First Impressions of Bali!
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 street by the beach has a sidewalk. So I rented a bicycle! I'm still getting used to traffic being on the opposite side of the road as well as motorbikes just zipping along and weaving in and out of traffic. So far I've seen a guy get on his bike with 3 small children and I saw a train of 3 motorbikes with the drivers all carrying one large pipe on their shoulder. I also see children as young as 10 years old zipping along on their bikes! And all of this, I'm told, is normal here. :)
Here's the bike I'm renting. I'm looking into buying a bicycle, but thinking eventually I may want to get a scooter!
People here seem to be friendly and will always smile at you and the smile seems completely genuine. The weather is beautiful right now. It is hot and sunny but there is a nice breeze that helps to keep you cool. Apparently it will be like that until October when the wind stops and then it just becomes hot and humid as we wait for the rainy season to arrive.
Things have been really busy here as I try to get settled into my house and also set up my classroom. I started school yesterday already! I successfully made it through two days with my Kindergarteners! I only have 10 students! They are so sweet, but have such small attention spans! My school is small but really cute! It is set up Balinese style where there are mall small buildings. There is a nice outdoor space for students to play...green areas and beautiful flowers blooming. Classrooms are large and there is both a big outdoor field area as well as a covered area. We also have a swimming pool. The student as well as the staff population is very international! I'm really excited to be surrounded my so many different nationalities! :)
Here's my classroom:
When moving to a new country, things that you often take for granted are the things that suddenly become a big outing and adventure. It is amazing how good it feels to accomplish the little task- tasks that in your home country are effortless and automatic. Here are some things I've accomplished and learned so far:
-How to put pulsa (credit) on my cell phone and get data
-How to prepay my electric so it doesn't shut off on me
-Where to buy a raft for my pool
-Where to buy a washing machine and get the process of getting it delivered!
-Hiring a pool guy and pembantu (maid) - yes a part of me feels very lazy for not doing these household chores myself, but it is very common to have maids here, it is cheap, and I am helping to support the local community :)
-Eating out is cheap!!! (It is actually typically cheaper than buying groceries and cooking at home - YES!!)
-Locating and exploring the grocery store
-An open living kitchen and pool area means I will be having animals and insects visiting me.
- First few days a cat would hang out up by the pool area
- Geckos can sometimes be seen crawling on the walls (including inside my bedroom) - good to have though because they eat the mosquitoes!
- A small bat has been flying around my pool area at night - I'm guessing he likes the papaya tree next door to me :(
-Massages are cheap and I plan to get one every week. On Sunday I paid about US$18 for a fantastic 60 minute massage. Yes, please!!!
During my first few days here I found myself safely tucked into my bedroom with doors and windows closed as soon as dusk came. It made me laugh and reminded me of my first few days in Brazil where I also didn't venture out at night, but for different reasons. Brazil was fear of safety for going out at night. Bali is fear of mosquitoes getting me!
I'm excited to buy some things for my villa and feel more settled in. I'm so excited to continue to explore the Sanur area that I live in and exploring the rest of the island and traveling to other nearby places! I'll try and keep up on my blogging.
A few more pictures from my first few days...
Some pictures from my Sunday afternoon walk along the beach.....
Here is the morning view from the upstairs bedroom:
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 street by the beach has a sidewalk. So I rented a bicycle! I'm still getting used to traffic being on the opposite side of the road as well as motorbikes just zipping along and weaving in and out of traffic. So far I've seen a guy get on his bike with 3 small children and I saw a train of 3 motorbikes with the drivers all carrying one large pipe on their shoulder. I also see children as young as 10 years old zipping along on their bikes! And all of this, I'm told, is normal here. :)
Here's the bike I'm renting. I'm looking into buying a bicycle, but thinking eventually I may want to get a scooter!
People here seem to be friendly and will always smile at you and the smile seems completely genuine. The weather is beautiful right now. It is hot and sunny but there is a nice breeze that helps to keep you cool. Apparently it will be like that until October when the wind stops and then it just becomes hot and humid as we wait for the rainy season to arrive.
Things have been really busy here as I try to get settled into my house and also set up my classroom. I started school yesterday already! I successfully made it through two days with my Kindergarteners! I only have 10 students! They are so sweet, but have such small attention spans! My school is small but really cute! It is set up Balinese style where there are mall small buildings. There is a nice outdoor space for students to play...green areas and beautiful flowers blooming. Classrooms are large and there is both a big outdoor field area as well as a covered area. We also have a swimming pool. The student as well as the staff population is very international! I'm really excited to be surrounded my so many different nationalities! :)
Here's my classroom:
When moving to a new country, things that you often take for granted are the things that suddenly become a big outing and adventure. It is amazing how good it feels to accomplish the little task- tasks that in your home country are effortless and automatic. Here are some things I've accomplished and learned so far:
-How to put pulsa (credit) on my cell phone and get data
-How to prepay my electric so it doesn't shut off on me
-Where to buy a raft for my pool
-Where to buy a washing machine and get the process of getting it delivered!
-Hiring a pool guy and pembantu (maid) - yes a part of me feels very lazy for not doing these household chores myself, but it is very common to have maids here, it is cheap, and I am helping to support the local community :)
-Eating out is cheap!!! (It is actually typically cheaper than buying groceries and cooking at home - YES!!)
-Locating and exploring the grocery store
-An open living kitchen and pool area means I will be having animals and insects visiting me.
- First few days a cat would hang out up by the pool area
- Geckos can sometimes be seen crawling on the walls (including inside my bedroom) - good to have though because they eat the mosquitoes!
- A small bat has been flying around my pool area at night - I'm guessing he likes the papaya tree next door to me :(
-Massages are cheap and I plan to get one every week. On Sunday I paid about US$18 for a fantastic 60 minute massage. Yes, please!!!
During my first few days here I found myself safely tucked into my bedroom with doors and windows closed as soon as dusk came. It made me laugh and reminded me of my first few days in Brazil where I also didn't venture out at night, but for different reasons. Brazil was fear of safety for going out at night. Bali is fear of mosquitoes getting me!
I'm excited to buy some things for my villa and feel more settled in. I'm so excited to continue to explore the Sanur area that I live in and exploring the rest of the island and traveling to other nearby places! I'll try and keep up on my blogging.
A few more pictures from my first few days...
Daily offerings
My nightly toad that visits
New Teacher Orientation Week - drinks on the beach :)
Some pictures from my Sunday afternoon walk along the beach.....
(I think I may have found a nice quite place away from the hotels and restaurants to relax!)
Motorbikes everywhere!
That's the moon! Friday night, I went out for a few drinks with coworkers and watched the "moon rise."
love your pictures
ReplyDelete