Now that I'm a working lady, there are some pretty wonderful things that I have to look forward to outside of work. Truth be told, these are the things that are keeping me happy and engaged here in Bali. I know I am very fortunate to be calling Bali my temporary home and to have found these lovely little pockets...
1. The farm
Here we have the organic farm where I volunteer at every week. I like to volunteer, I like to play in the dirt, I like farms, I like NGOs so when I found IDEP volunteering for them was a no-brainer. This local NGO is doing excellent work in everything from disaster relief to permaculture design courses for Balinese farmers. And every Friday they have an open Garden Day when anyone can come help out on the farm. I've been able to help with loads of fun stuff like composting, soil bed preparation, planting veggie seeds, etc. On these Garden Days, IDEP has a wonderful policy that everyone in the office comes out to work on the farm so I've had the pleasure of becoming friends with some remarkable people doing amazing work for their island. Below is the 1st Garden Day I worked when we laid out the design for the herb garden and readied the soil for planting in a few weeks.
2. The yoga
I was introduced to this amazing yoga studio, The Power of Now Oasis, by 2 new and wonderful friends I met through couchsurfing (more on that in a minute). This place is situated right off the beach so when you're doing yoga you can see the ocean in front of you and literally feel the ocean breeze. Pretty nice spot for yoga, I say. The building itself is beautiful as the entire structure consists of a 2 story, open walled bamboo hut. The grassy patch of land around it is peppered with hammocks and lotus flowers trees. This place is idyllic to say the least. The yoga classes are lead by local instructors and attended by locals, old lady expats and young yogis alike. I'd sleep here if I could convince the owner but I do well with the few mornings a week that I start my day here and then head to work.
3. The Balinese culture
At any give moment, on any given day there is a Balinese ceremony going on. This culture knows how to celebrate- full moons, weddings, 3 month olds' birthdays, funerals, you name it. Dressed in their finest traditional garb, the family, the massive extended family and anyone that might know the family come to help celebrate whatever the occasion. It is highly likely that one such parade/ procession as this will cross your path when you're out and about on a seemingly uneventful day. These ceremonies normally involve visiting the local temple and giving elaborately constructed offerings of fruit and the like to the specific Hindu god of the occasion. Then a big ceremonial procession, either behind something like an extremely done-up bride and groom or an extremely well decorated coffin, will make the rounds from the house to the local temple. The participating crowd plays music as some have drums, symbols, xylophones around their necks and the others dance while moving along. It's an absolutely lovely thing to see.
4.The beauty that is Bali
It's never-ending. It just doesn't stop. You think you've found your favorite beach spot, temple or scenic drive and you instantly fall in love with another 5 minutes later. There are the beautiful and empty black sand beaches of towns like Lovina in the North that carry into the best snorkeling spots on the East coast like Tulamben and Amed. Then you wind down South towards the wider, white sand beaches of Sanur and Kuta that attract surfers from all over the world. Next is the Bukit Peninsula that's home to massive cliffs towering over deserted beaches and supporting ancient temples like Uluwatu. And where beaches like Panang Panang have a lagoon-like feel with its little pools of water separated by boulders and little caves. Once you start heading up the West coast you get into serious surf country that eventually leads to the national park area that protects miles of jungle and the various animals that dwell inside. Then of course there's the beautiful interior that makes you realize instantly that all possibilities of describing the terraced rice fields are futile. There just are no words and its simply too green to describe. And don't forget the looming active volcano, Agung, that sits just over 3,000 meters tall at once protecting and threatening the small island. Seriously, the natural beauty here just never stops.
5. The friends
I have met some fantastic people so far... the other teachers at Englishtown who know about everything that's going on and are always up for a beer, a dinner or a chat (normally centered around making fun of our jobs and students). My farm friends who love playing in the dirt even more than I do so we automatically get along. And then there is the wonderful network that is couchsurfing. For those of yall who are not familiar with couchsurfing it is an international network of like-minded, travel-crazy, people and culture-loving individuals who open up their homes to travelers. You sleep on the couch, in their extra bedroom but above all the point is cultural exchange and to gain an insider/ local's perspective to the place you are visiting. I've recently starting using it much more and could sing its praises for days. I lucked out beyond belief when I incidentally started my stay in Bali with a lovely French-Indonesian couple who might possibly be the most welcoming human beings on the planet. Not only have they opened up their home to me but they have been extremely supportive friends while I've been figuring out what to do about the teaching situation. The moment I knew I wasn't going to stay at the teaching job they told me I was welcome to stay for as long as I needed. At one point when I feared I was overstaying my welcome and told them I was going to stay at friend's they asked me what the problem was and if something was wrong, for why else would I leave? How nice! Besides the couple who adopted me, I have met some fantastic people here that are all part of the couchsurfing community. 2 of which have become very good friends that I truly truly hope will be in my life far into the future. Please meet the lovely Leslie (that's her with me on the farm) who I spent hours talking and scheming up plans for our lives with. And Joseph who I don't know what I would have done without him here in Bali. We spent hours talking about everything under the sun- international work and NGO banter to sourpatch kids and talking trees :)
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