Byebye Dengue

Update: So, I was admitted into the hospital last Tuesday night and ended up spending 3 nights there. If you ever need any sort of medical attention in Bali, check out BIMC Hospital! Everybody speaks English and they take amazing care of you. My little plug aside, those 3 days were absolutely excruciatingly boring! Watching TV day and night, getting poked and prodded for countless blood tests and eating bland hospital food is not very fun at all. Although I suppose if you were to do any of those things, you should do it at BIMC but that's besides the point. The point is, don't get sick, and definitely don't get dengue fever. And, check out Groomer Has It - it's hilarious!

Christmas in Bali

This is my first Christmas away from my family and I have to tell you it's tough! I've never felt more homesick than right now. Christmas in paradise isn't the same. For one thing, the majority of the island is Hindu-based so any signs of Christmas is purely commercial, catering to all the ex-pats. I wish I was home, opening presents with my family and Halo around our beautiful tree but there's no sense in crying over something that can't be changed right?

Anyways, the other day I attended a Christmas pageant at one of the local churches. It was definitely very different but I loved the enthusiasm and Christmas spirit that was present. The night consisted of 2 different Balienese cultural dances (one danced by 3 cute boys), a hip-hop dance, a dance by a bunch of little girls, a couple of choirs and a troupe of men dressed in funny wigs.

Check out a few pictures and short videos below.

Update: So I hope your Christmas was better than mine! I spent the majority of Christmas day curled up in bed with a fever, sweat chills and intense joint pain. I missed Christmas dinner but managed to stumble out of bed late at night to go to an internet cafe to skype my family (they were opening presents). It's now day 3 and I still have intense joint pains, a fever, sweat chills, headaches, nausea, no appetite and earaches. I went to the hospital yesterday to get my blood tested for dengue fever. The test came back inconclusive so I have to go again tomorrow to get it tested again. Sucks to be me right now :(

Busy lil bee

Wow, I am (surprisingly) finding myself extremely busy at the moment! I'm juggling 2 p/t online based projects plus trying to learn Indonesian plus trying to keep fit by taking 2 different dance classes....

Ok, so I'm not really that busy but I certainly feel like I'm constantly working or running around...

What happened to freedom 24??

Update..

I know it's been a while since my last post but I'm finding it hard to find inspiration to write. It's so different this time around. I'm no longer on vacation but living my life day-to-day... and my life is frankly quite boring! Nothing is new and exciting anymore. I've barely taken any pics - that's how uninspired I am right now.

One new thing that has happened recently is that I've landed a part-time job writing biographies of celebrities for an English school here. The pay is below average in Canadian standards but is on par with some manager positions here in Bali. Take a look at some of the articles I've written: Click here. Super easy ya.

Until next time..

Learn to fly

Today marks 3 weeks that I've been back in Bali and I think I've finally settled into a daily rhythm or routine. It feels good to have a sense of order and structure back in place - loose as it may be. Truth be told, even though having absolutely nothing to do feels great, it only feels great for so long. As such, I've decided to put pen to paper and write down a few priorities that have been floating around my head for the last while. This way, you'll be able to hold me accountable :)

• Finish my teaching course
• Spend at least 15 minutes a day learning/reviewing Bahasa
• Polish resume/CV
• Work on devising a method of income (e-lance, P/T jobs etc)
• Drink more water

Out of all these, earning a source of income is definitely the most stress inducing (no surprise there - spending $$ without any coming in isn't very fun). I'm not sure what the best course of action is yet but I'm definitely going to keep my eyes and ears open in case an opportunity arises. Who knows, my dream job may pop out of thin air and give me a job on the spot. All I know is that I have to be ready to dive in, holding nothing back. Sort of like jumping off a cliff without a parachute...

Beautiful Bali

It's funny being back in a place that you thought you knew pretty well only to realize that you either a) forgot everything or b) didn't actually know anything at all! I'm finding myself in that situation a lot lately - especially with regards to streets and getting around town. Things either look completely unfamiliar to me or I have my directions completely backwards! Hopefully a few more days riding the streets (yes, no accidents so far!) will allow me to get my bearings all sorted out.

I love being back in beautiful Bali (30+ temperatures and all) but I already miss a few things back home - like Vancouver water! Also, one thing that I've noticed is how startlingly quiet it is compared to a few months ago - a lot less tourists on the street which isn't a bad thing at all.

I haven't taken out my camera yet so I don't have anything to show for the last couple of days. We're going to check out Sanur this weekend so hopefully I'll be able to share some pics then. Oh, I also have internet set up on my phone so feel free to send me an email - I love receiving them :)

Life Nomadic Pt. 2

I finished Life Nomadic a few days ago and I've got to say, if you're thinking about traveling at all, you must read this! Tynan does a great job at showing a whole other side of traveling, extreme as it may be. While I know I can not be a minimalist in the strictest sense, I'm going to definitely try to keep my packing to a minimal for Bali. I mean if Tynan can fit everything (plus a cot!) into a 28L backpack, I'm sure I can fit what I need into my backpack... which is slightly larger at 90L.

Also, I've recently learned that Tynan has downgraded even further to a 22L backpack!!! Hmmm, maybe I should think about moving to a 75L? Nahh...

Check out a video of him packing his gear in the old 28L backpack: