To keep my Bali blog distinct from my day-to-day bullshit, I will start posting things on
yesdouceismyrealname.tumblr.com
Please follow.
Day whatever…
Our final presentations were today, thus ending the academic portion of the trip. In case the increasing gaps of time between posts didn’t indicate it, we were pretty fucking busy this last week. All of the tedious typage, prose practicing and tearing out of hair follicles is now done.
We’re off to Pumuteron, a rural area and beach, to appreciate nature (sorry Rylee, we’re celebrating early), snorkel and play with turtles. This is my shit. I’ve been so aching for biology that at the Arma koi pond, I’ve been feeding the fish muttering, “natural selection, man…” I should sequence someone’s genome soon.
This most likely ends blogging until I get back and rehash.
Au revoirs, mes petites putes.
Douce
Day dua belas dua
Sry is an adorable 17 year old Balinese girl in my group from the Ashram Gandhi Puri. As I spend more time with her, I realize how BOSS this little girl really is. Here’s a brief low down:
She’s about 5’1” in stilettos. She wears adorable shirts and bright colors taken from a Limited Too catalogue. When it’s Monday, she and all the badass Ashram girls wear white and a “Tazmania Lovers” shirts with pink glitter and Taz. She has a cell phone with a cute pink cover that has a changing wallpaper which rotates through adorable pictures of her.
Here are some things I’ve learned about Sry:
- Sry tells great stories. She told a story about her quest to find us vegetarian food during class instead of what she learned from Dr. Suryani. Most people peed a little.
- Sry drives a motorbike like she was born from an engine. She took me through mountain ravines and in between buses all with the grace and poise of any good Balinese girl.
- Sry likes to feel cool. When we were driving through he countryside, she asked me to hold onto her on the motorbike because it made her feel cool.
- Sry can rap. When we composed a rap about budgeting, Sry showed Jay Z how it’s done.
- Sry can beatbox. She later showed me a recording on her cell phone with a girl rapping and a sick beat. It sounded like a drum machine.
- Sry can sing. Today, Sry sang a song about the internet to the tune of Alejandro. Beautifully.
- Sry is a mad sceintist. Today, when we had some down time, Sry saw me doodling some beta D-glucose, and we started comparing the names of organic molecules, like formic acid, in bhasa and English. Then we moved on to specific types of cells. This is when I fell in love.
All of this in true. I’m going to find a way to fit her in my suitcase.
Day dua belas satuh
This is how I feel about my project:
- Lady GagaWhen you make music or write or create, it’s really your job to have mind-blowing, irresponsible, condomless sex with whatever idea it is you’re writing about at the time.”
Day sembilan belas
We went back to the same village. Halfway through, in about the same spot, it started to rain again. Fortunately, my grandmother gave me rain ponchos a while back that I had the foresight to pack. Jero Mangku, the banjar adapt, led us to a family down a dirt road whose family member probably had schizophrenia. He’d been hospitalized 15 times over 10 years and relapses frequently. We asked them about our project proposal and what services they would like to have. The family gave us clementines before we left.
The second family we met was more shocking. There was a girl chained to a wall, staring at us through a cracked door as we talked about her condition. Jared and I exchanged a “wow” but we couldn’t think about it at the time. Apparently, this girl has a tendency to wander off. Two months ago, she walked to Denpasar, which is over 2 hours away on a motorbike, and lived on the street for a month before they found her again. The family has to work, and they don’t have any other options than bondage. We talked to the girl for a bit, and she was all smiles and charm. They gave us more clementines, and we went home.
Once Jared and I got back, we really started to think about what we saw. I was planning on going out, but I sucked up some composure for dinner with Dom and then tried to go to sleep. I woke up a few times that night for an hour here and there. I always sleep through the night.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen something so fucked up.
Day delapan balas
It was another field research afternoon, and Jared, Cobra, Sry and I decided to take some motorbikes up into the North to a village called Barung Gede to see what we can learn. I rented a motorbike and hung on to Sry as she zipped in between cars and sped beside a mountain ravine. Halfway through the trip, it started to POUR. We only had two raincoats for four people. We pulled over and waited for it to mostly subside. Approximately two hours and an orange theft later, we make it. Cobra asked some questions and we make it to the bajar adat, a cultural village leader, and interviewed him at his house. This guy is boss. He wore a patterned shiny green shirt and a hipster purple and black checkered sarong. He walked like King Kong on two legs. As we talk to him all the children in the world crowded around us to see what’s happening.
During the interview, we were surprised that he opened up so quickly about mental illness. But they’re near Bangli mental hospital, and both Dr. Suryani and Margaret Mead conducted research there. We learned a ton from this guy. He offered to put us in contact with some families with mentally ill members the next day and gave us a ton of oranges.
Day tuju belas
Another day of classes. We learned about resources, networking and budgeting. I think this is the only place on earth where it’s acceptable to beatbox and rap about our finances.
Day enam belas
Yesterday we went out into the field to do some hands on research on our projects. I rode to Denpasar on Cobra’s motorbike (with a helmet most of the time) with a good idea about our final project and went home to Ubud with a completely different one.
We met with Dr. Suryani, the Oprah of Bali, and later with Jaja, aka Dr. Bagus (Bagus means good). At first Dr. Suryani was a bit wary of the white people asking her questions about her life’s devotion, but she luckily opened up about her “brainwashing.” Any preconceived notions of her greatness were confirmed, but after the interview, I really have so much respect for all the work, time and dedication she puts into getting mentally ill whatever treatment she can provide.
For everyone back home, youtube “The Dark Side of Paradise”, a film that she produced. That’ll give you an understanding of what she does and the gravity of the situation.
Day lima belas
Today was painfully slow. I don’t know why. The humidity just weighed me down so much that I barely had any energy to spare after basic actions like walking, listening, staying awake, etc. Maybe I was just bummed that Ryan left for good. No one else will play the gecko game with me.
On another note, Sasha told to most ridiculous, outlandish stories from Ecuador. Ask her about them. One was about how her family hit a horse on the highway, and how it rolled over two cars, demolished them, and walked away.
We worked out some really large kinks in our project solution the night before. We decided to operate a student loan program focusing on former patients who suffered from mental illness to offer them job opportunities. Many of them are isolated and did not have access to education. By giving them job training, they can be reintegrated into society as productive members and prove that mental illness can be treated effectively. With the interest generated, we could fund a conference between the Suryani Institute, mental health professionals and traditional healers. Shit yeah.
I’m really excited for tomorrow. We somehow miraculously got an interview with Dr. Suryani and her son Jaja in Denpasar tomorrow. She’s a big deal. Like Bali’s Oprah. There isn’t an issue that she’s not somehow involved with, and with mental health, she’s the best.
