Bali 1

Hey, it's my 20th post! Sweet! I don't know what significance that might have (probably none), but it's still kind of cool. Maybe I'll buy cake.
Anyway, not much has happened since my arrival in Bali. I was met by Paul Edmundus, a friend of my grandmother's, who operates a tour company. He is a bubbly, constantly beaming guy, and we chatted avidly on our drive to Kuta, where I stayed the first night (and currently am located). Kuta is not so nice. It's hugely touristy, filled with drunken Australians in Bintang tank tops and hassling street vendors. I was pretty tired on arrival, due to my early morning flight, so I napped for a little while, then walked down to the monstrously crowded beach. I wanted to go swimming, but when I got to the edge of the water there was a line of washed-up trash, and I decided against it. Luckily, an atmospheric rain storm came in from the ocean, driving everyone off the beach, so I got to enjoy a natural shower and watch the lightning. Later on, I threw on a raincoat and forced myself to walk maybe half a kilometre to a big club; when I got there, however, I saw a bunch of drunken Ozzies and heard bad pop blasting and I couldn't deal at all. Maybe if I was with someone it would have been different, but on my own I'm like an anti- struggling alcoholic, forcing myself to go to bars and taking small steps towards being able to freely party. So that's all that's really happened so far...culturally speaking, it's been an interesting shift to leave Thailand. By now, I'm really used to the currency, and even speak a little Thai, but it's completely useless now, as I have to use rupiah and try and speak Indonesian (which I basically haven't bothered with). When I first arrived, I kept catching myself saying "sawadee krap" and "kob kun krap" to Balinese people, who generally looked at me with mild confusion and amusement. I've broken the habit now, but rupiah, which operates in increments of 1,000, is still throwing me off. I'll get it figured out soon, though...LYA