Surfing is my religion.......

I heard those words uttered a myriad of times over the last few weeks. I also learned that half of the island has the first name of name of Wayan, due mostly to a rigid and intricate caste system. Hinduism, Buddhism, and surfing are the dominant religious options. Every morning many Balinese eat mangoes for breakfast, brush palm-laden sidewalks with a banana leaf chopped down with a twenty-year old machete, go fishing, surf in the afternoon, and play the guitar into the sunset.

Welcome to life in Bali.

I just returned from my Christmas/New Year's vacation in Bali with four of my girlfriends from Korea. There are so many intense, delicate, and humorous moments to highlight, but I'm not sure where to start. I guess I"ll have to start with Buri.

Buri was our driver for the first leg of our journey and our introduction into small town Balinese life. He attempted to make small jokes with us on the initial drive to our first hostel, but verbally slunked away over our lack of communication. (In our defense, we had been traveling since 5 am that morning!) He even tried to convince us that his tattoes were temporaray, even though his left was definitely inked. We perked up when we got to our hostel, er, bunglaow for the night. If you can imagine Swiss Family Robinson meets the Jungle Book, you can imagine our bungalow paradise called Lambung Damah.

Over the next few days, Buri introduced to Balinese society. We hung out the local surfers, fisherman, and a crazy lady named Rosemary. The five of us quickly became immersed into the small community in a short span of four days. Our new Balinese friends were very gracious with their time and motorbikes. I saw a natural waterfall, went snorkeling and defeated my fear of seeing things underwater, got massages, slept in, went for motorbike rides on shopping trips (including a scary nighttime one dodging over twenty cars-not recommended!), and danced the night away in the rain on New Year's Eve. Vacation was definitely off to a good start.

The next leg of our journey was to a town called Ubud. Sadly, we had to part with our surfers friends and Buri. We waved sadly as he dropped us off in Ubud. I have to admit, I strongly wanted to visit this artistic enclave of shops and cafes. It has captured my attention ever since I finished the book "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert.I spent time with the girls shopping, bartering at the local market, visiting Hindu temples and rice paddies, and enjoying the local Balinese cuisine. If you have read Gilbert's book, I took a side trip to visit Wayan and Tutti at the Balinese Traditional Healing Center. It was an odd experience involving chants, incense, carrot juice, and a seaweed and ginseng lunch. Call me and I'll describe the experience via phone!!

The final part of the trip was definitely my favorite. It involved plenty of sun, sandy beaches, air conditioning, and a private villa! It was definitely worth all those extra hours coaching cross country and English camp! The girls and I rented a villa with a private pool and staff of FIVE. We had a cook, driver, butler, and two houseboys. Our staff outnumbered us when Sarah had to leave our group a day early. I loved the few days of luxury and sun. It was the epitome of relaxation.

I was sad to leave Bali, but eager to experience a few days in Singapore. Our group of five nestled down into two due to sickness and working obligations. Sarah and I went shopping, gazed at the city on a nighttime river boat cruise, made up a self-defined walking tour, and enjoyed wonderful meals of Indian food and Chinese hotpot. I definitely gained a few pounds in Singapore in two days. :)

I am now back in Korea getting back into the swing of school. I don't have any lesson plans or a great tan, but I am glad to be back in Korea. Over the last two days, I often wonder what Buri and his friends are doing in Bali. I can only envision he is trying to chat like crazy with the next set of visitors that come to the bungalow paradise and lie about his "temporary tattoes".