Hey blog!
Spring break was this past week. It’s funny how long you can look forward to something and then how fast it goes by! As I mentioned in my last blog, I spent the whole week in Bali with my family. I’m so fortunate that they were able to visit me and the week was full of good food, lots of laughing, meeting people, and exploring different areas together. Right now Bali feels like a fever dream. I felt so remote there and distant from the distractions and stress of daily life compared to other places I’ve been. Even though the streets were chaotic and I definitely was not far from civilization and people, I felt connected to my environment and being there made me want to slow down and take advantage of time outside even more than I typically do in Singapore. My family and I talked about how the more you travel, the more unexpecting you become, and the harder it is to pick a “favorite destination.” At the point of my life that I am at, I have no answer to the question “where is your favorite spot that you’ve traveled to.” I have come to realize that there probably never will be, because the experiences have become immersion in a place and culture, not looking at it through a “good or bad” lens, and definitely avoiding comparison to the US (which is hard sometimes because its just human nature).
Through my program I have gotten these opportunities and I’ll be eternally grateful for all of them!! And the more I travel, the more I keep wanting to see. Before I came to Southeast Asia, I never thought of traveling here that much. I had always wanted to see Asia, but I was ignorant in knowing how much this area has to offer, and now that I’m here, I can’t imagine my life without seeing this part of the world and all of its beauty- I genuinely love it here. Even my preconceived notions of Bali were wrong. I think a lot of people view Bali as a beach resort tropical getaway with villas over the ocean. Even though this can be true, the culture stood out the most to me and every street was uniquely different with charm and character. We met some of the nicest people there but we were also met with sad realities regarding average pay there and the lifestyles of some locals. But this brings me to my next point which is- comparison kills. The majority of people there are genuinely happy and thankful. And this is all that they know. This goes for so many other areas of the world as well, and when we compare our lifestyles it can seem sad. This does NOT mean that they don't deserve more for their hard work, and that there are clear inequalities, but comparing is not successful. It’s also true that the more you have, the more stress and responsibilities come with it. I really noticed the joys in simplicity there, which is something my family talks about a lot. Escaping people and things that you are around all the time and experiencing different things can be so resetting, and can give helpful perspective into what really matters.
While in Bali we got to do some cool things. We did a day trip to some popular beach destinations and went to a temple on a cliff to see a traditional Balinese performance. We also got to surf and ride ATV’s in the jungle, caves, rice fields, rivers, and mud- personally one of my favorite memories. Everything there felt very carefree and that was one part that I thought was so fun. We also got to take a day trip to Nusa Pendia island (about a 45 minute ferry ride from Bali). There’s too many stories and things to explain with that day trip, but I’ll just say that the sights were beautiful… :) On another day, our driver (who we loved and got close to) randomly asked us on a drive back from a day trip if we liked coffee. We’re big coffee people so naturally we said yes, and he pulled over and told us we would try the “best coffee in the world.” And he was actually right. We got walked through a kind of jungle area and got shown the process of “Kopi Luwak” which is coffee beans taken from the feces of an animal called a “civit”. This animal eats the coffee beans fresh, then it is fermented through their digestive system, and after they do their thing, the coffee bean is cleaned many times and made into the coffee that we know- kinda insane and we thought they were kidding at first. But in this experience we also got to try 16 other naturally made coffees and teas from the area. We finished it all and this will be something I remember!!
The coffee is in the bottom left corner!
In Bali there's Hindu temples everywhere, and we learned from locals that each family has their own temple typically
ATV ride!
Nusa Penida snorkel trip
Coming home from Bali was sad, but I had a couple days left with my parents and we spent a lot of time with our family friends who live in Singapore. They took us to eat so much local food at the coolest restaurants, and we got to see the Singapore National Museum (which had a beautiful cocktail bar with the coolest view of the city). This was a fun transition before heading back to school for my normal week. Now, it’s Friday so I made it through my first week back at school since break. April is flying by and I feel like we’re only on the first week of it!! But this means I’ll be heading home in less than two months which is bittersweet- of course I’ll be SO excited to see my people from home and soak up my short summer before Rio, but I know there won’t be enough time for me to see everything I want to here, and I will miss it a lot when I’m gone. :(
This past week I’ve been capturing more sights from Singapore that I wanted to share too! And I’ve been soaking up time with one of my best friends from USC who is ending her semester in Singapore on Sunday (she goes to a different University- the National University of Singapore). Her and I spent a lot of time in China Town last night where we got to shop a lot and get gifts for people from home, and then dinner. It’s a really cool area.
Singapore sights
Looking ahead, I have about 6 weeks left of actual classes, and then I’ll wrap up and do my big consulting presentation on June 7th. Time is going quick and I’ve been trying to figure out when I can do some more trips, but I think I’ll have some time in May. Until then I still have things to see and do in Singapore.
Thanks for keeping up! I appreciate YOU for reading!!!
Love,
Brigitte