Selamat sore dari Kerambitan!

Good afternoon from Kerambitan! (If you're looking at the map, Kerambitan is in Tabanan regency, in the southwest region of Bali). We're staying at Puri Saren Kangin, which is the family complex of a branch of the royal family here. Crazy, right? It's not a palace, just a large family complex with shrines and other buildings all over the place. Also some crazy birds that mimic people, and a cat that has adopted me. (We've named it Bising, which means "noisy" in bahasa Indonesia, because it yells at us all the time, especially when we're eating.) Here are some pictures:

One section of Puri Saren Kangin, where we're staying in Kerambitan. (Click for a bigger version.)

A sawah (rice field) not far from the puri. The mountain in the distance is Batukaru.

Most of our time has been spent studying bahasa Indonesia -- probably around 6-7 hours per day. As a result, it feels like we've been here for weeks, rather than just a few days. Some of our assignments have been things like going around the pasar (market), bartering for random fruit (mangosteen is quite possibly my new favorite fruit, along with another called salak, I think, or something to that effect) and other things. The people around here think we're all hilarious and tease us all the time. Today we went to the market in Tabanan and bought pakaian adat, the clothing worn for rituals and holidays.

Us in our pakaian adat. From left, Sylvie, Lucas, me, Aaron, Frances, and Lukas.

Yesterday we did our "drop-off," which is pretty much what it sounds like. The teachers dropped us each off more than walking distance from the puri, about ten minutes away from one another. We had an hour to spend walking around and talking to people. This confused most people until I told them "saya mahasiswa" -- I am a university student, at which point they started asking me all sorts of questions. One guy gave me his business card and made fun of me for not having one to give him; another told me about his job working at an Italian restaurant in Kuta. (His favorite Italian food is spaghetti.) I also learned lots of people's ages, and met several people named Wayan. Another student on the trip, Lucas, met a kid with the same birthday as him.

We haven't had much free time, what with all the bahasa study, but we have found a few hours to get to the beach. The beaches here in Tabanan are black sand and, it goes without saying, absolutely beautiful.

Would a blog post from Bali be complete without a beach photo? Actually, oddly enough, most Balinese don't like to swim.

We've also gotten a brief gamelan lesson where we learned the main melody for the Topeng dance (the mask dance). I'm not very good at it, but some of the other students on the program were much more talented. When we get to Bedulu, we all get to start an art program where we study with someone in Bedulu or Ubud. We can choose any art form we want -- I'm thinking I'd like to apprentice with the Topeng mask maker. We go to Bedulu this Saturday (we have to find our own way there by bemo, public transportation), and that afternoon will meet our host families. I'm a bit nervous, but things like the drop-off and our excursions into the pasar have definitely helped -- I'm not feeling quite as concerned about being able to communicate. Of course, I'll only really be able to communicate confidently about things like how old people are, where I'm from, and how much various things cost, but that's not too big a deal. Everything is coming quickly, and in the pasar I'm finding I speak a lot more than I think.

I'll be heading back to the puri now, as soon there will be dinner and more class. More updates to come soon, hopefully -- sampai nanti!