At last, word from the front.

It is quite astonishing to find that we have been here for almost two weeks, and this is the first oportunity I have had to write any kind of blog entry.

It certainly feels like longer than two weeks, and it is interesting how quickly one gets used to some of the components of life in Bali, which are, in no particular order:

- Two cold showers a day, one at 06:30 to wake you up, and one at 18:30 before makanan malam (dinner).
- The almost constant chorus of the roosters outside our window. Trust us to live next door to a man who breeds fighting cocks, the most valued attributes of which are being both big and angry(and loud). Two friends of ours have been to a cock fight this week, but we have not yet had that pleasure.
- The heat and humidity are surprisingly easy to adjust to, but then of course the locals just say "oh, this isn't hot, if you want the hottest place in Indonesia then you go to Flores!"
- Motorbikes. Everywhere.
- Hindu offerings are left wherever the presence of the spirits needs to be encouraged, which seems to include street corners, taxi dashboards, on top of the fridge etc. You see little trays of offerings, plus the ubiquitous incense stick,wherever you go.
- People saying "hello! Where are you going today? What is your name?" A twenty minute walk to the school each morning takes thirty minutes because we have to allow time to exchange pleasantries with at least twenty people, including a man on a bike who cycles past us at exactly the same time every morning. Small talk is an artform in Indonesia.

More cultural observations will follow in due course.

Sorry for the stilted prose, but learning a new language seems to regress one back to the age of about six. We did our first exam today and I wrote (in Bahasa Indoenesia), a few paragraphs about myself which was of the 'Janet and John' level of literature:

Hello. My name is Dominic. I live in a house. It is very nice. My wife is pretty. I am not. The sun is hot.

This all reinforces the feeling that being a new volunteer infantalises you, as you cannot speak (beyond some very basic phrases), you rely on others for food and shelter, and you spend most of your time thinking about defecating, in terms of frequency, volume and viscosity. It's like being two years old all over again.

That said, we are both most content, and while the language lessons are very hard work (I honestly don't think I have exercised my brain this hard since I did my A levels), it is also very rewarding.

I would love to write more, but it is Friday afternon, the sun is shining, School is over and we have to go to the beach now...

Sampai Jumpa!