Marta Mari. Theatre Director. Arts Manager

So how was Bali? It is a question I’m asked a lot lately. Well, to be honest I don’t know how to answer that shortly. So I’ll try here. In general, it was a good year. Spending eight months in Bali changed our perspectives, allowed us to rest, experience a time of doing nothing (which is something that is hard to imagine nowadays), gave me time to thinkJ. The best thing that I brought from Bali though is my baby. Baby Marysia made in Bali was born healthy in Poland and is a sweet and happy girl. There is never a perfect time to have a baby-there’s work, too small flat, not enough money etc. I didn’t have to worry about any of these in Bali so I guess for me, it was a great time to have a baby…But back to the subject. Here is what I loved about Bali and what I miss terribly:

Living close to nature-almost all the time outdoors...

Yoga with the fabulous Denise Payne at Yoga Barn. http://theyogabarn.com/

Delicious fresh mango, papaya, bananas, and snake fruit bought at Ubud market. (those fruit bought in the UK have nothing to do with their Balinese versions-well maybe just a name)

Learning and speaking Bahasa Indonesia…

Dining with Stephanie and Denise at various places in Ubud…

Visiting Mario and Ike at their diving place in Sanur. (now, Mario is one of those rare Polish guys living outside of Poland, that always welcomes and helps fellow nationals. Smart, witty, and optimistic and offers fab diving excursions! http://www.diving-indo.com/

Swimming everyday ( private pools are never overrated!!!)

Teaching drama to kids in an almost outdoor space-feeling light breeze and seeing palms…

Snorkeling at Padangbai Beach

Riding a skuter

Our Balinese cat Cinta aka Maluni (that now lives with our dear friends)

Eating fried eels and raw chocolate (not togetherJ)

Wearing sarong and flip flops

Chris misses weekly Badminton with John

Seeing Cambodia and Cempaka flowers and beautiful butterflies everywhere

Taking Amelia to Pelangi School that she liked and having coffee there with nice people www.pelangischoolbali.com/

Watching beautiful dance performances and artworks everywhere…

Listening to heavy rain…

And other tiny things that made it worthwhile to drop everything and go there. We all miss those little things, especially people that we’ve met there, whose friendship we value tremendously…We are grateful for the experience and terima kasih to the people that made our stay there unforgettable. I guess there must be some sort of magic within this island that makes people want to comeback. We will. One day..In the meantime I shall write some memories...

I woke up several days ago hoping being in Asia was only a dream and that I would open my eyes and see snow outside the window. Dream on because you’re still in Asia-my sarcastic self said to my naïve self. There came a moment when I though to myself: what a fuck am I doing here? Ok, I live in a beautiful house, swim everyday, don’t have to clean as I have a maid, don’t really have to cook as we eat in restaurants, I take all my laundry to the cleaners, Amelia’s happy, my husband doesn’t complain about getting up to work because he doesn’t work, I got a cat to sooth my heart for missing my cats that are in Scotland, the weather cooled off a bit…

Am I really that ungrateful? What do I want? What’s missing? My husband said that I feel that way because I’m bored. So I decided to open an arts centre here with drama and dance classes….It is exciting, I admit, but somehow doesn’t fill the void. And then it came to me: it’s not boredom that bothers me, it’s a lack of intellectual challenge, lack of being surrounded by creative and therefore inspirational people, lack of the right stimuli…I see fabulous things happening in theatres in Scotland and there is none here…There is not one professional, western actor here in Bali that I know of! I figured long time ago that in order to be happy I need to feel I’m growing, developing, learning…Plus I really value genuine people-with their worries, struggles, joys and hopes.

And here I get an impression that people are everything but genuine. Everyone is always smiling (just like in that TV movie The Prisoner with Sir Ian McKellen), everyone likes to talk about their pembantu (a general house help-they do it all: cleaning, childcare, cooking, shopping, some also massage etc). Many people have businesses here-but again they like to compliment each other on how they treat their WORKING stuff (read: reprimand them). And then there is a talk like…when I was in Thailand I bought this and that, when I was travelling in India the beaches were amazing, and oh, I just went for a colonic, a massage, what spa do you like? They serve this amazing dish in that restaurant etc.

‘I am loving my lifestyle here’- I hear it quite often. What lifestyle? Of doing nothing useful? Of focusing on getting rid of all the hard things in life? And what’s more putting it all on the shoulders of poor Balinese women who before and after their days work at a rich white woman’s house (for roughly $4 a day!) go to their own households and children? Lifestyle of endless spas and moving from one restaurant to another and either engaging in small talks with friends alike or sitting in front of a computer on Facebook? People even speak slowly here- that drives me mad!

Is there any genuine satisfaction of any kind in that lifestyle? Doesn’t that usually come from hard work and conquering obstacles and doing something useful? I believe that life should be hard sometimes so we can appreciate and know what happiness is. It is a banal belief, I know, but isn’t it true? I feel sorry for those women whose children love and cuddle to their nannies more than their mothers. I really do. Raising children is hard. Sometimes we all have enough and need a rest but hey, that’s real life! See The Prisoner and you’ll know what I’m talking about! I AM GENUINELY SICK OF THIS BULLSHIT!

Some time ago I’ve met this 82 years old Japanese professor of cultural anthropology (an extremely rare event) and when I told him life in Bali annoyed me, he smiled and said that it is because there is no change here. There are no seasons here-all the time the same weather, and so people don’t prepare for the change; they don’t know a change. And with that sentence the professor summarised it all for me. That’s why I like people smarter than me: ‘there is no change here’. And I am all about change-for me change is life. I often don’t know what day of the week it is. If I didn’t host a Polish Christmas Eve party I wouldn’t know it was Christmas…Despite all your beauty and good things I don’t love you, Bali. I don’t belong here.

Every now and then people ask me how I like Bali. Equally nice and annoying I tend to answer. What’s annoying? – they wonder. Well, Balinese standards- I usually say. At this point to visitors on holidays here or some that freeze in Europe I must appear as this unappreciating spoiled brat. I don’t think I am, and I think it’s all a matter of perspective…Here are two (for now) examples:

1)      Cleanliness.  An American woman rents a nice villa (there usually is a cleaning woman contracted as well); It is a first day of a house cleaning, the American is getting ready to leave the house so that the cleaning woman can work more comfortably. While she awaits her husband she’s observing the following situation: the cleaning woman gets a bucket and some rugs; she then goes to a nearby fish pond and then gets some water to the bucket. She then goes to the living room and is about to dump the water onto the wooden floor but at the last moment is stopped by the horrified American. It takes some explaining how (not) to clean the floor. I have a maid clean my house twice a week. She’s nice and tries and although she’s been doing it for years there is a long way to a spotless house-maybe by the time I leave I see the house really clean…Thank goodness for geckos and other lizards that keep the house bugs free! (that’s a good standard)

2)      Tanpa gula! Means without sugar. Very useful to know especially for those who, like me, don’t like drinks with sugar. Balinese tend to put sugar in EVERYTHING be it a coffee, a fresh juice, an alcoholic drink-anything that’s on the drink menu. Even knowing that every now and then I forget to tell the waiter not to use sugar. I have lately ordered coffee with milk-no sugar. I ordered in Indonesian to be sure the waitress understood. After a while she brings me coffee, I taste it and take a deep breath before I ask why she put sugar in my coffee. She says there is no sugar in the coffee. My husband takes a sip and his face is showing his disgusted reaction to the sweetness of the coffee (and he does use sugar!). Although we are calm, the waitress almost in tears says there is no sugar in my coffee. I don’t want to upset her, but the goddamned coffee is sweet. Make another one and this time I’ll watch you make it, I finally say. I follow her to the kitchen. And this is what I see: she makes a black, regular bitter coffee; then she fills HALF of the cup (literally) with CONDENSED milk and then pours the black coffee over the milk. She then turns to me with a typical Balinese smile and says: see, no sugar… So now when ordering coffee not only I have to say no sugar but also to make sure what kind of milk they’re using. And even then I sometimes get a sweet coffee…

When on holidays these seem funny and unimportant. But when you live here and all you want in the not so good morning is a decent cup of coffee then things like that can really drive anyone mad…

P.S About a week ago I gave in and we got a kitten from a local shelter. He is adorable, somewhat Siamese and very cuddly. One time after we fed him, my husband noticed the cat didn’t really wash himself. Our three cats back in Edinburgh could endlessly wash not only themselves but also one another and this one- two licks and done. Why are you surprised?- I asked my husband. Haven’t you gotten used to it yet? Used to what?-he asks disoriented. Well, Balinese standard of cleanliness, of course! We both started laughing…Maybe we should name him Standard...

There once was a woman who loved dogs. And she liked Bali. So she decided to move there with her family. But unfortunately, that would mean that she would have to leave her beloved Tanus-a 9 year old boxer behind because it isn’t possible to bring pets to Bali. In fact out of 18 thousands islands of Indonesia only 2 will let a dog in: Java and Sulawesi. The thought of separation from her ‘baby’ was heartbreaking…Nothing is impossible-she thought. And so she found a way…

She flew the dog to Jakarta on Java-a neighbouring island to Bali. Once there, the dog had to be kept in a quarantine facility for a month. At the end of that month the dog became a little sick so the vet decided to keep him there a little longer but: unfortunately (or rather fortunately) his owner told the vet, the dog is to go with a military on a mission…

And so the military picked up the dog and took him on a big, military cargo plane. Tanus spent couple of days with a military flying around Indonesian islands as part of the military exercise.

And then they stopped on Bali where his overjoyed owner were to collect him…When she came to a pick up point the dog was being guarded by the military until the arrival of the woman that would take him. Tanus has finally joined his family on Bali and is living happily following his owner everywhere.

How on Earth did she manage to get military involved in it? -you might ask. Well, there once was a friend who was a dog lover himself so he understood the love…and as it happened, he was in a military in Indonesia…and that’s how the idea emerged…What a friend! What love for a dog! What a story!

 

Bali and especially Ubud is known for its spirituality, yoga, meditation, self discovery, spa, great artistry and other things for sure, I can’t think of now. Believe it or not but till now I have been standing rather on the side of it-not because I don’t believe in the power of meditation, self-discovery etc. On the contrary-I love yoga, spas and all the things Ubud has on offer. But there was always something to do that was more important than meditation; yoga classes are more expensive here than in Edinburgh and my budget is limited and above it all I got an impression that all of this has been planned, prepared by white people for rich, bored white people or tourists that take one drop- in yoga class so that they can say back home they’ve taken yoga in Bali to make their friends jealous. I’m neither so that’s why I chose a role of an observer for a moment. 

And yet spirits of Bali don’t allow me to remain only an observer. Through a mixture of circumstances I meet people who in some strange way are answers to my slightest even desires. ‘I need a challenge’ I think to myself and then an artistic opportunity arises that is going to be damn challenging to me; I complain about yoga prices and voila- I find a free class; I have a philosophical conversation with my Austrian neighbour about self-discovery and he mentions family constellation technique used for that purpose (I know nothing about it, really). And then next day I find a free workshop for self healing using family constellation method…And just when I consciously decide to start meditating, I realize that I have been doing that for the last 2 weeks while I swim. Honestly, I jump into the pool each morning to think rather than swim and it feels great. Am I supposed to be here, then since the Universe is helping me out? Or is it just a set of lucky circumstances? Could anyone please remind me how and when did I get this idea to move to Indonesia? One is certain-everyday I become more involved and active here-definitely less of an observer…

Magically, I get what I ask for here. Bali, anyone?

When I woke up I felt a cool breeze-finally, I thought after days of never-ending humidity and heat. Good day for a beach!- my husband suggests. We quickly pack our snorkelling stuff and jump on the motorbike. After about an hour ride we get to- what is commonly thought here, one of the most beautiful beaches in Bali-Padangbai ‘Bloo Lagoon Beach’. It’s a small, quiet place with a small restaurant overlooking the sea. Several tourists peacefully rest in a shade. Upon entering the beach we are surrounded by locals trying to sell us their goods-it is tiring to be treated like a sack of money just because we’re white…One of the women is following us asking about our names and disappointedly (?) commenting the fact that Amelia is our only child (very common comment here). Although I am not interested in buying anything the woman spreads beautiful sarongs (our beach pareo). I don’t intend to be rude but ignorance is the only way to be left alone after kind words are disregarded…Anyway, the weather changed and now it is sunny and hot. I realize that I forgot to pack sunscreen-damn it! We’ll cry at night…We jump into the sea and immediately we are taken to a different world. Thousands of the most amazing, beautiful fish and sea creatures seem not to care about our presence. Amelia is ecstatic. She tries to touch the fish but never manages. Snorkelling is so natural to her and she has only has just begun…We get out of the water and play with the waves. After a while I realize that my mask is gone. We dive to look for it and after several minutes Amelia proudly finds it on the bottom. We then go to get a shower and there I realize that my trousers are missing. Luckily, I have my pareo but riding a motorbike in it, isn’t appealing to me. I know I put them on the rocks so we check the beach but with no luck. We order food in the only restaurant-I’m still thinking about my favourite trousers-maybe the woman that wanted to sell me sarong took it so that I would buy a pareo from her-my mind wonders. But then, Balinese don’t steal in general…My husband somehow finds this situation funny! We’re enjoying our food when suddenly Amelia exclaims: mom, I see your trousers floating in the sea! She’s right-my husband confirms while I still can’t see them! My husband is then getting them out of the water while the other tourists take it for additional attraction. I’m relieved but it still means I’d have to ride the motorbike in pareo...It’s getting dark when we get home. Before I enter the house I meet my Austrian neighbour by the pool. He has a background in psychology and now is a spiritual writer. I get an hour of psychotherapy on the spot- just when I needed. I finally get home but when I look in a mirror my mood changes again-my back and legs are burned. Amelia rubs in a healing cream onto my back-what a wonderful child I’ve got!  I make a delicious pineapple and banana fritter for supper that we all enjoy for the end of the day.

I get lots of e-mails asking for nice photos of Bali as it is perceived as a paradise. It is a beautiful island, but before I engage into describing and showing its beauty I want to point out two things I hate about the ‘paradise’.

 Firstly, the amount of rubbish and total lack of understanding the catastrophic impact this will have on this marvellous island. Plastic bags, plastic bottles and paper are everywhere. There are some bins laid out in the busiest tourist spots but not nearly enough. The concept of recycling is rather unknown and even if people know what it means they seem to care less. Incredible amount of education in this regard is needed now since it will take at least one generation (I’m being overly optimistic, I guess) to notice a difference. When looking for a house to rent I asked about utilities and one of the natural things for me was to ask about the cost of a garbage removal. Most of the people were rather disoriented what I meant. When I explained they seemed embarrassed a bit and quickly talked something about government and other things, but my questions remained unanswered. The rubbish is being dumped usually ‘around the corner’; some of it is burned often in front of house; some are being taken away (?) by men on motobikes…

Another thing that I am even more emotional about is a treatment of animals. I mentioned earlier that there were thousands of cats everywhere in Jakarta. Many of them were ‘wild’-they coexist with people-some are more domesticated than others. In Bali however, there are thousands of dogs on the streets. Most of them wonder around the streets in search of food, even though there are food stalls almost everywhere. I have seen dogs so thin and starved that in Europe people go to jail for such treatment of animals. It is a truly upsetting sight for someone as crazy about animals as I am. Many dogs are injured, either bitten by another dog, hit by the car or motorbike, not to mention flees, flies, mosquitoes and other things I just cannot imagine. At night, there can be heard a neverending dog cry, hauls, barking. An American I met here said to me that although she loved animals she got to a point that she thinks that those dogs should be simply put to sleep…I don’t know what to think myself anymore since the problem is so huge…Rabies is another growing problem. The number of people being bitten is growing. Many places have information about rabies being a real threat on the island and offer vaccination against it. I do regret that I have not taken this vaccine before I left- I just didn’t think the threat was so real.  As one of the precautions I read not to feed dogs. But how not to when you see them so hungry???  We’re in a restaurant and Amelia’s not eating her dinner. Paying the bill I ask a young Balinese waitress if they feed hungry animals with leftovers. She looks at me very surprised and says no. At that point I’m engaging into a conversation how they should do it; my husband is rolling his eyes at me but waits quietly. Seeing that now two young waitresses don’t grasp the concept I tell them to pack Amelia’s leftovers. No food is wasted at my home anymore-all leftovers are used to feed hungry dogs. Balinese do look at me like I’m a freak giving food to strange dogs. Whatever! 

There are several organizations here, led by foreigners that try to help animals but the problem is so huge…We visit one of them that has an adoption scheme in place. The man working there says that on average they manage to find one home a week for a puppy…”Sometimes people drop puppies at the adoption centre but more often we find them on roads and we regularly visit cemeteries as people usually leave them there-especially female pups”-the man explains. What a horrible thing to do-taking puppies away from their mother and leaving them for a horrible death at a cemetery! It’s hard for me to understand people here-on one hand they smile a lot, seem gentle and calm; on the other, they regularly engage in these kinds of practises…

Roosters’ fights are another social events I just cannot stand. They gather huge crowds of men and boys-a real social (and financial) entertainment! I know it’s part of their cultural traditions and I never thought I would say this but it would be better if those people spend their time in front of TV rather than engaging into this cruel and bloody form of entertainment. There!

I like Bali but I am grateful to come from a place where there are laws regarding animal treatments and environment protection. They are not perfect and not respected by everyone and there is cruelty and ignorance in these regards but at least there is a legal point of reference and there are educational programmes in place. Being here makes me realize how many things in life I take for granted. I am proud to come from the country where it is normal to have cats sleeping in my bed and I am thankful to all the people who made it ‘normal’ for me to be environmentally aware.

After several days of searching for a house in incredible heat, we finally found what we were looking for! A beautiful 2 bedroom house in Mas village, next to inspiring rice fields, orchids everywhere, fish pond with Lotus flower and the pool. Oh, and the house’s name is Cempaka (it’s a name of a flower or tree rather that grows by the entrance). Every night we are visited by shy geckos making Amelia very happy. Every morning I am woken up by the birds singing shortly before the sunrise. It is my favourite part of day. 

Everyday Balinese women bring canang- gifts for the Gods to our front house. This usually consists of flower petals, and rice on a palm leaf, blessed with holy water and burning incense. These are set above the ground for the smoke of incense to lead it to heaven to Gods. The gifts are also put on the ground for demons and evil ghosts and then ants take away the rice gracefully...

 

Amelia started school. She’s enjoying it very much although it’s very different to what she has used to in Scotland and Poland. Everyday we take her to school on a motorbike-she’s ecstatic about it and about her new helmet.


In beauty may we walk
In beauty may we speak
In beauty may we act
In beauty may we be


With these words Pelangi School students start their day...

Life is goodJ