sembilan belas

SIIIIIIIIGH of Relief.

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:32:00 -0400

Feels SO GOOD to be done and you can tell a major weight has been lifted from everyone’s shoulders. I feel as though I just got a hot stone massage and a hair cream bath and a foot massage all at once (I might go do that actually). Everyone’s presentations are done and portfolios handed in. Some of the community members came to ARMA to hear what we had to say. Unfortunely, the representatives from the Bali Spirit Festival or Rotary Club were not able to attend. Our group did however meet with the Bali Spirit Festival yesterday to pitch our idea. They were very receptive and we recieved some great feedback. I’m so proud of my group (especially Kim) for dealing with last minute issues that were out of our control, yet we still managed to pull through with a great project.

It’s now our last day in Ubud and I realized that I’m going to miss several things about this place…

1) The Balinese students :(
2) Gecko’s on every ceiling and wall
3) Pizza Bagus’s chicken sandwich
4) Getting ripped off at the sort of convience store across from Panorma (just kidding, that’s actually wicked annoying)
5) The peverted statues…everywhere
6) The Monkey Forest
7) Frog pee swimming pool
8) Spas on every corner
9) Street DOGS!
10) Fried Bananas
11) Hearing “Transport?” 20 plus times when walking to Circle K

Quit bitchin' & moanin'

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 04:14:12 -0400

Although group reflection was cancelled the other night, I had a bit of a self-reflection on my own. I feel like I’ve been a little negative lately and I hope to turn it around the last week of our project. Although I’m under the weather, I’m going to embrace this week with a positive attitude and prepare for our proposal presentation on friday. And really, what do I have to complain about?

Mini Mart hot dogs are yummy

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 08:46:28 -0400

Mini Mart’s hot dogs rival the late night street sausages in Boston. Kuta was a lot of fun; a much needed break from our projects. Kuta: the home of foam parties, motorbike crashes, lost friends, cheap drinks, stripper poles and Austrailians. I’m not suprised that we found a syringe on the beach this afternoon, but I can appreciate Kuta for all it’s touristy goodness.

KUTA

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 03:04:49 -0400

Vision: Kuta will make us happy.

Mission: The students of NU Global Corps will have fun to curb frustration by clubbing and surfing in Kuta this weekend with the belief that Ryan would have wanted us to…?

ACTION! Research, take two

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 02:34:00 -0400

Yesterday our group visited Denpasar to continue our action research. We have five major contacts in the city - Bali Plus Foundation, Yayasan Kerti Praja, School of Public Health Udayana University, Dinas Kesehantan and the Prodia Lab. We had a couple of doors slammed in our face; however, we did receive some useful contact information. Today, Zach mingled with David Cuper, a well known and active member of the local rotary club. A few years back he headed a HIV/AIDS awareness initiative and Zach picked his brain for a few hours. Anna went to Bali Hati to speak with Yacintha E. Desembriartista (aka Daisy) to learn about the organization’s programs. Our group has a meeting scheduled with Dr. Wirawan next Tuesday - the man who EVERYONE has referred us to. Very exciting stuff!

UM...

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 09:58:00 -0400

I’m so tired. I got an aloe vera facial today. Group reflection was awkward. Good night

ACTION! Research, take one

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:41:33 -0400

The Bali Spirit Festival put the spirit right back into our project. Today, Zach, Putu and I visited their headquarters in Ubud where we spoke with WeWe - the head of the “Ayo! Kita Bicara HIV/AIDS!” program. The Bali Spirit Festival has a vision to evolve into a premiere international holistic wellness & world music destination, while leading to a positive change in the community. The festival founders are working to create HIV/AIDS awareness programs through “Ayo! Kita Bicara HIV/AIDS!” to alert families about this rising issue. Wewe explained that they provide workshops in high schools across Bali promoting prevention, knowledge, and spiritual well-being. Our group (HIV + Positif: Kita Bisa Rubah) has a focus on promoting HIV education and testing within the local community. We have hopes of collaborating with this organization’s efforts to bring affordable or free testing for the Balinese that attend the free family day the last day of the festival. Wewe also put us in touch with helpful contacts within other organizations in Denpasar. Everyone and everything seems to be connected in Bali - the night festival is hosted at ARMA and “Ayo! Kita BicaraHIV/AIDS!” works with Campuhan College…

The headmaster and a friendly English teacher at the high school SMAN 1 Ubud (the largest public high school in Ubud) helped our group understand the extent of sex and HIV/AIDS education available in their high school. The high school has approximately 700 students enrolled, ages 17-19 years old. They also explained the way the high school curriculum works and we have an appointment to meet with the Biology teacher (the person responsible for teaching sex education) tomorrow at 10am.

Anna and Kim visited several clinics in Ubud, speaking with doctors and nurses to learn the protocol of HIV testing, prevention and care in Ubud. The answer was: it’s almost non-existent and they were always pointed to the capital, Denpasar. This confirms the need for our initiative in Ubud for HIV testing and our next action research destination: Denpasar.

Matt Coviello is Spider Man.

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 04:24:10 -0400

Matt Coviello is Spider Man.

View from our bungalow in Amed.

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 08:03:00 -0400

View from our bungalow in Amed.

bonfires and baracuda on black sand beaches

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 07:51:33 -0400

The beach bungalows in Amed were incredible; black sand beaches, hammocks to nap in, outdoor waterfall showers, snorkeling and bonfires. Saturday was quite possibly one of the most relaxing and carefree days of my life. I’d love to be a beach bum someday…

Now that it’s Monday, that means it’s time to get back to work. The reality that our community development project is going to be a long and difficult process is starting to set in. The mood was heavy today in class; hopefully by the end of the week everyone will have a better grasp on their research and will gain a positive outlook.

We’re going to Amed this weekend! :)

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:41:51 -0400

We’re going to Amed this weekend! :)

"NU" Millennium Development Goals for Summer I 2010

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:37:13 -0400

Eradicate dessert from lunch at ARMA
Achieve social entrepreneurship education
Promote the consumption of crispy duck
Reduce the amount of money I’m blowing…
Improve the WIFI at Pizza Bagus
Combat HIV/AIDS
Ensure project sustainability
Develop a global partnership for development

Happy Birthday Page!!

Thu, 03 Jun 2010 05:52:21 -0400

Picking an community issue for our project is harder than I thought. Yesterday we had an entire action research plan spelled out to tackle the problem of poor waste management here in Bali. After feedback from our presentations today and some self-reflection, we realized that our project could be potentially easy to implement, and in other words…boring. It was missing a human element. We were addressing a secondary issue. Our group wants to be passionate about our project so we have now changed our issue to the increase of HIV/AIDS in the community. We just finished our issue breakdown and our new research action plan. Our brains are fried and we’re physically beat; however, we’re reenergized with our new topic. We will jump into our research tomorrow and celebrate Page’s birthday tonight :)

"show me the money"

Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:03:19 -0400

“Limitations only come from myself”—Wyan, the co-founder of the Karuna Bali Foundation told our class this today as he described the difficult process of creating an organization. Wyan has the responsibility of finding funding to provide educational opportunities for 10-20 skilled students each year. The foundation works with private donors in order to offer talented Balinese students with financial issues an opportunity to study at Campuan College. The foundation has three major programs: Campuan College, Educare, and the Teacher Training Program. The one year program at includes classes in English and Desktop Publishing. The Educare program sends student volunteers to rural schools to teach English for four months. The Teacher Training program’s incentive is to introduce future educators and facilitators with essential teaching skills.

One of the major obstacles in creating this organization was Wyan’s “fear of responsibility.” When taking on this responsibility of providing funding and educational opportunities for these students, the fear of failure is great. Wyan suggests to have fun and allow yourself to enjoy what you’re accomplishing. Funding—one of the main reasons 90% of NGOs fail, can be difficult to generate. The outlook that Wyan suggests is to provide people the opportunity to join an experience to help others rather than asking for assistance. Wyan also stressed recruitment and research when it comes to selecting potential scholarship candidates. Background research and truly understanding who you are trying to help with your organization is vital to its success. The metrics which the Karuna Bali Foundation measures success are employment rates after graduation and the total number of students assisted.

Wyan’s main motivation behind creating/maintaining this organization is empowering the future people of Bali. The strategic infrastructure of the program—providing a future careers outside of the tourism industry through one year programs. Diversification of job opportunities is important for the Balinese economy and limiting the education to one year so they can reach more students with their funding. In three years since its creation, this foundation has helped over 700 students in Bali. Wayan himself was empowered at a young age when his education was sponsored by an American. It’s interesting and encouraging to see the ripple effect that social contributions/activism has on a community. Without the act of that American sponsor years ago, those 700 students may not have had a chance to receive an education. Necessity and passion have to exist for social entrepreneurship to prosper.

Kasian deh lo!!! (sassy finger wag)

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 07:13:16 -0400

We all bear indiviudal responsibility. Being a business marketing major we’re taught to persuade consumers to purchase goods that they don’t necessarily need. We thrive on consumerism and benefit from cheap resources, whether it be labor, materials, or facilities. After our “Social Issue Breakdowns” in class, the realization that we are all major participants in the processes which lead to these major social issues is disconcerting. The emerging trend in business of the “Triple Bottom Line” (a focus on Planet, People, & Profit) represents a glimmer of hope in the world of enterprise. If I learned anything here in Bali so far, we have to see the positive. The social issue breakdown was very difficult exercise for the class; however we need to see the possible positive outcomes we can create for the local community.

Just call me sembilan belas (19)

Mon, 31 May 2010 07:29:32 -0400

Yesterday Jordan and I ventured down Monkey Forest Rd to get our first Balinese massage. For $15 (150,000 Rupiah) we got a massage for 1 hour and 45min. A traditional massage followed by a spice rub exfoliation, a milk-based body mask, and then I got to splash around in a bath filled with rose petals…what. a. deal.

Today was our first day of class; we were able to get to know the Balinese students from Ashram as well as set our ground rules, expectations and goals for the program. After performing an “issue brainstorm” we were able to identify common and unique environmental, social, economic and political problems (big and small) in the United States and Indonesia. Now that we have our groups I’m excited to get started on our projects and field research.

Our group set a goal of learning atleast a few Balinese phrases each day. So far I’ve learned…

Terima Kasih….Thank you
Selamat Pagi….Good Morning
Selamat Malam…Good Evening
Ya….Yes
Tidak….No
Permisi….Excuse me
Sembilan belas….Nineteen (this is my number in the group count-off)

In turn we are going to help the Balinese students enhance their English skills.

Not bagus

Mon, 31 May 2010 06:54:30 -0400

Not bagus

Legong

Sun, 30 May 2010 01:45:59 -0400

Legong

Bulging eyes and sweaty thighs

Sun, 30 May 2010 01:38:32 -0400

During our Golden Hour trip with Agung Rai, we visited the water temple where we were able to experience a “spiritual cleansing” by taking a dip in the springs. Although it led to a soggy ride back to the hotel, our Golden Hour adventure was worth the early wake up call.

The key to Bali: drink a lot of water. You sweat more than a fat kid running a marathon. During our yoga session at the Ashram, many of us (including myself) almost (or actually) passed out from the heat and dehydration. Being thirsty while performing inverted body movements outside in the sun isn’t the best feeling in the world.

After learning the basics of the classic Legong dance, we were able to see an actual performance at the Ubud palace. The dance is beautiful/unusual/at times creepy, that takes a lifetime of training and discipline to perform. The dancers perfect posture, quivering fingers, ornate costumes, and BULGING dancing eyes keeps the audience mesmerized. Legong dance is a gorgeous form of Balinese culture.

From Isolation to Integration

Fri, 28 May 2010 04:31:40 -0400

Today we visited the Senang Hati Foundation - a social organization which provides social services for handicapped individuals in Bali. This organization works to radically change these people’s lives by providing educational, economic and social outlets as well as housing and healthcare, allowing them to leave behind their isolation from the community. Members can become skilled in computers, English or craft and are able to sell their work in order to increase their income and help to further fund their programs. I purchased a beautiful piece of artwork today - a textured painting of the Hindu God Ganesha. I had the privilege of meeting the talented artist and I can confidently say this will be my favorite souvenir.

The majority of the members have been handicapped at an early age from polio. I find this fact to be heartbreaking, considering that polio vaccinations are readily available in developed countries. While the Senang Hati Foundation is helping those who have been dealt an unfortunate hand, little is being done for preventative care. When I asked if they had any knowledge of government or community funded preventative programs for polio, they did not know of any in existence. Our visit today has raised some questions in my mind about healthcare in Bali and the role the government plays…