Sampai Bertemu Lagi, Bali

Well, here I am. It's my final morning. Per usual, am sitting on my balcony drinking coffee and about to eat breakfast, only I'm not doing homework because I'm doing this. And because I didn't have any.

Anyway, this week flew by so much faster than all the rest. Also, it was really fun. Tuesday, I googled "best bar to listen to live music" and ended up at this bar called the Laughing Buddha, which was cool and had a great vibe and they played an Adele cover, so dreams can come true.

Wednesday, I went to Balinese Dancing at the Royal Palace, which was exceptionally beautiful and intricate and really, really impressive. The dance was done in four acts and is called the Barong and Legong Dance (Sunda Upasunda) and is based on a historical romance from the 13th Century. Basically, the story goes that a court lady is followed by two legongs, one of who has abducted a princess. Then the princess, who is betrothed to the prince, learns of his plot to save her. En route to his plot of chivalry, he encounters a raven, which is universally known as a bad omen, but, wanting nothing more than to save his princess, he brushes aside this transparent foreshadowing. Then, some what predictably, the prince dies in battle and though that is how the dance ends, I am forced to assume that the princess manages to save herself.

None of the pictures are that great because the gold on their costumes was so reflective, but it was incredible.

Then I met my newest favorite friend, Anja, at the dance and she asked if I wanted to get ice cream, which of course I did. She's German and currently on her way to move to Brisbane to be with her boyfriend.

Thursday, I just met Anja for dinner and then we went back to the live music bar because it's fun and then I came home.

I am definitely not yet able to pass a language test at the speaking level I need to be. But, I am pretty confident I can be if I figure out how to keep practicing when I come home for a couple of hours a day. I can definitely read and write at a passing level, so I assume the rest will come with more practice.

My most loyal teachers, me, and my critical of completion. Banyak terima kasih! 

There was never a part of me that thought that at the end of this month I'd be anything other than grateful for the opportunity and glad that I took the chance. And, in fact, that is how I feel. And like all moments that are good, this one closing will be bittersweet. I'm so happy to have my life back and especially the people in it, some of whom I miss terribly--but it's also just been really nice to be so far away and to unplug from the daily grind and have many, many moments to appreciate the small and simple things, even if for just a month.

But after looking, did I find myself? Idk. Probs not, tbh. But I did find out that I am a surfer, so that's important. I think that any epiphanies that I may have had were otherwise limited to realizing that a) a large part of my life has made me much more unhappy for the last year than I had let myself feel until being so far away from it, so I really need to prioritize changing it and b) I really do love adventures and should have better trusted myself years ago--but life is long and why not have fun along the rest of the way?

I did, to the utter surprise of absolutely no one, really, truly, appreciate the people in my life that I love (and missed) the most while I've been here. Sarah, of course, who talked to me daily. Betsy, who talked to me nearly as much. Plus the heaps of emails and texts from Little Lauren and Rosa and Jane and Sabs and the Cousin GT and Elaina and Renee and Sam and Peter and Jimmy and Martha and everyone else that I'm forgetting and the people that have been reading this self-indulgent public diary along the way--thank you. My favorite diplomat once definitely made up the adage "it takes a village" and she's right--all things do, so thank you for being mine

See you so soon, America.

Bali by Sepeda.

Today, on my final "free" day in Ubud, I booked a cycling tour of the countryside and some small villages. Earlier in the week, I was a little bit apprehensive about booking two tours back to back because I've been so tired and the thought of rest seemed so appealing, but I am so glad that I ignored that desire, because YOLO. Also, what an incredible tour to end on.

This is an outlook of a rice paddy we stopped to admire while the skies were still filled with the morning's v. heavy rain.

First, we headed to breakfast, which was at the top of a cliffside overlooking Mt. Batur and Lake Batur. The weather was overcast, but as we ate, the clouds began to clear and like all of the vistas here, it was lovely.

The view from breakfast: Mt. Batur and its crater lake. 

Then we went to a coffee plantation. Our tour guide company had several large tours today, but I was with just one guide and a young couple (if I had to guess, they were probably 24-25 years old), who live in Australia, but who are from South Africa and New Zealand originally. This was their first trip anywhere abroad and they were fun and excited about literally everything. Actually, the happy-go-luckiness of Simon reminded me a lot of Ben, and thus I liked them immediately. It was particularly great because with a smaller group made of people excited about everything, we got to linger longer and Win took us down "secret" paths, alleys, and streets that the larger group avoided.

Anyway, at the coffee plantation, we learned about how to make coffee generally, but specifically about how to make Luwak, which is coffee make from civet dung. (Civets are nocturnal carnivorous wild cats, basically. They're also adorable.) Civets eat the coffee beans, their digestive systems naturally ferment the beans, making them less bitter, and then humans collect the poop, sift it, and collect, clean, and roast the civet-eaten coffee beans. Then we were given a tray of a bunch of samples of beverages to sample, the fancy Luwak being available only for purchase. Simon, who doesn't even like coffee, was like, "well, we have to try some. let's split it, when will you have a chance to drink poop coffee again?" Fair point. So, we did. It was actually sort of amazing.

All of the beverages we tried! Not shown: civet poop coffee. 

Then we drove for a little bit longer before getting on our bikes and riding and stopping for about three hours. Maybe more? Idk. Time. Who cares.

The first stop, Win (our guide) wanted to show us this "spider habitat." He studied biology at uni and as a result, really, really loves spiders and frogs. "No, no, no, come here darling, I teach you to play with the spiders. They don't bite." Sisca was horrified by this and I was just mostly concerned that Win was blinded by his love for these venomous monsters. Regardless, I allowed a giant one to crawl over my hand for about six seconds before freaking out, and promptly returning it. Sisca also finally acquiesced to peer pressure after Win retrieved a much smaller one for her to handle. 

Because this is the best picture to demonstrate the SIZE of the spider beast.

Ugh, those are my hands. And my id bracelet, useful for when I end up dead due to
the spider's retaliation against being handled by tourists. 

This picture, I hope, shows just one place of many that was littered
with these giant spiders (you may have to zoom in to fully appreciate). 

I would like to note that hours later, at lunch, Win disclosed that should one of those spiders have bitten any of us, "you'd be lucky to be in the hospital for just six days! But it's okay. We're friends, the spiders and me, and I tell them not to hurt you and they listen!"

Alright, Hagrid. Alright.

Anyway. We stopped along the way to admire the landscape, give some water to some of the women working in the fields and Simon and Sisca had candy (or lollies, as apparently, they call it in Australia) to give to all of the children we passed.

A good example of our ride. Yes, I'm wearing a helmet. And sunscreen.

At one point, we walked onto the middle of a rice farm and just stood and took in the vastness of the landscape.
We also gave some "cold" water to the women working in the field. 

This is a different type of spider that Win really wanted to show us.
He thinks she's prettier. I opt to not play with her. I regret nothing.

We stopped at a Balinese compound and learned the inner "rules" (for lack of a better word) re: family compounds in traditional Balinese culture. According to Win, women are to be "the foundation" and men to be "the protector." Then, essentially, there are roles to play and everyone plays them. The youngest son, from what I can tell, has the most prescribed life and is born on the family compound and destined to take over it and live there until he dies, wherein his youngest son will be tasked with cremating his body and taking over the family compound and so on.

We also stopped at this sacred tree, called (I think) Batu Bulan. It's roots grew from its branches--sort of like mangroves, only without being adjacent to the ocean--and the local people clipped them back because once the tree re-roots itself, the newer trees kill the older one. In other words, the mother dies for her children and thus, it's a sacred tree. Or something. Anyway, it was super cool. And difficult to articulate how large it was. They think that this particular tree was about 500 years old.

I'm in the tree! Tbh, the only thing missing is Rosa wearing the same shirt. #bestraceshirtEVER

From inside the tree. It doesn't do a great job of capturing how big and impressive it was, but it's my best attempt.

The tree was cool. 

Simon and Sisca being overtaken by children who desperately want candy. 

The best part of it all was really just riding through mostly unoccupied streets, admiring the mountains in the backgrounds, the terraced farmland in the foreground, and all of the people in between.

A different field; a different woman farming it. 

Eventually we rode to lunch, which again, was delicious and the overlook was a giant valley that stretched forever. Win had lots of opinions about everything, basically, and at lunch thought he'd tell the three of us that we "should never get into politics" and that "women--no place for elected politicians--Brianna, darling, you're not a politician for America are you?" "No, Win, I am not." "Good, good, a pretty and smart girl, you stay out of politics." After acknowledging that I do, in fact, work for the American government, I decided it best to leave out the fact that I threw a stupendous Super Tuesday party before I left, that I love voting more than almost anything, that in fact, I have very seriously considered running for office numerous times in my life, that there are few things that will make me happier than electing Hillary Clinton as our next president, and that a lack of diversity in politics is bad for everyone, and instead just smiled and said, "yes, just be the foundation."

The view from our lunch table.

Well it's Sunday night now, which means I have twenty-five hours of class and five days left. It also means that it's Sunday morning to you, so Happy Easter.

Penultimate* Minggu + A Jungle

If there is a word in Indonesian for second to last, idk what it is. Second is kedua and last is terakhir, so maybe keduaterakhir? No, that's stupid. It can't be that. I also learned that there is also not an Indonesian word for brunch NOR snack, so, uh, one cannot be sure that the priorities re: food are correctly ordered.

But, I digress.

On Tuesday Jo and I attempted to make her dream of canoeing across a lake come true. Alas, it did not, I think in part because we got to the lake too late in the day, in another part because we went to the wrong part of the lake, and having now driven around more of the island, should have just gone to a different lake. Regardless, it was a beautiful drive through the rolling sawa, with mountains always in the background. It's easy to forget how green and lush the island really is when you live in a city and can't leave its confines without a vehicle, but, it's remarkably green. Anyway, it was lovely. Plus there was this rainbow.

On Wednesday, before Jo left to go back to the UK, we sort of aimlessly wandered around the center of town in search of the elusive full moon celebration. We didn't find it. But, we did have smoothies and listen to a Balinese band practice for a while and appreciated the moonlight that cascaded across the landscape, backlighting all of the temples, which I assume, wasn't much worse off.

I know, you are looking at the same bright moon, and this picture fails to capture how beautiful it look
when the light backlit the temples and palm trees, but it was a perfect walk home. 

Yesterday, Friday, after finishing my third (yay!) week of class, I treated myself to a beer on the way home (also because stopping on the way home provides a moment to stop from being insufferably hot), ice cream for dinner, and multiple pats on the back.

Today, I treated myself to a jungle trek. The island of Bali, from what I can tell is about the size of two Rhode Islands, and has various "sections." For example, the beach (see: Kuta or Seminyak or any of the other beaches) or the volcanoes (Mt. Batur, Mt. Agung, etc.), Ubud (where I live and is resoundingly considered to be the cultural center of the island), and then jungle wilderness. Which means that the section left for me to explore was the jungle. Perfect. I got up early and went for a run (which, aside, running here is the woooooorst--it's so hot and so hilly and so humid and it just makes me want to die) and then got picked up around 7:15. The jungle trek was about two hours north of Ubud, which provided for an incredible car ride, up, up, up and through the mountains. There were a couple of villages, some two lakes, and enormously impressive vistas for a long time. It was beautiful. Also I talked to my driver almost entirely in Indonesian, which I have to assume is good practice.

The trek itself was only about two hours. But it was through a really dense and really loud jungle. The cacophony of bird calls was incredible. The trees were hundreds of feet tall. The grasses were soaked and shortly, so were we. There were two temples inside the jungle to specifically pray to jungle gods. There were snakes. Though, sadly, we did not see any. I assume also, there were bears. Because they live in all the woods. (omg, I'm joking--though had there been any, I would have given them a BEAR HUG--get it?!) But I was really hoping for at least a tiger. Because, obviously. I think that the coolest part about it, which is impossible to accurately explain and definitely harder to photograph is just how dense the tree canopy was and how closely surrounded by everything we were. It was really cool.

Eventually, we came to the larger of the two jungle temples. We stayed there for a moment and my guide gave me some Balinese fruits (Martha, I can't bring them back with me because, rules, and more than that, honor of said rules, but they're awesome and you'd love them. Plus, you can steal them off of trees everywhere--what.a.dream.) and he told me about his village and how they have yet to drill wells to the lake or to ground water and how every morning members of the village walk down to the lake (which is not a short walk) and retrieve water for the day.

Then we got into a canoe and paddled across the lake. It was awesome.

This is from the beginning of the walk--looking down at the lake. 

This is my guide, Kutut admiring the jungle (which means that he's the fourth child in his family and as such, kept calling me Wayan Brianna, to acknowledge I'm the first. He was very pleased with both himself and my remembering that Kutut is the fourth child name and to ask him in Indonesian).
Him: My English isn't very good.
Me: Tidak bagus bahasa Indonesian saya.
Him: HAHAHAHA. Okay. Fun day.

The second (I think?) jungle temple. Maybe the first. Hm. Regardless, a temple in the jungle.

From under a v giant tree

Jungle. Home to bears. 

And snakes. And lizards. And probably bugs that are gross and cool looking.

The lake from a vantage point closer to its shore. 

The trees were, as you can see, very very cool. 

Fruit snack remnants. 

My favorite and the prettiest jungle temple. 

Canoeing across the lake! It's about to rain. Don't worry, not on us. Doubly don't worry, I'm "wearing" a life vest despite Kutut admitting to not being able to "swim well" and assuming that neither could I. Sigh. 

Canoeing adventures never disappoint.

I'm listening to my favorite Florence and the Machine album in honor of Jo, who missed canoeing because she's in the UK. Or possibly has already left for somewhere cooler. Anyway, tomorrow I'm going on an all-day bike tour through small villages in the country side. But first, I should go feed myself.

Pantai Kuta

On my middle weekend, I took myself to the beach. Actually, I met a friend (Jo) in a restaurant Thursday night and asked her if she wanted to come too. She's also traveling alone for the first time having also left her spouse at home. She lives in London and now we're best friends. Essentially.

Kuta Beach is the most popular beach in Bali, being closest to the airport and in the island's largest (and capital) city, Denpasar. Because March is low tourist season, it wasn't too crowded. It was, however, unbelievably hot. And lovely.

AND we took surfing lessons. In other words, I'm going to return to the States with a shaman and as a surfer. As basically everyone could have predicted, I was pretty good at surfing and pretty quickly so. I would have also been good at the bigger waves had I been ten percent more willing to jump on the board instead of step-step. The couple of times I did (the waves were like, eh, eight-ish feet tall), I rode to the shore. And I managed to only get very marginally sunburnt, which considering it was the vernal equinox and we're basically on the Equator, I would have a hard time getting more sunlight and still being on the planet.

I don't have much to say about the beach because it was a beach and it was beautiful and it was fun and we drank icy cold beers in the sand and I talked, as much as I could, in Indonesian to everyone, and our hotel was super cheap and its pool was perhaps its greatest aspect. Um, no, its air conditioning was. Yes, definitely its air conditioning.

Anyway, here are a bunch of pictures:

Look! The Indian Ocean. And probably, the Equator. It's REALLY hot here.

Jo: "oh, I know. I should really get the perfect instagram, huh? Okay. Okay. Watch this."
Me: "Oh I will watch this. And photo it myself."

Oh! Sunset. Also known as the time of the day when the sand finally stops being so hot that walking
on it makes you want to die. It made me think that if I had to save a princess from a castle and walk across burning coals,
I'm not sure it's worth it, tbh.  Sorry, Sarah. Save yourself. 

Jo and me, being so delighted with our holiday from holiday. Which is ahhhhviously what we kept calling it.

Oh, just the hotel pool that was perfectly cooled.

The beach again. And its accompanying ocean. And its very, very hot sand.

I am sure that finding yourself includes, at least in moments like this, being horribly cliche. So I LEANED in, baby.

Jo and I receiving instructions from Jimmy. 

I'm a surfer now. 

So is Jo. 

We surf TOGETHER.
Jo: "okay, I'm going to come to the States. Where can we go surfing?"
Me: "OMG, uh, long island, I guess? We should probably go surfing and then go to the mountains."
Jo: "UH, OKAY."
Me: "America's sort of awesome."*

Ugh, what great balance, tbh. 

Guys. Check on this face-protecting sun hat. First of all, so Bali. Second of all, with all of the Downton Abbey
I've been watching, I really need more hats in my life. Third of all, skin protection. SO MUCH OF IT. #crushingit

Anyway, I am back at school this week and have, now, nine days of instruction left. Today I told my teacher about how Americans pay for college. Now I have some homework, so I should do that. And put some aloe on the back of my legs (sadface). K, bye.

*said America's next top diplomat.

Setengah

Well, here I am. I'm halfway through my class and subsequently, time here. Two weeks ago I was on a plane and two weeks from now, I'll nearly be on a plane again. So, to celebrate, I'm sitting on my balcony drinking a beer, eating potato chips, listening to Susie's cl@$$!cz mix (speaking of music, Becky, in the indomaret--mini market--that Beiber song that I love and that you love, not sorry, the other one was on--and I definitely lingered to listen, enjoy the air conditioner, and thought of you) and have to figure out how to get to the beach tomorrow since the very cheap and very convenient shuttle bus doesn't run in low tourist season. I suppose now is as good as time as any to get into uber. Plus, I have like fourteen discount/free ride coupons from Ben. Bonus.

Today at school I moved from the beginners' book to the intermediate one. I have spent the preponderance of the week being a little bit grumpy, a lotta bit overwhelmed, and rationally, being too hard on myself. I've been eating with the teachers at lunch most days, which is both nice for purposes of listening to people talk at real speed and trying to figure out how much I can decipher as well as it's insanely cheap (around $1.05/meal). Anyway, yesterday they were talking about how smart they think and I am and how impressed they are I know so many words so quickly. And how great my hair is. ("asli?" "ya, asli." "wow. bagus.") That was nice to overhear. I don't know they they knew that I knew the word for smart nor for hair, but alas, I did.

Also today, first I took a motorbike taxi to school because I was running a little late by being on the phone and ugh, it's just.so.hot. and taxis are so.nice. And for 80 cents, it's never a bad choice. AND I get to stay on the phone longer? A no-brainer, frankly. They're often a little bit more expensive, but I'm leaning into being a good bargainer. Anyway, the driver was (in my opinion) unreasonably impressed with my Indonesian--he spoke mostly Indonesian to me, but also English, meanwhile I only spoke Indonesian in response. Anyway, at some point, he told me he helps operate a school that teaches, among other things, English to children, and that if I wanted, he would give me a job there and pay me "pretty good." Tbh, am going to add it to my list of back-up plans, should my current dreams A and B come crashing down. But I told him, for now, no thank you, I have a job in New York--but as it happens, I know a lot about the rules about teaching kids, so it could be really fun in the future, should I be looking for a job.

When I told Okta about this when I got to school, she first laughed, then marveled at my bargaining skills ("I never pay that little, how did you do that?!") and then agreed that my ability to learn Indonesian is remarkably good and that I should think about teaching. That was also nice. Later in the day, she and I debated Hemingway's sexism in A Farewell to Arms (ugh, not even a debate tbh) and the importance of being a feminist. And in doing so, supporting Hillary. All in Indonesian, of course.

Back to me being too hard on myself, probably.  Am certainly not willing to commit to such a position, but recognize its counter.

This weekend. As if being here isn't celebration enough of myself, I'm taking myself to the beach. Because I made it halfway and because maybe that's where I'll find myself. jk. Mostly because Betsy told me to and she's normally right, PLUS what sort of asshole would I be if I came here and DIDN'T learn how to surf?? Ew, that is certainly not who I want to be. Anyway, I found a couple of places to stay and more importantly, found a place to learn how to surf. I met a friend last night that might come with me. She's from the UK and also traveling alone for the first time. Or she might stay in Ubud because it's lovely. Who knows.

Well, now that I've been here for two weeks, here are some things that have made my time immeasurably more enjoyable:

- this balcony and its accompanying giant room;
- the waterbottle that Sarah gave me for Christmas that allows me to drink tap water and attempt to get as much water as I need per day without ever having to buy any;
- my ability to remember huge swaths of information easily and quickly;
- imessage/emails/correspondence;
- facetime dates, even more so;
- the omnipresent smell of incense throughout the city;
- the thousands of herons and monkeys that just hang out here;
- downton abbey;
- the patience, friendliness, and professionalism of my teachers; and
- the widely available cheap and fantastic food.

And in my next/last two weeks here are the things that I hope to do:

- climb Mt. Agung;
- visit these sort of far away, sort of near, sort of famous temples that I'll need to do next weekend;
- buy myself a reasonable, but number of prezzies (mostly at the market and via bargaining);
- go to a museum and take a tour in Indonesian;
- go to a Balinese dance show at the Ubud/Bali Royal House;
- figure out if there is a cooking class that doesn't overlap my other classes and take one;
- drink some smoothies;
- maybe, if I'm feeling luxurious, take myself for a glass of wine at this fancy wine bar that overlooks the valley (but not for food, because that would be crazy, just for wine);
- have ice cream for dinner at least once (whatever, I'm finding myself, don't judge); and
- walk through this artists' village that people rave about in a way that makes me think it's probably not that cool, but, makes me feel like I should probably see it for myself.

Anyway, other than that, every day this week I came home, did homework and/or studied for two-three hours, went for a very hot and very miserable run, took myself out to dinner, then went to bed. So, here are some pictures of food. (I briefly considered posting a selfie, but per my opinion, only pictures of me doing something awesome, tough, or patriotic are worthy of internet posting--so you'll have to hope that I get a picture of me surfing for real proof that this is me typing and actually here.)

Oh, this is just my daily homestay breakfast.

I think this is one of the places that my shaman took me. It was amazing. 

I saw a Balinese woman order this and so followed suit. No regrets. 

Like $2 gado-gado. Awesome.

Not feeling super well, I just got a Green Tea Frappe and these chicken/rice spring roll type things. Predictably, delicious.

K, bye. Am going to the beach now.

Herons, A Volcano, and Monkeys.

Spoiler: this entry is going to be 90% pictures of monkeys and birds. I don't know what else you expected from me, tbh. Update on my ability to bicara pakai bahasa Indonesia? Tidak. Membosankan.

Two days ago, after class (actually after I stopped to get iced tea at a cafe because it was pouring out and I wished to not get soaked), I walked to Petulu Village. Petulu Village is a tiny village and is about an hour walk from my homestay. It's home to thousands of herons (predominately Petulu Herons although also many egrets and other herons, too), each of which migrate to and from daily. There's a long story about the spiritual story about the relevance of the herons, which you can read about here. Or not. Follow your heart. Mainly I found it interesting insofar as to provide an explanation as to why any human would choose to live in such a loud, smelly, poop bombing village.

So I walked there and on my way, passed dozens and dozens of rice patties on windy roads, and largely just admired the incredibly beautiful scenery. I also noticed the droves of heron flying above me in the direction of the village, so even if it wasn't just two roads to get there, it would have been pretty easy to figure out where to go.

I arrived in Petulu Village and paid the entrance fee ($1.05ish) and walked down the middle of the only road. The first thing I immediately noticed was how incredibly loud the thousands of birds were. The second thing I noticed was how pungent the village was--to the point that I nearly choked as I turned the first corner. But the birds are omnipresent--it's sort of impossible to describe how many there were in such a small place without having been there. And impossible to capture on camera. Also, I narrowly avoided being pooped on dozens of times. Eventually, I found a rice patty outcropping that I walked onto and took pictures of the birds, sun setting, and landscape. Then I bargained myself a motorbike ride home to avoid walking down windy, narrow roads in the dark by myself. Yes, worriers in my life, I wore a helmet. For you. I even specifically asked for a helmet when he didn't have one for me. You're welcome. And now I have a driver and you can all rest easier.

Anyway. Here are some pictures:

This is what Bali looks like seconds outside of "downtown" Ubud. 

This is the rice patty I potentially trespassed on to get better pictures of herons flying overhead. 

Hey, some birds. 

Hey, more birds. 

Imagine hundreds of trees like this one, each with HUNDREDS of herons. And then imagine walking under each one. 

Then. This morning I woke up at 2:30 a.m. (which was tbqh, a feat, since I somehow accidentally set my alarm for "silent," which btws, Apple--really? "silent" alarm option? wtf?) and hurriedly got into a car to drive for an hour to climb an active volcano, Mt. Batur (Gunung Batur). Its first eruption was in the early 1800s and the most recent was in 2000. It's 5,600 ft tall. It has a giant crater and many "hot spots" where the sulfuric steam lurches out of cracks, originating from somewhere involving lava. Idk. Earth Science. Sue?

Anyway. We hiked up in the dark and watched the sunrise. Of our group, I was the only one with a headlamp and (imo) proper footwear. My takeaway of Mt Batur is that it is the Cascade of Bali given the fact that I saw people wearing boat shoes, flip flops, etc. Initially, I sort of felt like a tool with my adequate gear, esp. when one of the chicks in our group was all like, "oh, you're ready for skiing!" No. And also. If you wish to speak derisively of hiking poles, perhaps you should keep up. But actually I really liked her. She was from Brazil. We bonded over similar plights re: people who can't understand why one would choose to live without a car and then, when finally (!) one breaks down and purchases a car, it's all "but why this car?, "not a newer car?" (names not needed; you know who you are.) Anyway, it was a funny moment and I liked her a lot. It's possible I was the best hiker on that mountain. People found it "very hard." I found it "a lovely walk in the woods with a slight incline." I know. But, uh [enter Rosa saying anything]. On the way down, I actually gave one of my poles to one of the French women who kept falling because her shoes were slippery and the rocks were loose. Regardless, it was beautiful. And fun. See: 

Sunrise! It's not everyday you get to watch sunrise from the top of an active volcano.
But it's also probably not the last time I will. My life is hard here.  

The valley and the lake created by one of the earlier eruptions. 

Monkey see; Monkey stare.

The giant crater made by, I think, the most recent eruption. Or at least, made this large by the most recent eruption.
Don't worry, my worriers, we were in much greater volcanic eruption danger in Iceland than I was here.

If I was a monkey, I'd hang out on this sign too. 

This monkey is protecting the valley from idiot humans. 

And this is Mt. Batur from the base, where you can much more clearly see how big the crater in the middle is.
The summit is the right side of the crater.

And then! THEN! I went to the Monkey Forest. Well, I guess first I came home and lay down for a while having gotten up at 2:30. But THEN I went to Monkey Forest. It was beautiful and fun and infested with monkeys and like everything else on this island, insufferably hot. But here are some pictures of monkeys. 

Monkey Business. 

(ACTUALLY I took a picture of this thinking, "oh, 'monkey business: clever caption.' AND THEN seconds later, 

woefully unprepared, I saw two monkeys having sex--ACTUAL monkey business--and did not react quickly enough because I paused to laugh first. Sigh, rookie mistake.)

Real Monkey sitting on Stone Monkey.

Real Monkey sitting with Stone Monkey Family. Real Monkey: "guys, why are you so quiet? Are you mad? 

Did I do something? Okay, well, I'll just sit here and hold your tail and hope you talk soon."

I make this face a lot too! So contemplative, tbh. If you're wondering what I looked like on Silent Day, just imagine me and this monkey making the same face. Only I had an exceptionally good hair day that day wasted due to its lack of witnesses.

"My hair is weird--fix it! fix it!" "Hold still." "No, it's weird and I hate it and why is this happening." "OMG, hold it together." "I'm clutching the ground, just make it end."

What I wish you could tell from this photo (and likely can't) is the desperation of the baby monkey clawing to get away from its mother, who is holding his tail, refusing to let go. It went on for a couple of minutes and was hilarious. 

Monkey mom hug. 

"Ugghhh, I'm the baby, pay attention to ME! to ME!"

"I can whistle, balance, and grow a mustache all at once."

"Humans think this stone bridge is cool because there are stairs. Humans are dummies, this is far more fun, 

like all of life when you have FOUR opposable thumbs instead of just two."

Theft and Aiding & Abetting Theft in progress. (tbh, ugh, hated crim law, might be wrong law) 

The principal does not share with the abettor. 

"Lannisters always pay their debts!"

"I'm young, scrappy, and hungry."

And finally. The first and most desperate time I wished I wasn't alone since I got here. Two monkeys climbed up my dress, one tried to steal my shoes, and one jumped on my arm and NO ONE was there to take a picture. I know. Heartbreaking.

I guess I should go study now, since that is why I'm here, after all. Way to spring ahead, America. I'm glad that my days of walking home in the dark are behind me for the year.