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.