The wind must’ve been blowing in the direction of our bungalows this morning as the Allah Akbars came in clear and loud at 5:00 a.m. Curses!
We have decided that the charade at Buddha needs to be over. Ryan had given our passports to the manager who had offered to take them to immigration to obtain our extensions for us. Three weeks later, we still hadn’t gotten our passports back and he was professing absentmindedness. Every time we would hear, “oh don’t worry, it’s all taken care of. I just forgot them at home.” I finally got very upset and told them that daily they were costing me money and that I was fed up. And finally yesterday we got our passports back with the extension processed the day before – which means that unbeknownst to us, we were her illegally for10 days – had one of us urgently needed to leave the country, we would have been in one heck of a pickle. Lesson learned!
We had already decided to quit, but for me that absolutely put the last nail in the coffin. I believe that it showed a tremendous amount of disrespect. We have worked here every day for almost a month and every day there has been some sort of problem. The boat engine has not worked, the pool was empty for 3 days, and the level of customer service is shameful. And I think that we’re being taken advantage of. We could possibly change that last part by requiring to be paid the salary of a manager and in turn doing a manager’s job, but I feel like asking for that job would be more painful than dying the agonizing death caused by the bite of the Komodo dragon.
So we’ll take away the lessons learned from this experience. We taught a little, we dived a little and we got paid a little – maybe barely enough to cover the cost of our time here.
We’ve explored Gili quite fully and gotten a good feel for the island so we are now in a position to know where we’d like to work. We’ve narrowed it down to 2 or 3 shops. One already has our application and comes on a recommendation from our friend Amanda from Phi Phi. We’ve made known our desire to accept positions there and are simply waiting to hear if they’ll hire us. They would not need us to start for almost a month though, so we have some time to kill. We will also put in applications at the other two shops for good measure.
Chris and Carolyn arrive in Bali on Monday. Andy arrived in Gili last week sometime. So we three are going to take the speedboat to Ahmed (near Tulamben) on Monday to join Chris and Carolyn up in Tulamben. We will stay in Bali – most likely Tulamben and Ubud until it’s time for us to leave at the end of the month. Ubud has no diving, but is a popular destination for trekking and yoga. And I suppose that it wouldn’t kill us to explore Tulamben as a possible work destination as we sure enjoyed the diving there.
By then we should have some idea of what the situation is with the job we want. If we don’t get this job, I’m not real inclined to come back to Gili except to pick up our stuff. We will also at that point decide whether to leave Indonesia just for one day in order to obtain another visa on arrival which would give us another two months or whether we will go to an embassy to obtain a longer visa. Next possible destinations: Flores or Sulawesi.
Once we quit Buddha Internet will become scarce again for the foreseeable future, but we’ll try to be in touch with updates on Facebook. And I’ll try to update the blog with new cool stuff that we’ll do in the next few weeks.
I can’t wait to see Chris and meet Carolyn. To be reunited with a great friend: what a fantastic birthday present to myself.
Peace xoxoxoxox
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
We have decided to stay in Indonesia. The reasons are not very interesting – at the end of it all, we felt Hawaii was just too big of a risk to take without enough assurances that it would work out. The situation we’re in now, if we don’t like it, we change jobs. If we don’t like the island, there’re 50 others in either direction that are cheap to get to. We’re not tied down to a lease, etc, etc. Hawaii had one great outcome and possibly too many unpleasant outcomes. Plus, if that nuclear plant in Japan decides to blow up, Hawaii’s first in the line of fire of radioactive crap. I like it down here in the Southern Hemisphere – the nucular-free zone. Which leads me to wonder – is it less polluted here in the less populous Southern Hemisphere?
We’ve been working for over two weeks now at the Buddha and we’ve dived a bit. The shop had no staff until we arrived, so there are some logistics things that are made a little bit more difficult. For example, there’s really noone to explain the dive sites to us and what’s appropriate for what, so we’re having to figure it out as we go along. Not easy, but we’re making our way through the different sites. Also, it doesn’t put us in a super position to meet other dive pros.
I don’t like our job and can’t wait until the island picks up a bit so we can change. The other day it seemed like everything was conspired against me. First off, the resort itself is really run down and in desperate need of a facelift though I’ve been told that the rooms are rather nice. The equipment, the owner claims was just serviced, yet it seems that every time I pick up a piece of gear, there’s a problem with at least one component. The paperwork is in complete disarray, the boat engine’s been on the fritz and in need of maintenance since we’ve been there with no indication that’s going to get fixed any time soon. And now the pool’s been emptied half and looks awful.
That same other day, I had one customer in the morning and one in the afternoon and both times got horrible drops so that I ended up swimming over dead coral. That’s the problem with diving here – there’s been so much dynamite fishing that if you don’t drop on a known reef structure, you’re pretty much swimming over a graveyard. It’s a shame because the reefs are so beautiful. If they hadn’t dynamited this place to shit, it would probably be the best diving in the world. I was so angry with the boat staff because I feel like they’re taking the piss. So I have no motivation to be here.
And every day there’s new rules – oh no, we don’t do this or we don’t do that. Do we give customer service or does this not exist here? They have no issues telling customers to come back 50 times because this or that staff person isn’t here to do this or that.
At night – after sort of about 5 o’clock, the owner starts blaring thump thump music. If that wasn’t bad enough, the two neighboring bars also play music at elevated volumes, creating a cacophony that makes me want to do violence. It is an insult to my spirit. And the bar just north of us generally plays Pink Floyd and the likes which I’m perfectly okay with chilling out to. I’ve tried explaining this to the owner – well not the part where I can’t stand his choice of tunes, but the cacophonous part - but he seems to care not. So I won’t work at night. It’s not fair to Ryan.
This frustration I think is magnified by the fact that I spent the last 5 months on PP working for a dive shop where everything was clean, the equipment was brand new and paperwork was meticulously tended to.
For a few hours I was ready to leave this place, just so down and feeling like this was panning out to be a continuation of my frustrations with PP. Then I realized that I’m just spending my time in the wrong part of the island.
Last night we went to quiz night at Trawangan Dive, at the northern end of the island. We were supposed to meet friends of our friend Amanda, who unfortunately didn’t show up, but we had so much fun nonetheless, enjoying a great Mexican meal (yes, we’ve found proper Mexican food – watch out my butt) and a very fun round of pub quiz. We made up a little team of two – just us and came in second – not too shabby. And very very funny! This could be a weekly thing for us.
So I’ve sort of eyeballed a couple of dive shops that might be better suited to my personality and requirements and it might be time to go check those out.
I apologize if the following paragraph offends any of you. The 5:00 a.m. Allah Akbar shit over the megaphones needs to stop. The endless afternoon droning of Allah this and thats needs to stop as well. This is how I reckon it goes: at 5:00 or so the man comes on the megaphone, “Wake up you infidels.” It’s short. About ½ hour later, he comes back on to give us another warning, “Get to the mosque, now!” Then about 15 minutes later it starts for good. The mosque drones on and on and on and on. It’s mind-numbing. Maybe if you understand what is being said, it has a whole different effect, but to me, it just sounds like an announcer at the airport repeating over and over the security measures. Sometimes it sounds like a football announcer because he gets a little bit excited. And possibly the worse is when they get the little kid they’re training to be the next Imam on.
We moved about a week ago to new bungalows and I’ve not been woken up by the mosque since, so clearly this new hotel does not have a megaphone inside my bedroom, which is a definite plus. The room is not as nice, per say, but it’s as functional and has the great advantage of a proper fresh water shower. As is usual whenever I change environments, my skin is having a revolution, so being able to finally wash with fresh water is an improvement. Our room, costs about ½ what the previous one cost and comes without the 5:00 a.m. alarm clock and also included is proper Balinese coffee with my breakfast instead of instant crap. The lack of Internet is taking some getting used to. We’re such sluts for instant access to information!
I’ve been attending yoga classes regularly. The yoga shala is a beautiful space, and when the child Imam isn’t screaming through the megaphone a very peaceful and serene place to practice. I’ve bought a 10-class package at a nice reduced rate. The classes themselves are not the standard practice that I was used to with Keira and I do miss Keira’s class. With Keira we were developing a regular practice of the primary series of Ashtanga Yoga. And with regular practice, the poses become easier with time. And I enjoyed that sort of commitment to a regular practice. I realize the only thing standing between me and that regular practice is a yoga mat, so first order of business when we leave this rock is the purchase of a new mat.
I am working on patience and discipline. We are after all still living in a beautiful place.
Peace, ya’ll xoxoxo
We’ve been working for over two weeks now at the Buddha and we’ve dived a bit. The shop had no staff until we arrived, so there are some logistics things that are made a little bit more difficult. For example, there’s really noone to explain the dive sites to us and what’s appropriate for what, so we’re having to figure it out as we go along. Not easy, but we’re making our way through the different sites. Also, it doesn’t put us in a super position to meet other dive pros.
I don’t like our job and can’t wait until the island picks up a bit so we can change. The other day it seemed like everything was conspired against me. First off, the resort itself is really run down and in desperate need of a facelift though I’ve been told that the rooms are rather nice. The equipment, the owner claims was just serviced, yet it seems that every time I pick up a piece of gear, there’s a problem with at least one component. The paperwork is in complete disarray, the boat engine’s been on the fritz and in need of maintenance since we’ve been there with no indication that’s going to get fixed any time soon. And now the pool’s been emptied half and looks awful.
That same other day, I had one customer in the morning and one in the afternoon and both times got horrible drops so that I ended up swimming over dead coral. That’s the problem with diving here – there’s been so much dynamite fishing that if you don’t drop on a known reef structure, you’re pretty much swimming over a graveyard. It’s a shame because the reefs are so beautiful. If they hadn’t dynamited this place to shit, it would probably be the best diving in the world. I was so angry with the boat staff because I feel like they’re taking the piss. So I have no motivation to be here.
And every day there’s new rules – oh no, we don’t do this or we don’t do that. Do we give customer service or does this not exist here? They have no issues telling customers to come back 50 times because this or that staff person isn’t here to do this or that.
At night – after sort of about 5 o’clock, the owner starts blaring thump thump music. If that wasn’t bad enough, the two neighboring bars also play music at elevated volumes, creating a cacophony that makes me want to do violence. It is an insult to my spirit. And the bar just north of us generally plays Pink Floyd and the likes which I’m perfectly okay with chilling out to. I’ve tried explaining this to the owner – well not the part where I can’t stand his choice of tunes, but the cacophonous part - but he seems to care not. So I won’t work at night. It’s not fair to Ryan.
This frustration I think is magnified by the fact that I spent the last 5 months on PP working for a dive shop where everything was clean, the equipment was brand new and paperwork was meticulously tended to.
For a few hours I was ready to leave this place, just so down and feeling like this was panning out to be a continuation of my frustrations with PP. Then I realized that I’m just spending my time in the wrong part of the island.
Last night we went to quiz night at Trawangan Dive, at the northern end of the island. We were supposed to meet friends of our friend Amanda, who unfortunately didn’t show up, but we had so much fun nonetheless, enjoying a great Mexican meal (yes, we’ve found proper Mexican food – watch out my butt) and a very fun round of pub quiz. We made up a little team of two – just us and came in second – not too shabby. And very very funny! This could be a weekly thing for us.
So I’ve sort of eyeballed a couple of dive shops that might be better suited to my personality and requirements and it might be time to go check those out.
I apologize if the following paragraph offends any of you. The 5:00 a.m. Allah Akbar shit over the megaphones needs to stop. The endless afternoon droning of Allah this and thats needs to stop as well. This is how I reckon it goes: at 5:00 or so the man comes on the megaphone, “Wake up you infidels.” It’s short. About ½ hour later, he comes back on to give us another warning, “Get to the mosque, now!” Then about 15 minutes later it starts for good. The mosque drones on and on and on and on. It’s mind-numbing. Maybe if you understand what is being said, it has a whole different effect, but to me, it just sounds like an announcer at the airport repeating over and over the security measures. Sometimes it sounds like a football announcer because he gets a little bit excited. And possibly the worse is when they get the little kid they’re training to be the next Imam on.
We moved about a week ago to new bungalows and I’ve not been woken up by the mosque since, so clearly this new hotel does not have a megaphone inside my bedroom, which is a definite plus. The room is not as nice, per say, but it’s as functional and has the great advantage of a proper fresh water shower. As is usual whenever I change environments, my skin is having a revolution, so being able to finally wash with fresh water is an improvement. Our room, costs about ½ what the previous one cost and comes without the 5:00 a.m. alarm clock and also included is proper Balinese coffee with my breakfast instead of instant crap. The lack of Internet is taking some getting used to. We’re such sluts for instant access to information!
I’ve been attending yoga classes regularly. The yoga shala is a beautiful space, and when the child Imam isn’t screaming through the megaphone a very peaceful and serene place to practice. I’ve bought a 10-class package at a nice reduced rate. The classes themselves are not the standard practice that I was used to with Keira and I do miss Keira’s class. With Keira we were developing a regular practice of the primary series of Ashtanga Yoga. And with regular practice, the poses become easier with time. And I enjoyed that sort of commitment to a regular practice. I realize the only thing standing between me and that regular practice is a yoga mat, so first order of business when we leave this rock is the purchase of a new mat.
I am working on patience and discipline. We are after all still living in a beautiful place.
Peace, ya’ll xoxoxo
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