Last Week

As I packed up my luggage the night before to leave for Sanur, I realized how much I am going to miss Ubud and the Evitel Resort Ubud where we stayed at for roughly 3 weeks. Even thought the hotel wasn’t the best in terms of accommodations, but because we spent a majority of our time there, it felt like home to me. I knew the area, had places that I frequented at, and developed friendships with some of the hotel staff. I will never forget the smiles, the laughs, and the conversations that were exchanged. During the program, I experienced bouts of loneliness and exclusion from certain people in the program which affected how I decided to navigate the rest of the program. After talking to some of my friends back home about it, I decided to view it as not a reflection of myself, but of them. As a result, with only a short amount of time, I directed my energy and focus to building relationships and talking to the SIT staff, hotel staff, and local people. Looking back at it now, I am so grateful that it turned out this way because I learned so much from them and it made my experience so much more enriching than if I only depended on my classmates for socialization.

As we arrived in Sanur, the memories of being jet-lagged and the nervous excitement upon arrival came flooding back. Even though we only spent a few days in Sanur in the beginning of the program, the place is significant to me because it was where I done a lot my firsts in Bali like exchanging money to having my first meal.

One of our last group activities was going to the Uluwatu Temple to watch a Kecak performance that showcases Ramayana which is a very famous epic. I really enjoyed the performance such as the sounds produced by the sitting mate performers, the dance routines, and the interactions between the audience and some of the main performers like Hanuman (the monkey).

Since many of the people in the program were leaving right after the program ended, I definitely the pressure in the air to make the most of the remaining time therefore, some people went clubbing in Kuta. Originally I planned on going as well, but I decided not to because I wanted to spend my last few moments with the others talking or playing Uno, and I was already tired and tipsy from the celebratory drinks we had a few hours prior.