???

Who knew the Esso club had gone international? The sweet tea wasn't quite up to par but I'm not complaining.

Shades of Bali

I've been trying to think of a way to describe of what life looks like in Bali. It's turned out to be more difficult than I imagined because Bali is an island of extremes and contradictions. 

Probably any images you can conjure up are accurate depictions of one part of the island and then completely wrong if you go a mile down the road. For instance, a few minutes from my house there are two multi-million dollar mansions set in a rice field surrounded by farmers who barely make enough to survive. Then there is Kuta, an Australian party town that puts TJ or Cancun to shame, compared with Ubud, a quiet tourist town where people go to "find themselves" or learn about traditional

 Balinese culture. Then there are beautiful mountains and pristine beaches next to piles of trash that make the city of Shanghai seem environmentally responsible. Also, it's a hindu island inside the largest Muslim country in the world. So you have people who follow rigid Islamic law surrounded by people who practice a form of hinduism where anything goes as long as you don't harm others. So here are a few pictures from around Bali that will hopefully do a better job of explaining Bali than I can....

 

 

mountains of north Bali

 

sunset at Kuta

my 7th graders

the teachers lounge

some of my 4th and 5th graders

view from my roof

the guys dorms

Kuta

traditional market

cremation ceremony

cliffs at Ulu Watu

Shameless Name dropping...

So this update, about a month overdue, is a bit long but I'll try to fill you in on what's going one here. First for those of you that don't know, I've finished my volunteering and decided to stay (somewhat indefinitely) and work for the organization that I volunteered with. However, do to visa issues the project coordinator had to go home until August so I'm trying to run things until he gets back. It was a bit hectic over the first few weeks but now I'm beginning to figure things out and everything is returning to normal. 

Also in other news Indonesia is experiencing the swell of the season. It's been around 2-3 times overhead with occasional quadruple overhead sets rolling in. It's been incredible and has kept up like this for over a week now and will go at least until the weekend. This means two things, first the surf has been unreal, second, everyone and their mother has come to Indonesia to surf. It's been pretty crazy to look down a line up and see the likes of Mick Fanning (former ASW world Champ)  Pepen Hindrix (the first ISC winner) or David Rasta. So apologies for the blatant name dropping, I'm just kinda I wide-eyed east coast kid out there and I still have to pinch myself when I see guys like that in the water.

My Heart Will Go On

First (yes that is the title of this post) I need to explain a bit about Indonesian music. In one word, cheese, and the more the better, it's awful. Secondly, just about every Indonesian song finds it's roots in either Bob Marley or Celine Dion, they're kinda like the royal family of Indonesian music. Now, in English club last week we were talking about music that we like and what are our favorite songs where. Naturally, "my heart will go on" ranked at the top of their lists. Then somehow the conversation shifted to national anthems. The kids wanted me to sing mine so I told them that if they sang "My Heart Will Go On" then I would sing the "Star Spangled Banner" for them thinking that there was no way they would. Turns out that I was wrong and they called my bluff. So after listening to 15 high schoolers pour their hearts in to a stirring rendition of Celine I began the anthem. (as I side note, if you've never tried to sing it before, it's a really hard song to sing and apparently no matter where I start my range can't handle it). Anyway after that they taught me the Indonesian Anthem (Indonesia Raya) and then they chased it with anouther round of "My Heart Will Go On".

Cabe Merah

The other day I was hanging out with some of my Balinese friends after a basketball game and one of them brought out a bag of cabe merah (extremely hot chill peppers). For the record I've gotten pretty used to spicy foods here and my stomach can take a lot but these peppers were on a new level. I ate one and immediately started sweating. Of course they thought this was hilarious and started making fun of me. Somehow the situation quickly escalated and it became a contest to see who could eat the most. (I came in third with 15). That night my stomach was a little twisted up but after that I figured the worst was over. Wrong again. The next night after my digestive track had done its thing and the peppers were making their exit I immediately knew something was horribly wrong. It felt(burned) something like a volcano erupting or maybe more like a fire breathing dragon coming out of the other end. It was so bad that it left me searching frantically for a block of ice to sit on. Needless to say, I had more peppers the next day.

It's still rock 'n' roll to me

March is a big month for Bali. From around March 14th until March 26th (Nyepi Day, the climax of the celebrations and the start of the Balinese new year) just about all of Bali shuts down. Classes are canceled, work is put off, and there are loads of Balinese (Hindu) ceremonies. In Klung Kung they had a big ceremony that lasted three days and each night they had a fund-raiser/party after the ceremony. One of my Balinese friends invited us to come, and since it was three of the girls last night in Bali, we decided to check it out. They had a live band covering some English and Balinese songs which provided a really nice atmosphere. Then, due to a bit of miscommunication and my Balinese friends scheming I ended up on stage with the band. The first two songs were Balinese but pretty simple so I played a bit of lead guitar and then one of the guys knew "Freebird" so we rounded out the set with it and a Balinese rendition of "Don't Stop Believing" and a simple blues jam.

Galaxy

There's a basketball court at the town center in Gianyar and lately I've been playing some pick-up ball there. While I was playing the other day I met some college kids from Denpasar and they asked if I could play with them next Sunday. So as pulled up on my motor bike I saw a couple refs and two teams in full uniforms and a big crowd waiting for the game to start. So, naturally I assumed that something had been lost in translation (my bahasa still has a long way to go) and they just wanted me to watch their game. Nope. One of the guys walked over and handed me a Jersey and we started doing lay-up lines. The game was a blast and we pulled out a nail-biter with a few late baskets in the fourth quarter. We have a big game aganist klung kung next week so hopefully can get anouther mark in the win column.

Also, as I side note I've lost all respect for "big men" in basketball. As out of positon as it seemed for me, I played the 4 and 5 spot in the game and it's a joke, it's so easy to score and pick up rebounds and blocks.