Life in Bali Times

Two weeks of unemployment in Bali and my bank account is far emptier than I had anticipated but my heart is much, much fuller.  What a weird and wonderful couple of weeks it has been.

 I’m settled into a little homestay which is yep, a room in someone’s home.  Decent amounts of privacy but the house is under early morning / all day construction, on a busy road, home to a dog that insists on going apeshit at least two times every night, and in the vicinity of a frequently screaming child.  Mosque wailing has been replaced full and complete.  Thanks karma.  Got it.  So I’ve now come to terms with the notion that my homestay is essentially a storage room for my stuff while I spend as much time away from it as possible.  I’ve done pretty well so far.  Some plans have changed, others fallen through, and still others come to fruition on the spur of the moment.  There’s always some kind of fun to be found.

The diving has been… ummm… a beautiful example of how spoiled I have been.  I’ve spent far too much money on a few ho-hum dives HOWEVER any day under the water makes me a happy girl so I will take it and smile graciously.  This has cut deeply into the funding (Bali is EXPENSIVE!) which has led to some disappointments but made way for other adventures.  It always comes together.  Always.

*side note:  "expensive" is a relative term.  Compared to home, I'm living like a queen for next to nothing.*

On my first day of diving I met: The Pirate Hunter.  Yes, a real live pirate hunter.  Arne (who speaks like Arnold Schwarzenegger!) is a Danish Navy Military Police Officer in charge of this and that who listed tours of Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and other dreamy countries like a Sunday stroll in the park.  While there is NOTHING cool about pirates, 14 year old kids in tattered rags strung out on heavy drugs waving high powered fire arms while bobbing the seas in a toy boat, there is something very, VERY cool about pirate HUNTERS.  Diving and story-telling then road tripping and more story-telling.  I wanted more stories so I put this giant of a man on the back of my mini-moped and we zipped around southern Bali exploring this and that.  A very fun couple of days indeed.  Only regret – no pictures of the two of us on that ridiculous bike.  He could see clear over the top of my head.  He’s off to dive with sharks in Australia (he just got cooler and cooler!) and may stop in Indo on his way back home; if so, photo op essential.  I love the random people I meet.

THEN!  Love, love, love – Mozambican connections.  Two dear friends who I worked with in Mozambique, Mel & Dave, were tripping their way through Indo so we had a night then the next day together as they moved from one place to another.  Not nearly enough time to catch up and get my fill but there were enough stories and hugs to fill that Africa hole in my heart for a little while longer.  Fingers crossed to find them one more time before they leave Indo for Thailand.  I’m becoming a bit of a stalker so they may be avoiding me at this point; fair enough.

And more!  There’s more Mozambique!  Darryn, who has been working on one of the islands and who I have visited two times previously this year, just happened to be finished work and hanging out on an island just off of Bali.  Really?  REALLY?  So over I go and a couple of days of diving and catch up lead to plans to meet up again with him and yet another one of our friends, Nick and do some more exploring.  Oh wow, happy girl.  Happy happy girl!  YES MOZAMBIQUE!!!

AND THEN!  Being a military brat and all, homes changed as a child every couple of years.  Bear with me here.  Mom kept in touch with friends and through the amazing introduction of Facebook, my mom and one of these long lost friends discovered that one of my childhood friends and I are in Indo at the same time.  He and I connected and exchanged a few messages and phone calls then 32 years, yes THIRTY-TWO years AFTER we played whatever you play together when we were six years old, we met again, for the first time. *sigh*  Amazing. 

While neither of us has any recollection of the other, it was as it is, an instant comfort of hey, I know you.  We’ve had a chance to visit and catch up bits and pieces, he has lived in Saudi for the past two years (!!!) but we have MUCH more catching up to do.  We’re not sure who’s more excited about this reunion, us or our moms, but it is a great story to tell.  Stories, stories, stories… I want the stories!  There will be many more to come before this month is out.  Guaranteed. 

Told you, weird and wonderful couple of weeks.   That’s the catch up for now.  Peace.