Makanan!

Spring Break is here!! We've enjoyed hanging out around Canggu, going to Ubud for the day, Michael has been diving and I've been relaxing! And very soon our friend Nicole will be here!!

Since I'm not lesson planning and I have time to blog, I thought I'd talk about makanan-food! The first Bahasa Indonesian words I've learned involve food. I've blogged about the restaurants and cafes before but didn't focus on the local dishes. 

nasi- rice

mie- noodles

goreng- fried

Put them together and you've got nasi goreng and mie goreng, two favorites that can be enjoyed at breakfast, lunch and dinner with a fried egg on top served with prawn chips. Of course you've seen the beautiful rice paddies-rice is a staple here, and they say it's not a meal unless there's rice!

campur- mixed 

kuning- yellow 

kucing- cat

Another goodie: nasi campur with nasi kuning. At the warung, you'll see shelves of yummy side dishes to add to the yellow rice. It usually costs about $1.50 for Michael and me. But don't order nasi kucing..

tipat- rice dumpling rolled in banana leaf

tahu- tofu

pedas- spicy

And last but not least tahu tipat! Again $1.50 for Michael and me (20,000 rupiah) for fried tofu, tipat, and bean sprouts covered in peanut sauce. Michael orders his spicy. Sounds like a crazy combo but it's delicious. I had to google a photo because I always forget to take a picture.

You'll see carts like this one rolling down the street usually serving bakso or tahu tipat. This is our favorite tahu tipat guy!

Yummy!

Chicken, tofu, tempe, eggs, spring rolls, veggies, all zero calories ; ) 

Nasi campur 

And here's a story: Yesterday, Michael and I were leaving to run errands. I forgot my helmet (again...) and ran inside to grab it. Michael was waiting on the bike so I put it on quickly (without checking for the usually pesky mosquito) and ran back outside. Once on the back of the bike I felt something crawling on the crown of my head inside the helmet!! My first thought as I struggled to undo the snap was -Brain sucking spiders are real! Gracefully...or not.. I undo the snap rip, off my helmet and fling it across the driveway to see a GECKO fly out and run into the neighbors yard! Yuck! I get the willies just thinking about it!! Guess I'll be more careful checking my helmet! 

Our First Nyepi

Yesterday I wrote to explain what Nyepi is and today I want to tell you about our experience as expats. Sorry, I can't get photos on here, so it's a lot of writing!

Friday we didn't have school; the morning felt like any weekday morning except for the large ogoh-ogohs in front of the temples. Then around lunch time all the shops closed and the roads were deserted. We drove to our friends' house so we could go to the parade together. They were told by people in their banjar to come to the temple before the parade. Three of us put on sarongs and we all headed up to the temple to find all the women in white kabaya with a sarong. So we turned around, put on white tops with a sash and Michael put on a sarong too.

Take two! When we got to the temple, the women were sitting in front motioning for us to come pray with them. They were so genuine and welcoming. We sat and talked for about an hour before the ceremony began; I struggled through with the little Indonesian I know. Usually in a sarong women sit on their knees- it's best to kick off your flip flops and rest the tops of your feet on them. This was a long ceremony so some of the ladies were sitting cross legged like the men. 

Then it was time to pray. Fortunately, I've participated in ceremonies before, so I wasn't too lost! The lady beside me shared her flowers and incense. Michael sat in the back with the men and prayed with them. There is a bell ringing and each time it stops, it signals the next step. Sometimes your hands are open, sometimes closed on your forehead and other times you hold a specific flower in between your fingers. At the end, holy water is sprinkled on your head, then three sips are put in your hands and one more to put on your head. Last you take wet rice and stick it to your forehead and chest. I wish I knew what each part of the ritual is for but I thank God for such a beautiful experience.

After the ceremony we went to see the parade. It was about a mile walk to the street corner. If you can imagine the exact opposite energy of the very peaceful ceremony-that was the parade! Loud music, yelling, excitement, scary Ogoh-ogohs, flashing lights, and fireworks-it was wild! Then we went to the big intersection. This parade had larger and more detailed Ogoh-ogohs, music and narrators telling the story of dancers. Each banjar had a full 5-10 minute show. By the time we left it was 10:30 and there were still five more to go.

The next day was the day of silence. All I could hear was birds, insects and the occasional dog, no motorbikes, cars or people. We didn't do any work but we did watch a couple of shows, read and worked out. We have an outside kitchen, so we cooked breakfast and lunch really quietly and ate indoors, then prepped for dinner knowing it would be too dark once the sun went down. At night we pulled both curtains in the bedroom and just turned on a dim lamp. We had to be careful getting things from the refrigerator, because the light was so bright! When it was really dark, we had a glass of wine and looked at the stars which were stunning!

It was a lovely day-something I don't think we would ever be able to experience at home! Can you imagine Walmart shutting down 24 hours?? : )

Ogoh-ogohs and Nyepi

Happy New Year!! It's New Year's Day according to the Balinese calendar and we're ringing in the year 1937! I don't want to blog about our experience with Nyepi yet, because today is Nyepi, so I fill you in tomorrow. But first I want to tell you what Nyepi is and how it's celebrated. And I'll give you a small update from me and Michael : )

Every year, the men in each banjar (small village community or neighborhood) get together to create an Ogoh-ogoh. These are large statues made from styrofoam or natural materials and are built for the parade on the eve of Nyepi. Ogoh-ogohs are made to look like demons or bad spirits, most I would describe as creepy and terrifying! I can't wait to show you photos! The idea is to bring out all of the naughty spirits so that the environment can be cleansed and purified for the new year. The parade usually includes loud music with percussion especially symbols, fireworks, yelling and of course the Ogoh-ogohs.

The next day is Nyepi and it is a day of silence. This is the time for reflection, meditation and setting intentions for the new year. There are a four rules:
Amati Geni (no fire or light)
Amati Karya (no working)
Amati Lelunganan (no travel)
Amati Lelanguan (fasting and no entertainment)

Even the international airport on island shuts down for the day! It's the only airport in the world to close for a religious day! Also the roads are closed unless you are going to the hospital. The only people that are out of the house are Pecalang (banjar security) who remind community members to follow the rules.

Since we are not Hindu, we do not have to follow all of the rules, but if we stay at home (not travel to a resort) we need to be respectful to our neighbors. I hope the sky is clear tonight, because everyone says the stars are unbelievable on Nyepi!

And a small update: This week was grea!  I feel like we're getting back to normal. Michael went diving two days in Tulamben and Nusa Penida with some manta rays. I went back to school and it was so nice to see all of my kids and colleagues! A lot of the teachers have had dengue so it was interesting to hear everyone's experience. One teacher said, "Welcome back to life!" : ) Two weeks to 3 months is how long it can take to get your energy back after dengue, but I feel stronger everyday! I had a doctors appointment and my platelets are normals again!! 193!!

And if you follow my class Instagram you've heard this story already:
On Tuesday, I read Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon to the class. In the story the mother bat loses her baby and then comes back to her. We've been focusing on text to self connections so one boy raised his hand to share his connection. He said, "It's like when you were gone and then you came back to us yesterday!" and the whole class agreed. They melt my heart!

Selemat Hari Nyepi!

Dengue Fever

First of all a big Terima Kasih (thank you) for all of the thoughts, prayers and messages over the past two weeks!! I was definitely feeling the love from all over the world!

Last Saturday I woke up with a fever, body aches and headache. If you get a fever in Bali, there's always the thought-Uh oh! Hope it's not Dengue! If you've never heard of dengue fever, it's an illness contracted from mosquito bites in Southeast Asia which is why we wear bug spray religiously, especially during rainy season. Any other questions you can contact Wade T. because I'm sure my parents are Dengue fever experts now ; )

The fever continued and the body aches got worse especially in my legs. It was very painful to walk. I also had no appetite so I was just trying to stay hydrated. Sunday, Michael was wonderful and went to the closest warung to get me a kelapa muda (young coconut) which is great for hydration. Well the man who usually cuts the coconut wasn't there so Michael decided to open it himself when he got home. Any guesses what happens next? Six stitches in his thumb!

Monday I was still running a fever with the headache and body aches. I took Panadol (Tylenol) but it didn't help. Tuesday I went to the doctor which turned into an all day event. I tested positive for Dengue fever. It really affects your platelet levels and mine were at 74 (normally 150-400) so they said I needed to be hospitalized.

I was in the hospital for 7 days. The hospital was really nice and the nurses were great. My room was large and private and it had cable TV! (I gave up television and movies for Lent but I don't think it counts if you're really sick!) I didn't love the IV, especially when they told me it has to be switched after 3 days. And I had to have blood drawn every 12 hours to check my platelet count. So 6:30AM everyday the nurse woke me up to take blood.

I've also learned Dengue as other weird symptoms. On day 6 my hands and feet were itchy. The antihistamines and lotion didn't work so I had a couple of poor sleeps. It also causes a bad taste in your mouth, so even water tasted bad which is not fun when you're asked to drink 3 liters a day! My platelet count got down to 43, but then started to increase on day 8! When the nurse said it went up by 1 point we did a happy dance! When it reached 70 I got to go home!!

Now I'm on the mend, still drinking lots of water and resting. I told Michael when I get my appetite back I want veggie pot pie for dinner! Next week I'll go back to school-I can't wait to see my kids! And Michael's stitches are out- he went surfing today : )

New Year!

So we have been back in Bali for a little over a week now and finally feeling back to normal (over the jet lag)! 

For starters, Christmas break was amazing. Going home after moving to a new place has a wonderful way of helping you feel grounded. We had a great time with family and friends-lots of love, laughter and of course-food! If the veggie doesn't have "fried" before it, "casserole" after it, or it's not "from the garden," then I'm not eating it! ; ) Thanks mom and Ms. Debbie for spoiling us with your good cooking! : )  

The journey back was a bit longer than the one going there. Raleigh to London (6 hours) with a long layover, London to Doha (7 hours) with a long layover, and Doha to Denpasar (10 hours). The good news is we found a lounge room in the Qatar airport so we could lay down for a while. 

When we got home, showered and had dinner, we learned a fun fact about Bali-if your house is locked up for a couple of weeks in wet season, your clothes and the sheets on your bed will mold.....gross. The good thing is with all of the rain everything is really green and beautiful! I could tell a big difference on campus-it's so lush! 

We're excited for the new year-new goals, travel plans and visitors to look forward to. I have six new kids starting this semester and lots of other new students at Green School, so there is wonderful energy on campus right now! In class we're starting Fairy Tales in thematics and a worm farm for our practical frame. We're hoping we'll be able to make food for the middle school's aquaponics program and sell the liquid gold at the school's farm stand! 

Well I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! Stay warm! ; )

Rain, Spiders and Christmas!

Just a quick update from Bali-

Rainy season is here! It rains at least once a day, December and January will bring lots of rain!! And it is hot hot hot! Not July in NC hot. More like June heat and April showers. But since we are outside all the time, we are constantly sweaty!

I saw the biggest spider of my life two days ago. It was on a small box that I picked up!! I did drop the box and run away, but I did not scream a bad word in front of the children, so I reckon I handled it pretty well! My classroom assistant took care of the beast, gently waving it away with a piece of paper. I’ve learned the large spiders here don’t spin webs, they are hunters, so they walk around looking for food...I do not like anything about this!! At least with webs they stay in one spot!

The ants and mosquitos are annoying and the spiders are scary, but then I look around at this beautiful place and try to take it all in! Right now I’m sitting in my classroom while the kids are at art. I can hear laughter, talking, a few bands of instruments, bugs, frogs, the river, and rain. Oh and of course the Christmas music I am streaming from 101.5 FM!

I am so looking forward to going home for Christmas!! But in yogi terms-I’m also trying to “stay present.” I can’t wait to be home, but I really don’t want to wish this time away! Tonight we’re having a potluck dinner for Thanksgiving, two more weeks of school and Alissa is coming to visit!! So many wonderful things are happening, so I’m balancing my excitement with focusing on the here and now! : )

Grateful

This is from a colleague and friend's status-beautifully written and so true! 

"Everyday I walk into my classroom at Green School. Our path is lined with lemongrass and our bamboo classroom is magnificent. An enormous blazing sunflower has just come out. On the way to the toilet hut is an enthusiastic pineapple growing freely out of it's cactus. Chilis, eggplants, bananas, and bamboo are growing around our wall-less-ness. We hear the winter-less wind rip through them sometimes. Most of all I love the amazing people I work with, so generous, so unafraid to show true love and care, great people. My students are an international crew of awesomeness and I am so proud of everyone one them."

Wednesdays my kids have two hours of thematics, two hours of proficiency (math and English) and two hours of Bahasa Indonesian (language and culture). I teach the first two classes, break, two more hours, then lunch with the kids. Today I remembered my Wednesday schedule from last year. It was the exact same-2 classes, snack, 2 classes lunch. The difference is now, Wednesdays do not feel like a long day!!! Of course I'm tired after work-being outside in the heat all day will do that. But it's a good tired! I think there are a few reasons it feels so different. 

1. These kids are kind, caring and value "peace." 
2. I only have 14 students! 
3. There are 3 adults in the room-I have an awesome Indonesian teacher and classroom assistant!
4. Thanks to no walls, noise is never a concern.

I guess my point is on this Wednesday afternoon is that I am feeling incredibly grateful for this opportunity and thank God everyday for bringing us to this island!