It's so hard to believe that next week at this time I will be at home (well, actually at the oral surgeons getting my wisdom teeth out, but close enough). It is Monday, June 22nd. I leave Sydney in a mere six days, on Sunday June 28th. Today is my 130th day since leaving home. When I left I was twenty years old, and upon return I am twenty one. I left a snowy winter and will return to a sunny summer. But the real difference between leaving the U.S. in February and returning now is unquantifiable. It is easy to say that I have changed immensely. I am in an extremely different place in my life now than I was when I left. I have done things that I never dreamed of before, been places I've never seen, or even heard of, and been extremely independent for nearly five months. I have learned to live every day to its fullest, and to take advantage of every opportunity that I am presented with. I have had a chance to completely focus on my own development, without interference or the necessity of worrying about the effects on anyone else. While I've been in Australia, it's been just me, myself, and I.
I am so excited to come home, but in a way, I am scared. I don't know what it's going to be like going back into the familiar. I have a feeling I'll be looking at everything very differently, and every experience at home will actually seem new. But what I am scared most of, is losing any tiny bit of what I've learned. I truly think that the ways I've changed will be lasting though. I am sitting here, trying to think of a way to adequately describe the changes that I can see, and am coming up with nothing. I think that the relationship I now have with myself is amazing, because I will be the only person who can truly understand who I've now become. I can only hope that other people will be able to feel the effects of it.
I am coming home ready for new experiences. I will never take anything for granted, and will continue to live each day fully, and try to make every day have a purpose. Life is so short. I've learned that here-it feels like I've just arrived, yet I am about to go. I don't want to see my semester abroad as an end, but instead, a beginning. The lessons I've learned will absolutely change the way I live the rest of my life, and I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity.
For the rest of the week, I'm going to be doing a lot more reflectance on this experience, and perhaps then I will be able to put more into words.
For now though, I am still in finals mode. I am officially done with my third final, which I think went very well. Last one will be molecular cell biology, on Thursday. I spent part of this afternoon studying, but am going to take the rest of the night off, since my brain is completely fried. I don't have too much to update since I've been back from Bali, because I've literally been studying every waking hour. On Thursday at 5pm though, I will be officially done-I cannot wait! Then I will have two full days to spend before coming home. Friday I am planning on going to the Blue Mountains. I realized that is the one last place that I would really like to see (and that I can semi-afford). Then I want to spend Saturday wandering around the city the whole day. I have come to really love this place, and want to soak it all in before I leave. Also, to start Saturday of, I am planning (and some other people are as well I think) on waking up before dawn, and getting to Bondi Beach to watch the sunrise. Then I want to walk the cliff walk to Coogee, which is the one other thing I still want to do. I want to make it the perfect last day. Then Sunday I will be waking up early to spent one last morning at Darling Harbour before getting on my plane, that will be taking approximately 24 hours (not looking forward to that!)
I will write later in the week about things that I'm going to miss. But for now, I'll just jot down a few things that I am the most excited for:
1. Food: China Gourmet, Village, Bacon, good dairy products, cheez-its, reeses. And just a kitchen full of food that I can cook in.
2. My own bed! Six more sleeps here. Although I'm not sure if I'll be able to sleep without Laura in the room anymore.
3. Seuss, my parents, my sisters, and my friends. (Yes, Seuss is first!)
4. SUNNY WEATHER! It has been cold and rainy here for as long as I can remember at this point. Although I hear Northfield is the same, so it better be nice by the time I get there.
5. Phones. The ability that people can actually call me, and I don't need to talk through a computer.
6. NOT needing to use a computer anymore-as you all likely know, I hate technology, so I can't wait to not need to use it for a while!
7. CAPE COD. I cannot wait to get to the cape ASAP.
8. Hanging out at NMH every day with my little teachers Amanda and Sarah
9. Working out (my gym membership ran out saturday)
10. getting my wisdom teeth out and my knees fixed!
11. All the little things. Going on walks with my mom, watching scary movies with my dad, going to whole foods every saturday for lunch, hiking, hanging out with friends, games nights...I really think I'm going to appreciate everything so much more now.
Alright, I'll definitely update one more time this week (hopefully) and then I'll be HOME!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Eating, Praying and Loving in BALI
I'm back from am amazing trip to Bali. As I said before, it was always a place I wanted to go to, especially after reading Eat Pray Love. It is hard to describe in writing the kind of experience I had there, so I will just give kind of a broad overview for now (I am also time constrained as I am busy studying for finals...!)
I arrived Sunday night at about midnight, and as soon as I got off the plane, it was hot. Really really hot. I went through customs and all of that, got a Visa on Arrival, and then went off in search of a taxi. Walking through the airport gave me my first glimpse of what a lot of the week would be like. For the Balinese, tourists, and especially Westerners, are like walking ATM's, and they always want to sell you something. This started with many vendors, money changers & drivers yelling out to me as I walked along. I found the taxi booth that had been recommended (lonely planet was my bible for the week) and was off to Sanur. Although it was night out, it was so amazing driving through the villages. Every few miles there seemed to be a massive looming statue symbolizing a certain god, spirit or something else of importance to the Balinese. I got to my 'hotel' at about 1. I use quotes because it was actually a homestay, as most of accomidation in Bali is. This one was rather large, having about 20 rooms I believe, and the family lived there as well. In Bali, and throughout Indonesia, it is not just the nucleus family who lives together. All of the generations live together (no getting away from anyone), and the son stays in the family, and when he marries, his new wife moves into the family compound. The home was very big, and very carefully designed. It had a central court yard, as most due, with a few shrines, some caged wild birds and a temple. Every family has a temple, as well as each village.
Monday I woke up and was a bit anxious to start my day, not really knowing what to expect, or where to really go. I headed down to the beach (only a couple minutes walk) and it was beautiful. The water was so blue and the sand so white. Walking down the beachfront walk was quite the experience. There were endless amounts of vendors and every few seconds a woman would yell out "Massage? Manicure? Facial?" Since it was my first day, I gave into the urge and started out the day with a US$5 hour long massage on the beach. Heavenly. I then got majorly ripped off (I found out later of course) while buying two sarongs. They are beautiful, and definitely came in handy throughout the week. I bought a beach lounger for the day, and just relaxed all day, reading, and taking a break every once in a while to go for some fresh fruit, or a meal. The food in Bali was delicious. Very flavorful. I am looking forward to trying out some recipes when I get home!
Tuesday was relatively similar, since all I really wanted to do was relax. I've spent so many of my trips running around trying to fit in everything I wanted to see, so it was nice to just lay around and absorb everything.
Wednesday I went off to Kuta, the beach area where mainly all the tourists go. I walked around down the narrow streets which were full of shops, and then on to the beach where there were tons of surfers, both really good and really bad. I walked down to a nicer area of Legian, and then back to Kuta and at night headed back to Sanur.
Thursday morning I woke up early to take a shuttle to Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali, as well as where Elizabeth Gilbert stayed during the "Love" section of her book. I didn't have a place to stay, but once I found there I found a homestay which I had read about, and got a room there for the next three nights. That afternoon I went to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. It was like the Legend of the Hidden Temple, full of monkeys. They were crazy. First of all, there were TONS of them and they loved to try to steal anything they could get their hands on. I was wearing a hat, which several actually managed to steal when they jumped on my head while I was trying to pose for a photo (never got that photo, but got the hat back from those little thieves!) They were having so much fun in a little pond, and I was reminded how human like they really are. I went down some very steep steps and came into a very cool temple area, surrounded with statues and moss and of course, more monkeys.
Friday I woke up very early and went off to trek the Rice Paddies. I met up with a guy on the street Wayan, who offered to give me a tour around. We walked through some rice paddies and then it was on to the lush lands that the luxury hotels overlook. Walking down was extremely dangerous, and I thought I was about to break something every second of it. We went through various "Do NOT go this way" signs, and managed to make it down to the Sayan River, which he proceeded to take off our shorts (and him his pants too) and cross. The whole time I was thinking about the parasites which could be climbing up into my body through my foot, but I made it across, hopefully parasite free! We then trekked through the jungle which was fantastic. I even saw a lizard which was at least half the size of my body! We went into a little village in the middle of the jungle, and relaxed for a bit, before heading on. The next park of the jungle contained the sacred Bayan trees [which if you break a limb or leaf accidently, the Balinese believe you will go blind and only the village leader will be able to make you see again...I steered clear] and then saw some cocoa trees, banana and papaya trees, and some very cool flora. We made it back and crossed the river again, and then go the workout of a life time going up a massive steep cliff. We then parted ways, and I went back to Ubud for a shower and then a delicious meal in town.
Saturday I woke up early for a big day trip out of Ubud. I hired a driver, Rai, for the day to take me around. First I went to the Elephant Park and Safari place, where I rode my first elephant, Pikri! The riding was cool, but the best part was the feeding and playing with the elephants afterwards. I never imagined them to be so amazingly gentle and sweet as they were. It was a lot of fun, and it was sad to go, but I had much more to see in the day. We headed off to Elephant Cave Temple next, an ancient temple built underground, in a cave (duh) which as very holy springs in front of it. Then a woodcarvers shop, where the woodwork was amazing. Next was the Royal Family Palace Temple. Finally, the main sight of the day was Tanah Lot, one of the Sea Temples in Bali. I was to see the sunset here. I had a few hours there, so I did some hiking along the various cliffs around the temple, and got some really great views, and it was just a very relaxing experience. As sunset loomed closer, I went up to where the main restaurants overlooking Tanah Lot were, to get a good seat with good food for the sunset, which was, of course magnificent. It would have been much better though, if it weren't for the seemingly millions of tourists and locals everywhere! After the sun set and it became dark, I found Rai and went back to Ubud for my last night.
Sunday morning I woke up extremely early (about 5am!) and walked around Ubud until my shuttle left at 8:30. This was when my week long question was answered-do the monkeys actually stay in the forest? As I was walking down, there were quite a few duos getting frisky on the sidewalks, as well as many swinging from the electrical poles and wires, and walking along roofs of the shops! Only in Asia...it was very cool. Got to Kuta, and spent the day at the beach where it was extremely hot-I had about 4 ice cream cones throughout the day just to cool myself. At sunset I went off to the airport, since I wanted to get there before it was dark. Enjoyed a great last meal there, and then had an 11:30 flight back to Sydney. I got back to Unilodge at about 8 this morning, and spent the day unpacking, food shopping, cleaning, doing laundry, and of course studying. AND thinking about the fact that in only 13 days I will be on my way home-at this point, I am beyond excited. And beyond broke. But I've had the time of my life-but more of that mushy gushy stuff later!
Time to go make some dinner, and go to sleep early, since I still haven't slept for now over 36 hours! I can't believe I am functioning, but I actually feel great!
Of course, there is so much more about Bali that I can only share through talking, and would love to talk about it with any of you. It was a different world, and I cannot wait to go back again, multiple times throughout my life.
On my fourth day in Bali, a friend (part of the family with whom I stayed with) saw me as I was walking out the door in the morning and said
"You look so happy"
And he was right. While in Bali, and even now, I just feel so happy.
I arrived Sunday night at about midnight, and as soon as I got off the plane, it was hot. Really really hot. I went through customs and all of that, got a Visa on Arrival, and then went off in search of a taxi. Walking through the airport gave me my first glimpse of what a lot of the week would be like. For the Balinese, tourists, and especially Westerners, are like walking ATM's, and they always want to sell you something. This started with many vendors, money changers & drivers yelling out to me as I walked along. I found the taxi booth that had been recommended (lonely planet was my bible for the week) and was off to Sanur. Although it was night out, it was so amazing driving through the villages. Every few miles there seemed to be a massive looming statue symbolizing a certain god, spirit or something else of importance to the Balinese. I got to my 'hotel' at about 1. I use quotes because it was actually a homestay, as most of accomidation in Bali is. This one was rather large, having about 20 rooms I believe, and the family lived there as well. In Bali, and throughout Indonesia, it is not just the nucleus family who lives together. All of the generations live together (no getting away from anyone), and the son stays in the family, and when he marries, his new wife moves into the family compound. The home was very big, and very carefully designed. It had a central court yard, as most due, with a few shrines, some caged wild birds and a temple. Every family has a temple, as well as each village.
Monday I woke up and was a bit anxious to start my day, not really knowing what to expect, or where to really go. I headed down to the beach (only a couple minutes walk) and it was beautiful. The water was so blue and the sand so white. Walking down the beachfront walk was quite the experience. There were endless amounts of vendors and every few seconds a woman would yell out "Massage? Manicure? Facial?" Since it was my first day, I gave into the urge and started out the day with a US$5 hour long massage on the beach. Heavenly. I then got majorly ripped off (I found out later of course) while buying two sarongs. They are beautiful, and definitely came in handy throughout the week. I bought a beach lounger for the day, and just relaxed all day, reading, and taking a break every once in a while to go for some fresh fruit, or a meal. The food in Bali was delicious. Very flavorful. I am looking forward to trying out some recipes when I get home!
Tuesday was relatively similar, since all I really wanted to do was relax. I've spent so many of my trips running around trying to fit in everything I wanted to see, so it was nice to just lay around and absorb everything.
Wednesday I went off to Kuta, the beach area where mainly all the tourists go. I walked around down the narrow streets which were full of shops, and then on to the beach where there were tons of surfers, both really good and really bad. I walked down to a nicer area of Legian, and then back to Kuta and at night headed back to Sanur.
Thursday morning I woke up early to take a shuttle to Ubud, the cultural capital of Bali, as well as where Elizabeth Gilbert stayed during the "Love" section of her book. I didn't have a place to stay, but once I found there I found a homestay which I had read about, and got a room there for the next three nights. That afternoon I went to the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. It was like the Legend of the Hidden Temple, full of monkeys. They were crazy. First of all, there were TONS of them and they loved to try to steal anything they could get their hands on. I was wearing a hat, which several actually managed to steal when they jumped on my head while I was trying to pose for a photo (never got that photo, but got the hat back from those little thieves!) They were having so much fun in a little pond, and I was reminded how human like they really are. I went down some very steep steps and came into a very cool temple area, surrounded with statues and moss and of course, more monkeys.
Friday I woke up very early and went off to trek the Rice Paddies. I met up with a guy on the street Wayan, who offered to give me a tour around. We walked through some rice paddies and then it was on to the lush lands that the luxury hotels overlook. Walking down was extremely dangerous, and I thought I was about to break something every second of it. We went through various "Do NOT go this way" signs, and managed to make it down to the Sayan River, which he proceeded to take off our shorts (and him his pants too) and cross. The whole time I was thinking about the parasites which could be climbing up into my body through my foot, but I made it across, hopefully parasite free! We then trekked through the jungle which was fantastic. I even saw a lizard which was at least half the size of my body! We went into a little village in the middle of the jungle, and relaxed for a bit, before heading on. The next park of the jungle contained the sacred Bayan trees [which if you break a limb or leaf accidently, the Balinese believe you will go blind and only the village leader will be able to make you see again...I steered clear] and then saw some cocoa trees, banana and papaya trees, and some very cool flora. We made it back and crossed the river again, and then go the workout of a life time going up a massive steep cliff. We then parted ways, and I went back to Ubud for a shower and then a delicious meal in town.
Saturday I woke up early for a big day trip out of Ubud. I hired a driver, Rai, for the day to take me around. First I went to the Elephant Park and Safari place, where I rode my first elephant, Pikri! The riding was cool, but the best part was the feeding and playing with the elephants afterwards. I never imagined them to be so amazingly gentle and sweet as they were. It was a lot of fun, and it was sad to go, but I had much more to see in the day. We headed off to Elephant Cave Temple next, an ancient temple built underground, in a cave (duh) which as very holy springs in front of it. Then a woodcarvers shop, where the woodwork was amazing. Next was the Royal Family Palace Temple. Finally, the main sight of the day was Tanah Lot, one of the Sea Temples in Bali. I was to see the sunset here. I had a few hours there, so I did some hiking along the various cliffs around the temple, and got some really great views, and it was just a very relaxing experience. As sunset loomed closer, I went up to where the main restaurants overlooking Tanah Lot were, to get a good seat with good food for the sunset, which was, of course magnificent. It would have been much better though, if it weren't for the seemingly millions of tourists and locals everywhere! After the sun set and it became dark, I found Rai and went back to Ubud for my last night.
Sunday morning I woke up extremely early (about 5am!) and walked around Ubud until my shuttle left at 8:30. This was when my week long question was answered-do the monkeys actually stay in the forest? As I was walking down, there were quite a few duos getting frisky on the sidewalks, as well as many swinging from the electrical poles and wires, and walking along roofs of the shops! Only in Asia...it was very cool. Got to Kuta, and spent the day at the beach where it was extremely hot-I had about 4 ice cream cones throughout the day just to cool myself. At sunset I went off to the airport, since I wanted to get there before it was dark. Enjoyed a great last meal there, and then had an 11:30 flight back to Sydney. I got back to Unilodge at about 8 this morning, and spent the day unpacking, food shopping, cleaning, doing laundry, and of course studying. AND thinking about the fact that in only 13 days I will be on my way home-at this point, I am beyond excited. And beyond broke. But I've had the time of my life-but more of that mushy gushy stuff later!
Time to go make some dinner, and go to sleep early, since I still haven't slept for now over 36 hours! I can't believe I am functioning, but I actually feel great!
Of course, there is so much more about Bali that I can only share through talking, and would love to talk about it with any of you. It was a different world, and I cannot wait to go back again, multiple times throughout my life.
On my fourth day in Bali, a friend (part of the family with whom I stayed with) saw me as I was walking out the door in the morning and said
"You look so happy"
And he was right. While in Bali, and even now, I just feel so happy.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Off to Bali
Well, the time has finally come; my trip to Bali, Indonesia. I am so excited and looking forward to this new adventure. I am trying to prepare myself for the unknown, a place unlike any I've ever been. Bali has been a place I've wanted to go forever. Whenever I'm asked the age old quesiton "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?", my answer is Bali. So it looks like after this trip I'm going to need a new answer--I'll let you know! But I fly out of Sydney this evening, and then I'll be in Bali until next Monday, before being thrown back into finals. So, as they say about Bali in South Pacific...
"Your own special hopes,
Your own special dreams,
Bloom on the hillside
And shine in the streams.
If you try, you'll find me
Where the sky meets the sea.
"Here am I your special island
Come to me, Come to me."
On another note, I am now officially done with classes! I had a very full week of the last ones, but now they are complete. I'm completely done with my cell bio lab (which is the worlds biggest relief) and with bioethics, as it concluded with a final essay project (I will speak more about this once I get back). So now I have three finals once I get back to Sydney on the 15th, and once I get back, it will be 13 days until I head home. Yikes!
Since I've been doing preparations for finals for the last few weeks, I decided to do something I haven't done in a long long time yesterday-absolutely no studying and not going into the library. That is almost unimaginable for me to do! So I spent the morning relaxing and reading a great book (The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison-I highly recommend it) and then went off to the Jazz and Blues concert at Darling Harbour, and then walked around the city for quite sometime, spending a lot of time at Circular Quay and the Opera House. I've realized I have so little time left in Sydney, which is really sad. I must say though, I do feel like I've done so much during my time here, and after Bali, will be ready to go home. But more on the mushy stuff later, it's time to finish getting ready to go! I still need to buy some food (as the food there is...questionable--I don't know how delicious anything will be with congealed pigs blood on it-yes, that is a specialty) so I want to buy some protein bars just in case. Then I need to call the bank to tell them I'm going, print out my itinerary/sent it to people who need it, and make sure I have everything! I'll try to write a quick post once I get there so everyone knows I'm safe and sound!
Until next time, after Bali!
"Your own special hopes,
Your own special dreams,
Bloom on the hillside
And shine in the streams.
If you try, you'll find me
Where the sky meets the sea.
"Here am I your special island
Come to me, Come to me."
On another note, I am now officially done with classes! I had a very full week of the last ones, but now they are complete. I'm completely done with my cell bio lab (which is the worlds biggest relief) and with bioethics, as it concluded with a final essay project (I will speak more about this once I get back). So now I have three finals once I get back to Sydney on the 15th, and once I get back, it will be 13 days until I head home. Yikes!
Since I've been doing preparations for finals for the last few weeks, I decided to do something I haven't done in a long long time yesterday-absolutely no studying and not going into the library. That is almost unimaginable for me to do! So I spent the morning relaxing and reading a great book (The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison-I highly recommend it) and then went off to the Jazz and Blues concert at Darling Harbour, and then walked around the city for quite sometime, spending a lot of time at Circular Quay and the Opera House. I've realized I have so little time left in Sydney, which is really sad. I must say though, I do feel like I've done so much during my time here, and after Bali, will be ready to go home. But more on the mushy stuff later, it's time to finish getting ready to go! I still need to buy some food (as the food there is...questionable--I don't know how delicious anything will be with congealed pigs blood on it-yes, that is a specialty) so I want to buy some protein bars just in case. Then I need to call the bank to tell them I'm going, print out my itinerary/sent it to people who need it, and make sure I have everything! I'll try to write a quick post once I get there so everyone knows I'm safe and sound!
Until next time, after Bali!
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