Adventures of Living Abroad

Saturday night, I had the opportunity to celebrate the Hindu holiday of Diwali with friends.  Diwali is the festival of lights and it signifies light over darkness (good vs evil).  My coworker is originally from India, but has been living here in Bali for many years now.  She had the house beautifully decorated with candles.  We learned about rangolis and spent some time creating our own out of dyed rice while we waited for dinner. Rangoli means "colorful design" and is meant to bring good luck.  Dinner was delicious! I was pleasantly surprised as I chowed down and discovered there wasn't much spice. I always find Indian food hard to eat because it's so spicy! I'm going to have to get her recipes!  What a great evening spent together with friends. :)

About a month ago I took the PADI open water course and received my open water diving certification. It was a whirlwind busy 3 days filled with videos to build my knowledge, quizes, training in the pool and then 4 dives. Luckily I had an amazing instructor who really took the time to ensure I thoroughly understood all the knowledge and theory behind diving.  Since Ted already has his diving certification, I was super excited to have mine so we could plan a trip to go diving together. Before moving to Bali, diving had never been on my list of things to do. But after moving here, I began talking to people who dive and learned that this area has some of the most beautiful dive spots in the world. I felt like I had to capitalize on this wonderful opportunity.  Our trip to Bunaken Island.... Bunaken island is a small island that's about 8 square km and is part of the Bunaken National Marine Park. You may be thinking...where in the world is this island? I was wondering the s...

Living abroad has been a challenging and rewarding experience. It has pushed me completely outside of comfort zone, helped me learn more about myself, become more open minded about other cultures, and has given me the opportunity to meet some amazing people and visit so many new places. There are times, though, when living so far away from home really takes a toll on you. While out celebrating with some coworkers the near completion of our first term for the school year, I nonchalantly glanced down to check my phone. The smile and joy vanished and I was filled with such sadness as I read my mother's text message. Colby, my cat that I've had since college who is living in the US with my parents, had died in his sleep.  In that moment, I desperately wished I could be home. I wish I could have been there to comfort him in his final hours and to help my parents bury him. But I couldn't be. I'm thousands of miles away. Luckily I have some wonderful friends who consoled m...

The second part of our Borneo trip consisted of 3 day/2 night jungle trek. We took the bus from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan. Sandakan was a quiet town with not much to do, but Jess found a historical trail to walk, an English Tea House with a beautiful view, and the Agnes Keith House (Agnes Newton Keith was an American writer-Land Below The Wind in 1939. Her husband, Henry George Keith was the Conservator of Forests. They lived there during the British North Borneo.) Along the heritage trail... The English Tea House and Restaurant T From Sandakan we traveled out to Sepilok to visit the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Center.  Then we met up with Uncle Tan's Tour to begin our journey to the jungle on the Kinabatangan River.  Uncle Tan's Wildlife Camp was a 1 1/2 hour van ride and then about a 30 minute boat ride away.  While home in the US over the summer I stocked up on natural insect repellant and was feeling good about my purchases until I reac...