August 2011
3 posts
I amsterdam
Well Amsterdam is interesting. I am not sure if it is my kind of place, but it certainly beautiful. I guess the difference here compared to the other places is that I have not seen anything here that I could sit and stare at for hours, where I have seen that everywhere else we have gone. I think Amsterdam has 2 sections, the one for tourists that is full of pot, bars, clubs, etc…. And then...
Sheer Beauty
Today is day 5 (I think) and so far the trip has been epic. In London we pretty much just walked around from place to place seeing various. We went to the National Gallery which was amazing and then that night we met up with a friend from South Africa to go out to the bars, all in all a great day. The next morning I went by myself (as the girls wanted to go to Big Ben) along the Millenium Bridge...
London Calling
Quick Update: In London, loving it, its real nice to do whatever you want to do, whenever you want to do it. Off to Brussels tonight on an overnight bus ride through the tunnel. Il have free internet in Brussels so expect more blogging then.
July 2011
3 posts
Celebrate the Little Thangs
Cape Town has begun to show its colder side (although I was still in shorts all day), but the wind has picked up, I would say there are 8 ft waves out there today. Today we went and did basic manual labor (painting, gutter cleaning, pressure washing) at a school for children. It was good, however it will be much better when the kids are there when we go back to
Yesterday we had our final...
Do you miss home?
Life has been good, most of our time has been spent on the project recently as we have our final presentations on Friday. Today we went to a social enterprise that trains unemployed people in life skills ranging from sewing, graphic design, etc… They then help them get jobs or employ them as contracted employees for certain projects they have with corporations. The model is great but still...
The Deep South
South Africa is a funny place; I just don’t quite get it yet. My belief, from what I have seen, is that South Africa is much like the South after MLK and his crusade. It may be like what it was after the first black governor or mayor was elected in the deep south. Where the people all now that they are equal yet they are completely separated and stuck in a certain mindset. Here there are three...
June 2010
18 posts
The trip is over
Everyone is going home tomorrow but myself and a few other friends are staying on to travel around the Gili Islands WOOOO (more to come). This past week has been a lot of fun. Over the past few days I went on the best dive of my life in Menjagen Island. I saw rockfish, lionfish, trumpetfish, a 40+ grouper, and a bunch of snapper. Nemo also made a few appearances along with some eels. But by far...
Pemuteran
Pemuteran is a city located in the northwest of Bali. People say that it is the closest thing to what Bali used to be. There is less everything here which just makes for more beauty. Today we had a packed schedule. we began the morning with a 2 hour snorkeling trip right off of the beach.We snorkeled a coral restoration project that is using electrolyzed structures to help facilitate coral growth....
Done
Presentations were this morning and we are finally done. Our presentation went very well and we received some great questions from the Balinese audience members, it is clearly an interesting topic. Overall I had a great experience learning about and caring deeply about this issue and I hope to one day come back and help fix the problem. I am very sad to say goodbye to our Balinese counterparts but...
Work, work, work, work
Final Presentations are tomorrow which means that yesterday and today have been filled with final prep work. We are typing up our final portfolios and practicing our presentations for tomorrow. But luckily everything is coming together nicely. I am very excited for Saturday though when we had up north to Pemuteron to experience the natural beauty of Bali, it should be a great time and I just keep...
Good song to sum up by feelings
Today is another work day. Our project is coming together very nicely and I really dont feel like thinking too much about what to write here. So as I was listening to my ipd last night Levon Helm’s song “wide river to cross” came on and I really listened to lyrics and they are very applicable to my current situation for the future. This experience is only a start and after so...
Things are looking up
This weekend we had a free day on Saturday where most everyone set out for the beach I on the other hand was fortunate enough to have a 9 am interview in Denpasar (1 hour away) with a psychiatrist. Luckily the meeting ended up being one of the most uplifting meetings I have had so far. I got to Denpasar a little early and ended up having breakfast at a little warung (stand/restaurant) with my...
Hard Day
We went the same way to Bayung Gede today and we caught the brunt of a rain storm on our way up, luckily Douce had packed ponchos. Once we arrived we met with our new friend the Banjar Adat, he then took us to 2 different families with mentally ill people in them. I am not going to write much about the families except to say that our assumptions were correct and our project looks like it will...
Uplifting Day
Today we came in thinking we had a good idea of our project to only find it changed for the better by the end of the day. This morning we had class which was fun and all but this afternoon was truly one of the best experiences I have had while in Bali. 4 of our group members went to a small village called Bayung Gede. This small village was about an hour away from Ubud and since Cobra, one of our...
The Oprah of Bali
According to one of our Balinese leaders Dr Suryani is the Oprah of Bali, she more than exceeded expectations. My group traveled to Denpasar (the capital city) yesterday to interview Dr Suryani and her son Ja Ja (pronounced Ya Ya) about mental illness in Bali. This was one of the only contacts that we had in the field and were more than excited to meet her. We arrived at her practice (her house)...
Quote
I would love to write about Dr. Suriyani and her son but I am mentally exhausted so to wet your appetite about the kind of woman she is here is a quote from today “I use my heart regardless of money”
Things do not fall apart
Tomorrow we have a field research day and as of 9 this morning we had no where and no one to interview tomorrow, then within the span of 2 hours we found ourselves with an appointment to meet Dr Suriyani (the leading advocate for the mentally ill in Bali and also the Oprah of Bali) and her son Ya Ya (her mentor in the field) at 3:00 at her house tomorrow. I cannot express to you how excited I am...
Amed
This weekend we took a 2+ hour trip up to the northeastern part of Bali to a beach city called Amed. I decided to take advantage of the wonderful diving in the area and headed off to dive Saturday afternoon. I dove the USS Liberty which was a US ship that was hit by a Japanese during WWII but made it back to shore. However when the volcano last erupted it was pushed into the ocean in waters that...
Things are not as they seem
While the Balinese may appear to be open and happy to talk about anything there are still a few taboo topics. In the Balinese society there are 2 kinds of sickness the sikala and the niskala. The sikala is the physical, like a cold it can be seen by anyone. The niskala is an entirely different entity. It is the invisible, abstract sense of sickness. It is controlled by black magic and bad karma...
The issue that our project is on →
Temple Ceremony
Ok, Ok, fine one fun story: Last night our friend Dewa (pronounced Deywa) took us to a huge temple ceremony. The ceremony was for the Balinese new year which occurs every 6 months. Their traditional calender is complex and revolves around the stars and moon, I think. We arrived in our sarongs ready to witness the beauty of the temple ceremony. It was a small group of 6 of us due to the strict...
Karuna Bali
Quick disclaimer for family: This is an assignment for my course here so no real story today
Now on with the fun: Today we heard from our new friends Wayan and Mona. Wayan is the founder of The Karuna Bali Foundation. This foundation was founded in 2007 with the hopes of furthering the education of Balinese students after high school. The organization however provides much more. The Foundation...
Food
Today was another class day (a good 9-5) and we really got to work in our groups. Our group really works well together even though we all have very differing opinions. Tonight we have the wonderful opportunity to enjoy a temple ceremony, I am excited to see the rituals and customs that are associated with it. This weekend we are headed to the beach town of Amed where I will take my first dive into...
May 2010
7 posts
Royalty and Class
Sorry about the short lapse in writing but the Royal Palace end up being a great experience. The Royal Family really only holds cultural power in Bali but they are still well respected by the public. The prince showed us around his families home, which was beautifully decorated from the North to the South (they organize the house based on ancient directions which are situated with the mtn as...
Early Morning (but totally worth it)
This morning I had my “Golden Hour” (at 6am-10) with Agung Rai (the owner of Arma). This is an intimate travel through the traditional “real”(as Agung Rai says) Bali. We started by driving along some of the most beautiful rice paddies that were covered in eerie mist. I could not help but think of all the Vietnam War movies I have ever seen. We then drove around many small...
Reflection
Last night we went to a dance performance that revolved around fire. It was very cool to see as they continually chanted while throwing all kinds of coconuts etc.. on fire (reminded me of your soccer game story dad). It was a little touristy but it was cool to see. That night a bunch of us headed out to a live music club where we danced the night away. There were a lot of tourists but it was nice...
Learning the Culture
Yesterday was another early night for everyone as we were exhausted from walking this expansive city. This morning and afternoon we went and learned about 4 major parts of Balinese culture. 1. legong dance(go ahead look it up) and then imagine me doing it, it was hilarious and one of our leaders took a great video that will haunt me for years to come. I respect the dance form way more than I used...
The Similarities between Geneva, Fl and Ubud
Ubud and its surronding villages are truly amazing. The people are so kind and and the landscape is beyond beautiful. Yesterday we met with a few local leaders. The first was Mr. Rai. He really made me feel comfortable with Bali and made my longing for Thailand dissappear. He spoke to us about the his upbringing and his rise to cultural power. He cares so much for the Balinese culture and is...
We are here
After a 38 hour trip down here we have finally arrived. My first impression after the drive to Ubud, a delicious dinner, and walking around this morning is that it is a beautiful hospitable country. Everyone always has a smile on their face and are more than happy to help. Ubud is a little touristy but nothing too bad. A short anecdote: On our flight to Denpasar I sit down ready for the final leg...
