Adventures of Living Abroad

Because of Indonesia's Independence Day on August 17th, we enjoyed a nice 3 day weekend. I decided to head up to Ubud from Saturday to Sunday to check out a new area of Bali. It takes about 1 hour to drive there from Sanur. Here is a map of Bali: Did you find Sanur? It is located toward the bottom right of the map near the smaller island. Ubud is located directly north in the interior of the island. I decided to take a taxi up early in the morning so I could enjoy the entire day there. There is a shuttle bus called the Kura-Kura but it didn't leave Sanur until 10am. The taxi ride was less than US$20 which was well worth it. As soon as I arrived I immediately loved Ubud! It is such a cute area filled with lots of shops and restaurants. It is known as the culture hub and I could see why since soon after I arrived I already stumbled upon a dance performance across the street from the Ubud Palace. Traditional Balinese dance.... I stumbled into some type of cere...

(I took this picture while in Ubud yesterday....I'll explain more in my next post!) Today, August 17th is Indonesia's Independence Day. This year marks the 70th anniversary of their independence from the Dutch. I learned that the colors of the flag have special significance for the history and people of Indonesia. The red represents courage and the white represents purity.  Our school chose to celebrate on Friday since we are off today for the holiday. Students and teachers were encouraged to dress in red and white or traditional Balinese dress. Of course I opted for the traditional dress. Last week I ordered the traditional dress for one of the very friendly cleaning staff members at school. The traditional dress has 3 parts to it: sarong (the skirt which was traditional batik print), the scarf, and the kebaya (which is the lace shirt). I had no idea how to put all of this together. Luckily my Indonesian teaching partner, Mitha, helped me out! She even brought me a sm...

Today marks one month since I've been in Bali! I'm still trying to settle in and feel at home. I'm starting to get into some daily routines and things are feeling comfortable. I decided to buy a bicycle so I didn't have to keep renting. I also bought a helmet and lights to be a little safer on the roads!  Although I have only been in school for two weeks, it feels like at least a month! The kids are really sweet and my Indonesian teaching partner is amazing! I'm still feeling a little unsure and stressed about teaching Kindergarten because it is new for me! I'm trying to take small steps and work things out little by little to try not to feel as overwhelmed. Plus, I only have 10 students so that makes my life a bit easier! :)  I'm still trying to get to know everyone at work and find some activities I'm interested in outside of school. Because of my hip, I'm not able to dance and it is really driving me crazy. I might try some light yoga to se...

So I arrived in Bali 3 weeks ago and it has been a whirlwind so far! After arriving Monday evening, I had Tuesday free before I had to report to work for New Teacher Orientation on Monday. For awhile I just wandered around my house thinking....is this for real? Is this really all for me? I was able to choose my own housing and so after hours of internet searching to find a great place in a good location within the budget the school provides and a coworker going to see the properties for me, I secured a place before I arrived! I have a two bedroom villa with my own swimming pool. I will post more pictures soon after I get settled in and organize and decorate the place!  Here is the morning view from the upstairs bedroom: View from the downstairs bedroom looking out at the pool and garden area: I soon realized that I would need something besides my feet to get around. Walking just wasn't going to work because things were quite a far distance and only the major tourist ...