Maria was up early after our late night arrival into the nice countryside home we chose for 2and weeks and already took care of getting the motorbike so we can move around freely. I was still so tired and fell asleep again after she left. Very slowly I got up later, when Maria came back from town fully energetic to start the day.

We went to Dirga, the master wood carver Maria was learning from in the 2 years she stayed in Bali. We directly talked about the project arthouse Berlin. A summer school with mask carving, Balinese dance and a final presentation.

A lot to be organized, so first we went to a dance teacher, but he was not speaking any English so we decided to not go any further with him although he might had the skills. We found a very well known English speaking teacher not so old as the other and still in business. We have a very good feeling with him. He can also organize costumes for the students and musicians and instruments, perfect!

The next days we went to organize a location for the workshop and also accommodation for the students. We found a nice resort and they ask for a fair price to support the project. We also went to check prices for the tools we need, like axe, hammer, chisels and so on, the paint, brushes and finish. All are scattered across the area, little shops specializing in that so we went out and explored together with Dirga, always good to have a local with a plan.

After 4 days we also adopted to the local time, the jetlag was a bit annoying, especially Maria was effected, not being able to sleep at night. When moving east it’s harder for the body to adopt as you “loose” time. Generally per time zone you can calculate half a day to adopt for the body, with 7 hours ahead of Berlin time you can do the math.

We have a great time and tried not to push too hard. We went to the beach on the way to the tools and also to the pool in the afternoon for a swim, with being the only guests it felt nice. We went to relaxing places to eat with a beautiful view of a rice field and relaxed at night in our house with garden view and the beautiful sound of nature.

The one day however it was a bit too much for me, as we also need to move our house and we’re searching for another one, going from place to place and the mid day heat is heavy here I suffered bit. I was also exposed to the sun too long I think.

On the weekend we went to Made Cat and filmed his dancing skills, pretty amazing and it all looks so easy and seamless. We med an Indian American lady that is studying music and dance here in Bali at his house, she was dancing then as well, you could really see the difference, although she is studying since some time already. Maria shared her process with her, which was an eye opener, for both.

Sunday we took our time off and visited a nice little waterfall some 30 min away from Ubud, lots off locals, not many foreigners, we had an amazing and refreshing swim and finished our first week like this, being around waterfalls always makes my spirits rise, might be the positive neutrons or just water being my element, who knows, main thing is to be happy and to spread the happiness around.