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Decided to head off to Bali for the weekend to meet up with Farah and Janhavi who were also here for Janhavi's last weekend in Indonesia. But on Thursday got a very pleasant surprise from Prakash (my boss) who asked me if I wanted to stay for the week to check out the women's programs and naturally took me all of about 3 seconds to say hell yes! So now I am staying at the Lodge with no return ticket which is ok by me...
But first before Bali there was our housewarming - and oh what a house warming, have been describing it as more of house destruction to people because you should have seen our apartment the morning after! We themed the party red and white because Indonesian Independence Day had just passed so it seemed appropraite. The place looked great too - Jimmy had managed to buy some flags and Aphro's kindly donated all their balloons and streamers to our cause. And we had some great costumes starting with a red and white rhino who showed up at 5pm to watch the football to my great surprise. As it turns out the Indonesian rugby team over here are the Indonesian rhinos hence the mascot suit - don't know how Sam managed to wear it in the heat but he did (well for about 5 minutes). There were some other great costumes and basically everyone embraced with the theme with great gusto hence why the photos look so good! We also had a pass the parcel, kindly made by Daph, to keep with the traditions of independence day which include playing children games. The prizes were hardly your standard ones (sambal, lollies, batman and spiderman stickers and a fanny pack as the grand prize) but for some reason everyone really wanted one (might have had something to do with drinking beer but not sure hehe). And while it seemed like a great idea at the time, Jimmy and I were a little less enthusiastic when we woke up the next morning to a house full of newspaper including some that was welded to the floor thanks to spilt drinks!
Overall a great time was had by all and the neighbours didn't even complain which either means that we weren't rowdy enough (not likely given the amount of people that were crowded into a very small space and the volume that the TV was on when we turned it on the next day) or they are very heavy sleepers! Everyone spent most of the next day recovering with a solid breakfast and some quality pool and couch time. So now our house is thoroughly warmed and thanks to our wonderful pembantu Cinty it is clean as well! (don't worry jimmy and i did most of the cleaning, just got her to de-sticky the floor!)
On Friday night headed off to Bali and despite managing to way way overpack managed to leave my ticket at home and didn't realise I had done so until I was most of the way to the airport and Jakarta traffic just does not allow you to turn around and go back and get it. Had a lengthy but unproductive argument with the ticket office about reprinting my ticket to no avail as i didnt have an electronic ticket (this country really drives me up the wall sometimes) so had to buy a new ticket which fortunately was cheap but so not the point!
Had a quieter night out on Friday with Janhavi and Farah along with Ali from Jakarta and some of other AYADs who live here in Bali. We found a champagne bar in Seminyak which was heaven and made me realise how much I miss champagne! Saturday we spent the entire day on the beach tanning and swimming and relaxing, was lovely and much cleaner than the last time i was here! Water was perfect too and oh the waves! Will definitely be learning how to surf while I am living here! Saturday night was much larger and involved much dancing as every good night out should and ended, as all great nights should, with a cheeseburger on the way home. For once not from McDonalds but was cooked fresh in front of me on Jl. Legian and was amazing!
On Sunday I moved out to the Udayana EcoLodge which will be my place of abode for most of next year. It is on top of a hill in Jimbaran which is located on then narrow piece of land connecting most of Bali with its southern tip. The open air dining room has stunning views towards Sanur and it is surrounded by lovely gardens. Will be a big change from living in Jakarta but definitely not an unwelcome one or a bad one.
There are however, several unwelcome mice currently in my room including one who has taken up residence under my bed after I scared him by daring to walk into my own room. currently trying to think of ways to tempt him out of there. He's quite cute actually but don't really fancy him crawling over me while asleep. I have also been informed that there is a resident snake who likes to lie in the garden outside my room. Ben's advice to me was to walk fast at night = not helpful or comforting!
So I will be spending the week here basically taking inventory of the women's program here to see what has been happening and what i have to work with. Will be interesting as none of the CI guys who are actually based here seemed to have any idea of how many girls are playing or where exactly they are but they do keep assuring me that there are plenty of female players!
Will put some photos up of the lodge soon to make you all jealous and wish you were here, and trust me you do!
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