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.