hello again from bali!
what’s new? it’s super super hot and no rain at all for a change, two kinds of termites arrived to munch on our house, it looks like the lice never left us and there was a small volcanic eruption few days ago.. i think that’s pretty much it!
i feel like everybody was here in the last couple of weeks so maybe i don’t need to write anything? never-ending stream of visitors, friends, distant family members, friends of friends.. the island is full of tourists again, perhaps time to get out for a while. all this social life is killing me and recently i found myself going to bed at 8 pm.. pure exhaustion! anyway lovely to see you all (-; who’s next? if any of you are considering a move to an exotic location.. beware!!!
for those of you who are thinking of coming here and not sure where exactly to go, here are a few insights on travel (and of course a gross generalisation and entirely my opinion). distance of 30 km means nothing in europe. you can’t say the same in bali – the roads are narrow and were built when no one could have imagined the amount of traffic that is around today. people always go somewhere, ceremonies block the roads daily. that makes 2 most popular (from the green school parent perspective as the school is directly in the middle) towns in bali – ubud and canggu – seem to be much further from each other.
if you are lucky these 30 km take you an hour – on special occasions (like on a day particularly auspicious for weddings) it can be 7 hours. ubud and canggu are not only separated geographically but by people too, the expats and tourists visiting each one of them are of different planetary origin. in ubud it’s all about yoga, green juice, expensive spirituality (imagine whatever you want, you probably won’t manage even half of what is on offer, it’s also kind of hard to imagine the prices), genuine and fake healers, expanding your consciousness whatever that means to you, ecstatic dance, all kinds of spiritual and ‘spiritual’ ceremonies, friendly and unfriendly vegans, shamans, vagina singing courses, cool yogis who want no commitment but can teach you some tantra, super bendy girls if that’s your heart’s desire.. you name it! and because yin always contains some yang you can of course find a little partying and noise there too ((-; canggu is an entirely different universe. beach life, drinks, hot surfer dudes (and chicks), parties, loud music… and tranquil beaches and rice paddies when you get away from the “hot spots”. that at least is the image of canggu in an ubudian mind (-; anyway, in the last couple of weeks i finally managed to spend a bit more time on the coast with my beautiful canggu friends and i really liked it (-; it’s so different from my usual village life in ubud. not bad at all to enjoy for a while (-; and of course there is the peaceful north and crazy south too.. the choice is yours!
to get a new visa and to escape bali busyness (and unable to refuse a very exciting invitation) i recently visited kuala lumpur. it of course took the busyness to a completely different level.. but i had such a great time! i totally enjoyed its amazing cuisine and especially our deep talks ranging from vipassana meditation to japanese porn with anything and everything you can imagine in between. there is something about those girls only outings that cannot be replicated anywhere else (-;
dan and kids took a short escape trip to western australia, falling in love with quokkas of rottnest island and learning a lot about the history of crime and punishment in colonial times at their prison tour in fremantle. it definitely resulted in some deep discussions at home. shall i suggest that you all take your kids (and mothers in-law and such) for a prison tour?
in the last couple of days dominik has somehow managed to become taller than me. i feel it’s really the end of an era. and i’m wondering what’s coming next.. he is getting ready to graduate from middle school, preparing his final project – TED talk style presentation on a topic of his choice – something he is passionate about. curious to hear him out!
the school continues to be amazing and my favourite place to hang out (occasionally). recently we watched a fascinating movie there that i highly recommend to anybody with or without kids – called “screen agers”. i don’t think it can be downloaded/watched online (or maybe yes if you are good at that kind of things which i’m not) – the way it usually works is that the school pays for the screening and invites kids and parents to watch. in my opinion it is something you should suggest your school to do – especially if you have teenage kids that spend increasingly more time on their devices. or if you do it yourself. who doesn’t? you can read more about it here: Screenagers
i had the most beautiful earth day ever, savouring the stunning nature of bali with all my senses, hanging out with one of my dear friends. dipping in the hidden waterfall was magical. no pics fit for publication for lack of swimsuits (-; having a good friend from europe visiting was fun – especially all those silly pics we took 🙂 and topics we covered.
and now to current highlight of my life (how exciting!!!) – i know most of you consider driving normal (not everybody though.. some of my most favourite girlfriends are on the same boat..), everyday part of your adult life and something you never even think about. ok, this is not my case. i have always hated driving cars, it filled me with pure dread – cold sweat, nausea, stress.. so i totally gave up many years ago.
nobody could have been surprised more than myself when i suddenly decided to learn to ride a scooter (at my advanced age ;-)) back in january – and now even more surprised at the fact that i’m actually riding it! and realising how much i love it – that’s something beyond any explanation. i can’t even think about anything that’s better than that! ok maybe one or two things.. but i just love love love it!!! friends and family were very encouraging (“even a trained monkey can ride a scooter”, “mom, it’s actually not THAT difficult”..) and here i am! i have liked riding pillion ever since i was 10 and my brother took me on his Simson bike 😉 but this is so much beter! big thanks to my two very patient scooter teachers (-; ok, long story over..
and.. i know i shouldn’t have ridden that stupid little winding up and down path in monkey forest in a short dress with someone twice my weight in the back.. well.. i learn. and the skin grows back. eventually.
apart from giving so much in every possible way, bali keeps supplying me with endless silly stories – like strangers hugging me in a supermarket, my helper running away when a yoga student decides to undress into his underpants, people i randomly meet following me home.. (-; i wonder if it’s this island or i seriously need to do something with myself?!?
that’s it for today. i’d really love to hear from you to find out what’s going on in your lives (ok occasionally i get some intriguing pics from dubai parties etc..that’s really appreciated!) and how you all are!
have fun,
jarka