nineteen -- "so long, fare well, auf wiedershen, good bye!" (or selamat tinggal!)

Our program is finished.

Wow, that short statement has so much finality to it. A month has passed and at 9:30 PM, I leave to the airport. At 1:20 AM, I get on the plane to Seoul. I'm still amazed how time as passed. On one note, it seems like years since I've been in the States. On the other, I feel like this trip has only just begun and I have so much more to learn about the culture of this country and the culture of the islands we've visited, Java and Bali.

Our last few days have been mostly relaxation. Yesterday, we visited Kuta, the gargantuan resort town built around very few cultural attractions. At first, I kind of groaned at all orange, loud-mouthed, big-spending tourists: this was not the kind of last day I wanted, surrounded by people whose only glimpse of Indonesia was the beach and the sales racks of the hundreds of Dolce&Gabbana's and Versace's. Jake, as we all had our last meal together at Sari Organik, pointed this out earlier today, though -- we all did enjoy our day in Kuta, but even more so because we had a month's worth of background experience and memories of Bali and Java. (Really, there was nothing better than giving my feet the tender love and care they needed with a pedicure, after running around barefoot this whole month... And a massage. For $14 USD, together? Ballin'!)

I said this in my last post on the GIEU blog... there's still so much I want to do and so much this trip makes me want to do. Already, I feel that I'll return to Indonesia someday in the future, whether it is for dance, interning with an NGO, learning the language, or checking out the many other Indonesian islands. Again, I'm already planning my next summer -- not with visions of Capitol Hill as I once planned, but visions of another lush culture and country, whether Indonesia, India, or elsewhere.

There isn't a doubt that I'm excited to see my family and friends... to eat home-cooked Indian food and go on walks in the neighborhood (after this trip, I might go barefoot now!). To have orange juice with pulp and to eat cereal for breakfast. It'll be glorious. But I am so sad to leave Bali and to leave our awesome GIEU group. Yeah, there's been the average share of backbiting, but I really think we worked well as a team and as a mini-family, even!

I know I've said this a thousand times: I wish I could see more. Alas, I'm off to home and then to another wonderful country, India, to visit friends and family. Just do it the Balinese way, by living in the moment and always look ahead!

It's time for me to do some last minute shopping and packing, before we bid Avery and Meghan a farewell. :)

With Love from Indonesia for the last time,
Nina

eighteen --

oh, today was very relaxing -- watched a barong dance, saw a cool temple, had lunch near a volcano and a gorgeous lake, and checked out a cacao/spice plantation. (hey, ma -- i got you a surprise spice!) i can't stop smelling my wrist, which currently smells like the plantation's delicate jasmine perfume. i still don't want to leave bali... the days are getting shorter and shorter..

okay, i have no clue what to blog about today... i just had some free time to hit up the internet cafe and read the one or two important emails i totally forgot to check yesterday. i have mosquito bites all over my feet... rachel (my new homestay roomie! yay) and i got rid of two cockroaches today. excellent. yeah...

check out http://gieuindonesia2009.blogspot.com because that's where i'll have something interesting posted.

seventeen - hi, i'm alive

okay, i'm not sure how much time i'm going to have in my last few days in bali... my last few days in indonesia. the internet cafe is a walkable distance, even though we're now in homestays (since wednesday), but i only seem to have free time at night... and walking home at night amongst throngs of barking dogs frightens me a little. we're all having trouble even walking around the block from the Cudamani (they are a gamelan music group that we're close with) compound back to Ketut Liyer's.

i'm mixed about leaving indonesia. there's no doubt that i really miss each and every one of you back at home, but there is something about this island of bali that just makes me want to stay and work for one of the many exciting NGOs here. there is such a rich culture on this island and i've only hit the tip of iceberg in learning about it. hinduism here is so interesting here, and since i'm a half-baked hindu (you know how it is, growin' up in the US), i just want to learn from them, learn more about their specific, interesting rituals and beliefs. already i see the similarities and differences with hinduism in india...

last night, Gusde, our lovely indonesian tour guide, arranged balinese dance lessons for us... it was grueling even for such beginner steps! the two young ladies teaching us were very patient and that was a great experience i will treasure. Gusde played his gamelan instrument for us so we could keep time... (which reminds me, i watched them practice two nights ago and it was magical.) in return, i did ganapati kavutvam sans music, after a year of disuse. :) turns out Cudamani is going to do a gamelan-Bharatnatyam mash-up starting this week with a group from Minneapolis. Interesting. all of the music and art culture here only makes me want to get GOOD -- not half-baked -- at either music or dance. sigh. something to think about when i get back...

yes, i'm living with ketut liyer, the medicine man from eat, pray, love. more like, avery, jill, and i are living in the back of the compound with ketut's familia, which includes a cute lil baby girl named deya... we each have our own room (desk fan, whoo!) and bathroom. unfortunately, my bathroom comes with my pet roach alfred. taking showers is terrifying.

though i have been interacting with the family, it's not as great as my homestay in yogya, where i felt like a part of the family. i feel like i'm in a hotel, and that's not just cause we have nice rooms compared to others. i feel like a customer, more than a family person or guest.. sigh. oh well.

i did have my palm read two days ago, too. he said many of his generic things, but apparently i do have good karma and will be successful. he also said some really interestingly specific things. ask me about it when i get home. it's been a long day (i'm muddy from going to the organic farming NGO today and helping out) and i should really wash up my filthy shoes and feet.

much love from bali--

nina

sixteen -- what is international?

that's a picture of sari organik, the place we ate today. it's in
the middle of a beautiful nowhere... nabbed the picture from a
website, of course. interweb connection still too slow for anything here.

Today, we finally toured Bumi Sehat, the organization I talked about in an earlier (somewhat frustrated) post. Their facilities are really good and the volunteers there are very committed to a gentle birth. A Western couple gave birth to their baby boy there just last night during the island's blackout -- thankfully, there was a generator. You can read more the GIEU blog, where Jenny and Hannah blogged about Bumi Sehat. Afterward, we drove a bit and walked through a gorgeous winding path through rice paddies (like a postcard) to Sari Organik, a gorgeous organic restaurant in the middle of nowhere, really. There is a huge, growing organic movement in Bali and it's very interesting to go to these delicious places. We gorged on just the most satisfying food in the world. I personally had pesto pasta and tropical iced coffee. Mmm. At the restaurant, only the indigeneous and nutrititous red and brown rices were served... we literally had to spend a half-hour lounging in the open-air restaurant to digest all that good food.

Next, we went to observe different arts and crafts specific to Bali - bamboo instruments, weaving, and painting. Rather than participate, I just watched and took pictures. There was so many of us and I just don't think I ever do these things well... Anyway, we got to talking to a father and two kids who were leasing the place of the director of Cudamani, the gamelan/dance group that is sponsoring us here.

The father, who graduated from UC-Santa Barbara, got into coaching high school wrestling and teaching for four years, before deciding to go into International teaching. He's taught in Venezuela, Taiwan, Pakistan, Indonesia, and probably many other places. It's a view into the expat life here in Bali. The International teaching trade is where the money is at -- you're teaching in international schools, in english, to rich(er) kids and other American children abroad. You're provided with a house and sometimes a car with a driver... and it's still cheaper to live abroad than back in the United States. You can buy local handicrafts and sell them for higher prices to specialty stores in the U.S. There's no need to attempt to learn the native language - after all, in an international school, you just need to know English.

I know I'm coming off a little bitter, but it's a little disappointing when people don't take the time to learn a country's language. We just always expect them to know English. International school teaching isn't like WorldTeach or Peace Corps -- going to schools and places that need a certain kind of help, unfortunately. That's probably the one thing that bothered me, though the man and his cute kids (3 and 6) were just delightful to talk to.

... and though I had a motorcycle ride down a mountain in Yogya, I really want to have a motorcycle ride through the narrower, crazy streets of Bali...

Peace, Love.

fourteen -- back in bali

Ah, yes. I've survived that horrendous roach-infested twenty-four hour ride back to Bali. The seats were comfortable and there was plenty leg space, but that does not make up for this strange crick in my neck that has yet to disappear or erase the nasty bathroom smell from my memory. (We did yell at those who dared to use it.) Really, it's good to be back in Bali. I enjoy the lushness and narrow streets... I enjoy not being perpetually stared at (because there are other tourists here!). All in all, I feel much more at home in Bali. In the next few days, though, I think I'll invest in a massage -- they are fairly reasonable here -- to work out all the kinks I've developed in the last few days... in addition to my pre-existing combination of knots and tension.

The highlight of the morning was calling the family from the next-door internet cafe. It was just really nice to hear your voices, Ma, Baba, and Mishti! It really made me feel more invigorated and cheerful about my stay here. This time, I'm rooming with Meghan. That's the good thing about the room assignments thus far, I think... it helps us know people we wouldn't otherwise.

After showering off the grossness of that 24 hour drive, we went back to Mangga Madu for lunch (mie goreng, es soda gembira). I, along with a few others, walked up a different directino on the street. I mean, I'm going to be here for another two weeks, so I am in no hurry to spend my money, but I did cave in and buy a pretty blue-and-silver pashmina shawl for $8.50 USD. (Yes, yes, I did bargain it down.) Afterward, I snacked on the peanut butter cookies Mom had made for me and read a little bit. Currently I'm reading two books relating to India: Freedom at Midnight and The White Tiger. I love the first one -- it's super intense -- but I'm not far enough into the second one to make up my mind.

Soon we'll be going to dinner... and I really don't know our schedule for the rest of the week. Oh well! more updates soon!

seven -- you like barack, but what are you CHANGING?

a view from the room in Bali

Okay. Wow. Last post was a book. See, it's so hard for me to write this fast in my journal, so I do prefer typing, will not lie. This is going to be a delayed post; I have go to dinner shortly and won't be able to finish before I leave. And I do have to come back to finish my internship application, ahhh! (Or maybe it isn't meant to be? I've discovered that in Bali, so many coincidences can occur in such a short time, things have to be fated.)

Many things happened today: finally learning about what we are doing here (important, right?), talking to a lady from a maternal health clinic NGO, eating more good food, and trooping to the Monkey Forest. I really want to focus on the first two things, since Jill in her blog really covers some of the interesting animal experiences of the day -- so I recommend you read that highly entertaining post. Basically, the monkeys in the park are not afraid of big groups and will take you on. Oh, they will.

one hour and a half later--

Ah, we went to the same place we had lunch today for dinn: Mangga Madu (Mango Honey). It was yummy, surprise surprise! Agustini and Bat Danu (got the spelling!) are really trying to take us to authentic places. I had Tuna kala something something for lunch and Mie Goreng (delish fried noodles) for dinner. Ordering the tuna for me was a big step since fish usually makes me nauseous. And really, as someone in the group put it, GIEU is all about experience overload punctuated by good food. No joke.

GIEU, for people who want to know why I am here, is called the Global Intercultural Experiences for Undergraduates. Every year, it has about 14 field sites in different countries to expose students to a new culture and bring that awareness back to campus. GIEU is a paid volunteer-internship which helps offset the cost of the trip and is plain awesome. Each field site is led by a prof and student fellow (someone who went before) and there is a sort theme to the site. We're going compile our experiences and interviews (the format of our own trip) into a blog. I think we'll start it once we go to Yogyakarta on the island of Java. We leave for Yogya tomorrow morning, reach in the afternoon, and spend our next two weeks there. I'm excited; our whole gang of 15-16 will take up the whole hotel.. and there is a swimming pool. GIEU takeover!

Ebu Jane (I think that was her name?), a fundraising director from the Bumi Sehat maternal health clinic, came to talk with us and arrange an opportunit once we return to Bali. They really emphasize breast-feeding and waiting to cut the umbilical cord (to allow blood flow). It subscribes to something called gentle birth. Bumi Sehat was started by Robin Lym, a midwife from the US who, upon coming to Bali, ended up having her child not in the hospital because there was really no one around to help her deliver. Having survived without losing much blood (a main cause of death for Balinese women delivering), Robin started being called to rurual areas to help deliver babies. It was transformed into this non-governmental, non-profit organization that gets funding from different Rotaries, Direct Relief, and other foreign donors.

EJ (to shorten it for typing) said that they have seen a correlation between nutrition and this mother mortality rate. In the 70's new generation rice (genetically modified stuff, apparently) was introduced and took off as a main export over the more nutritious indigeneous Balinese rice. This rice isn't very nutritious at all but is unfortunately very cheap and easy to get. Also, lot of Asians like that polished (white) rice over the red and brown rices. Bumi Sehat encourages diets of red rice (local stuff!), breast-feeding, red rice milk over the formula milk, and other stuff. They are staffed by a few doctors and many midwifes.

Interesting Things!

• According to EJ, corruption rampant in hospitals. Doctors mostly subscribe to the clamp and cut route and at the nudging of formula companies, order these poor families to put their baby on formula... which makes the baby sick (especially from China!) and go back to the doctor. Way to keep making money! Also, C-sections make more money soooo... natural births are kinda discouraged.
• They have had some luck with few select doctors with trying gentle births (i.e. water births, natural births, let the umbilical cord fall after 2-3 days). Well, they've had more success with doc's letting Bumi Sehat come in and discourage formula and encourage a healthy diet
• Can't pay the hospital or midwife? Can't leave hospital or you can't have your baby in some cases!
  
• Lotus birth: umbili. cord falls away naturally - the placenta is like kept in a bucket of water. EJ said this fits well in the Balinese culture where the placenta is buried outiside the front door as buryin your four spirit brothers (I think). Also, that's how you get birthday cake! Celebrating your placenta every year!
• Cool Indonesian Law: Companies must have breast feeding stations. Breast feeding is for sure allowed for six months and a bit into the future. Awesome. There is no resistance to breast feeding here. Wonder if the fact mostly women work adds to this...
• Bad Indonesian Law: Nat'l healthcare/poverty program for the poor nixed.

notable quotable: When people as me about poverty and the issue of maternal health, I say that the health of the woman affects the livelihood of the family, of the extended family, of the province, of the island, of the country.

Not going to lie, I went crazy with questions. I asked if there are efforts to change the curriculum for doctors - I mean, if you start the change bottom-up, especially if these are impressionable students, the doctors they turn into will also be better. And isn't that the main problem? Hospitals have doctors with the inappropriate mindset. Start re-educating them. I don't think she understood what I meant... saying, "Oh, changing national protocols is too difficult and not all students want to into OB/GYN as their specialty." Sigh.

They really admire Barack here - I mean, he did live in Indonesia in his childhood. The like the ideas of change... EJ even commented on that. On the same note, she said advocacy is not the way to attack the issue. Now that I don't understand. I know you have be careful in how you criticize the hospital system, but I don't understand how working with the system will change the system. Changing a few doctors at time isn't the solution. But then again, I'm just an overly impassioned college student writing about this...

Another question not properly answered. If you want people eat red rice, shouldn't the export ban be lifted? People abroad love the stuff. Right now it doesn't seem like there is an incentive to grow the rice (AKA MONEY), regardless of the fact people aren't fond of the taste here. And because not many people grow it, it's expensive even though it is nutritious. Anyway... that's my few thoughts on that.

When we return to Bali, we are going to Bumi Sehat to help with an english lesson for the staff and then check out some of the birthing and allopathic programs. Also, EJ really enlightened me to the connection between agriculture, the organic movement, and maternal health. She suggested an organic farm to visit so we are going to do that too! (Agustini has given Guste a homework list of stuff to take care of by the time we get back.)

Later in the day, our whole group went to the Monkey Forest, where there tons and bunches of Balinese macaques everywhere. NOT JOKING. Really. And as I mentioned earlier, they aren't afraid of humans. Even though we were in a huge group... After the monkey nearly jumped Stephen for the banana and Jill's spider-water bottle was taken, we were seriously on edge. Because Jill's blog post covers this part of the trip well, I'll just say it was cute to see this little dog in the woods literally play with a monkey. Also, the baby monkeys with their mommies was pretty dang adorable. We did look very touristy snapping pictures at monkeys as a whole mob. Too funny.

Anyway, I must finish this internship application and pack for Yogya. Peace out and much love.

Nina's Indonesian Vocab Grab Bag

• nasi: rice
• mie: noodles
• ayam: chicken
• kare: curry
• goreng: fried
• selamat detang: welcome (as in 'welcome to bali!')
• nama anda siapa?: what is your name?

six -- blame it on the sa-sa-sa-sarong

Some of you may be familiar with the song "Blame it on the A-A-A-Alcohol." Clever Jill (our student fellow and my roommate) came up with this clever ditty that is the post's title as we, the sweaty and tired GIEU students, stumbled in our sarongs back to the temple. More on that soon. Right now, it's May 14, in the early evening, but this update is about yesterday. I rather not overwhelm you all with one intensely long post. (Look how considerate I am.)

Unfortunately, this computer is stripped of its USB port soooo -- no pictures for now. But I promise they'll be up, on flickr/snapfish/something and facebook. No worries.

By yesterday morning, most of the gang had touched down in Denpasar, Bali with only four more left to come in. There was a little problem -- though everyone landed on the 13th, it was at like 12 AM. Agustini had booked their rooms for the 13th but check-in, of course, was at 9 AM. So we managed to get two more rooms and two girls went to Badanu's gorgeous guest house a few minutes away for the night. I literally slept like a rock. See, the weather isn't that bad because things cool down a bit at night and with the fan, things are comfortable. Anyway, we got up, checked out the other's rooms and meandered the streets. A small group of us walked all the way to the nearby Monkey Forest, but we had to return because we had to again pick people up from the airport. We now have Badanu's van that holds 6-7 people and what reminds me of a party bus, which holds 11, driver included.

Meaghan and Avery (and their 3-4 pieces of baggage, teehee) came in around noon, I'd say. We all trooped to a diner somewhere in Denpasar that specialized in East Javanese food. We ordered Ayam Pechak , which is fried chicken with this spicy sauce, and some fish and vegetables. I'm a little averse to fish, so I had the chicken. Chickens here aren't as plump as American chickens (Say in a Dubya accent, "I'm American, I like my chickens big!"). Regardless, it was yum -- tasted like fried smelt almost? My favorite part however was Soda Gembira, or Happy Soda!!!

Happy Soda, recommended by Agustini, is a combination of flavored syrup, milk, and soda water. You have to mix it when you get it and it looks like this pink fizzy mix when done so. Jill and I shared it and it was fabulous.... (we were initially skeptical of the combination)

Back to the airport... again. (for Jill and I, the fourth time!) This time for Betsy and Hannah. Betsy landed fine, but Hannah came out 1.5 hours after she landed. In that time, we were all freaking out, thinking she was lost, her luggage stolen, kidnapped... haha. But it was just long lines that held her back. We immediately shipped off to the very nice sarong store.

At Guste's suggestion (our thirty-year-old, gammelan-playing, absolutely sweet guide), Agustini negotiated a 50% discount on the sarongs (which can be worn like skirts or dresses). See, Badanu and Guste were taking us to their temple's anniversary ceremony (celebrated every six months) and to enter, we needed to wear proper attire. I purchased a purple sarong with white and teal flowers (which thankfully match a shirt I own) and a matching teal scarf to tie it. My was sewn at the ends so I can't do anything creative with it.. That's okay, I love the design. The boys also had to get a special scarf to tie around their heads.

We stopped briefly at the guest house -- all sweaty and tired from standing in the airport for hours -- and changed, then driving off to the temple.* It was separated in two compounds. In the first compound, everyone was sitting and praying, while waiting for the priest to arrive. When the priest arrived, they would move to the other compound. One of the ridiculous antiquated Hindu rules here is that women on their periods can't enter the temple. Kellie, so sweet and awesome, was just honest enough to admit it and had to stay back. I felt terrible for her. I think it sucks that such rules still exist... It's not impure, but a natural part of a woman's life for goodness sake!

*funny/weird side story: Jill had fried chicken in a box on the table near the open window in the room... When Karen and I went there, the fried chicken was outside of the box. So strange!

(Oh, note: J and I are coming up with euphemisms for swear words since that's frowned upon... Mother of Pearl! and Oh Snap! are ones we have thought of thus far. haha.)

Anyway, the rest of us trouped into the temple compound. Everyone, dressed in their sarongs, sat on their knees in rows to receive the holy water and rice, administered by two young girls. It reminds me our own pujas at home, but it was interesting to see how Hindu rituals differ here. I went to end of the line to get some holy water and the ladies there were really understanding and helped me out. You get the water three-four times, sip it and put the rest on your head. Then you take rice from the pan, put it in the water and put the few pieces of rice on the middle of your forehead. Sitting there was a little awkward because there was no on there to explain what was going on to us.. Agustini isn't Hindu and familiar with all the Balinese traditions.

From there we went to the other compound to watch the musicians from the Cudamani Group play gammelan music (all religious ceremonies require that, Guste said. He started learning from age 10). Guste was on this sit-down xylophone looking instruments hit with hammers and Badanu played a flute. It's literally this massive band of JUST MEN. (the only woman on stage was Susan, an exchange student to Cudamani who is studying gammelan. She just chilled and smoked with the rest of the musicians.) Anyway, live gammelan sound SO MUCH BETTER than CD recordings. All the instruments are shiny and gold and it was gorg. Anyway, I'll show the pictures when I can upload them!

We just kind of waited around for a while. The priest was taking his lovely time in coming and people were just getting exhausted (mind you, they were just getting used to the time change). We decided to eat some dinner and then split off. This time, we hit up this hole in the wall roadside place with small tables and plastic stools. It smelled divine though, and it was. Simple but delicious. I had Nasi Goreng which means fried rice. Interestingly, it also had a little meat in it... well, the interesting part is that pretty much everything here has meat in it. Even the vegetables people had. In the supermarket today we noticed chicken-flavored chips. Vegetarians, beware of Bali!

I, and a few others, stayed at the temple since the ceremony had started while we ate. It was in the compound where the gammelan had played. A Balinese act was going on and the actor had this really elaborate outfit. (Couldn't understand, though. Balinese is its own language and Agustini doesn't understand that well...) With Badanu's gracious help we saw the meditating high priest who was totaly decked out. After meditation, the main portion of the ceremony would begin. Again, we tired quickly (long day!) and soon left. As we were leaving, we stopped to watch Cudamani Group's Balinese dancing going on in the outside pavilion, accompanied by gammelan. It was great. They wear such amazing silks, elaborate hairdos, and dance with such emphatic shoulder movements and wide wide eyes. Again, my pictures will be uploaded eventually..

Came back to the guesthouse (The Ganesha Guesthouse!) and promptly fell asleep. I felt really sticky though... maybe I should start off the Balinese way and shower 2-3 times a day!

Peace, love, and check out the next post!

five -- selamat pagi!

Selamat pagi! That means "good morning" in bahasa Indonesia. Yes, yes, I did make it here safely... on day two of staying here in Bali. It's amazing. I can't do a very long update because we have to bounce and do some exploring, but here are some highlights.

• Have you read Eat, Pray, Love? Remember Ketut Liyer, the medicine man? Well, we're staying in Ubud where he is from! Jill and I passed a house with that name and our driver Badanu (sp?) confirmed that it was him. We were uber geeked. Better yet, he is one of the homestays so we got to check the place out with our site leader Agustini. SO YEAH. I met Ketut Liyer! He is a sweet old guy. We read to him from the book because he can't read English and then he read Jill's palm, neck, and knee. I'll get that done when we go back... cause guess what? Jill and I will be staying with him for our homestay! BALLER!
• Had TehBotol from a roadstand on the way to the airport for the millionth time.. It's "tea in a bottle." Cold, very sweet, with a hint of chocolate taste.
  
• Today we are buying a sarong to wear to the temple ceremony held near the Cudamani Music Group. Everyone in Bali has a skill and each village is themed by a handicraft. (Stone carving, music, etc). Bali is primarily Hindu so there are many stone Ganeshas and those symbols around. Exciting!
• From our guesthouse which I am sharing with Jill and Karen, we can see this beautiful garden outside our porch.. There is also a rice paddy beyond the fence and a mynah bird that wakes us up in the morning with cat calls and greetings in other languages. Als a squirrel in a cage outside.
• We are in Bali for a few more days before heading to Yogyakarta on the island of Java
• $1 = 10,000 rupiah --> I got a better rate outside the airport though.

Gotta bounce, much love!