Good morning readers! "Selamat Pagi" is how I have learned to greet people in the mornings here :) If you are a nighttime reader, then "Selamat malam" to you! Whatever time of day it may be, I hope that whatever moment you are in, you can find peace and joy. Now... let's get on with the blog already I know!!
Here's a pin of where we have been so far!
Waterfall excursion
As you may remember in my last blog post, we were in Pemuteran!! The long drive from there to Ubud took us over five hours in the car, traveling through small urban towns and the beautiful countryside Northern Bali offers. Between the drive, we took a pit stop at one of the most beautiful natural wonders I have had the joy to experience; Banyumala waterfall.
Waterfall = "Airtarjun"
The hike down consisted of many MANY stairs, which we (including myself) all dreaded coming up, but it was worth it in every aspect. The lush green foliage surrounded crystal clear water. It was the first time in over a month that I had felt cold water! It was a breath of fresh air feeling that crisp water touch my skin as I joyfully jumped in with all my classmates. We all ran into the water throwing clothes off every which way in frantic chaos after getting sight of that glorious billowing water cascade over the cliff above our heads. Smiles were a form of instantaneous contagiousness that morning. We all took turns getting a natural shower from the waterfall above us; I could feel the power of nature all around us.
Ubud pt. 2: Time to run it again!
The days spent in Ubud went by fast! For me, it felt like it went by in a blink of an eye. I already had a good taste for Ubud from the first time we stayed here, so the flow of life got into a consistent groove. My favorite place to get food with my friends was called "Ivy" and "Soul Bites" as it was close to our hotel: Arma, and it was relatively inexpensive with good quality. We frequented almost every day, not to mention lots of options for my vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free needs lol!! My absolute favorite hidden gem for food was "Flourish," which was a local bakery that hit all three of my diet needs. It was on the more "expensive side" for Bali, but worth every penny spent for a nutritious meal, and perfect for anyone traveling with diet restrictions.
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY:
The class taught by Laura on the human geography of the Balinese has been the missing puzzle piece to our experience here in Bali. Getting to learn about the rich culture here and becoming more educated day by day is so beautiful. I do not want to be an ignorant tourist when I have the privilege of coming into someone else's home; getting to learn about the traditions, customs, and daily practices here has led to a deeper-rooted respect for the place I am visiting.
A longstanding art form of storytelling here is puppet shows! I got to visit a local family here in Ubud who presented us with a storytelling show from the Balinese text called the Mahabharata, with a story about the epic Ramayana! It was all spoken in Indonesian, but they had a few comic breaks where they switched to English momentarily which got me laughing.
Water Temples
Nusa Lembongan: MY HEAVAN
Surfing, sunrises, studying, and scrapes
***DAILY ROUTINE:
Wake up: 5:30 am
Meet up at Mushroom Bay: 5:45 am
Hop on a boat and boat out to Playgrounds surf break: 6:00 am
Surf till 8:30 am
Breakfast/ quick shower at 9:00 am
Class 9:30 am!
LUNCH followed by Lab or lecture!
Surf again for sunset or study/finish labs 4:30-7:00 pm
Dinner 7:30-8:30 pm
STUDY STUDY STUDY
Sleep :) REPEAT!!! :)
*****This was the ideal day for me but not every day was spent chasing surf :0
Seeing the sunrise every morning was so special! A new variation of colors would paint the sky; it was the perfect way to wake up to a new day feeling refreshed. Unfortunately, a chain of events happened and I ended up hurting my back...so I was out of the water for four days which left me sad; the ocean is my drive and happiness center. Playing with the ocean is my all-time favorite pastime! |  This is your reminder to get TRAVEL INSURANCE!!! I am sure glad I had mine:)  |
Don't worry Mom and Dad (if you're reading this)...I didn't run away to Bali just to surf!!! I came here to learn <3
ABOVE: Photos from kayaking adventure into Mangroves!!! SAVE OUR MANGROVES!!!
CLASS TIME
So thankful to have nature be our classroom. Our world can teach us so much if we just listen and pay attention to what she has to say! |  Picture from Manjangen Island 9/28/24 |
LABS!!!!!!
I am a very interactive learner which can become hard for me in regular college classes at times. I don't think I have ever fallen in love with learning this deeply before, but now I have! Dr. Michelle Paddack (our lovely professor) continues to shape my mind in ways I had never imagined to be done before.
I thoroughly enjoy each lab that she puts together for us as we interact with our topics through hands-on learning. She encourages us to ask "why?" and not just accept something as it is, but delve into a deeper layer of science not taught in textbooks. I love working with my friends that I have made here (although I'd rather use the term family now) and they have taught me so much through being pushed to work and think harder every step of the way. I am becoming a more passionate student because of their passion for education and learning.
DAY OFF!
On my day off, I still had work to be done (fun work I might add) in Uluwatu. I had a modeling shoot for Body Glove who is my sponsor for surfing! I had a few classmates (shout out Rylan, and Malia) that came along for a fun day :)
AMED & CANDIDASA
In Amed we met with Mudfish No Plastic: an educational activism group that meets with schools in Bali and educates on single-use plastics, as well as Peduli Alam: An NGO that fundraises and upcycles plastic waste into everyday items.
We met up with local kids in Amed and did a thorough beach cleanup up and down the bay picking up everything from straws, string, styrofoam, microplastics, bags, old shoes, bottles you name it. Heartbreakingly, all these disposable plastics have wound up on the beach shore, or nearby.
"93 million plastic straws are used per day in Indonesia"
Other pictures shown above are from an afternoon spent teaching kids English! There are lots of after-school programs for eager young students wishing to learn English and it was a joy getting to talk to kids younger than us and our own ages from Bali. We taught them a few words, and they taught us some words too!
Some of the kids didn't know any words of English and even with a language barrier between them and us, it was broken by a game I played as a kid (and still do.) "Rock, paper, scissors!" Some of my classmates taught them this game and by the end of it, everyone was laughing and smiling playing this simple game; a game that connected one another!
WHITE SAND BEACH X CANDIDASA
pic 1: dubbed "instagram beach" for a reason! this beach is so beautiful
pic 2-4: sunset at hotel Puri Bagus
HIKING MT. BATUR
I was woken up at 1:10 am this morning (10/30/24) by my friend Michele; my alarm didn't go off!!!! Thankful for her being nicer to me than my typical loud alarm clock begging me to hit snooze, I threw on my leggings, grabbed my bag, and ran to the car that would take me and 9 of my classmates on a 2 hr drive to Mt. Batur. We arrived a little after 3 am at the trailhead and blazed through it; all 3,000 ft of elevation gain. It was the most surreal experience hiking a steep volcano in the middle of the night with some of your best friends and summiting right as the sun was coming up behind Mt. Agung. |
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We feasted on hard-boiled eggs and banana sandwiches for breakfast. A sneaky monkey stole my celebratory Snickers at the top. It was the first time I'd ever seen a monkey eat a candy bar....at least he was cute!
<3
FACTS ABOUT MOUNT BATUR
Considered by the Balinese as the second most important mountain on the island, after Mount Agung.
Mount Batur and Lake Batur (seen above in pictures) are home to one of the two most important gods in Bali, Goddess Ida Bhatari Dewi Danu. Through her water, she provides life to Bali!
This mountain is an ACTIVE volcano, last erupting in the year 2000!!!
This place, these people are what make it feel like home! I love the person I am becoming because of my new family here and love them so much! It's sad to think it is coming to a close soon but a joy to remember all the fun moments we have shared. Thank you for letting me share my memories, I hope you enjoyed reading my blog, and I will catch you in the next one!
Terima Kasih!!!
-Rebecca :)
Instagram @rebecca.jamgochian
email: rrjamgo@gmail.com
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