wanderlust

25-09-2017 I cancelled my tour to Nusa Penida today because I was told it would be best to stay in Ubud which is apparently a safe place to be right now. Instead, I go to Pura Saraswati, a beautiful temple here in Ubud and I am amazed by the lakes around it. Bali has so many nice places to visit! There are no news about the volcano. The sky is still covered with smoke most of the time and I keep carrying my mask and emergeny bag with me. But there is no need to worry about the eruption for me, really. The only bad thing might be an earthquake, but that's it. I am rather worried about all the animals that were left behind by all the evacuees. As thousands of people fleed from their homes and all balinese people I got to know has loads of pets and livestock, the thought about thousands of animals dying in the lava is racking my nerves, I don't know how to stand this idea... maybe I should join the people praying to the god of destruction or whatever... this seems to be the o

23-09-2017 In the morning, we headed in the direction of the volcano and approached Mount Agung to a distance of 20km (the town is called Klungkung) to help the evacuees that are about to loose everything. The organization and we volunteers bought kilos of food in a store and then drove to two different places to provide some food for about 40 persons. The people are very grateful and even the major comes to the second place. By now, you can't see the Mount Agung anymore due to the smoke as you can see on the photo below - if the sky was clear, you would be able to see the volcano right behind the houses. It is pedicted that the volcano erupts today. But nothing is happening so far.

22-09-2017 At 7 am, we went to the Ubud Rice Fields to do some trekking and to collect the garbage you unfortunately find in masses over there. Though, it was amazing to see the lush green rice fields Ubud is famous for. I also went to two different waterfalls with three other volunteers today which was just incredible. First was the Kanto Lampo waterfall you can see on the last photo on the below and then the Lipumana waterfall. Both of them were pure beauty of nature! And I also enjoyed that it wasn't even crowded by tourists - I am happy to be back in the mainlands and not to be surrounded by tourists all the time. For those that are interested in the volcano stuff: We reached the final alert level, so it's level 4 out of 4 now. The volcano is predicted to erupt any second now and seismic activity increases. More people get evacuated now and you must not approach the volcano within a radius of 12km now. About 34,000 people living in evacuated areas have fled. The airpo

21-09-2017 It's another day at school. In the afternoon, there is the acutal wedding - and everything is right in front of my room. When I step out of it, I find myself directly in all the wedding celebrations. I use this opportunity to watch the wedding ceremony for which a priest comes here. The couple wears traditional balinese clothes and everything is bright and colorful and music is playing the whole day. Many people are invited so it's pretty crowded the whole day. By now, there are some news about the volcano. It is now level 3 out of 4 for the eruption and residents in a radius of 6km are evacuated. You must not get within the radius and apparently many tourists try to escape as long as they can. As for me and the other volunteers, we try to keep calm and stay.

20-09-2017 After my third Indonesian lesson, I had my third day at school. I really like the children and schools and some of them are very eager to learn which delights me. Some of the girls gave me flowers today - this made my day. There are no news about the volcano yet, so we're still waiting. Although, it is recommened to have a mask in case the dust and the ashes will unexpectedly pollute the air from the volcano's smoke that is already coming out, so I bought a mask today. I also pack a kind of emergency bag that I can grab when I run outside on the street in case of an earthquake. We all try to stay calm, though. We aren't directly effected by the volcano since the lava won't get so far that we should be concerned. 30km distance are 30km distance - this should be more than enough. So our daily lives go on.

19-09-2017 After the end of the second school day, I went to a public pool with two other volunteers that work here, too. And then, we received some bad news. About 30km from here, seismic activity was recorded. Mount Agung, one of the biggest volcanos in Indonesia, is predicted to erupt soon. Currently, it is level 2 out of 4 indicating the risk of eruption. If it should come to an eruption, we will have to face an earthquake and raining ashes. I don't try to panic, but everyone seems concerned. As for now, we just have to wait for news.

18-09-2017 At 9 am, I got an Indonesian lesson to learn some essentiel words like greetings. After that, Andre -one of the organization members- and I prepared the first lesson for teaching English in an elementary school. As of today, I am going to teach English in a school nearby and since I currently am the only English teacher there, I will teach all classes from grade 3 to 6. School is so different from what I was used to back home. At the beginning of a lesson, all the students stand up and we do a traditional balinese greeting: we fold our hands and say "om swasti astu". Then, the students greet me and ask me how I am today in a choir and I respond and ask them the same. It is so much fun to teach them and some of the students are very keen to learn and to raise their hands. After break time, the students have to pray - this is my favorite part. One child comes to the front and all the other children stand up as-well. In a choir, they sing a prayer that sounds so

16-09-2017 and 17-09-017 During my first weekend in Ubud, I got a cultural introduction, a placement introduction and an overview about child abuse in Bali to be prepared for my project work.  I also buy appropriate clothes for going to school (shirts with collars and a long traditional balinese skirt).  After I had settled in, I visited the Sacred Monkey Forests located in the rainforest of Ubud, where I regained trust to the monkeys after my unpleasant experience in Ulu Watu. The monkeys there are free - they aren't surrounded by fences and aren't chained. Sometimes, they just go out of the park and go for a stroll in the streets nearby. I guess they choose to stay there because the visitors have got treats for them like bananas. 

15-09-2017 Today is the beginning of a new part of my jounrey. I am going to live and work as English teacher in Ubud in the mainland of Bali.  In the morning, I get fetched by one of the project coodinators who brings me to Ubud, which is also known as the cultural capital. I am going to stay in a homestay, so the five other participants of this project and I stay with locals during the project work. We call the lovely owner of the homestay Papa Made. His son Andri is about to marry next week, so there are already preparations going on for the big ceremony. I am sooo excited to see it!  I feel welcomed and like I am home right from the start. I am looking forward to 6 weeks of living and working in Ubud. 

14-09-2017 This is the last day for me to simply travel around and I decided to spent it in Denpasar, the capital. I walked to a big memorial as you can see below and the Gandhi statue. I expected it to be big and easy noticeable. But in fact, it was rather hard to find: It is a very small statue surrounded by normal houses located at a normal highway. Who would have thought that this remarkable man just would get such a small statue. But when I thought about it, it didn't seem weird at all for a man who is probably the role model of simplicity and modesty.

13-09-2017 Today was my last day to enjoy the beach since I am going to head to the mainland of Bali as of tomorrow. So I took this last chance to toast myself in the burning hot sun and to think about life - cause where could you do this better than in this scenery?  During my stay in South Africa, Vietnam and Bali, some things became clear to me. About what makes me happy, how I wanna live my future life. I found out that there is so much beauty in the simplicity of life - for 2 months now, I haven't possessed anything expect for what is in my backpack, haven't worn make-up or cared about my hairstyle, I haven't worn jewerelly, a nice bag or fancy shoes. I haven't bought souvenirs or luxuries. I lived with the bare neccessities. I have spent my money on food and a clean bed and life has just been that simple. When I wanted to go somewhere, I just walked there. I got rid of 4 kilos of my clothes and items I brought from home. By liberating myself from everythi

12-09-2017 Early in the morning, I went to Pura tanah Lot, a popular and holy temple that is located on cliffs and depending on the tide surrounded by water. The temple looked ancient and I could see some priest-looking men upstairs but none of the tourists really dared to walk up there. It was an almost magical place - but I would recommend to come early to avoid the crowds of tourists.  In the afternoon, I enjoyed Seminyak's sandy beaches and worked on my suntan which soon turned into a sunburn. I'm currently staying in Seminyak, which is still touristic but a beautiful place to relax and find some rest. 

10-09-2017 I headed to Kuta, a quite popular and crowded town, in Bali. It is known for being very busy, its buzzing night life and that it is full of young tourists, but although I wanted to see this side of Bali, too. At first, I went to visit the Legian Bombing Memorial that should remind the people of the victims (which are listed on the wall) of this occurance. I also did a little bit of shopping in Kuta to cool down from the high temperatures and humidity and then went for a walk on the beach during the sunset. There were still many surfers waiting for the "perfect wave". In the evening, some people and I went out for dinner and a bar to get to know the night life - but honestly, you can really skip this when going to Bali. I am looking forward to rather get to know the less crowded spots where you can find locals and the "real" Bali.

09-09-2017 After a short tour to Jimbaran Beach in the north of Ulu Watu, I watched the sunset at padang-padang beach. Stunning!

07-09-2017 Before I headed to Ulu watu at lunch time, I had some time left to see a site consisting of an hinduism temple, a mosque, a catholic church and a protestian church - peacefully coexisting next to each other. After having arrived in Ulu Watu in the early afternoon, I went to the breath-taking Ulu Watu beach you can see below and tried to work on my suntan. Then, I went to the popular Ulu Watu temple on the cliff - but as you can see, I didn't get to see too much since I was soon "attacked" by a monkey. Since there is a huge problem with rabies spread by monkeys and straying animals in Bali, I had to go to the hospital as quick as possible. It was quite a shock, but I'm fine now and I guess this is how you become a story teller.

06-09-2017 I spent my second day in Nusa Dua, where I went to Pura Gegar, a temple on a cliff.  To do so, I had to put on a traditional balinese skirt to cover my legs. I also discovered the beautiful cliff you can see below and I am already overwhelmed by the landscape and the exotic plants. After this, I strolled around on the beach and worked on my suntan.

05-09-2017 I started off my stay in Bali with travelling along the coast: I spent my first day in Sanur, a town in the south-east of Bali. In the moring, I went to a yoga lesson to get into the swing of things and my life in the spiritual Bali. I enjoyed the rest of the day on the beach to settle in and to soak up the feeling of this peaceful part of the world. After my very first beach day in a long while, I still had some time left to visit a small temple nearby. the yoga place

04-09-2017 In the morning, I headed to the airport to catch my light to Denpasar, Bali. This will be my home for the following 8 weeks.  I already feel like I'm home in Bali right from the beginning.  collecting stamps

03-09-2017 Today's my very last day in Vietnam and I am happy to be able looking back on so many experiences and aquaintances that have enriched my life. At lunch time, it was time to say goodbye to the group of people I'v travelled with. After that, I headed to the accomodation near the airport - my flight will depart in the morning. I'm so grateful to be given the chance to be impressed and inspired every day, to learn and to understand, to broaden my horizon and experience the diversity of life in a seemingly tiny little world.

02-09-2017 You cannot go to Vietnam without catching up on its history. In the morning, we went to the war remnants museum and learned many things about the cruel Vietnam war, the colonialism and its independance from France. It happens to be the 2nd September to celebrate the Vietnamese independance - the date of today. At lunchtime-ish, we drove to the Cu Chi Tunnels where hundreds of people had to hide during the on-going war right above their heads. As we went half-walking, half-squatting through the tunnels without being able to stand up-right let alone to stretch out the arms to the sides, I almost felt like not being able to breathe even though I'm not claustophobic. We also got to see the traps the Vietnamese soldiers built to catch their enemies and the cruelty - at both fronts - made me feel sick. Although, I think this was a good way to finish an unforgettable trip through Vietnam! Declaration of Independance the probably most popular photo showing the Vie