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!!!!