Some of my friends in Ubud

So these are some of my new friends from around the world.  On the left is Hanna from Holland and the right is Anna from Sweden.  They are in a heated debate over who has the most nits to pick.....ok, just kidding these are the new pets I'm bringing home for the boys from the Monkey Forest.

Now these are some of my actual friends.  Me on the left, then Hanna, Anna and Made.  This is the night we all went salsa dancing, but not before dining next to a really obnoxious group of young Japanese boys who wanted to have their pictures taken with us.  

This is the Ogo Ogo, which had I not asked, would have thought translated to "really ugly guy with man-boobs".  Thank goodness he got burned.  His image will be haunting my memories from some time.

That's it for now.  May not have a chance to post before I return, so enjoy and thanks for traveling with me half-way around the world.  Wish you all could have come with me.

Love,

Mimi

The Day After

It's been several days since I've posted, I know.  Sorry to those of you who have been vacationing vicariously through me.  It is now the day of silence in Bali (except of course for the tourists, who can't seem to stop talking about how quiet everything is.)  I went last night to the center of town and stood in the football field (not the gridiron we think of at home, but more just an open patch of grass that is home to stray dogs, broken goals and fallen coconuts) to witness the celebration of Nyepi Day.  All of the neighboring villages brought their very large Ogo Ogo's (which are the evil spirits) to parade through the streets of Ubud and eventually burn them to rid them from their lives.  Sadly, this exorcism must only last for a short period, as the damn demons keep coming back and have to be burned once yearly.

So while I and nearly five hundred other tourists watched as the locals paraded their spirits through the streets, it occurred to me that we have nothing on a national level that resonates the way Nyepi Day does.  I'm thinking of lobbying for a national holiday of rest, where travel outside the home, use of electrical devices (namely video games), cooking and certainly fighting amongst siblings is expressly illegal.  That's right, illegal.  If it was just forbidden, no American child would refrain.  As it is, here in Ubud, if you're caught on the street, you'll be thrown in the pokey!

So today, on the day of rest, the hotel lobby is full of Americans, Canadians and Australians, feverishly connecting to the internet and busy scouring cyber-space for anything to crowd our already over-crowded thoughts.  In my next life, I want to come back to a less developed country. That way, there is no guilt over just enjoying sweeping the dead flowers and monkey poo-poo from the roadside.  

I know I have been waxing over my new friends, so I am including a few shots of them and of some of the things I've been doing while in Bali.

I'll be returning in two days.  Can't believe it's almost over.

Miss you all,

Mimi

Nyepi Day

Apparently, there has been great confusion and uproar over my last blog post.  I am not taking drugs, nor am I entertaining taking drugs (except in the form of red wine)...I was simply inquiring about the drug culture in Holland, which is, in essence far more lenient than in the States.

Okay, so now that that is cleared up, I just finished sharing a bottle of wine with Helen and we're sufficiently tipsy and tired from swimming all afternoon. :)  You should know that on Saturday is the biggest holiday in Bali - it is their New Year, Nyepi Day.  So Friday night is the, dance your brains out with baskets of fresh flowers on your head and eat nasi goreng til you puke night...but then on Saturday, you must stay at home, no electricity, no work, no play, no music...and contemplate on all the things you didn't do last year, but still have on your list of "to do's" for next year.  They even have police on the streets monitoring to make sure you or your kids don't get the urge to just frolic naked in the streets, still drunk from the night before.  So Saturday will be for me, as with everyone else here (though the hotel restaurant is still open, so scrambled eggs and toast are still on the menu for me) a day of rest.  Cuz, I haven't had any rest since I've been here :)  Oh yeah, that's all I've been doing.  Well, I'll rest even more restfully on Saturday.

Feels like my vaca is on the tail end, even though I have a few more days.

Miss you all,

Mimi

Black Tuesday

So I'm sitting in a little organic cafe sipping lime, ginger, parsley pineapple juice and noshing on spirulina balls (don't ask) when my friend (another new friend) Hanna from Holland begins to describe for me a phenomenon called Black Tuesday.  Apparently, when you do ectstacy on Saturday night, your body uses up all the "feel-good" hormones so you love everybody for about twelve hours.  But then by Tuesday, all that's left are the "I feel like cr** and I'm a miserable sack of sh**" hormones.  What a total buzzkill.  I mean, at least when you drink on Saturday night, your only hungover on Sunday so back to work doesn't suck so bad.  But with "x", you gotta re-think your party program and use on Thursday so you're ready for action come Monday.  See all the wonderful bits of wisdom I have gained from flying all the way to Bali.  Actually, it might have been cheaper and a lot less travel time to have flown to Holland and found this out for myself.  Oh well, the weather is way better here than in Holland.

Going to a silversmithing class on Wednesday with Hanna from Holland.  Wonder what other juicy tidbits I might learn.

Thanks to all of you who have been sending me emails.  It makes home seem a lot less far away.  I can get emails on my regular account, just can't send them from there.  So if you get an actual email from me, it's coming from the gmail account I set up for the blog.

Love to you all,

Mimi

Potty Training

I do believe I have a small friend sharing the bathroom of my suite.  The rooms are set up so that the bedroom area is separate, like an indoor hut.  The bathroom is adjacent, but essentially outdoors.  So for the last two nights, as I've woken to use the loo, I have found what I now realize are small 3/4" size poo's on the floor, just in front of the toilet.  I think my friend, whomever he is, is trying to potty train.  Perhaps he's just not big enough to reach the potty.  Oh, well, at least he's trying.

Went shopping today at the central market in Ubud.  You have actually never seen so much stuff for sale.  I had a vision that somewhere, deep in the forests of Ubud are Balinese oompa-loompa's busy spinning silk cloths and hammering silver beads.  "Daddy, I want a Balinese Oompa Loompa, now!!!!"  Haven't bought anything...yet!

Salsa Dancing in Bali???

Who would have thought, right?  I met a friend, Anna, from Sweden while taking a yoga class.  She is also an artist and has a lovely, but somewhat tragic story.  Anyway, she has invited me to go salsa dancing tomorrow night, in town.  Why not?  I can't do yoga and meditate all the time:)

I had a lovely massage this afternoon.  Think I needed to work out the kinks from the trip.  After being kneaded like dough, the lovely Balinese grandpa slathered me in salted curry, scrubbed me down, then lathered me again in yogurt.  I felt like I was marinating.  If he'd brought in a large skewer, I knew I was probably going to be the special sate on the menu tonight.  Anyway, when I was done marinating, I then got to soak in a bath of chai tea.  I guess it's good for the circulation.  And all this time, I thought it was for drinking!

Love to all from the other side of the world,

Mimi

This is me after yoga class.  The studio has the most lovely view of a field of rice terraces.  Can you see how relaxed I look!!! Everyone should come to Bali once in a while.

The scent of frangipani's in the air

After 30 hours of travel from door to door, I am butt-a** tired.  My legs look like sausages.  If you
push really hard near my ankles, it's kinda like playing with silly putty.  Nothing that a warm summer shower in my outdoor shower can't wash away. Everywhere I look is a dense tree-line of palms.  The smell
is so sweet you can almost taste it.  It is at once alarming and exhilerating to be in so much quiet.  I think
it might take me a few days to slow my rhythms to the pace of the island.  I am resisting the temptations
to turn on the TV.  I guess if the U.S. goes to hell while I'm away...I'll just have to manage here.  Ooops, dripping dragon fruit juice down my chin:)

Miss you all,
Mimi

Friends:

The night before my journey begins...a mix...
of anticipation for what lies ahead
of hope for what it brings
of sadness for those I leave behind
of exhaustion for what it took to get here
of utter dismay at the wonder that brought me to this place
and will carry me forward.

I will carry your love on my back without burden through this journey.