Flora & Fauna - OK, just Fauna

I live near High Park in Toronto so I have seen my share of wildlife; countless squirrels, Canada Geese, and of course, the inevitable raccoons, which I firmly believe outnumber people in Toronto. I have even seen foxes, which brings the number of animals to approximately four. Pretty exciting.

Let me just run through the gamut of what I have seen in two short weeks in Bali:

1. Snakes – the sea snake I encountered on my second night in Bali was approximately 3 feet long. One of the other volunteers has informed me that these snakes do indeed come deep onto land, and encountered not one, but two of them in a restaurant on the beach. The staff led her to believe that this was completely normal, as they batted the snakes away with a stick. At least they don’t fly like the…
2. Bats – we’re not talking fuzzy little mosquito-eating bats; these things are gigantic. When one is around you can hear it flapping its wings like a condor. These bats are not shy; they do not attempt to hide the fact that a) they are bats and b) they are within 6 inches of your head as they hunt their prey, which I can only assume are the…
3. Giant bees – we have large “bumblebees” at home, but let me assure you, their larger and more powerful cousins are alive and well and living in Bali. They are a deep, indigo blue colour, and are approximately 2-3 inches long. I’m sure their honey would be something the mafia would like to get its hands on to commoditize, if they weren’t so afraid of these things. On the upside these giant bees do help pollinate some of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen, many of which end up in the offerings that are eaten by the….
4. Stray Dogs – yes stray dogs; there are thousands of them. They are able to survive in Bali by eating the offerings left by people at their doorsteps and gates. Every female I have seen seems to have just given birth as well, so somewhere there is a legion of stray puppies, just waiting to bark incessantly at the thousands of motorbikes that honk incessantly at the stray dogs who bark incessantly…. Wait I’ve lost my train of thought; oh yes, the animals. Well the only thing more common than the stray dogs are the….
5. Lizards – they are everywhere. I don’t know what kind they are to be honest; I have been referring to them as geckos, but I don’t think that’s what they really are. The Balinese call them, and I’m writing this phonetically as I’ve never actually seen it spelled, “chi-chet.” This mimics the sound the lizards make if they are upset or threatened. It’s a tiny chirp-like sound that is accompanied by the slapping of their tails, and is repeated 10 or 12 times. The Balinese consider these lizards to be holy creatures and believe that if you are speaking and you can hear the sound of a chirping lizard, whatever you are saying is being verified as true by the gods. They do say this with a hint of mischief as I’m sure the chi-chets are occasionally used to deliver a great punchline. They are a humorous bunch, the Balinese, but not as humorous as the…
6. Monkeys – to be honest, I have only seen monkeys in one place – the beautiful, cliffside Hindu temple of Uluwatu. There are hundreds of them, and they are a mischievous bunch. They managed to take off with not one, but two items belonging to my party. One item was a pair of sunglasses, resting atop my friend Jessica’s head – it was almost too easy for them. The other, however, was a shoe. Yes, a shoe. Somehow these cunning creatures managed to seize, directly from his foot, Nyoman’s shoe. Anyone who has ever been to African Lion Safari outside Hamilton knows that you don’t mess with the monkeys. I have had to learn all over again.

One might note that I have not mentioned giant tropical spiders. I’m hoping to keep it that way.

The Balinese

As each day passes in this frenzied city, I think my understanding of the Balinese people increases. At the risk of passing on some grossly inaccurate information, I would like to try my hand at giving a window into their world…

I have found that I am a fairly culturally ignorant person, despite my haughty declarations of living in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world, Toronto. In Toronto you can go days without hearing English; there are enclaves (some might call them ghettos but I feel the negative connotation of that word does them no justice) of Italian, Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, Greek, Polish, Ukrainian, and countless other languages, cultures, and faiths living literally next door. We profess to be so worldly and tolerant, but it occurs to me, as I am now completely immersed in a different culture, that I have never really bothered to learn anything about the different cultures that make up the fabric of my city.

Given this ignorance, I feel as though I am walking on eggshells here, mortified that I might offend someone. I am slowly realizing, however, that the Balinese are a very tolerant culture and I need not worry about offending, so long as I am careful with the more obvious customs.

Faith is strongly intertwined with day-to-day life here in Bali; they are primarily Hindu, though there are pockets of Muslims and Christians as well. My host family graciously attempts to explain the different rites and rituals they perform each day. I am not sure of my understanding at this point, but I believe it goes something like this. In the Hindu faith, there is one god, Brahma, though he takes many forms. Several times per day the family prepares offerings for Brahma to ask for his protection. For example, each morning they place an offering of rice and yesterday’s meals in a shrine in the kitchen so Brahma will protect their ability to provide food for their family. They place an offering of rice, candy, incense, and other foods at the foot of their gates to their homes to ask Brahma to protect their security. There are elaborate altars created in different locations throughout a family home for these offerings. My host family has just created a new one at the gate, and they have chosen Wednesday February 25 as the day they will conduct a ceremony dedicating the new altar. I’m not sure why, but according to the Hindu calendar, this was the best day for them to hold this ceremony.

The belief that Brahma can take many forms is also part of the reason why the Balinese are so friendly; they believe that any creature, from a honeybee to a stray dog to your neighbour could be Brahma watching over you.

When I walk down the street to and from school, I often find myself the subject of quite a bit of scrutiny, mainly because I am white, tall (comparatively) and not in a tourist area. The standard greeting rings out for my entire 20 minute walk – “Hello Mister! Where are you going?” It would not matter if I were a man or a woman, it’s always “Mister.” Their inquisitiveness about my destination is not “none of their business” as it would be in my culture, but merely their curiosity about who I am, what I’m doing in their midst, and into what context they should place me. This was explained to me by another volunteer who has a good 3 months on me. My age, marital status, and number of children are usually the next three topics of conversation. In Bali you never say, “I’m not married” or “I don’t have any children.” You must say, “I’m not yet married” or “I don’t yet have any children.” They would not – could not – understand someone who would choose not to participate in marriage or childbearing. Age, by the way, is more than a number in Bali, the older you are, the more you are respected, so people are proud to tell their age. Perhaps we have it backwards in our enlightened Western society?

Homestay

Today I moved out of the Homestay in Sanur and into the home of a family in Denpasar, where I will remain during language training, and until I move to Solo. The family is wonderful – 2 of the three children (young adults) came to meet me at a party VSO threw to welcome us to Indonesia. Their names were Made and Nyoman. More on names later…. Their English is much stronger than my Bahasa, but they will help me through. The third sister, Padma, greeted me on my arrival to the family's home.

It is a typical Balinese home with several bedrooms, a kitchen that is in a separate building from the living quarters, several altars / temples where daily offerings are made to Brahma (God). I am actually living in a large but modest room. It has a large bed, a desk and chair (to facilitate my studying of course) a comfortable leather chair, a dresser with one drawer and some shelves, a bottled water dispenser (which has hot and room temp as opposed to ours at home that are room temp and cold) and a bathroom….

This is precisely the kind of bathroom I had come to fear. It has a squat toilet (basically a water-filled hole in the floor with markings on the side where you should put your feet) and a cistern that people here (and all of the volunteers from Holland) refer to as a “mandy.” Please note that I did not mention a shower or bathtub.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a little high maintenance when it comes to the creature comforts – hot water, reliable electricity, accessories like irons and hairdryers. I have none of these things here, and so far – it’s actually not that bad. The host family recognizes that I am not used to any of these things so Padma showed remarkable restraint when I brought her to my room, pointed at the bathroom and simply said, “I don’t know how to do this.” She gave me a quick lesson in showering. It’s as simple as using a little cup with a handle, pouring the water from the cistern over yourself and scrubbing away. Rinsing is exactly the same. The floor is tiled and there is a drain so you just stand there and wash yourself. The toilet is also quite simple until it comes time for “cleanup.” That is where I’m still not sure I have the system down yet. There is no toilet paper; you simply wash yourself when you’re finished. To her credit, Padma provided me with an entire package of toilet paper knowing that I am a mere Canadian. However, to my credit, I decided I need the full experience and am yet to open the package! People who know me should be incredibly proud of my bravery!

I am actually sitting here contemplating even publishing this little blog entry – but I tell myself I wanted the blog to be an honest record of my experience in Indonesia, so dear reader, you are getting the full story, warts and all.

Day One – Bali

Sleep was fleeting on my first night in Bali, my circadian rhythms are completely out of whack as Bali is 13 hours ahead of Toronto. I managed to knock off about 3 hours but it was restless. My accommodations are absolutely stunning on the outside (beautiful porch overlooking the central courtyard of our homestay, where I am served breakfast each morning) and modest to the point of sparse on the inside. Bed, night table, a few shelves, and a bathroom, that is, literally a bath”room.” The shower is simply sticking out of the wall and the entire room becomes the shower. The toilet and sink are simply there along for the ride. There is no hot water, but ironically it’s so hot and sticky that this is actually welcome – I have become somewhat accustomed to taking quick 30 second showers just to cool off before dinner or bed. I had heard horror stories (ok they were horror stories to me as I am high maintenance) about the ‘facilities’ in Indonesia but so far, and granted, Bali is a tourist area, all bathrooms have been similar to those at home.

We had the morning free to explore a little bit as we were not meeting up with the VSO welcome team or the other volunteers until 11:30am. I took the opportunity to hit an internet café and let Michael know I had arrived safely, then off to the beach to see it for myself. Sanur beach has extreme differences between low and high tide, with the low being so shallow that the water recedes hundreds of feet from shore. At its peak it is high enough to wash over a “J” shaped jetty that curves leisurely out from the shore (more on this jetty later).

I met with the other volunteers for lunch at local restaurant (they were quick to emphasize that we would not be able to afford a restaurant such as this on our volunteer allowance) and quickly bonded with the others. There are 8 VSO volunteers (and two accompanying partners) that have arrived in Indonesia at this time for their in-country orientation. We are a motley crew, with volunteers from Canada, the US, Holland, Scotland, Ireland, Uganda, and yes, even one who was born and raised in Indonesia but had moved to Holland many years ago. We are all staying at the Yulia homestay for now, but by the end of this week, we will separate and go live with our host families. We will be learning Bahasa Indonesian together over the next 6 weeks, and have already come to rely on each other for support and practice. It will be tough to move to Solo and leave them behind.

Later that night we went to a great little restaurant / bar on the beach that happens to have wireless internet access. It was awesome. I decided to take a quick walk out to the end of the aforementioned jetty. At this point it was high tide, though it seemed completely dry. As I walked, it got darker and darker as I got away from shore. I began randomly aiming my camera down at the jetty and snapping pictures in hopes of catching a crab or some other kind of interesting crustaceon. I was greeted with quite a surprise when I got to the end of the jetty and examined the pic I had just taken....



Look closely at the picture and you will see it. It was the biggest sea snake I had ever seen. I snapped a couple more pics, as close as I was willing to get, at which point a rather large wave washed over the entire jetty, up to my shins. I thought this was likely a sign that it was time for me to go back to dry land as I certainly did not want to encounter another of these creatures. Back to shore I went, and home for the evening, where a more benevolent reptile (my gecko) awaited.

The Journey to Indonesia

I have arrived safe and sound in Bali after a 30-hour commute from Toronto. My day started on Sunday February 8 at 4:00am. The air in Toronto was unseasonably warm (for the first time all winter) and the roads were quiet and dark. Pearson Airport, normally a zoo, was also strangely calm. I said good-bye to Michael and wound my way through customs, managed to get my last Tim Hortons coffee for 6 months and was the last person to board the flight for Chicago. The flight was less than half full which made for a pleasant trip. Luckily Air Canada checked my bags all the way through to Bali so I didn’t need to get them for the terminal change in Chicago. The flight to Incheon Airport in Seoul, South Korea was also pleasant. There was a baby of about 1 year in a bassinette across the aisle from me; her bassinette was fastened to the wall and she and I were at eye level for most of the flight. You never want to be that person next to the baby on a 14-hour flight but I can tell you that she never made a sound until landing (the poor thing’s ears must have been killing her, and her mother held little paper cups over her ears to try to alleviate the pressure). She and I bonded through the flight and we smiled at each other for much of the way. I never learned her name unfortunately.

Upon arrival in Bali I was met by two VSO staff, one a volunteer (Nick) and the other a program manager for the Sustainable Livelihoods Program for Indonesia, Russ. In a common “small world” moment, I learn that Russ is from Flamborough, a suburb of Hamilton, the city in which I grew up. Nick is completely deaf and relies on lip-reading in order to communicate. He said to me early that I am easy to read because of my style of speech; apparently it’s very clear to him visually. Russ on the other hand, has a mouth obscured by a beard and moustache that give him an air of folksy maturity, but he is difficult for Nick to read!

The air was hot and humid; it hit me like a wall the moment I stepped outside of the airport. And this was at midnight! It’s still the wet season in Bali and it tends to rain a lot at night, and sometimes during the day. It seems that when it’s time for the skies to open up, they open up with a vengeance, and it creates a torrential downpour that would be rare in Toronto.
In true Canadian tradition, Russ & Nick graciously agreed to go out for a welcome drink so that I could ask some of the questions that had been in my head for months. Unfortunately in Sanur beach, it is locally known as “Snore” as there is little or no night life, unlike Kuta, which is the more popular tourist destination in Bali. Off to bed I went at the Yulia Homestay, where I was greeted by a tiny green gecko on the ceiling of my porch. Those who know me know that this was a perfect way for me to end the first day of my journey to Indonesia.

OK so far this is been one of the most boring blogs ever; I have not written a thing since creating it! I intend to change that now as I am officially on my way...

I'm sitting at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, watching them load food onto the plane what will whisk me away to a new adventure in a few short hours. It seems this is actually the first time I have had real time to think! As this trip approached, I seemed to become more and more busy with vaccinations, lawyers, bankers, and just planning in general. (My partner Michael and I are taking possession of a new condo while I'm gone and let's just say that the bankers have been a little "tight" with their money given that I will be 16,000 kilometres away when the deal closes).

Now I sit, partway through my journey to Solo, wondering what my motivation is for this! I can tell you that I have been given a unique opportunity by my employer Randstad (http://www.randstad.ca/) to partner with VSO to try and make a tiny difference in the world. Randstad is the world's second largest staffing & HR Services company and we have a global partnership with VSO. Part of that partnership is an initiative allowing Randstad employees to take a leave from work to go volunteer in a developing nation. This is an absolutely fantastic initiative and I am so very proud to be part of Randstad, and now VSO as well. My partner Michael has also been extremely supportive, encouraging me every step of the way, even though it means we will be apart for 6 months. We said good-bye this morning, in front of US Customs Agents, and I later found out that Michael waited until I wound my way through the customs line so he could see me off silently and from afar. I didn't even know he was there.

...That answers HOW I'm doing this, but not necessarily why. That is a much trickier question which I don't think I am completely able to answer now. Hopefully it will reveal itself through my journey as it unfolds.