Today was extremely mellow. After breakfast (omelette and toast) we all headed off to yoga from 9-1230. The yoga session was pretty strenuous but relaxing at the same time--it was held in an outdoor patio, and it was raining so it the sound of rain on the roof was relaxing. The teacher was very nice, and had sporadic bouts of giggling and he insisted we smile during our stretches even when our muscles are screaming haha. I wasn't very into the yoga class though, ...

Jetlag got the best of me again, given that I woke up at 530 and went to bed at midnight. We had breakfast at 730ish (banana pancake, fruit salad, and tea) and then headed to the banjar to get picked up. From 9AM-1PM we toured a local NGO (non-governmental organization) called IDEP; which is focused on environmental sustainability. IDEP's grounds was essentially a farm complete with fish ponds, huge herb garden, rice paddys, and produce crops. Our tour guide told...

Woke up at 5AM this morning, and it was still pitch dark outside. After getting ready and eating breakfast, our homestay walked down the street to the banjar (community center) to meet with everyone at 6:30. We waited for some large mini vans (held 17 people in the bus I was in!) to pick us up, and our first stop was the local market in Ubud. From 4AM-9AM, the market sells fruit, vegetables, and other foods and is filled with locals; after 10AM the market turns i...

This morning I woke up wide awake (mostly due to jet lag) at 7AM to the sound of an extremely loud bird singing. Despite the bird, I love the room I'm staying in: a large mosquito net canopy surrounds my bed, our bathroom floor is clean (although our shower and toilet literally share the same floor space), and our room is cool despite the intense humidity. Kimia and I explored our grounds a little before getting dressed, and realized that right next to our room i...

The 14 hour plane ride from SFO to Hong Kong was miraculously not too bad. Irene (a friend of mine) and I knocked out for the first four hours, and the rest of the flight was characterized by random 40 minute naps, watching Hunger Games on the tv screen, and awkwardly waking up an old Vietnamese man who sat next to us so we could use the bathroom. After a three hour layover, we were off to another 5 hour flight to Bali. It was crazy how close the landing strip ...