"Diving Like a Queen"

Here in the Gili Islands, near Bali, Chuck, Nate, and I have enjoyed two scuba dives. Signing up with Deive Trawangan, we were met with a full retinue of gracious Balinese helpers who filledour tanks, instructed us, carried all our equipment, and drove our boat to the dive site. Our Indonesian divemaster Ink (his real name!) assisted my every move, buckling all the clasps on my dive vest (what service!). During the dive, he swam at my side, pointing our a brown octopus, thousands of purple and yellow reef fish on life filled coral heads. On the next dive we swam next to 4 giant green turtles quietly feeding, one of which looked ancient and was over 4 feet in length, digging a hole in the sand. Upon surfacing to our boat, our helper took all lour gear and welcomed us with a platter of fresh fruit. All of this cost $38/person. I was "diving like a queen!"

How fortunate we three are to dive on a healthy life filled reef cheaply and with so much help. All the world's reefs are now endangered and you see dead white coral everywhere in waters which are getting warmer and warmer. With global warming, all of this beautiful life may disappear. So it is a great privilege to fly to the Indian Ocean and swim in clear aquamarine waters with beautiful, healthy sea creatures which may soon be gone.

"Where is my Village?"

This week Chuck and I had one those "aha moments," a surprise in the middle of a planned trip. During a taxi driven tour of the island of Bali, we stumbled upon a big Hindu village ceremony with yellow banners lining the streets. We parked, put on our sarongs, and sat down in the back of the temple where the entire village was gathered. Three generations of villagers were gathered. all dressed alike in white hats, white shirts and colorful sarongs. We were warmly welcomed, the only White people in attendance, and proceeded to watch the celebration for hours. Groups of men played gamelons and sang tales of good and evil with brightly colored faces and costumes as "the evil ones." Women carried tall offerings of fruit and flowers to the altar. All villagers smiled, laughed, and cheered. An English speaker explained that this special ceremony occured once every 50 years and everyone born in that village returns to celebrate together as "one." Love was shared throughout the ceremony.

So, I was left with the question, "Where is my village?" Is there one place I can call my home where everyone knows me and my past? Being an Army brat, we moved every 3 years from one base to another to houses which all looked alike. Most of my American friends are transplants as well, moving many times in their youth and often across the country.

Now I call Portland my village, but it is not the same as that Balinese village is for its members. I know half of my neighbors but know very little about their early lives or their parents' lives. We in the West are missing this feeling of "my village" and have lots to learn from these Balinese people who have a true identity and sense of real belonging in this one place called "my village."

"Trade Offs in Paradise"

Daily life here in Ubud, Bali is a feast for the five senses. You awake to the songs and calls of thousands of tropical birds, cicadas chirping, water gushing by in the rice canals, and the sight of bright purple, yellow, orange, red and green flora at every turn. But there is a trade off for all of this tropical beauty. Insects and wild animals abound and roam freely in this tolerant, friendly Hindu island. Tourists can easily suffer from prolific mosquito and "no see um" bites, barking wild dogs, sunburns, and hungry Macaque monkeys wandering the roads and forests.

I discovered some trade offs on my fourth day in Bali after sitting by the hotel pool for an hour. My entire epidermis felt little stinging sensations as small red bumps appeared all over my front and back. After seven days, all the bites continue to itch (at night too) and I now wear full length clothing, using repellent and sunscreen until bedtime.

On our trips to town for meals, ATMs and dance performances, we walk on the Monkey Forest Road, a beautiful jungle with paved paths and hundreds of wild Macaque monkey living there. They obviously own the place, venturing out for any food a walker may carry, and jump quickly on you to get it. So, now we bring nothing but rupias (Indonesian money) and walk as far as possible from these furry critters hanging out on the path. Now I enjoy the jungle.

To enjoy traveling in new countries and adventure takes some education and experience. As I scratch my many bites under my sarong, I grin and and happily pay this price to experience Beautiful Bali.

An International Walk to the Village

Being good tourists, yesterday Chuck and I signed up for the "village walk" from our hotel to the nearest local town here in Bali. We loved walking through the lime green rice fields, learning about cultivation of Bali's biggest crop. With 200 million children in Indonesia, more rice must be imported to feed this growing population. We also enjoyed visiting a local painter's home, seeing his traditional paintings of Balinese dancers. We discovered the motive behind the walk - to sell handicrafts to tourists. Oh well....
But our favorite thing about the walk was meeting our fellow hotel guests. We liked the family from Perth, Australia - 2 professional parents and adopted teenage daughter. But what a special pleasure to meet the Muslim family from Djakarta, 2 parents and their law student son, Dande. Both parents are physicians at the university and Mom always wears a head scarf and clothing from head to toe. Speaking impeccable English, they were able to discuss many things with us such as funny parenting stories. So, it was a surprise to learn that this good family and their friends are unable to visit the U.S. It costs them $150 nonrefundable aplication fee and the application for a visa can be (and is) denied for no reason. All their friends have been denied. These doctors wish to attend a medical seminar in LA to improve and share their medical skills, but "no luck Charlie!" So they have given up.
Once again, traveling has given us a new perspective on our own country. We think of America as a "land of immigrants" and yet we keep out highly skilled, peaceful professionals on the basis of their race or religion (or from fear). Then, one must remember the Islamic terrorist from Ft. Hood to understand a reason for this policy. But is it fair and are we losing something? It goes to show that we live in a connected, but very complicated world.

Awakening in Bali 2010

We awoke today to the sounds of early morning as the sun rose in Ubud, Bali: crickets chirping, hundreds of roosters crowing, songbirds calling, and the buzz of thousands of insects. Yellow hibiscus, lush ferns, and palm trees line our porch. We've been plopped into a tropical rain forest after 20 hours of flying from rainy Portland in Winter. Despite media reports, not much has changed in international airline travel since 2009 for us. We faced the same security levels (no "pat downs"), flights were on time, but immigration lines in Bali were a bit longer. However, when Chuck left his wallet at the airline counter, a smiling Balinese official tracked him down and graciously returned it to him. No terror threats here.
So we plan to inhale the sights and sounds of Bali and Taiwan, hoping to return home with a fresh perspective in our privileged country with an apperication of the wonders of ntaural beauty and human life. What a privilege to move in and out of the modern world to this remote oasis whenever we can! If only we could bottle these sights and sounds to replay them in our daily lives in Oregon....But alas..............

Preparing for SE Asia

Well, we are preparing for yet another trip to SE Asia, our third one in five years. Why? Well, Nate lives and teaches in Taiwan so we use him as an excuse to travel to these exotic countries which we happen to love. Right now, rain is pouring down in Portland so the idea of a South Seas trip with summer weather sounds pretty darned good to us! Hopefully, I will return with some stunning photographs of monks and Buddhas to paint back here in the good ole NW. Will write more next week after the plane actually takes off!