We are In-donesia

Hi friends and family! We are in Indonesia. Get the pun in the title now? Hehehehehehe. We are currently in Bali which is an island in Indonesia. It is very hot and very pretty and I like it a lot. The food is really yummy! On our second day here we did a HUGE CRAZY day in a village called Bakas. Let me tell you about it over the next 4 minutes of your life.

School

First we went to a primary school, which is like elementary school. The school was really nice. All of the kids start at 7 in the morning. It was similar to Bertschi because there were lots of kids running around screaming and having fun. It was different to Bertschi because the school was small and the kids all wore uniforms with black shoes. I love fashion so that would be hard for me.

These statues are at the front of the school. The elephant is the Hindu god of wisdom called Ganesha. The golden statue is of Maa Saraswati who is the Hindu goddess of education, creativity, and music.

We visited the kindergarten just as they were let out at 9:30. We heard them sing and do their prayer. They were sooooooo cute. Lulu played on the play ground for a bit then we watched the older kids do a dance and march. I don't think I could do what they were doing because they had to concentrate for a long time!

Then we went on a hike.

Hike

First we hiked a bit through the town then we merged to the rice fields. Did you know that rice starts off in a muddy puddle?

The stuff that looks like flooded grass is baby rice. The rice is ready to pick when it is really tall and a golden brown. We saw lots of marigolds which the farmers well for the offerings.

Just before the rice field, we discovered a dog named...↴

Mr. Peepee

Mr. Peepee is a dog whom Baker loves. He is named Mr. Peepee because when Baker first saw him he peed a lot. He stayed with us for a long time. One time we lost him but then the tall rice started moving and we knew he was coming back to us. Now you know the story.

You can see his bum. This is the only picture we have of him.

Lunch

After our hike we were hungry! Lunch was so good- we had a lot of food. We also got 2 coconuts from the coconut tree. They cut 2 canals for us in the coconuts to drink out of and it was pretty good. Once we finished the coconut water they cut them open. Since the coconut was not fully developed the inside was like jello. It was so good.

My favorite part of the lunch was there were KITTIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One I named Tactic because she would attack people. The other one was playful and cute.

We played with her with a sugar spoon

After lunch we made a traditional kite.

Kites

We walked to the house where we made the kite. Follow these steps and you will know how!

Get 4 pieces of smooth wood and put in a + sign.

Put on a piece of tissue paper.

This is what yours should look like.

Put glue on the wood.

Fold the tissue paper on to the wood and press down to secure.

Cut off the excess tissue paper.

Make 2 small holes and put the string through and tie.

Attach spool of thread to loop of string.

And your kite is ready to fly!

This is me flying my kite over the rice patty and chili field. It was pretty fun! But my kite kept snapping so eventually I reeled it in.

Dance and music

After flying kites, we met our dance teacher named Wayan. Our dance teacher taught us a simple traditional Balinese dance. It was hard for a simple one! In Balinese dancing you use your hands a lot and have to crouch down for a long time. It was hard!

If you think this is easy try it for yourself. Your hands and legs will get so tired!

Offering and Prayer

After the dance lesson we walked down the road to ANOTHER Wayan's house. She was a woman who showed us how to make an offering. First we made a little tray out of reeds and nature's staples, which are long thin sticks you use like stitching. Then we followed Wayan as she put flowers and grass into the little tray. These are offerings to God. Almost everyone who lives in Bali is Hindu and they make these offerings every day.

We went into the family temple and did a short prayer thinking about what we are grateful for. I was grateful that I have nice parents who are healthy and that I have good friends and neighbors. I really enjoyed the offering and prayer.

Night Dance

When we got back from Bakas we watched a traditional dance performance. The dancers danced with fire. They lit coconuts on fire and threw them. The dancing was so cool too. I like how they tell stories through dancing. After the show I got my picture taken with them. I loved seeing the dancing and I want to learn more about Balinese dancing.

Bye for now. I miss you!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love Ginny

p.s. Lourdes-we learned to cook Balinese food today and when we get back we'll cook some with you and Tino!