Ok so its been a really long time since I made an update because of a mixture of being very busy and the internet here being terrible so this will be super long. So I just got back from the inbound orientation in Malang which is on Java. I got to meet all of the other exchange students, go to some museums and visit the Batu Zoo. All the other exchange students are amazing and I think it's incredible how in just three days we all got so close.

 

In Malang they also took us to a local village for a sacrificial ceremony where they did pencak silat (Indonesian martial arts), tests of strength (things like hitting each other with spiked branches, breaking bricks on their stomaches and cutting each other with knives) as well as other crazy things like breathing fire and whipping people.

Back in Bali, My family has been taking me EVERYWHERE, I recently saw some of Bali's traditional dances: Kercak dance and Barong dance. Kercak dance is kind of like balinese version of a choir, a group of men sit in a circle and chant while another group tells a story through dance. Barong dance is basically kercak dance with instruments. They both usually tell the story of a princess who gets kidnapped and has to be saved so you know, standard stuff. 

 My family also took me to a monkey sanctuary in Ubud and that was amazing, the monkeys were just roaming around the temples and you could go and touch them or give them bananas. It was probably the coolest yet unsanitary place ive ever been.

My family also took me to a traditional balinese wedding, Balinese weddings are very different than a western wedding or even the weddings in Java. In bali weddings are a couple days long but everyone gets together for a very short time, most people come just to eat. The majority of a balinese wedding is blessings from a priest and praying. 

As for school, I'm having a great time. I'm slowly learning more about cooking. Today I learned how to make vegetable decorations and a couple days ago I learned all the different ways to cut vegetables and fruit. 

I think I will start learning actually recipes soon so I'm very excited, Ive also been learning how to set and wait tables. 

That's all for now, I will update again as soon as I can.