Yes, as i've illuded to before, Monday was the Hindu New Year day. Noone is allowed to leave their property. In preperation I bought scant foods. I was pleasantly
surprised though that my family provided all three meals for me, as
well as a little company. I think they feel a bit sorry for me being
by myself. The four little rooms are owned by a guy named Pak Ketut.
He does not stay there. However he drives over every morning to make
me breakfast. This is an aside, but everyone’s first guess is that
I’m French. The first morning Pak Ketut made me a bowl of fruit and
jaffle – indo’s equivalent to egg mcmuffin. That was the first
day we met. The next day he brought french toast with a big smile.
Anyway, Pak Ketut employs a young family to live in the little house by
the road – the husband and wife’s names are both Ketut also.
(Balinese name their children according to birth order, regardless of
gender :) Anyway, they have a cute little boy, and the husband is a
round, extremely friendly fellow with a huge smile. He frequently sings his greetings to me. The wife is
sweet, though quieter. Misi & i liked them both a lot from the
beginning.
So, not much to tell from Nyepi except
the Ketut the young husband came and sat on the porch with me a while
and ‘makan anging’ (ate the air/shot the breeze). He was
undaunted by language awkwardness which was nice. He obviously just
wanted to be sure i wasn’t lonely down at the end. Sweet people.
At night noone turned on any exterior
lights. Amazing how dark and quiet it was! The stars were incredible.
But i got the creeps after a few minutes and went back inside. I
forgot to mention that at the Ogoh-Ogoh parade, despite the
festivities, none of the elder men were merry-making. they all seemed
very intent and intense. It goes with the feeling here – serenity
and beauty on the surface, yet with an unshakable sense that there is
something a bit sinister lurking underneath it. There are also
demon-faced gargoyles on literally every corner, which probably lends
to the atmosphere.
