Last Days: Celebrations, fun and farewells

The project, the kids, the heat and the energy have made these last three days all blend together. Our desire to make significant progress on the project as well at our inevitable return to normal life is growing like uncertain shore on the horizon. While the idea of meals without rice, cooler weather, and friends and family are excitedly anticipated, what we have each learned about ourselves and this wonderful place will make for a bitter sweet departure. The projects walls continue to grow higher and higher. We are now standing on scaffolds of nailed together coconut boards which even the locals seem skeptical about. To our surprise Wyan joined the effort cementing layer after layer of bricks toward the sky. He has suggested that we donate a round of beer to the workers on the last day to celebrate, we have no objections. The wheel Barrows are maxed out at 12 bricks a load, however 8 is the standard in this heat. Micel and Exel are helping to keep us company on the return trips by riding in the barrow back to the brick pile. Perhaps the people whom are feeling our departure the most are the children. Their behavior has turned to a passive aggressive engagement. They are looking for things to occupy their emotions but at the same time seem to be closer to us than ever. Hugs, hands, pictures, and words are all exchanged frequently. When lunch times comes on the final day, there is much planned for the afternoon. The children are dressing up in the traditional sarongs and dresses to perform an incredible show. Just when we think its winding down, they grab us off our seats and make us dance with them. Wyan and the staff have some touching words that Lena helps to translate. The habits die hard as they still think we are all from Canada and refer to us as so. It is an inside joke between Lena and us; we all get a good laugh. They give us gifts of homemade bracelets and we in turn give socks and books; then hype the kids up on candy. Mary is turning 29 today and they sing her happy birthday for at least five minutes straight while moving in a quasi conga line around her. The whole Orphanage is involved. Then it is time to go. Some Kids have said their goodbyes and don’t hang on the departure, while other watch and wave. Nenden is not getting off so easily as we kid nap her for a dinner out in Negara. We wish and the baby a safe and happy arrival with the promise of pictures. It is time for the long drive back to Denpasar. It is the usual demonstration of organized ciaos. We meet for the last time at Wydha Asih headquarters to see the heart of the operation. It is impressive how much they accomplish with so little resources. Our time as a team has come to an end. One by one we split off as the next two days unfold. We look forward to the next adventure with Tommy Marx and DWC.    

DWC Team
Gregory, Tommy, Arnaz, Bob, Mary and Jen  

Day 12: Football anyone?

The timing of our drivers is improving, they broke inside of the 20 minute late window this morning. In anticipation of our day we had all eaten a good breakfast, which some of us almost lost on the subsequent drive. Our closest call of the trip occurred today when we found ourselves head to head with a bus passing a truck. The rule of passing is “they who hesitate will lose.” When the passes get to close for comfort (and we use that term loosely), the plan is as follows. The oncoming car as well as car being passed both slow and pull as far to the side as they can. The passing car then floors it if not there already doing so to complete the pass quicker. Though this sounds barbaric, it actually works. Oh yeah add 10 scooter into the picture as well. 
Today the project went vertical with the construction of the buildings rear and side walls. Half of us hauled bricks and sand while the others showed their talents cementing the bricks in place. The locals at more than one occasion to us “plan plan” which means “slow down.” We responded by saying that our “plan plan” was to make progress today, and we were setting a new pace. They responded by joining the push and we all got a lot done. All members of the team are now certified brick layer in the eyes of the Indonesian government. The usual suspects, Micel, Gasper, Exel and the lot were nowhere to be found. They had gotten into something that kept them busy until lunch. The heat was present though, and we were happy it was the only distraction to negotiate. Finally lunch time came about with the faint but persistent ringing of the bell. 
During lunch we asked Lena if the bell was also used as a fire alarm, to which she said there was no such plan in place. Once again the “move your butt or get burned plan,” let’s hope it works out as well as the swimming hole (heaven forbid). We were spend from the mornings work and still had a soccer game at 3pm. We gathered in Nenden’s office to sit on the couch, a move we like to call circling the wagons. The children have a post lunch energy high that can consume you if you’re not careful. Our strength in numbers helps to share the load of children as they move in and out of the office. 
We rallied for another hour of work and before we knew it the van was pulling up to take us to Malaya for the game. We arrived and were met with a sea of kids eager to engage with adults from far and away. The Balinese refer to tourists as “Oraung Bule” which means people who are white. The origin is the same for the English word, “orangutan” Which when separated into Indonesian means Oraung – people; Hutan – from the forest. This is the way people are classified in the Indonesian language. It is not to compare anyone to apes, just a way to make sense of our physical differences. After another short meet and greet it was time to move out to the soccer field for the match. When we say field we mean pasture complete with cattle and the scattered signs of their continuous eating. According to Joe the German aid worker, field conditions are the best he has ever seen due to the wet season weather… there is actually grass. The kids are not dissuaded and teams are drawn in short order. Most of us play bare footed with the exception of three DWC members and one older boy whom actually had real soccer shoes. There is no feeling like running through a muddy hole, then tall grass and then stepping in a cow pie to get to the ball. Soon you put it all behind you and just have fun. The only girls that played were two members of our DWC group, but we did manage to get the sewing teacher out there, he was quite good. The game lasted 40 minutes which was three times longer than we had expected in the ambient conditions. After five minutes the sweat was so heavy you had difficulty just keeping it out of your eyes. These people are on a high carb. and almost none of them are overweight, now we know why. The kids play hard and with consistent training would produce a competitive team on any stage. Their skills are picked up by watching professional teams on TV and then applying them as they can on their own. In the end the score was 3 to 1 and as is sometimes the case in soccer, the weaker team won. Heads were hung low, but for only a moment as the children all know that in the end they are all on the same team. We returned rehydrated and said goodbye to our new friends. The sea of children reformed around the van making the experience one of the most difficult of the trip. There is so much we can share and learn from each other, and these kids are at the most critical age. Nenden said she has never seen them soo happy as she did today which brings a tear to some of our eyes. We pray for their success. The day was done and so were we.

DWC Team
Gregory, Tommy, Arnaz, Bob, Mary and Jen

Day 11: A visit to another Widhya Orphanage

Today we hit the ground running again, The remaining forms needed to be set, and the concrete filled in over the rebar. We finished this in short order and by the time the lunch bell rang all the concrete was set. The locals all seemed to split for the rest of the day indicating that we would begin again tomorrow when the concrete had dried. Wyan suggested that we go visit the Orphanage #5 in Malaya where the older kids lived. We hopped in the van and Wyan surprisingly jumped in the driver’s seat. Wyan drove in a manner that by Indonesian standards would be considered extremely conservative. It was almost uncomfortable based on our experiences over the last week and a half. Lena, Whom was along as well informed us that Wyan had purchased his first car ever just a month ago, and was still getting used to driving. This reminds you of just how financially difficult even owning a car in this part of the world can be. We arrived at #5 in a short while, after snaking slowly through one back road after another. When we got out of the van all ninety children came out to introduce themselves to each one of us. The excitement was easy to see in their eyes. They had new faces they could learn from and practice their English with. Many of them spoke very well, and had manners that would put an English butler to shame. The man in charge went by Frankie; he and his staff shared with us a rundown of the operation at #5. The children, upon reaching the age of junior high school, come to number five and stay there through high school and some vocational school afterwards. They grow their own food, and raise animals just like the younger kids, but also produce textiles and cement bricks to sell. The kids were eager to take us on a tour and show off their work living areas. Joel, another German aid worker, has been at Orphanage #5 providing English teaching the same as Lena has been doing for the younger kids. He is a good influence on the older kids and you can see how close they have all become. The children entertained us with a performance of music and dance that was impressive to say the least. The camaraderie between the kids of this age is like none ever seen by us before. They truly care and stand by each other as a basic necessity for getting through their lives. Their mission statement included healthy body and mind, spirituality, Life skills, higher education, and good Living conditions just to name a few. These tenants are apparent everywhere you go. We collectively wished to have another two weeks with these kids as well. The time came to go but not before we scheduled a soccer match for Wednesday afternoon during the hottest time of the day, 3pm. With that we headed for the hotel to stalk up on water.

DWC Team
Gregory, Tommy, Arnaz, Bob, Mary and Jen

Day 10: Back to the project & determined to make some progress

We returned from our weekend of fun ready to make some real progress on the project. The speed of progress from the first week was not going to cut it anymore; we had four days left and wanted something to show for it. The locals tried to set the usual pace, but when they saw the piles of gravel and sand growing relentlessly as well as the rebar and form boards set in place, it had been decided. Thin slices of coconut tree trunks were set around the rebar to make forms for the concrete. We mixed wheel barrow after wheel barrow and had half the forms filled by days end. The workers will pace themselves based on the heat, but take a long time to adopt simple adjustments that would also help prevent their tiring. For example, they preferred to have us empty a barrow full of gravel into the pile while at the same time filling another up from that same pile to add to the concrete mix. Next, they decided to fill the easiest forms first, making it more difficult the move concrete to the farther forms. In the end we decided that they have their reasons and most of all we are here to learn and help. After lunch we spent some time with the kids, playing Uno, Talking, Hexogram building, and of course soccer. At their young age these kids still are learning and understanding their world and environment. Most of their games and interactions are focused on understanding and learning, rather than perfecting a known skill. The inquisitive nature and explorative attitude is enjoyable to partake in. There is much we have forgotten from our childhoods.

DWC Team
Gregory, Tommy, Arnaz, Bob, Mary and Jen

Day 9: Shopping and Exploring

Late wake up, late breakfast, late start on our shopping day. Wyan and Nenden gave us a wish list for the Orphanage, and we set out to go mid-evil on it. Socks, writing books, pens, pencils, paint brushes… We got them all. After all that effort, there was a collective decision to catch a ride back to the hotel on a collection of horse drawn buggies. We paired up, loaded up, and the trio headed out. The ride to the hotel cost $1 per buggy, a bargain to beat the heat. Next on the plan was a drive to a local beach. The weather was not the best for beach goers, and soon after we arrived the rain began to fall. Luckily there was a bar about 50 yards (45M) away where we could enjoy our favorite Indonesian habit; drinking Bintang. The rain was short lived and our boredom motivated us to venture out and explore. We found a lady selling BBQ’d corn and decided to try it out. The spice was so hot that few of us got past the third bite. At 25 cents a pop it was worth the risk. The beach seemed to be a hangout of the younger crowd and as the sunset drew nearer more and more people showed up. We noticed from one of Tommy’s pictures that some of the crowd were not to happy with our presence. No words were exchanged or hostilities raised, but the gesture was clear and present. The time had come to head back and call it a day.

DWC Team
Gregory, Tommy, Arnaz, Bob, Mary and Jen

Day 8: Discovering Menjangan Island

Wyan surprised us today with a nearly on time arrival at our hotel. We stuffed down our breakfast and piled into the van for our trip to the northwestern coast of Bali. We arrived an hour later at the Mimipi resort area for a boat ride out to Menjangan. Based on the number of white people we saw at Mimipi, you could say we finally wandered into a tourist area; it was unusual for even us to get used to. The vessel that took us out to the island was a sampan style boat painted in a United Nations two tone. You could see Bilge water sloshing back and forth through the Boards on the deck. After a short trip we arrived at the snorkel spot. The guide took us out into some shallow water to view the various fish and coral that could be found. As we moved farther out, all of a sudden the reef dropped off from 8ft (1.5M) to about 80ft (27M) which provided an array of extraordinary marine life. We all must have spent an hour and a half out there, and mind you it was the first time snorkeling for one of the members of the group. The lunch bell was rung and we were all surprised to be handed a turkey sandwich; what a nice change from the usual… Rice. Around the island we went for another run at snorkeling a different reef. We got more awesome sights again as well as a pretty good sun burn on our back side. By the time we got back to the hotel most of us were aching for some relief. Despite our Grammy winning performances acting out sunburn pain, the drug store clerks ended up giving us anti gas cream which was not the problem we wanted to solve most at the present time. What an adventure.

DWC Team 

Gregory, Tommy, Arnaz, Bob, Mary and Jen

Day 7: Fun filled day with mattress jousting and dancing!

Oh boy, it’s Friday, the weekend is right around the corner. This seemed to be the theme at all levels at the orphanage. We arrived to find the locals moving at just above idle speed and not really having anything important for us to do. Eventually they taught us how to put together the rebar assemblies that will be going in the concrete forms above the stem wall. They use four long lengths of ¼” thick rebar arranged in a rectangular formation. Short lengths of rebar are bent into a square which are wired in place to help the long length keep their rectangular formation. We finished this in short order, and spent the rest of the morning visiting with the staff and other people lingering around. All the troops (children) returned just prior to lunch, which was the usual circus. After lunch we engaged with the children as they did their various chores and tasks. One item of business was the airing out every mattress in both dormitories. As usual the children made a game of it by running into each other, jousting or diving on to them when they got to the grass. The most notable part though was when Exel, only five years old decided to carry back the whole lot of mattresses to his room. He hefted them one by one and made nine little trips to and fro. It was like watching a worker ant through a microscope. Each mattress was right at the limit of size, weight and dimension for little Exel. Once he got the thing over his head, he could only go at a certain speed, anything faster would induce an oscillation like that of a ship in high seas. Exel was always moving at, or just above this critical state which at more than one occasion had us running to help him. He would have none of it though, for his true motivation was to have an audience. As the afternoon progressed, the dance instructor showed up to teach her usual class of Balinese moves. Some of us decided to participate, most notably our uncoordinated leader Tommy. His years of gymnastics provided only a bare minimum for what he challenged to perform. Words cannot do justice but we can say it looked like a happy gorilla doing yoga and then chopping celery. You need to see the video. Our stomachs hurt from laughter and it was time to retire and prepare for the weekends adventures. 

DWC Team

Tommy, Bob, Mary, Jen, Arnaz and Gregory   

Day 6: The Swimming Hole

This morning was the usual program with a 0730 pickup that happened around 0830. It appears the only thing you can rely on here is the heat and humidity; today was another hot one. We conquered the rock pile only to have a small dump truck show up and drop off another load of rocks. Micel and her entourage, who we have dubbed Widhya Asih’s Angels, have figured out how to double our efforts on this project. For every wheelbarrow of sand or gravel we take to the work site, the girls reward us with, at times, a four passenger ride on the return trip. Like a construction site version of the Partridge family, the journey includes a whole collection of songs from Balinese favorites to “head and shoulders knees and toes.”  The locals are making good progress of the stem wall along with our help here and there. We balance the work between cementing the wall in place, and running sand and rock to the work site to keep the progress moving. The locals insist on us taking more frequent and longer breaks, but the heat is a far stronger motivator. The children had a better day today and are rewarded with a hike to the swimming hole after lunch. There was one requirement for the journey, ALL MUST WEAR SHOES! About half actually did. They spend 80% of time barefoot which has toughened their feet to the likeness of elephant’s skin. Scorching hot pavement, gravel roads and overgrown trails are not given a second thought as we begin the journey. Our trek takes us down a blistering hot road and through the jungle to a county park which looks like is hasn’t seen a gardener for 10 years. The swimming hole consists of three cascading pools no more than 3 feet deep each. The drop from the first pool to the middle is too steep and shallow for even the Indonesian standard. They all rally at the middle pool and queue up for the slide down to the bottom. Slide meaning a slippery 60 degree waterfall face with the texture of an industrial washboard. One after another the children chatter down the face of the falls to land in the three foot deep pool below them. Timing is based on the 'move your butt or get run over' plan which seems to work out just fine. We have all noticed that in Bali, children are given far greater latitude with activities that most of us would consider far too dangerous for even an adult. A “CPS” agent would have a heart attack in the first five minutes of open play time at the orphanage. This week we have witnessed crafts with hatches, spray paint indoors, a razor blade they can purchase as a toy, four children ages 8 to 11 on one scooter with no helmets and at best case flip flops on some of their feet. Oh yeah and we have a construction site which they float in and out of most of the time barefoot. Regardless of these hazards, the children here seem to be better prepared to judge and survive any environment than our own back home. As a matter of fact, the only people who have been making regular visits to the first aid kit this week are us. Perhaps we have much to gain from them as well. The time comes to return from the swimming hole, and the mass exodus packs up and heads back. Many children have captured crabs and other water creature as new pets. 

We are wiped from the work and fun of the day, but the night market awaits our visit tonight. We are taking Nenden and Lena along with us to help translate and make sure this isn’t our final meal. Nenden is the Operations Coordinator at the orphanage. She does all the books, coordination of activities, mixes cement, and is also 7 months pregnant. We all enjoy her company and inquisitive nature; she is well educated by the standard here and seems to only want to learn more. When we load into the van, our numbers are one more than available seats. Team Leader Tommy decides to sit on the floor to make the numbers work. Nenden will not allow this for reasons we cannot begin to comprehend. Lena explains that she will refuse to ride with us if a man is forced to give up a seat for a woman (regardless of pregnancy.) A compromise is reached and Lena will occupy the floor for the ride to Negara. A trip to the pool is planned, but Lena and Nenden only want one thing, a warm shower. The orphanage has no hot water whatsoever. Lena has gone months without a hot shower, and who knows if or when Nenden last had one herself. With all that out of the way we venture out to the night market in Negara. Negara is not a tourist known area of the island, and we soon become an attraction at the market. Some of the taller members of the team have to negotiate the low canopies of the vendor carts while others decide on a dinner of fried eggs or goat. Goat wins the decision and we all sit down in a smoke filled corner of the market. We found Guinness beer for sale, and despite it being warm, took the option as Bintang has been the only option so far. The meal for 9 people was less than $10 USD, this included drinks. One of our best meals so far this trip, we are looking forward to what else we can discover on this island. A quick trip through market reveals a collection of cheap knockoffs and a vendor pushing “make your skin white cream.” They didn’t quite spend as much effort selling it to us. The night was over and a new day awaited tomorrow.  


DWC Team

Day 5: Balinese children express their Creativity

Once again our 07:30 pickup arrived around 08:45, we decided to give them another chance before we mentioned our need for better punctuality. Another hot one today with more wall construction out in the sun. Lina decided to pitch in as well, as we took the opportunity to inundate her with question after question. She was a good sport about it and provided much needed explanations to some of our curiosities of the trip. It came to our attention that the local help wanted to limit our participation in the project a little. These men are hungry for work and seeing us push to finish will only put them out on the street sooner. We took advantage of this to do our Valentines day activity with the children in the afternoon. We brought around three dozen water color paint sets as well as pink paper and stick-on decorations. The children needed no explanation and creativity ran wild. We learned some of their language like Coopoo Coopoo (butterfly) and shared many of our words with them. By the end, the pavilion was covered with watercolors and many masterpieces were on display. The children expressed their appreciation by dedicating many of their works to us. The quantity of individual works quickly showed that some of us were more popular than others. Also on the agenda was to share some heart shaped candies around. Realizing that the sugar would quickly send the children into orbit, we saved their deployment to just prior to the ride home. Time was up and our day came to an end. We wished the staff good luck and hopped in the van back to the hotel.

DWC Team

Day 4: Building the Foundation on Valentines Day

Wake up, ready and fed by 07:30, only to wait until about 09:00 for a ride to the project. More rocks, sand and children await us. Micel and her group of friends await us as well as Exel and Gasper. As is always the case with little ones, they are eager to help and make a game out of our work. Gasper is a ball of energy, he seems to be everywhere. A funny gate to his step, most likely from an equilibrium imbalance and a mouth too big for his face, Gasper is the most recognizable out of the 48 boys. Exel is not far away, running around in his Batman or US Army t-shirt and a persistent smile of crooked white teeth. Both boys make a game of running the empty wheel barrows back to the rock pile until Exel flips his on a ditch and travels over with it. At that point soccer, uno, or some other form of mischief seems more appealing. Micel however is in it to win it, sticking with the females of our group all morning, she helps run buckets of sand to and from. Micel can best be described as a cutie-pa-tutie with a golden smile.  She is only shy when asked to speak English. One of the biggest differences between American children and Balinese children is their ability to show affection immediately. Within the first few minutes of our arrival, Micel and others grab one of our hands as we walk and work. At first, it is a strange feeling to hold the hand of a child we just met and at the same time it is the most wonderful and comforting thing in the world. By the end of the day, it is not long before almost every child has hugged, tugged, and crawled all over us. We can’t help but return to our own childhood years of being a kid when running around with all of these munchkins.

 
Today the building starts to get its foundation. There is a collection of people that have been hired to help us with this project. They are men from the local area who are happy to have the work before them. We are still unsure who is helping who, and at times it seems we are keeping up with the children’s roll of largely being in the way. Nonetheless, they entertain our enthusiasm with all sorts of tasks that we can manage. The sand pile we have been slowly adding to has been hallowed out leaving a crater in the middle. Water is added along with cement mix; after some mixing by hand you are left with a pile of wet concrete spread out before you. The rocks, large and small, are being arranged into the stem wall around the perimeter while cement is added between the rocks to hold them together. This job has moved all of us out of the shade and into the sun. The heat is intense, many breaks are needed, and all of us can honestly say that the wall is constructed out of our own sweat. There are many animals on the property, mostly raised and sold for operating funds. The heat and animal sounds make our work here seem like a 5 hour Bikram Yoga session to the soundtrack of Charlotte’s Web. 

Finally it's time for lunch, and boy are we ready for the break. Lunch was normal until our group prayer at the end. What started as a prayer from one of the younger boys turned into a long diatribe from Wyan. It was difficult to tell when the prayer ended, but eventually all of us came to the staggered realization that the children were getting into trouble. We never did get the full story, but word on the street was that some of the boys were teasing some of the girls beyond that of the normal day to day banter. The fallout of their misbehavior was an afternoon of chores and the postponing of our Valentines day activity until Wednesday. Being flattened by our mornings work, and with the children out of the picture, we chose to do then next best thing, which was back to the hotel for more pool Bingtang and relaxation.     

DWC Team

Day 3: First day of work at the Orphanage

Today we get started on what we came here to do. Breakfast is punctual as we are all excited to get to the orphanage. As is usually the case in these parts of the world, pick up time is 08:30 plus or minus 40 minutes, usually plus. Eventually Wyan, a short, round smiley Indonesian arrives to collect us. The drive to the orphanage was longer than expected, a further testament to just how far off the mainstream we have travelled. The drive is the usual circus of cars, trucks and scooters until we break from the main road. The orphanage is in a Christian district of the island, with more affluent looking homes as well as cleaner, well maintained streets (we use that term loosely though). The steep un-kept driveway opens up to a beautiful courtyard/pavilion with two sets of dorms on the phalanx. We arrived to find most of the children at school, avoiding the anticipated herd of little hands and feet surrounding the vehicle. It was nice to ease into the environment. The kindergarteners, having only one hour of school a day, greeted us with no apprehension whatsoever. Based on their experience with the set of DWC visitors, they assumed we were all Canadian; just what an American wants to hear after traveling 9000 miles. The boys are a team of three, the most notable being Gasper and Axiel. Both the age of five, they are the youngest. As the week progresses, we learn they survive by sticking together with just about everything they do. The girls are Micel (Michelle), and a couple others that are too shy to meet us the first day. Micel is completely the opposite. Before our feet can even touch the ground she has latched on to one of us in a way that could impress an octopus. The rest of the day she is going, doing and holding hands with all of us. Lastly, we meet a German aid worker who has been teaching English and helping day to day operations for the last five months. Her grasp of both the English and Indonesian culture and languages never stops impressing us the whole time we are here.

Next on the agenda is a two hour orientation/Q&A session which takes as many minutes to accomplish. Bathroom here, work over there, coffee under here. It takes the first week for us to completely understand what exactly we are helping to build. Today we busy ourselves moving large and small rocks from one side of the complex over to the other where the building is being constructed. Newcomers to the DWC experience are eager to get the process going and are looking for any efficiencies they can exploit. It is a race to see what wins you over first, the ambient conditions and heat exhaustion, or the realization that to the Indonesians, time is not the most precious asset. The workers on every level here do a good job of balancing work with rest. It is too hot and humid for even them to work as we would expect in western society. Time is on your side, take as much of it. Forty minutes feels like two hours, and that’s when you’re in the shade. You feel very under productive taking so many breaks, but the locals insist on stopping regularly. By the end of the day we have moved two moderate piles of sand and rock as well as destroyed two wheel barrows (one person). Lunch is with the children; it is what you would expect from a boarding home. A large bell is rung and the walls of each dormitory seem to open up and spill out children big and small.

This afternoon was really hot and we are slowly learning why things don’t “move” quite as fast as back home. One of the first Indonesian words we learned on the job site was "plean, plean"…which means slow, slow or slow down. We are all looking forward to a cool long shower and many hours of sleep.

Tommy Marx
DWC Team Leader

Day 2: Scooter-ville in Negara

Wake up was planned as much later than the usual due to the lasting effects of jet lag. However, our natural body rhythm had most of us up by 7am. With an appetite for a good breakfast matched equally for one for adventure, we all wandered downstairs. Rice is the staple of this civilization; there may not be a person on this island who has not eaten rice three meals a day; you can even get it at McDonalds (wherever that may be).

We hired a car for $35 for the day to take us to see the sights. The first order of business was shopping for some cheap necessities at the local mall. One can always tell the hip hang outs in town by the number of scooters parked on the side of the road. We arrived at scooter-ville in Negara and entered the mall. Imagine a Rite-aid, Safeway, Fry’s, and Baskin Robbins all crammed into one. Unlike Walmart however, the lowest price is not posted, but rather the result of a bout of bargaining. Most transactions are negotiated by either party typing a number into a calculator until both are nodding in agreement. It’s feels invigorating to get your price, until you realize that you spend five minutes bargaining over 60 cents. Then it’s on to the beach to try our hand at swimming in the Indian Ocean. Our first stop is a surf spot call Medewi Beach. We are greeted by a bunch of young men itching to rent us boards and teach anyone willing how to surf. Unfortunately we are looking for a sandy beach so the exodus moves on to Brown Sugar Beach. We play in the surf amongst grazing cattle and women collecting drift wood for burning. The fine black sand below our feet provides a nice environment for body surfing in the warm water. Thunder sounds in the distance and before long the drops are starting to fall around us. Our surfing buddies show up unexpectedly hoping to make a sell on their rentals and lessons, but our motivations now are to visit the local carnival on the way home. The carnival is more of a giant flee market, where locals bargain with vendors for cheap knock offs of names such as Adidas, Swiss, and Guess. For every vendor selling the cheapest watches, there are ten more just around the corner, all attempting to make a living off the idea of conspicuous consumption. The real challenge is finding a food vendor you trust that won’t have you running to the toilet an hour later. Some took their chances, while others stuck to the Coca Cola and bottled water. In the end we all survived the experience with local food unscathed.

Finally it’s back to the hotel for some personal time before dinner. Dinner will be at a Muslim restaurant with a cook whose knowledge of America puts us all to shame. Rest assured when this guy finally walks off the plane for his first visit to the states, you’ll be able to see the smile 100 miles away. The next order of business is a good nights rest for the coming adventure tomorrow.

Tommy Marx
DWC Team Leader

Day 1: Feb.11th 2012 The team arrives in Bali!

After a fractured arrival by all individuals in the group, it is 4pm and we are ready to depart for the Negara region of the Island of Bali. We all have now learned that the phrase “taxi boss” is not Indonesian for hello, but rather the constant reminder that half the island has shown up at the airport on the slight chance they can drive you somewhere. We know there is a long ride ahead (3+ hours), and while the expectation of poorly maintained roads is fresh in our minds, none of us are prepared for the experience that awaits.

Traffic is thick through Kuta and Denpasar, and scooters seem to be the Iphone of this society. The traffic flows opposite of that in the United States and lane lines or dividers are viewed at the very most as a suggestive reminder that one must share the road. As we move northwestward past town after town, very slowly we make our way out of the city. With Circle K, Burger King and the Mercedes Benz behind us, we see a more traditional Bali with its Hindu Temples and Compound style family homes.The road is filled with every kind of transportation imaginable. Scooters whiz past out of everywhere; mostly Hondas and Toyotas make up the cars, and large flat bed trucks transport everything from rice to cattle. Every driver wants to get somewhere on a road that hasn’t been able to handle the traffic for 20 years. Ones place in this whole circus of movement is solely dependent on their size. Trucks get the most respect followed by cars leaving scooters to fend for whatever is left. This provides a continuous level of entertainment that would be on par with an Evel Knievel show. While at first the inexperienced tourist shows concern for their safety, volley after volley of close calls quickly glosses their concern with a shell shock of indifference. Before you know it you’re wondering why the driver didn’t use that 25yrds before a blind curve to pass that tour bus you have been following for the past minute and a half. It leaves your mind to wonder, what is this all like at night. Then you find out. But enough about the traffic.

After two hours on the road we stop for a bathroom break and to watch the sunset. A snack of ice cream to chase away the heat we grab a bag of corn chips called “happy toos”, we hop in car for the rest of the trip. At night the trucks use LED lights on their phalanx to let people know how big they are. It’s not until two tour busses pass us at the same time with a herd of scooters in tow that you decide driving at night may not be the best idea.

The first night after our precarious drive we stopped at a local restaurant for a late night dinner, our first true Indonesian meal. Some of us got what we thought we ordered and some were surprised, and want to know what happened. We did enjoy our first Bintang, the local beer. Really hit the spot after a long day. We were all happy to get to the hotel, and some comfortable beds.

Tommy Marx
DWC Team Leader