Hi Gram,
What a wonderful day! I woke a couple times throughout the night – the jet lag is still wearing off – but I was able to fall back asleep each time. I woke up for the last time around 7 and lounged in bed until 8. My friend Amy called and invited me to an afternoon Circling session. Circling is a European practice of talking, feeling, and emoting with a small group of people. I did a little reading about it (wanted to make sure it wasn’t TOO woo-woo for my tastes) then called her back and agreed to go, excited to experience something new. I got up and did my stretches, then headed downstairs to have some of the delicious yogurt I bought the day before. It did not disappoint, although I’m not sure how much I’ll continue with yogurt while I’m here. The market is far, the selection is small, and the restaurant prices are so low that I just might try a different eatery each morning. After breakfast, I sat at my computer and wrote yesterday‘s letter to you for a while. I edited some photos, then decided that I was hungry and headed to a Greek place around the corner.

I sat upstairs next to the window and enjoyed a little people watching down on the street once I found a tasty looking chicken wrap on the menu. I felt like a world traveler, sitting by an open window, the noises and aromas from the street below, sipping my lime infused water. The sandwich exploded with Greek flavors with an Asian influence and really hit the spot. Seeing the time, I quickly paid my bill and headed back for my helmet before ordering a scooter ride. My driver pulled up a few minutes later and our traffic adventure began. The bike this time was a little bigger than the day before and didn’t struggle as much on the steep hills we encountered. He dropped me off where I’d instructed and I found that I was pretty close to where I actually wanted to be.

The idea of addresses and streets here is a bit of a guessing game. Businesses will use similar or identical names, and house numbers aren’t sequential – residents just choose their lucky or family number. For example, my guest house that I’m staying in is #14. It is located between #16 and #24. Google maps is pretty good at finding the right location based on the name and address, but Grab and Gojek (essentially Uber and Lyft) apps use different mapping and ask “did you mean xyz?” When you enter an address. If you enter the name of the business, it will ask if you want the one that’s 0.5km away or 8.6km away. They aren’t franchises, where you would obviously go to the nearest one. They’re completely separate businesses, often a different type (a warung restaurant instead of a villa, for example). In this case I was meeting Amy at a spa so she could meet me and lead me to the house tucked down a gravel road and through a stepping stone pathway. In any case, my sleuthing between google maps and the Grab app got me within a hundred meters of where I was going. I met with Matthew, Amy’s fiancé, and he led me to the house.

I took off my shoes and we headed upstairs to a gorgeous open space with a vaulted roof and sliding glass doors overlooking a pool and patio. This friend of Amy’s had a beautiful home! I introduced myself to people as they walked in, then we all sat in a circle and started our sharing. The facilitator started us with a question about how children and teachers interacted when we were young and how that influenced us as we grew up. A few people spoke in turns, then we paired off and discussed our physical feelings (my back was achy and legs were tight), sensations (I was warm and sticky), and our emotions (I was anxious about this new experience) for a while. As that wound down, we split into new groups of four and discussed another topic that I don’t remember, then we all formed a circle again and continued the discussion of what we were thinking, how we felt, and how we reacted. It was a rewarding and enjoyable experience and one that I could see myself doing again. After some chatting, I decided to walk back to the house instead of grabbing a ride. It was good to get the exercise, but many of the sidewalks are narrow, broken, blocked by a parked truck or construction, or nonexistent – and there’s a chance that a scooter is coming at you along the sidewalk – so the walk home was “interesting”. I stopped about halfway for watermelon juice and enjoyed the air conditioning while I ordered. I saw a scooter driver carrying quite a load and an official looking street sign that made me smile.

I got back to the house, cranked the AC in my bedroom, and took a shower to clean away the sweat and grime. I lay in my luxurious cool bed, reading my book with the AC blowing a nice cool breeze through the room until the hunger creeping in. I threw on my shoes and headed down the street looking for some grub and settled at Queen’s Indian. It was a little fancier and pricier than I was planning, but I LOVE Indian food. I haven’t lived near an Indian restaurant in recent years (and possibly ever), so I haven’t had a chance to get bored with it like I have other cuisines. The food was so delicious, the service was top notch, and when I say that it was pricier than I planned, I mean it ran me $16 instead of the usual $5-9 I’ve gotten used to. Still, $16 for tantalizing, melt in the mouth food served with real cloth napkins is a deal nonetheless.

While I was sitting at dinner, David and Ashley messaged me to let me know they were through customs already! I was expecting them to be another hour before that step but they landed a little early and their bags were the first off the carousel. The lines were virtually nonexistent at immigration and customs, so they flew right through. An hour later, I had just put my leftovers in the fridge when I walked out to greet them. It was so great seeing them arrive, knowing that I would have exploration buddies into October and possibly November. We got them into the house and I gave them the dime tour, then Ashley headed to bed while David and I walked down the street so he could grab a little food before bed. His choice for his first meal in Bali? A quesadilla from a taco stand. Halfway around the world to get cuisine originating from our neighboring country. ‘Merica! It rained a little while we were in the restaurant, but had cleared up before we walked back. I love that when it rains here (so far), it tends to be in the evening and very brief. This place is so gorgeous, and I can’t wait to see more in the coming days.