Hello from Asia! Since I left the Gili Islands of Lombok, I hung out with forest monkeys in Ubud, volunteered at an orphanage in West Timor, ran alongside Kupang’s Hash House Harriers, and survived dengue fever. That’s right. I survived dengue fever.
Dengue fever was an awful experience, one of the worst in my life. It’s hard to imagine just last week I was covered in chills and sweat, not much of an appetite yet thirsty all the time, a full on itchy rash on my skin, swollen limbs, and stiff joints and muscles. My feet were so stiff I had trouble walking down the stairs. At one point, I thought death would be better than this. I spent my days sleeping. But fortunately, my blood pressure remained stable and there was no need for me to go to the hospital. The local doctor gave me a blood test and electrolytes and advised me to rest. Now I’m feeling much better and can hardly believe the worst is over. I never want to wish this virus on anyone, but I’m also grateful knowing that it could have been much worse.
To back track a bit, I got the virus while I was in Kupang, West Timor, volunteering in Roslin Orphanage. I was there for two eye-opening weeks. The orphanage has over 120 children from ages 25 years old to months old babies. I mostly taught English classes, sang songs, played games, helped with homework, and held babies. I fell in love with a scrawny two year old boy name Michen, who was found with puss covering his skin and a spine problem. Doctors thought he would never be able to walk, but when I met him he was running around and laughing. I witnessed the suffering of a mother about to leave her infant child at the orphanage for indefinite time. She would not stop holding him until the helpers at the orphanage told her she had to leave because they had to prepare for dinner. I saw a teenage boy receive correctional eyewear. For the first time in years, the world became clear to him. Sometimes sadness would overwhelm me, but mostly I was pretty elated to be with the kids. I’ve never met a group of kids so eager to learn and please. They easily laughed and smiled. I reflected a lot on my upbringing and family during this period, and thanked God that I was born into a family that loves me and could see me grow up.
Before Kupang, I was in Ubud for one week. I met two other travelers, one from Finland and another from Australia, and we ended up sharing a room together to save costs. They were good company and had similar interests. We dined together in small warungs, snacked on fruit juices, and explored rice paddies and cultural events together. We went to see a traditional Balinese dance in the center of town. That was by far the highlight of my stay in Ubud. The bright colors of the costumes paired with shimmery gold trimmings and delicate batik were pleasing to my eyes. Then, the melodic musical notes produced by rows of gamelons players topped it off. The dancers had me clutching to the edge of my seat. They are talented beyond words. The Aussie, a law student from Perth named Terry, flew to Jakarta and the Finnish girl, a film director who lives in Helsinki (the capital of Finland) named Pilvi, continued her travels to Nusa Lembongan.
Well, now I am in Koh Lanta, southern Thailand. My initial plan was to be in Thailand for two weeks for scuba diving, but I spent over a week of it recuperating from dengue fever. Now that I’m finally feeling better, I signed up for a dive tomorrow in Koh Haa. I fly back to Indonesia on Monday. I still need to upload a lot of my photos from my camera to iPad, so I will post up photos of Ubud and Kupang in my next post!
Bendera merah & putih 