There were a couple of things I realized that I've forgotten to include.
First was one of our highlights..
We've had the good fortune of being included in a community's arisan over the years, and they've always arranged it so we can be there, which was a great compliment. We realized that after all these years it was about time we repaid the debt. SO... we originally took over a couple of extra kilos of sausages, to start off, BUT, like all plans especially in Bali, that didn't work.
A casual remark was made about going to Maccas, and Warsi, my Indonesian sister, said, 'our friends would LOVE that'. NOw our Indonesian circle of friends are all middle-class, and we'd assumed that Maccas wouldn't be as much of a treat for them, as for poorer people.WE WERE WRONG.
We booked out the whole top floor of Sanur Maccas, and wasn't it a hit! We negotiated for everyone to get a free icecream, cos we bought so many meals. Everyone loved it, and it was a wonderful time. Really fantastic!!
The other thing was far less positive. Staying at the Green Garden HOtel usually a really nice community builds up. THis year we had a lot of what I can only describe as 'poor white trash' Aussies there. I'm an Aussie, and it makes me cringe. The classic one was when we came home very late, and one woman was very loudly and proudly proclaiming that " I wasn't racist until I lived in Darwin' For some reason I had never realized that racism was a goal to be aimed for!
One another day the same woman was proclaiming to an audience, that she'd seen 'Aborigines with a colour tv in the back of the van. They got talked to, but apparently they had actually paid for it.'
Honestly, as an Aussie who travels a lot, that's the reason I tend to stay away from my fellow compatriots.
cheers, that's all for now.