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Archive for December, 2011

Six Haiku, December 2011

By ⋅ December 31, 2011 ⋅ Post a comment

My haiku warm-up exercises turned into multi-day workshops. I could keep fiddling with these things indefinitely. Here, so I can move on to something else: In our jet cocoon Silk strands floating behind us A tensile trail home Your body deprived Goes numb, the dragging foot draws Warped lines of anguish Camino soundtrack: Clicking sticks, […]

Bali’s Bang for the Buck

By ⋅ December 28, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

Rupiah, the Indonesian currency, look like play money, and stack up like it, too. Today, the posted exchange rate is about 9,175 rupiah to one U.S. dollar. Our last ATM withdrawals netted less, of course, and the cash machines typically allow a maximum of 1.5 million rupiah ($175) per withdrawal. Cash is king; surcharges are […]

Breakfasts in Bali

By ⋅ December 24, 2011 ⋅ 2 comments

One of my favorite childhood Christmas memories is not related to the presents or Christmas dinner, but to the breakfasts we’d have between tearing through Santa’s stockings and opening gifts from under the tree. It was a welcome break in the action. My mother baked fresh cinnamon rolls every Christmas, and later, when our appetites […]

10 Things I’ve Learned from Traveling (with my husband of 34 years)

By ⋅ December 23, 2011 ⋅ 6 comments

1. The morning is for people who have someplace to go. The afternoon is for wandering around aimlessly, long lunches, reading, or napping. Do what you need to do in the morning or you’ll never get it done. If you arrive at a bank or office after hours, you can be sure it won’t open […]

Subak and rice growing in Bali

By ⋅ December 15, 2011 ⋅ One comment

A couple days ago, our cousin and host, Kasey, invited us to a Rotary Club meeting of the Ubud, Bali, chapter. The featured speaker, J. Stephen Lansing, professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona, is an authority on evolutionary biology and specifically on the rice terrace irrigation systems of Bali, called Subak. For over […]

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