New Return

I have now returned to Kosrae, with a very happy heart and soul. Bali has been the most rejuvenating and refreshing experience of my life thus far. It would be easy to write pages and pages on the wonder and magic that is Bali, but certainly none of it would do it any justice. I will update with photos that capture my experiences, and mesmerized me over those few weeks when I can. I also encourage any and all of you to jump on the opportunity to go there, if it ever arrises. A land of such beautiful culture is something to be admired. With Bali, I am truly, madly, and deeply in love. I will leave you with only a brief synopsis to save your eyes.

I ate tofu each and every day. With fresh vegetables, and peanut sauce. I ate a variety of fresh fruit each and every day, with some I’d never even heard of before Bali (rambutan, jackfruit, etc.). I took in traditional arts and culture as much as I could, and was simply mesmerized by it all. I drank the famous Luwak Coffee from a Luwak plantation – which sells for 60$ a cup in the West, or under 4$ for a small pot at this plantation – alongside coffee snobs who raved about it’s flavour, while I simply asked for “the poo coffee, please”. I made wonderful and lasting friendships with beautiful people. I was shell-shocked by the whizz of the market and the bargaining that ensues. I ate only cake and drank wine for dinner on my birthday, and returned to a birthday message and flowers on my door from my new friends at the hotel. I swam – no, floated lazily – in the saltwater pool surrounded by fresh flowers almost each evening before bed. I watched monkeys for two straight days, and never tired of their antics. I gazed at rice terraces so large my brain could not compute. I zipped around on a motorbike in the cool of the evenings past enormous temples and banyan trees. I saw an ancient medicine man and healer by the name of Ketut Liyer on Christmas Day (if any of you have read Eat, Pray, Love, you will know who he is, and how wonderful of an opportunity this was - as well as a surprise since it was rather unplanned). I simply had the most lasting experience of my life, with many small occurances too profound to even share.

Back in Kosrae, sadly, my computer has decided it will no longer turn on for one reason or another, which means I have no way to upload photos and edit for posting with ease. I did have the beauty posted above as I had already emailed it to Chris so he could see a sample of the wonder (and my newfound bliss) for himself.

Life on Kosrae without a computer should be an interesting twist. While I have been here for 6 months, I have never felt truly detached from home, as it seems everyone is only a few clicks away on a good day. Without being able to get in touch with people from home, however, I must say that I now feel several thousand miles away in many regards.

Alas, if it had to be, the timing is good because Chris and I will be meeting in Hawaii at the end of the month for a one week vacation. We should be able to sort it all out there, and have me back to clogging your inboxes with more tales of wanderlust soon. In addition to sorting out my technological woes, we’re looking forward to a week of relaxtion and food - I’m currently working on convincing him that eating cheesecake every day is a grand idea. Heck, there’s a whole factory of it there! We’ll also be spending some time surfing, and experiencing as much of Oahu as we can in a week. Most importantly, it will be fantastic to simply enjoy each other’s company and be on the same continent for a change!

In many ways, it’s hard to believe that I will only have 3 months remaining in Kosrae upon my return from Hawaii. Time lapsing is still a bizarre concept. In many ways, I can’t believe how quickly time is flying, but in some regards I also feel as though I’ve been here for years. I am sure looking back on this experience will always be filled with rich memories, and a confused sense of time and adaptations, but always a fondness.

( photo: Mother and Infant Rhesus Monkey, Ubud, Bali )