Before we hop off the grid for a few days, I wanted to give you all a look at our life here in Bali!
Describe Bali in one word – unpredictable
The weather alone is pretty turbulent around here. It is usually hot and humid! We have sweat literal buckets. But, almost everyday there is a monsoon or two that floods parts of the island.
The traffic is another phenomena that I do not yet understand. I have never seen so many motorbikes in my life. There aren’t really any traffic laws, children are driving, I don’t know if there is a speed limit, there are dogs all over, and the lanes are really just suggestions. Crossing the street is a challenge in and of itself. Usually, you just have to stick out your hand and start crossing with confidence.
Most mornings I wake up on the floor, sweating, next to my sleeping bag in my princess bed (aka a net that I have strung between bookshelves and Logan’s tent). I try to get dressed quickly and throw anything I might need into my backpack. Then, we walk 2 by 2 down the street (no sidewalks in rural Tabanan) to our hosts house for a homemade family breakfast, complete with white coffee, snake fruit, and malaria pills, followed by prayer time. We are so spoiled!
From here it gets iffy…
Usually we break up into groups. Four of us go with our host to “treasure hunt” in the city, hopping from cafe, to park, to school, drinking coconut water and miscellaneous juices along the way. Talking to taxi drivers and an injured person we saw in an alley. All the while, most people speak Bahasa and we’re just trying to keep up.
The two people that stay behind usually work on various things, depending on the day. Cassie, our team leader, works diligently to keep in everyone up to speed while designing a website on the side for our host. Alyssa keeps the money in order and the budget on track, filling out our receipts and expense reports, while also making time to be with her husband, Greg, who is responsible for our media presence and blogs. Elizabeth keeps us prepared for Friday nights and Sunday mornings, as we somehow managed to become the local drama troupe. Logan is our personal bodyguard, handyman, and point of contact for most of the people we meet.
Personally, I oversee the logistics for our entire squad of 33 people, alongside my parter, Coleman. This means I have to take time everyday to check my email, check in with each team, plan for the travel days and border crossings ahead. This particular month, we are planning a debrief for everyone in the Philippines which includes lodging, food, transportation, activities, schedules, supplies, etc. for everyone, plus our mentors. This job takes a lot of time and WiFi to keep everything running smoothly for everyone, especially when we are all living on different islands, but I love it nonetheless.
Rule of thumb – always have a change of clothes
Somehow, in the midst of our adventures (in the city, in the mountains, in the jungle, in someones villa, in the rice fields) we always find a place to swim! Most of our pictures come from waterfalls, fancy pools, or cafes that we find ourselves in throughout the week. From the outside looking in, our life might look pretty boujee. I think it is safe to say that our highs are really high and our lows are pretty low!
Week one we lost our water supply and managed to break our squatty potty. Week two I hurt my knee, someone broke into our home while we were sleeping, and we attending the funeral of our new friend. Week three I took one teammate to the hospital, someone else got really sick from eating chicken liver, and then two more people were throwing up the next morning. Oh and the volcano may or may not have erupted?
If possible, each night we write receipts, collect and filter water, charge the essentials, and sit together on purple mats as a team to debrief the day and give each other feedback.
Today we are piling into a strangers van (I promise, it’s safe) to spend three days in the middle of nowhere (I’m really not sure where) visiting children and camping in a temple. As we eat our volcano rice and quickly pack our tents, none of us know what to expect from the week ahead. I knew God had something incredible in store for us this year, but I could not have imagined anything that has happened thus far!
Stay tuned…
P.S. Please send prayers for health, safety, and sustenance!
