ABCs, Shapes and Rainbows

    I would call my first week of teaching a success! I went in on Monday, not entirely sure what to expect as we aren't given much prep or guidance into what happens in the classroom here. The orientation week is wonderful, when it comes to submerging you into the Balinese culture and your surroundings, but it lacks any information about what one will be teaching, how many kids, what the schools are like, etc. I am teaching in a class with two other girls from my house, so they filled me in slightly on how it all works. I teach everyday from 3-5PM, in what can be considered an 'after school program,' for parents to bring their kids to, for further English learning, which is a shorter period of time than I had thought going into it. My class is made up of 3-5 year-olds, and on any given day I can expect to see between 8 and 25 students. The program is free for the community and open to anyone who wants to drop in.

    

    Monday, I sat back as more of an observer, while I watched how Erica and Taylor went about working with the class, what topics seem to get covered, how much English the kids already know, as well as routines the kids go through every class. Routines being - every class starts with a welcome greeting from the class, in both Balinese and English: 'Good afternoon teacher, Good afternoon my friends!' Before (the half-hour) break/snack time, we all sit in a circle and pray. And, every class finishes with a song in Balinese that I am still trying to learn, but so far have picked up 'It's time to go home, it's time to go home, it's time to go home, see you and bye-bye,' which is followed by a kiss on the hand from every student. 

    Once I had Monday under my belt, I went in the rest of the week with set lesson plans and ideas of what to cover with the kids. As is the same with any 3, 4 or 5 year-old, their attention span lasts about....35 seconds, especially when they don't understand most of what you're saying, so we have had to get creative sometimes when we've run out of our lesson plan! Luckily, we have a translator in all of our classes, who helps to explain various activities. This week we covered the colors of the rainbow, our names, the alphabet, body parts and numbers. All of which were accompanied by different arts and crafts includings chalk drawings/stencils of our bodies outside, colorful name tags, and scenes made up of different shapes (a house is made up of a square, rectangles, triangle, and circle you know!)

The little Noodle

    What else happened this week.....I have voluntarily taken on the responsibility of caring for Inka. As most who know me could attest to, to me, there is little in this world more special and better than puppies and dogs. Since Inka gave birth, she has worried us all by eating less, becoming very skinny and weak, shedding too much hair and developing sores on her sides because of laying in the rocky nest while she feeds the little Noodle (puppy). On Tuesday of this week, I took her some tofu while she was laying in her nest, which she ate slowly and little bits of, but still ate! Wednesday, I was at the supermarket and picked up a large can of wet dog food. I don't think I've seen Inka so energetic and happy since I arrived here. She was barely letting me empty the can into a bowl before diving, nose first, into the mushy,  5-meat yumminess. Myself, along with the others in my house, were so excited to see her like this. I can see my budget for Bali is going to now include picking up cans of dog food at the local Bintang, which I am very okay with. I am being careful to not indulge her too much of course, as I don't want her relying on this new food or the attention I give her and then poof I'll be gone, but just until she's looking strong and healthy again.

Inka and Me

    This past weekend was spent staying at home in Ubud with a few others in my house. Ubud is such a beautiful town with so much to offer, so we try and do and see as much as possible when we have this sort of time. Mel and I went to a yoga class at a studio called Yoga Barn, I went to the spa for Ear Candling, Mel and I went coffee tasting, and Sawyer, Mel, Natalia and I discovered a new restaurant in the middle of the rice fields for lunch on Sunday. 

View from Sunday's lunch spot - Sari Organik Warung

    The yoga class was amazing. If you close your eyes and think Yoga in Bali, this place is probably what you picture. At least, it's almost exactly what I had pictured! A hidden oasis (so hidden that it took forever and passing it a few times to actually find), surrounded by lush greenery, trees, ponds, a series of different wooden, tree-house looking studios, and even a 'whisper zone.' Mel and I went for the 7AM Morning Flow class, which was a perfect level of intensity for me, while being relaxing at the same time. We walked into the Main Studio - a large room with wooden floors, floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at trees and a large pond - and grabbed our mats from the cupboard to join some of the other students who were already lying down waiting for the class to begin. Lying there I could hear the birds and tree frogs outside, the rain that had started to fall as soon as we arrived, and I could smell honey/beeswax throughout the room. One hour and 40 minutes later, the class had ended and we were back on my scooter and heading back home, feeling like we had already accomplished so much in the day and it was not even 9AM. 

Coffee tasting at Seniman Coffee Studio

Coffee Tasting

    Bet you're wondering what ear candling is. Well, it is sort of how it sounds plus an added face, neck and head massage as a bonus. Basically, the esthetician had me lie down with one ear to the ground and one ear facing up, and placed a small white candle in my ear. There is a paper plate around the middle of the candle to protect me from any dripping wax, and the candle itself is hollow. Once she lit the candle it sounded like the sound heavy rain makes when you're inside, I could feel nothing, and 15 minutes later she was taking the candle out of my ear. Then, switch! After all was said and done, I got up and the lovely lady asked if I'd like to see what was produced. "Yes!" Not to get too gross or anything, but it is pretty incredible how much wax builds up in our ears! Don't worry, I didn't take any pictures to show off. 

Treating ourselves to a Sunday Sunset Cocktail - Mel, Claire, Me, Natalia, Saraga

On to Week 2 of teaching! We'll see what adventures, challenges and new experiences it brings.  

In case you were curious about what I'm typically served for lunch/dinner - rice, veggies, tofu/tempe

XOXO Nicky