last year? I told everyone I am a pro at crutches after India last summer, but I think with the condition of my right arm, I can’t hold up much of anything, never mind my body.

 

I’ll go back to the doctor today and hopefully hear I’m healing well. Once I can pseudo-walk again, Gushti’s village is going to put on a ceremony for me. In Balinese tradition, when someone is in an accident, their soul stays at the accident site until it is called back. They called Gushti’s spirit back yesterday before he came to bring me dinner. I think it sounds like a pretty good idea, I’d prefer not to lose my soul on the side of the road.

 

Then again, I’d prefer this had never happened, but so it goes. I was excited to blog about how interesting and smelly and strange the market was, but this seemed more pressing.

 

Note to self: Gushti told me after my accident he learned to ride a motorbike in a soccer field. Take the soccer field approach.

 

 

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shameless flirt.

13/06/2011 at 1:13 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged:

"Travelling is like flirting with life. It's like saying, 'I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.'" -Lisa St. Aubin de Teran

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Day 1

12/06/2011 at 4:25 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: , , , ,

I should have known that it wouldn’t take long to find some adventure here.

I got my phone (and used all the credits calling home last night at 3am for 4 minutes).. after this I had my first indonesian meal at a local restaurant. It consisted of lots of different kinds of meats circled around rice and beans. Not the most amazing culinary art, but only like $2 for a full meal, versus $9 here where I stay- so much more sustainable on my budget. The can of coke I had with my meal was more than half the cost of food! Oh foreign luxuries… it’ll be bintang next time!

While I was eating I met a local guide who spoke great English, named Babong, so I started talking to him. I mentioned I was a painter and he immediately took me to meet a painter nearby. This guy’s work is everywhere- its quite beautiful and impressive. His studio space was beautiful, a painter’s dream really- overlooking the rice paddies and filled with animals and plants. His studio itself is like a treehouse, hidden amongst the trees I saw his rows of paint brushes and storage units filled with canvases painted. He’s obviously been here for 40 years. It was interesting sitting in on a conversation he was having with a fellow older painter.

Then Babong decided to take me for a walk to his Chinese friend’s place. He said I could maybe paint there. Suddenly I am climbing down the huge hill we’re situated on, walking along a tiny path near the river, listening to a man singing something in balinese loudly while culling grass for the cows. He was so happy there in the middle of all the green grass. The two sat and smoked a cigarette, at which point I decided I should go back. I wasn’t sure if Babong was tryingto take me on some crazy tour and I didn’t know if he wanted money. I had none of that, so we headed back.

He took me up this UBER steep hill with a path that really nobody should ever take.. If I thought hiking in Ireland was bad, this was some sort of insanity. There were no steps but small crevaces carved from mud. I was pretty sure I would slip. I did a couple times. Note to self: don’t ever wear flip flops and a skirt in Bali.. OH WAIT, that’s all anyone wears here.. how was I to know I’d be hiking?

I fell asleep at 4pm that day. Woke up every hour from 9pm on and then at 3am finally succeeded. I was so excited to hear their voices. Then the phone cut three minutes in. I put 100,000 rupiah of credit (about $12) on my phone and all I got was 3 minutes of talk. This was quite disheartening. The first Indonesian tears fell.

It took me only a day to begin feeling a bit lonely. I guess this is the prescription of a lone traveler.. and I am doing much better than when I began sobbing the moment I got settled in India.

Speaking of India.. a lot of the issues I dealt with over there are popping up here. Not that they’re any easier, but it’s nice that I can recognize them. Will discuss more on this in another post.

For now, I’m busy staring at the pink motorbike in the driveway, taking bets in my head as to when I will get the guts to get on the road…

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