First blog from Bali

Look at me! I'm that guy who got the world's greatest job, only I'm not in Australia, I'm on a beautiful tropical island called Bali.

I have internet capability. I am going to write as often as I can, and I will upload it as often as I can. I sent word home that I got here OK, and then the word spread that I made it. What did they expect...lol

We arrived a little reasonably on time. There were four other people on the flight who will be working on the same project. The lady who met us was a picture of grace. We were quickly taken on a long, bumpy ride to the residence where we will be staying. Our quarters are quite nice, although small. We have two twin beds, a sitting area and a small cooking area, although some meals will be provided. I understand that some of the other accommodations are a bit less deluxe.

Orientation has gone well. Thank goodness for interpreters. Understandably, I am still on Pacific time. I need to go not only on the proper time, but the proper date as well. Once I unscramble my brain I will get on and post what I am writing. I am currently writing all of this offline. I am told that I can connect right here, but I don't think there is a hook-up compatible with carrier pigeon.

From the window I see a deep cover of palm trees. We are about 1000 feet from the ocean, and the terrain gently slopes down toward the beach. I don't believe the tide changes much here. The temperature is quite comfortable, and there is a gentle breeze. I doesn't get any cooler at night. It's always in the low 80's. Maybe that's why they call this Paradise.

I don't do well typing on my bed. I want to get some more sleep as I adjust to the time difference. We were told to expect jet lag for several days. I feel OK, though. After all, it is 2:00 in the afternoon yesterday, isn't it?

More to come. I don't know when I will be able to connect to load this, so I will continue.

Saturday addition.

It is now Saturday night at 9:00 on 31 July. The classes go well. There are a lot of similar classes going on all over. Most of the volunteer teachers are here for no longer than two months. I will be here for four months. I will know more. I am only typing this now because by the time I post this everything will have changed.

I had wanted to send out personal emails to people to let you know I got here safely. I apologize for not doing that. I was in the situation where I had zero time to do things like that. I don't want anybody to feel neglected. Even before I left home I was being led around, told where to go and when to go there. Unbelievably, my life is in a more stable state right now than it has been in several months. I have developed a routine, which coincides with David's, and we are able to enjoy this place.

We are located just below the equator, which means that it is currently winter, although nobody talks about four seasons. The days are no longer or shorter than they were when I was here at Christmas. The seasonal changes are simply a matter of rainy season or dry season. I was here during the wet season at Christmas, and this is the dry season. There has been a gentle breeze blowing, but the amazing part is that you don't need air conditioning. We have found that the ceiling fans and open windows are great for sleeping. One of the big rules is that if you use air conditioning, turn it off if you're going out. The people are very conscious of resources, and recycling is only starting to take hold here.

I have been working on this post since I got here, and I am going to clean it up so I can post it. I am going to attempt a Skype connection to home at 10:00, which is about 40 minutes away.

While I wait I wanted to mention that my visit with my friends in New Jersey is now a long-away memory. It was so very fresh in my mind as I was flying here, but so much has happened that I had to stop and think. I had a wonderful time, and I am glad I had the opportunity to write about it. I only scratched the surface, but the important fact is that I was able to enjoy our time together, and I was able to get away and relax.

That's it for Saturday. I will try to post this. Thanks for reading. I will do my best to write as often as possible.

Tuesday

It is now Tuesday morning of 3 August. I am going to post this.

Is this OK with you if I do it like this?