Alternative Collaborations

I’m over the Hump and today, Wednesday, is much better than yesterday.  In fact, today has been an excellent day; maybe I just needed a day to get it all out in order to move forward.  This morning I had my second Balinese dancing lesson, and I think I am improving, however not near professional.  I’m catching on to the head and eye movements and the posture is becoming a little bit easier. During class I was flooded with ideas and I cannot wait to get into the studios and rehearse.  Lauren, I hope you have some free time coming up; also, I’ll need 3 more dancers if anyone is interested?

I thought the second part of my day was not going to be fun b/c I had to go to the airport and deal with purchasing our flight tickets.  However, in the airport, (aaaahhhhhhhh) there is a Starbuck’s.  Yes Starbucks!  The biggest smile stretched across my face!  I mean Balinese coffee is fine, a little dark, but Iced Vanilla Latte at the bucks cannot be beat.  (Lucy, I know you understand!)  It’s the little things in life you learn to appriciate.  Anyway, after purchasing our tickets, I treated myself and my driver, Wayan, to a Grande Skim Iced Vanilla Latte.  I just want to say that order over and over and over again.  It was so delicious, cold, icy, and sweet.  Wayan had NEVER tried an iced latte before.  Only hot coffee, can you imagine how wonderful that must have been for him as well.  I mean this should be a commercial…If anyone out there works for Starbuck’s let me know, I would be glad to reenact the experience on film.

Ok, enough about iced coffees.  Let’s go back to buying our tickets; of course there is more to the story.  So, Lion Air only takes cash, on the phone they told me a credit card was fine…NOPE!  Ok, fine.  I’ll go to the ATM.  Let me first explain the money situation here: $1 = 11,000 IDR or I like to round it to 10,000 Rupiah.  So I pay for everything in thousands, hundred thousands, and millions (1M=$100.00).  It can be quite confusing but it does make me feel rich.  So when I go to withdrawal from the ATM, it will only let me take out 1 million Rupiah at a time, and it is all in 50,000 notes.  I needed over 3 million (does sound rich huh).  I put in my ATM card and withdrawal, do it again, and again (pushed the wrong button, got the wrong amount), again, and yes again.  Meanwhile, there is a line forming behind me, I just know everyone was thinking look at this American is she ever going to stop, I felt like the slot machine bells should have been ringing or something.  Finally, after about $20 worth of banking fees, I had 3 million Rupiah in cash.  Just imagine being at the airport in a line and buying $300 worth of tickets and paying with all 5’s.  I was scrounging here and there for change and everything.  I felt like one of those old ladies’s you get behind when you are in a hurry that pays with all change.  You just want to reach into your pocket and pay for them…unfortunately, no one offered.

Afterward, Grande Skim Iced Vanilla Latte oh and another Grande Skim Iced Vanilla Latte Please.

Right now I am waiting for dinner, Nasi Goreng, my absolute favorite here!  Google it!  And then off to a performance via motor bike.

PS – I just remembered my lunch.  My green beans (called long beans here, similar to green beans, just longer), were braided.  Yes, braided!