Bali TV

Could the beginning of my stardom start here in Bali? As part of the publicity for Jason’s exhibition next week, I have contacted all local papers and TV stations and am beginning on the radio contacts. One TV station asked to do an interview with Jason and SOS. So out we went to Jason’s house. Luckily Claire who headed the SOS Sumatra office was here as she has more facts. She is also young and shy and pretty and I encouraged her to help with the interview. The pretty petite interviewer asked all three of us different questions that she told us about before we went on air and we all did just fine. But she surprised us at the end with a Barbara Walters type question…’What do you think of the job the Indonesian government is doing about protecting the orangutan?’ Yowsers…What now? .I didn’t know if it was okay to criticize on public TV here and thought perhaps in the insult there would not be forward energy towards a solution.?? Claire and Jason went first thank goodness. Claire said they were doing certain things but needed to do more, Jason said that illegally logged had to be stopped and I said roughly….something like this… it is a tough problem for the government. Caught between establishing a strong economy and protecting a national treasure. I hope that the government can find a way to protect their treasure. The irreplaceable rainforest that holds not just orangutans, but also elephants, rhinos, and tigers. and then maybe blah blah blah...not sure something like that..who knows! I was nervous! She seemed to go with my answer and said, Yes, we must all pray for the Indonesian gov. It airs on Monday morn and we’re going to watch it together and see how it edits. Really interesting to be here in a foreign country being asked such a touchy question. I will be curious to see what people think.
Now we did this in the top floor of Jason’s house which is hot…even to the petite, pretty TV woman who was fanning herself when we were off camera. But sitting next to her, I can only hope that I don’t look like a wet American noodle…I had put on a bit of mascara and it of course had melted below my eyes, so no makeup, hair pulled back, ah, vanity forced to take a backseat… I’ll let you know.
Meanwhile, I am writing articles about the eco-trek and also about the issues facing the conservation of the rainforest. Feels good to learn about the issues and find words to maybe explain things in a different way, to somehow see if words can help orangutans continue flying through trees enjoying their life in the rainforest with the elephants, the tigers and the rhinos!
It is easier to get published here than it is at home but I want to write in publications back home too. Maybe since our zoo has a 40 year old orang they might want to give a small grant to the projects we have going in Sumatra..As I have learned more from Claire, I’ve really been impressed with the projects SOS is working on in Sumatra.
Dewi, our local young woman who works in the office, Claire and I met with a principal today to talk about starting up a conservation teaching program in the area schools. She was so full of laughter and happiness. I bet her school is bursting with energy. She’s more than happy to have us come and teach a unit on orangutan conservation. SOS in Bali has not done any education for 3 years. Hopefully local people can take on teaching the classes here. We have tons of great material from the Sumatra teaching program. It would be great also to take this unit home and teach it to local Seattle kids! I should have some films with me when I return.
While we were waiting for the principal to arrive at KFC (yes, it is here and no it’s not good at all) we met another woman who miraculously said she’d love to accompany me to Balinese schools and translate for me! My sneaky little goal is to get her comfortable to do it herself! We’ll see. It just seemed like a rather amazing coincidence to meet her and have her be so friendly and talented. She belongs to a small group that meets to talk about current events. She wondered if I would come and tell them about SOS. Yes, yes, of course!
My Bahasa Indonesia is coming along as I slowly memorize about 5 words a day, some days. You can’t believe how fun this language is. No fuss no muss with things like tenses. I’m sure it can become more detailed but I can communicate a wee little bit by linking words together. And like everywhere, people like it when we speak their language or make an attempt. Salamat siang. Apa kabar? Bagus, dan anda? Good afternoon. How are you? Good, and you? So what’s lunch…makan siang. Which is the word for eat…makan and afternoon, siang. Nice, eh?
I had a surprise today and not at all in a good way. Seems that when I entered the country the guy stamping my visa stamped Feb 4 not March 4. Now who knows to check the gov guy’s stamp! So now they need proof that I really entered on March 4 and who keeps a boarding pass! Luckily I had my baggage claim and my ticket and receipt and hopefully that will work. Urgh………So, when you enter a country put on your glasses and see if the stamp is correct, stash the boarding pass someplace safe. Let's hope the gov doesn't mind admitting that they made a mistake???
Well, it’s time to get something to eat for dinner. It’s still so strange to eat every single meal out. Someday when I am at a loss for what to cook for dinner, I’ll remember when it was all menus. I’ve found a few favorite places to eat though I do still look for new ones. They have this amazing Indian grilled eggplant with chopped tomatoes and naam…yum!
Funny to be dealing with a 50,000 Rupiah budget for food for a day and trying so hard to keep it. That’s $5/day for food. My restaurant/grocery store near my house has cheesecake for 10,000 R…do you realize how dangerous that is? $1.00 for a yummy piece of cheesecake that I can take home and have with the tea I am served at the end of each day? And I tried it once and it is soooo good. Trouble for sure.
And one more cute story. I asked the landlord and Nyoman, who makes my breakfast and straightens my room every day ( no, I am not used to that yet but wonder if I’m going to expect Paul to make me coffee, an egg and fruit salad every morning and clean the room when I get home. Paul, what do you think?) if there was a TV that I could watch with friends on Monday morning. They quickly went to work and took a tall bamboo pole and put a TV antenna on top of it. They balanced that next to a tall tree near my room. Then a TV came upstairs and the wire got connected and wham! TV. They were both just so proud of themselves. So tomorrow morning the group of us TV stars and a few fans will gather in my room to watch the interview. Hopefully there are no close ups of my glowing face!
Okay, back to writing a few queries. Take care! Do what you can to use fewer resources. No one more thing. I’m here at the office writing…wireless and quiet makes for a great cool space and the office is at the back of the family compound that owns the delicious Kafe. Someone came in and said…free yoga class upstairs. There is never yoga upstairs let alone free so off I went. They are doing free yoga for the staff here who all work so hard. So there I was listening to bahasa Indonesia yoga and watching the sweet faces in my class. There is a sweetness here in Bali that is lovely to be around. Ubud is full of tourists and expats so it was just great to be in a room of locals. Now that’s the end of this piece as wireless turns off in just a few minutes!
Enjoy the day.