Lombok

We are safe and sound in the town of Senggigi, which is on the island of Lombok - far from the earthquake in Sumatra.

This is a very, very quiet town, particularly since there are no tourists here at the moment. We arrived yesterday after a very long ferry ride from Padangbai in Bali, and got to our place, Sonya House, around 4pm. It's PRETTY rough around the edges, i.e. mosquito netting, a big hole for water to pour down on you from, and frequent power outages, BUT it's cheap and has awesome banana pancakes (I'm becoming quite the connosieur of banana pancakes).

Today was a pretty slow one, and we especially felt the change in pace after our hectic, whirlwind days in Bali. I eased into the day with a sunrise run and prayer call in the distance, and the lack of things to do plus an overcast sky meant that Arati and I both got lots of reading in, which was nice. There are tons of locals who love to try out their English more than I'd noticed before getting to this island. "Hello," "How are you?" "Where are you from?" "Obama!" and "Where are you going?" are the standards, but there have also been a few "I want to be your boyfriend"s and the like. Overall people love to talk and try to sell you things, but it is never offensive or too pushy. There is very little business for the people who make a living selling their crafts and sarongs and things, and the poverty here is much more noticeable...so I've caved and purchased a few things here and there. Mostly though, a smile and some conversation is all people are really looking for.

I mostly just wanted to post today so that everyone would know that we were safe from the natural disasters happening in the country and region, but since I'm typing, I'll mention one big highlight from today. While I was aimlessly wandering a little (because you all know I can't sit still for very long), a few really cute little boys who I had taken a picture of at the beach earlier in the day saw me on a side street and started leading me to their village. I followed them through some little streets, far away from the touristy main street, shops and restaurants, past the mosque, and up into the hills. The boys, around 10-11 yrs. old and led by the most precocious in the bunch, took me to say hello to many families and tried to teach me some Indonesian words along the way. We ended up at one of their families houses (a little hut made of bamboo) and the kids knocked a mango out of a tree for me to eat. The parents at the house warmly welcomed me, had me sit down to eat an icee out of a bag, and plopped a grimy baby with no pants in my lap. Awesome.

The father spoke pretty good English, and he told me about the area and his family. The kids all go to a school in the village very near by, and they all begin officially learning English in high school. Also, because a lot of tourists come to the beaches, the beach bum kids end up with lots more catch phrases and charming little English sayings. It was definitely a fun adventure for the afternoon, and I now have a place to come crash if I ever visit here again (with my newfound young friends). Again, the poverty is apparent, but the smiles are even more evident. People seem to care about each other here and they take the time to smile and greet you -a little thing that truly goes a long way.

On that note,
my thoughts are with the people near the earthquake.
All is well here.
Leaving on a boat to the Gili Islands tomorrow...