In Bali, it's not America's Got Talent - It's "Elephant's Got Talent"

Taro, Bali - September 28, 2012

Today was very out of this world fun.  We went to the Elephant Park where we are going to stay tonight.  It made me so happy.  It was so cool.  There were trees everywhere and elephant eggs.  The elephant eggs were yellow and big.  Well, my dad called them elephant eggs, but it really was elephant poop.

We got to feed the elephants with flowers and sticks.  Did you know that elephants are very kind?  They are also hairy.  At first, I was so scared but finally I learned how to feed an elephant by myself.  I just needed a little help - that's all. 

  

 

I even got to wash an elephant.

 

When that was done, we saw an elephant circus.  The elephants were playing basketball, soccer, painting, hoola-hooping, standing on one leg, carrying someone on their trunk, and my favorite - holding hands and bowing.  Those elephants are so talented I want to marry one.

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We just came back from riding the elephants.  The elephant was big and I was so scared but when I got on I was fearless I was not even holding on.  The elephant I rode had a lot of hair and is named Aroma.  

Then we went to feed them.  My dad carried me and the elephant tried to  eat me.  I was so scared I just scram!Next my mom put a piece of wood in her mouth and an elephant came and ate it. Then she kissed the elephant.

 

Finally we went to see the baby's one had a really big you know what and i just laughed and one of the elephants made pee and poo.  It's pee was like 300 bottles of water.  it's poo was as big as my head.

Scary, Fancy & Pretty

Ubud, Bali - September 27, 2012

Today was a rice I mean nice day.  We went to the rice fields.  Each rice field is separated so when one gets full the water goes to the next and the next that how they water the rice fields.  That's so cool.

Bali does not have a machine to cut the rice because if they did the people on the rice fields would all lose their jobs.  That's so sad.  

Many people from the rice fields carry things on their head.  They have really good balance but they do it as a habit.  

Parents, kids and everyone works at the rice fields.  The women work especially hard and so do the ducks.  The ducks eat all the seeds when the rice is harvested. 

The women work the hardest because in the past the men would go to school and the girls would work. 

The people in Bali ... well, most if them don't have toothbrushes [yuck]!  The boys and girls also don't have showers so some people go to the lake naked.  They also don't have toilets so they go to the bathroom outside thats not my favorite.

On the way back from the rice fields, we passed a Balinese funeral.  When people die in Bali they put two birds on the funeral coffin.  The belief is the birds will take their soul out of there body.  At a Balinese funeral your not aloud to cry on the dead person because they believe that if you do cry on the person you won't let there soul go away.

I learned alot today about Balinese culture!

The afternoon was really amazing.  We went to a museum to paint masks.  It was so cool.  I felt like the happiest girl in the world.  First, we looked at all the masks.  I chose the one with big eyes, weird teeth and a really cool smile, but my mom told me to paint a different one.  So I did.  The one I painted had really big huge eyes.  They were like ... I call them grouper eyes.

Before painting the masks, we took a small tour of the museum.  The room was cold.  And nice too.  It had snacks, art displays and puppets.  I loved the puppets.  They are so cool!  Puppets are big in Bali.

After that, we put three paint layers of white on the mask and then we painted the mask yellow and let it dry.  

 

While it was drying, I went to play a Balinese instrument like a piano so I played songs I knew from the piano.  Finally it was dry so we started doing very detailed art.  Then we were done.

At night, we went to a private dinner.  It was really cool. First, a man brought us all to a row of four chairs and sat us down.  Then these girls came out dancing. They were all dressed in blue sarongs and pink tops.  My favorite part was when they threw flowers on me.

Next we went to the table it had candles, fancy table cloth, and a really nice view.  A man also came to our table to serve us some strange and crazy foods like banana stem soup and vegetable mix and even sweet potato rice and much much more.  

 

The dessert was good too.  We had a mango sorbet and some weird dumplings.  Then behind my back my mom ordered me a ginger tea.  Yuck.  I told her I needed honey and then I started singing "Honey Honey" from Mama Mia.  Then it was so sad because dinner was over and we had to leave, but I just started to sing "I Have a Dream" also by Mama Mia.

Now, I will try to go to sleep but I doubt  There are frogs in the pond outside our room and it's so loud.  Did you know there are 200 different frogs in Bali?

Now I just can't wait for tomorrow.  We are leaving Ubud and going to an Elephant Park.  What will the elephant do? kick me off? Well ... I said too much already.

Countryside Adventure

Ubud, Bali - September 25, 2012

Today I went on a tour of Ubud.  I learned many new things like did you know there are about 320 million people in Indonesia and 91% Muslim.  Bali is different since it is almost all Hindu.  Did you know the temples in Bali are 1,000 year old?  In Bali, 3 is their lucky number because it stands for their three sides of their god - the creator, preserver and destroyer.  Then there is Saraswati, the god of knowledge, and lots more.  

They also believe if you are good you will get good if you are bad you will get bad.  This is called karma.  They say that if someone gives you poison return with a smile.  That means if someone is mean to you don't be mean back.  Instead, be kind.

Later in the day, we went to a Balinese school.  It was not as nice as Hillel but it was still cool.  It's not like I imagined. It's much better.  We went to the school to give pencils.  We gave 3,000 pencils to the school.  It felt good and nice.  

 

The school is very nice itself, but not that clean. After school in Bali, they don't have a JCC, so they go and help their parents with work.  Some kids even have to carry really heavy stones.

Next we went to learn about the luwak.  The luwak is an animal that is only here in Bali.  When you give the luwak a coffee bean it poops out coffee.  The coffee is the most expensive in the world.  It is called Kopi Luwak.

   

After that we went to the waterfall in Tegenungan.  It was really cool.  I learned that people in Bali don't have showers so they go to the waterfall to bathe.  The bad news is some people go without clothes. 

Like I said, people in Bali don't have showers, but they do have homes.  They sleep outside.  The rooms have curtains so if it rains.  Some people share beds.  Some people get their own.  Here is a photo of a bedroom.

 

In their houses they have kitchens but they only cook once a day.  Many Balinese don't have breakfast.  

Some people even have Balinese music in their house.  Every instrument is handmade.  And did you know it takes about 30 people to play in a Gamelan which is a Balinese orchestra.  Here I am with one of the instruments.

 These are a few words in Indonesian...

selamat pagi = good or safe morning

selamat saing = good or safe afternoon

selamat sore = good evening

selamat malam = good night

aman = peaceful

terama kasi = thank you

t-dax = no thank you

dada = good bye

hi = hello

Kopi=coffee

With all this information, some people say my bucket is empty some say it's half full I say it's overflowing!!!!

Cooking & Creating

Ubud, Bali - September 24, 2012

Today was the best day ever.  My mom took me and my sister to the kitchen to make a Balinese dish named Nasi Goreng.  It was the best meal I have had in ages.

Here is the recipe for Nasi Goreng.  Take a pot and put it on the stove.  Next add some coconut oil to the pot.  Wait for the oil to vanish. After that, add some chicken and stir it.  Then add some ginger and some white rice - as much as you need.  When you are done with that, add some of these sauces ... oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, and regular soy sauce.  Again. stir it all in.  Now add some vegetables. For example, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, bok choy.  If you want, add some tomatoes.  Now, we need to make scrambled eggs and pour it in a bowl and then stir everything together.  Most of all, add 7 cups of LOVE.

 

Next we went to make arts & crafts.  I made a purse out of banana leaves and bamboo sticks with 13 pockets and one huge pocket.

 


 Today was a very good day but I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.