A week in Bali

Here ends my first 7 days in Bali... a week...

I made it. I'm still alive.

They say that after your first week in a new place, it's a downhill journey. Whether that's true remains to be seen. This first week has been absolutely hectic. I've been getting lost a lot, getting in touch with my inner hippie and, on the other end of the spectrum, my inner domestic being. I experienced an Om circle?!?! and experienced my first Bali beaches and swim in rapids.

So I moved into my new place on Tuesday after staying at Glenn (the middle school coordinator) and Melinda's for two nights. It is almost perfect... I just don't have a fridge. And it's lonely... and I don't have a fridge.

My non existent fridge

So basically, since I don't have a fridge, I can't buy fresh food and thus can't cook. Not that I'm complaining though, you can get food delivered to your door, and a huge plate of Nasi Goreng or anything comes for about $2 Australian. Despite this convenience, I spent a good hour in the supermarket finding things that I could eat for breakfast, and potentially lunch, which wouldn't need a fridge for the moment

I'm currently living in a neighbourhood in the cultural heart of Bali: Ubud. As a result, there are always a lot of ceremonies going on late into the night and blocking streets. Constant humming throughout the night is something that I am not yet used to. 

Life at school is really cool, I've been "working" i.e. playing with mud and roller coasters (see below), and just generally having a good time, while students think I'm teaching them stuff and teachers think I'm helping them (I might be, but it just isn't the work that I'm used to).

mini roller coaster

There is always so much going on in the school and it's great to see teachers and students with a clear vision of what their school stands for and what kind of impact they want to make in the world. In my opinion, it's this kind of environment that many Australian schools lack - that is, a clear goal that students actually, wholeheartedly believe in. It is clear to me that heaps of these students are going to and already are leaders in their community. One of the year 8s that I'm looking after has already made a startup company making bags and bodyboard bags out of recycled advertising plastic, and has attracted the attention of a famous body boarding guy. If that's not impressive, I don't know what is. And the weirdest thing is that students think it's the norm around here to embark on huge entrepreneurial projects like that.

So where is that culture in schools in Australia?

Just something to think about...

Towards the end of the week, I attended and helped out with the school's annual fundraiser, this year Woodstock themed "Greenstock". It was just cool. Really relaxed, great live music, fun stalls, dancing, you name it. Honestly, it was so expected. A lot of people here can relate to hippies (You know save the Earth woo), so everyone was pretty into it, teachers and parents included. Happy times! There was also a showcase after which was pretty good, considering that many performers were k-6.

So here are some more pictures.

Greenstock preview

The banner

kids

mud building

hippie woo