flowing Perspective on culture

When I think about Balinese culture I see the glowing smile of our beautiful Dayu, the knowing winks and expressions of Evert, and the gentle, unassuming, and peaceful presence of Weiske. I feel privileged to be led around this exotic island by such a gifted and honest group of individuals. We are lucky to have true and genuine firsthand experience of Balinese hospitality from the moment we stepped outside of the Denpasar airport. In general, being in Bali has given me the opportunity to see new things, and more importantly, to see familiar things in new ways. The midday cremation ceremony that we observed near a beach in Sanur was a brand new experience for me, and one that has made me think of death differently since. The way that the Balinese people lift up death and display it in public places instead of hush it away exemplifies their overall optimistic and open lifestyle compared to how American culture normally deals with or handles events surrounding the end of a person’s life.

Being conscious of how I am perceiving experiences on this island is interesting and important to keep track of. Growing through travel experiences is exciting and inevitable, and staying aware of the never-ending morphological state of the lens through which I view my life and how others live their lives is vital to gaining the most out of what I experience. Although being attentive to my own state of change can be a bit exhausting, I have tried especially hard to keep track of my thoughts on this particular trip because of my project on perspective and the various ways that people view the same thing. One of the cultural elements that I have most been aware of during my stay here is the Balinese concept of time. Working on the Hawaiian island of Oahu last summer showed me a brief introduction to the idea of living on “island time,” however my experience this month has definitely exceeded that, and I believe that the ability to be flexible and spontaneous have been important lessons to take away from the overall experience we have had on Bali. Further, the idea of perceiving time in different ways is similarly fascinating to me, and the fact that everyone has experienced the sensation of time as dripping drop by drop AND flowing swiftly proves that perspective can change or be altered without force, but simply with the flow of experience.