Independence Day and Galungan

Hey!

So I wrote a nice long story about how fabulous my day was yesterday- and it was all deleted!

I'll try to summarize.

Awoke yesterday morning and embarked on a nice 1 1/2 hour hike through the countryside. Left campus and followed a dirt path through the jungle. Walked along a river and saw..

A woman bathing, and washing an assortment of rainbow-colored clothes. A couple young guys fishing. A man who offered me fresh wild strawberries. Some kids trying to untangle their kite from a bamboo tree. Small stone caves with intricate carvings.

And then! All of the sudden I heard the trees above me thashing violently. Stopped in my tracks and after a few minutes, realized what all the comotion was about. There were monkeys everywhere! I stopped and watched a monkey perched on a rock across the river eat out of an offering basket (offerings are what the Balinese Hindus give to their ancestors and the gods). He kept looking around to make sure no other monkeys would come near his food. It was an incredible sight! I had never seen wild monkeys in Bali before- so you can imagine I was pretty excited!

Later that afternoon, I was walking across campus and arrived at the office. Nearby the office I spotted several people kneeling over somethign on the ground. I walked over and saw a momma goat give birth to two baby goats! Incredible! The goats were adorable (dirty, etc) but really amazing!

So long story short, a day full of unfamiliar and new things. A nice way to reaffirm me of why I'm here!