Bike Ride to Goa Gaja with Hannah

As Hannah and I biked out of town, we found ourselves flying down fat hills and then getting stuck walking our backs up equally fat hills.  The farther we got from urban life, the more beautiful it was.  First, we went through a town called Sala (pronounced sei-low).  There were little kids running in the streets, villagers spending time with each other at the local restaurants called warungs, workers tilling the rice fields.  Local warungs are usually distinguishable by a glass case full of precooked food, and red-and-white checkered table cloths on the tables.  We rode right through and continued through the jungle roads to Bedulu, another village near Ubud.  We ate lunch at a warung there--a bottled jasmine tea they have called Teboloh and Nasi Campur.  Nasi Campur is rice, a variety of meats (usually chicken), and a hard-boiled egg, or some similar variety of foods.  The old woman who worked at the warung made sure we didn't see how much the man before us payed for his food.  We tried to look over sneakily, but she saw us and hid it well.  Of course, it doesn't matter much as a meal here never goes over a couple of dollars when you're eating somewhere local.  Our eggs looked old as hell so we gave them to a hungry dog near the warung.  We enjoyed our meal with the company of a hundred flies and next door to us, we watched two men train their roosters for an upcoming cock-fight.  Ayayay!  Next we tried to make our way to a place called Yeh Puluh, a small-cliff face with some thousand-year-old carvings engraved.  We went about 4 kilometers too far and ended up at some quiet, abandoned temple.  There was a group of 10- to 14-year-old boys outside that I tried to ask, "Ini Yeh Puluh?"  (translated, "This Yeh Puluh?").  One of the boys thrusted at me and said, "Yeeeeh Puuluuh."  I said, "No, no, no, not that kind of Yeh Puluh."  We left the boys to explore the inside of the temple, but one of them came running after us with some polyester sashes that we were to tie around our waists before walking around the temple.  Once we were readily equipped with our sashes, body properly split, we climbed an immense staircase to an offering-site at the top of a hill.  The view was great...it's rare that I find good views here (I have included a picture).  When we left the mysterious temple, we headed towards Yeh Puluh.  We kept on asking for Yeh Puluh and continued to be pointed back to where we came from.  We couldn't understand how we could of gotten so far off track because we had been asking people all along the way to the mysterious temple.  But this is Bali!  I should've learned by now not to expect anything.  When we finally found the road to Yeh Puluh, there was a dog at the entrance to it that was barking at us.  I was afraid he was going to bite us so I yelled at Hannah to go and off we raced down the road, away from the rabid dog that was chasing us.  At Yeh-Puluh, we could tell how ancient these carvings were.  According to my Lonely Planet book, they might tell the story of Shiva.  After Yeh-Puluh there is supposed to be a path through the rice fields that will take you to Goa Gaja (The Elephant Caves) which is a widely visited site with carvings on the outside of a cave, a fresh-water fountain, and some other destroyed carvings that have fallen at a lower site, down some stairs.  Goa Gaja and Yeh Puluh are thought to have been built around the same time as they depict similar images among other similarities.  We got into the rice field and we yelled to a worker in the rice field, "Goa Gaja?!?"  He pointed in a direction and I felt sure we were going in the right direction.  I could see rooftops in the distance.  We both agreed it was the best adventure we had had in Bali yet.  When we approached the rooftops I thought were Goa Gaja we realized we had just ended up at the entrance of Yeh Puluh so we just grabbed an iced tea at the nearest cafe and watched two young sisters play together in the yard.  After that, we just decided to ride our bikes to Goa Gaja.  Hannah and I tried to pretend to be children so we could get a lower price, but the man selling tickets just laughed at us so kami tawar harga (we bargained the price).  We got in for a buck each.  The carvings on the outside of the cave were really amazing and reminded me a lot of the art I have been doing recently.  i will post some of that soon.  When we returned to Ubud we payed five dollars for an hour-long massage to recover from our rigorous bike ride...oooh, our very tired bodies!

In the Birth Rooms

I have finally mustered up the courage to get back in those birth rooms!  I helped at a birth the other day and it just felt so right and I felt so good afterwards, too.  last night I was at a birth from 9pm until 8am this morning.  This woman was having an extremely painful labor and I stayed with her for most of it, save 2 hours when I slept in the office for a bit.  Eventually at 8am this morning she had to go to the hospital for a cesarean for a series of reasons.  Since I've arrived I've learned a lot about the value of natural births and it broke my heart to see all of her hard work go into a surgical birth.

Sustainable Bamboo Mansions

Here are a bunch of photos of a few beautiful bamboo mansion that are being built here in Bali.  Even the furniture in these buildings are made of bamboo, a completely renewable resource here.  The project is being done by the daughter of the owners of an organization called Green School.  A school focused on sustainability, they teach their students how to garden and take care of their environment (http://www.greenschool.org/).  Check 'em out.

The bathroom.

A view down to the other three levels in this building.

This picture is upside down...it's  a staircase down.

Satellite Clinic

On Saturday, the 12th of March, a few volunteers and I went to give out medication to some of the poor villagers at a month-long ceremony going on an hour away from the clinic.  We had to dress in temple dress, which consists of a sarong, kabaya (a traditional, lacy, long sleeve shirt), and a small scarf tied around the waste.  The scarf is the most important part of the outfit because it separates the top half of the body from the lower part, a sacred division of some sort.  The kabayas, although long sleeved, are not always very modest.  Lots of some of them are made of see-through lace and all that is worn underneath is a bra.  I was surprised to see this, but it is more important for women to keep their lower half covered here.  Some women walk around with their shirts completely open, breasts exposed to the world.  Really fascinating...I don't think it would fly if I tried to do that, though.  

Before going in, we prayed.  We sat down and lit the incense we came with.  A man came around with a bowl of water and a paintbrush.  He dipped the paintbrush in the water and sprayed it at our heads three times.  Then we closed our eyes, hands in prayer position in front of our faces.  We opened them and took a flower in our hands and held that up to our foreheads, eyes closed again.  We changed out several different flowers and did the same thing.  Finally, when we finished with the third flower, we put that one in our hair.  Then a man came around with a teapot of water.  We were poured water three times into our cupped hands.  The first two times we drank the water (well, pretended to) and the third time we threw the water onto our heads.  Lastly, we stuck a little rice on our forehead, chest, and the top of our heads.

After praying, we headed off to give out medications of all types to about a hundred villagers.  The people were so beautiful, and all of the men and women looked so striking in their traditional dress.  Men wear sarongs here, too.  After the clinic, we ate lots of the temple offerings, lots of Balinese sweets and coffee.  Afterwards, I was honored to witness a Balinese dance and play that was going on.  It was a humorous play, where a man dressed a witch strutted around saying things that made everyone laugh.  I even laughed at his funny costume and gestures, even though I didn't understand what he was saying.  During the act, they sacrificed a chicken, but that was not just an act.  I've always wanted to see a chicken have it's head cut off, but there wasn't anything very exciting about it.  Swish.  The head came off without a sound.  The chicken still moved around a little bit afterwards.  I felt an appreciation for that chicken's life, and hoped the villagers were planning to eat the chicken.  I think I could easily kill my own chicken...I'd rather do that than have a factory do it for me.  I've included some photos of the temple, the clinic, and the act.

The entrance of the temple.

Some barong at the temple.

These barong were made of individual rice grains rice and peanuts,
as you can see here.

Rena, Ayu, and Toba checking and recording the blood
pressure some patients.

Other doctors at the satellite clinic.

A good view of the community center we were working in.

A man at the clinic which a HUGE gauge in his right ear.

Men all dressed up for the great performance.

Some offerings lining the outside of the temple.

A Trip to the Bali Elephant Park

On Thursday, the 10th of March, a group of friends and I went to the Bali Elephant Park.  Here, they exploit elephants, they encage cockatiels,  native bears, a hawk, a few different kinds of monkeys, and they care for abandoned orangutans that would otherwise not be surviving in the jungles.  Despite my obvious remorse for the other animals that live at this park, I LOVED spending time with the baby orangutans.  It was my dream as a young child to be Jane Goodall, a well-known monkey scientist.  I have never actually been so close with a monkey before and I really liked it.  I would love to do an internship working with monkeys at some point in my life.  Our similarities, and our differences, fascinate me.  They have four pairs of hands...they are awfully dexterous!  Here's some pics of the animals and me at a waterfall that we visited afterwards.  There is a way to sit behind the waterfall, but unfortunately we didn't bring out bathing suits so we didn't do that.

Aww!

Me and the orangutan, Moneeka!

The waterfall we visited after Bali Elephant Park.

Bumi Sehat on CNN Heroes

Click here to see Bumi Sehat on CNN Heroes
If you look closely at the end of the video there is a picture of all of the volunteers and I am in it.

Coconut Men, Festivals, and Births

It costs about one dollar or less to buy a coconut from these sort of men.  It's the one of the most refreshing things to drink on a hot day.  I personally think watermelon juice is a little more refreshing.  After you are finished drinking the juice from the inside, they will cut the coconut up for you and slice off a little side of the coconut that serves as the perfect spoon for eating the yummy meat inside.

Ceremony at the Beach

The men are acting possessed and dunking something into the water to purify it.

Tanahlot temple facing the East.  One of the four major temples here.

The Day Before Nyepi
Nyepi occured on Saturday, the 5th of March.  I'm not sure if Nyepi is always the 5th of March or if it is more of a moon-related holiday.  I do know now that it is the New Year's equivalent for Bali.  The day before Nyepi is when all of the monsters come out and parade down the streets of all the villages and towns in Bali.  My friend Toba and I were at a birth, but we took a break for a half an hour so that we could walk with the parade of monsters that were in our village, Nyuh Kuning.  I have included a picture of the monster I showed before, completed and in action.  I found out that the monsters are actually known as Oga-Oga.  The young men that have been working on these Oga-Oga carried these monsters in teams and ran wildly from side to side on the streets.  The streets have large gutters on both sides and these monsters took up nearly the entire street.  The guys were acting possessed and I they kept on nearly falling into the gutters on the sides of the streets.  It was crazier than I imagined it being.  The monsters were all truly scary to look at.  The music they were playing was loud and as we walked down the streets people sprayed the Oga-Oga and the other passerby's with water hoses and shot fireworks.  It seemed to me they were symbolically fending off the monsters.
The next day I stayed at Robin's house.  Robin, if I haven't said it yet, is the woman who owns Bumi Sehat.  Her family and a few others that volunteer at the clinic live there.  We watched a few movies quietly throughout the day and feasted on an amazing falafel lunch--seriously the best meal since I've arrived.  At night, we had to use flashlights and candles because we're not traditionally supposed to have any lights on at all.  Some people just meditate and fast for that entire day.

My First Birth
Time runs like water through my hands.  I'm filling a bathtub, grabbing birth towels, cleaning buckets, and trying not to look worried.  I'm trying not to look like a useless observer.  Her husband has his arm around her always, so present for her during the entire birth.  She is in the room between contractions, but when the rushes come she leaves and I can see that she has gone to another planet for a time.  All the powers of the universe that are unmapped in my book seem to emanate from her.  Her pure animalistic expression was so undeniably real.  All ego and sense of self seems to get lost into the infiniteness of the world.  All concentration was devoted to this intense journey of physical pain.  I am awkwardly off to the side.  She sees me, but her look tells me that she could care less whether I was there or not, understandably.  I have received this reaction from the other mothers as well.  They are enduring a sort of temporary trauma and of course one extra stranger in the room will make no difference to them either way.  "I wish I felt more helpful," I think, and then I remember that this time is not about how I feel, but about how she feels.  This time must be rightfully dedicated to this woman that is giving birth to another life, to another soul ready to enter this world.  This is this woman's time to feel empowered and strong so that this baby can be born.  I let go of my incessant thoughts about myself, and just in time.  She is teaching me something.  The first moaning rush.  Her second moaning rush.  Suddenly the baby's head has popped out.  Lordy!  The moment they have waited for nine months for.  The whole baby seemed as if it would come out in one go, but the midwives stop it from coming out so fast.  Breathe.  She breathes, baby's head halfway out.  On the next push, the entire baby slithers right out of her and she has her first visit with baby.  Strong mama!  The widest I've smiled since I've gotten to Bali.  Papa and mama lay on the bed to admire their new baby.  The next day, mama remembers me and we talk for a bit about how they're going to choose their baby's name.  They have some ceremonies to do back at their house.  There are always ceremonies to do in Bali, but I've heard the baby ceremonies at the family complexes are really something.