I recently shared how a woman tried to rob me. She failed, but it shook me up and made me doubt in humanity, particularly in Bali, where “everyone is so nice and people never do bad things to each other.” Other than the crushing poverty, that is, perpetrated on the Balinese by the world at large, but that’s a different story.
So when a Balinese woman kidnapped me and dragged me out to her house in the middle of nowhere and spoke Japanese with me for six hours straight, I was understandably nervous. We met at an aerobics class, and she immediately invited me to her country home, but I balked, as I felt anxious about it.
So when a Balinese woman kidnapped me and dragged me out to her house in the middle of nowhere and spoke Japanese with me for six hours straight, I was understandably nervous. We met at an aerobics class, and she immediately invited me to her country home, but I balked, as I felt anxious about it.
walkway entrance guardian
entrance to house complex
the pool!
I agreed to come over for “just a little while” after our class, following her taillight with my motorbike. At 7pm. On a Saturday night. In the dark. Amidst the rain. Thirty minutes outside of town through so many twists and turns and curves that I would never be able to get myself home without help. With a dying phone and no battery. And a hellacious bundle of nerves.
I suppose I could have stopped halfway to her house, once I realized I was about to become completely lost, and that she had no intention of bringing me home until the morrow. I could have turned around and asked for help to get home.
But I didn’t.
I suppose I could have stopped halfway to her house, once I realized I was about to become completely lost, and that she had no intention of bringing me home until the morrow. I could have turned around and asked for help to get home.
But I didn’t.
many wearing their ceremonial whites
traditional dancing
me with one of the most well-respected dancers in the world
me, my kidnapper and I eating lunch Balinese-style after the ceremony
Instead I made the conscious choice to allow myself to be kidnapped, and went along with everything.
Thank God I did, because my experience that weekend restored my faith in humanity in general, as well as in Balinese people specifically.
She is a tour guide, but only in Japanese. Once she figured out that I could speak broken Japanese, she talked my willing ear off at our aerobics class, and then talked my worried-but-willing ear off at her house. Since I was attending class at the local gym instead of the touristy one, she was one of the only people I could speak to at class, and proved to be a fun conversation partner.
When we arrived, I found out that she lives in a huge mansion/compound that her architect husband designed. The grounds will one day soon be a resort with guest houses for people to stay in, but at the moment it hasn't opened yet so they have it all to themselves. As we arrived it started pouring heavily, so I ended up staying overnight.
I was intensely nervous at first, as I had only met her twice, and was not at all prepared to stay. Once I relaxed into it and allowed myself to feel safe, I enjoyed my time thoroughly.
Thank God I did, because my experience that weekend restored my faith in humanity in general, as well as in Balinese people specifically.
She is a tour guide, but only in Japanese. Once she figured out that I could speak broken Japanese, she talked my willing ear off at our aerobics class, and then talked my worried-but-willing ear off at her house. Since I was attending class at the local gym instead of the touristy one, she was one of the only people I could speak to at class, and proved to be a fun conversation partner.
When we arrived, I found out that she lives in a huge mansion/compound that her architect husband designed. The grounds will one day soon be a resort with guest houses for people to stay in, but at the moment it hasn't opened yet so they have it all to themselves. As we arrived it started pouring heavily, so I ended up staying overnight.
I was intensely nervous at first, as I had only met her twice, and was not at all prepared to stay. Once I relaxed into it and allowed myself to feel safe, I enjoyed my time thoroughly.
guest house with flowers in front
Ganesh
guarding the walkway back up to the house
even the fountains have sculptures!
The following day she took me to a Hindu ceremony and expressly encouraged me to take many pictures. She dragged the performers over to pose for shots with me, explained the nuances of the ceremonies and dancing, and made sure I had enough delicious local food to eat.
In short, she took care of me.
Because it was Sunday, she, her brother and sister all had the day off, so all the cousins showed up to disport themselves in the giant pool, enjoy a bunch of food together and express love as families do. They included me in every part of the day as if I had been there my entire life, and I spent the day playing in the pool and assisting two or three of the kids back and forth across the pool dozens of times.
The kids spoke almost no English, my friend Japanese, and her brother fluent English. They each work as tour guides in their respective language-specialty, and are an absolute font of spicy and tame local knowledge.
In short, she took care of me.
Because it was Sunday, she, her brother and sister all had the day off, so all the cousins showed up to disport themselves in the giant pool, enjoy a bunch of food together and express love as families do. They included me in every part of the day as if I had been there my entire life, and I spent the day playing in the pool and assisting two or three of the kids back and forth across the pool dozens of times.
The kids spoke almost no English, my friend Japanese, and her brother fluent English. They each work as tour guides in their respective language-specialty, and are an absolute font of spicy and tame local knowledge.
the way back up to the house
the door to my room
I enjoyed time with my new Balinese family, the half dozen or so aged 6-14 cousins romping around in a mix of Japanese, English, Indonesian and Balinese. I was the only person who could speak both English and Japanese, and my Japanese was pretty broken due to disuse, which resulted in many fascinating translation and mistranslation opportunities.
At one point I had four of the kids repeating at the top of their lungs in the pool how to count to ten in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Mandarin, German, Japanese and Italian, and they in turn taught me to count in Indonesian and Balinese. Which, naturally, I have promptly forgotten. Though, I won’t forget this day for a long, long time.
At one point I had four of the kids repeating at the top of their lungs in the pool how to count to ten in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Mandarin, German, Japanese and Italian, and they in turn taught me to count in Indonesian and Balinese. Which, naturally, I have promptly forgotten. Though, I won’t forget this day for a long, long time.
guarding the entrance to the resort area
open air bathroom below the pool
the details on these guys were simply phenomenal!
As I lay in bed at the end of my lazy Sunday, I realized that this whole situation only came about because I can speak Japanese. And frankly, while my understanding was almost as good as before, my Japanese speaking was atrocious. But it didn’t matter – we communicated from our hearts, and shared an amazing two days together, and made the world a more beautiful place for all of us involved.
I feel humbled, honored and happy to have had this experience. I also feel jazzed and pizzazzed to learn more about language and culture every day, and connect heart-to-heart around the world!
I feel humbled, honored and happy to have had this experience. I also feel jazzed and pizzazzed to learn more about language and culture every day, and connect heart-to-heart around the world!
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