Life is a game

The past 2 years were not really good for me. I had to do so many decisions, I had to fight for some of my rights, I lost 2 friends and my beloved cousin too early, I had to deal with my inside, if I am doing everything right, leaving my previous life, my cat, my friends and family behind me and start something new. But what is really the right decision? You can only reflect afterwards and say yes or no.
So since january this year everything changed, my job and my private life. Absolutely everything. Never even having an idea how many possibilities and how much easiness my life is going to bring me. Today I feel easy and life doesn't feel heavy and serious anymore. It is simply a game.
Leaving my "old" life behind me taught me so many things. There will always be people who are going to critice you or tell you what is the best for you. Yes, how I like this!!!! Only you can do and decide what is the best for you. To be honest I just don't care about this. Not anymore. I did earlier, tried to be friend with everybody and wanted all to like me.
The last two years felt so heavy to me. I spent so many hours at the office (some of them just for nothing, but to be the entertainer for a boss, who was thrilling us with all his idiotic ideas), tried to be on time to my yoga teaching, tried to meet my friends, to be there for my parents. How many times  I just felt down in my bed and slept. I was tired, I absolutely had no time for nothing anymore what I call my passion. I completely stopped painting. I stopped be creative. I even speed up my own yoga practice just to save some time. Was it all worth, all the money I earned (and I earned pretty good)? No it wasn't. Because I wasn't happy. Since I changed everything, and started following my passion, life seems to reward me with so many good things. Everything just happens when it's time.
Earlier I tried to be perfect, my apartment has to be perfect, my clothes, everything in my office. Nowadays I don't care anymore if I have 2-3 kilos more, I even don't really wear shoes anymore and my hair is messy. But yes, this seems to be me, and I finally feel happy with myself and I am perfect how I am and not how media and people want to see me. I got really lazy, a feeling I never knew before and shall I tell you something? It feels pretty good (ok, ignore please this one point from my previous post :-)) I only do things when I am in the mood for them and not because I have to. My favorite word since I live in Bali is laterrrrrr (of course with a rolling r ;-)
My magic rule today is letting go. Letting go on the past, situations and people in my life. If people or friends are meant to be in your life, and it doesn't matter how many years you were friends, they will stay there, it doesn't matter how far you are or how often you stay in touch. If you don't learn to let go, a heaviness will always follow you.
Life is pretty simple! It's your own decision how complicated you create it. Life gives you everyday new chances, new signs, it's just up to YOU, if you follow them or not.
This post is not meant to thrill you to go the radical way as I did. I just want to encourage you, to follow your passion, not to take life to serious anymore, at the end we all have to go one day, so try to create this amount of time as easy and happy as you can. Don't take everything to serious, take a deep breath and relax. And you will see, how easy everything just starts being.

Be happy, be silly, be wild at heart!

10 do's and don'ts in Indonesia

My very good friend Isi inspired me to today's post. I met Isi only 2 months before. Do you know the feeling just meeting a person and it fits from the first second on? She is definitely one of those people to me.. She lives in the same building like me with her boyfriend, comes from Germany as well and lives partly here, in Germany and Switzerland. She put a list of do's and don'ts in Indonesia on her webside and I would like to share it with you.

10 Do's

1. Go surfing! Especially if you come to Canggu. And do it with our friends Jungleboys

2. Be always nice! How many times we had the situations with foreigners treating local people disrespectful

3. Rent a scooter! It's cheap (approx. 3 Euro/Day), it's easy, you are flexible and you save a lot of money for taxi

4. Spend time with local people and get friends with them! This is the way you get really into the culture. Just visiting a temple is not enough

5. Eat at warung (small local eateries)! Mie and Nasi Goreng, Nasi Campur, Bakso and Lalapan, it's delicious and it's very cheap (approx. 1 Euro per dish)

6. Attend a beach clean-up! All of us like to go to the beach, and we enjoy it more if it's rubish- and plasticfree

7. Learn bahasa Indonesia! Even if only some words or sentences.You will realize that your stay here it's going to be much easier and the local people appreciate it very much. Btw, the language is super easy to learn.

8. Watch as many sunsets as possible. On the beach, with friends and a coconut (or a bintang)

9. A coconut a day keeps the doctor away! Seriously. Coconut cures everything (see my last post :-))

10. Support as many local places as possible, instead to just spend time at fancy bule (foreigner) places, spend your money rather for local food at the warung instead of making the rich richer, and btw the authentic food at warung tastes miles better.

10 Don'ts

1. Walking, driving and going to warung in bikini or only in boardshorts/no shirts. This is super disrespectful to the local people and hand on heart, you wouldn't do this in you home country, would you?

2. Driving the scooter without helmet, racing around like crazy, only because you CAN do it here, but you don't have to. Too many accidents happened here already, especially foreigners who don't know their limits.

3. Leaving all your rubbish at the beach. Due to raising tourism and sometimes a lack of education cause already too much rubbish here.

4. Buying a Bintang Singlet! Please don't. It's ugly

5. Complaining about everything! Especially the Europeans. You are not in Europe and no they don't have european standards (even if the locals really give the best to do so). But this is what we love here so much. It's the simple but real life.

6. Being scared about everything! Go for it and finally leave your comfort zone

7. Bargain too much. Of course you should do, but think about what is a fair price for you and then pay it. The local people have to survive and feed their family and it's still so cheap for you.

8. Entering the houses or shops with shoes/flipflops! You don't have to do it everywhere, but if you recognize shoes in front, do the same, please.

9. Getting lazy! Nothing wrong with that, you should come down, but don't get used to it. It happens too easy here :-)

10. Don't worry :-)! Be just happy

small...but painful

Countless times already I managed to break my toes...It happened at home, falling the stairs down, running against a table, running against the bed but mostly I broke them on my travels. Usually hitting some rocks on the beach and the last time, which is the funniest one, was at the airport. I had to put my shoes off at the security check in Munich and at the same time I tried to put my tablet out of my bag, of course it felt down directly on my toe. Pain, pain, pain.
So I was lately wondering that I managed being now 9 months away and having nearly nothing, except some flu and once a food poisoning, I even managed not to get dengue fever (crossing fingers till now) even if mosquitos really love and bite me all the time. A week ago I managed to break a toe for the first time. Yes, here it is :-) So teaching with a broken toe is not that easy, rolling over my toes from the upward to downward facing dog is trully painful. So I taped three of my toes and that helped. Days later I went to a beach party, left my flipflops in my scooter. Remember I was again at the same bar where my scooter got stolen in march, with my flipflops looked inside. Ok this time only my helmet got stolen, luckily scooter AND shoes were there. But I managed to step into a sharp rock or glass, I don't exactly now. A hero that I usually am I tried to cure it by myself.
Note when you are living here: You cure EVERYTHING with coconutwater (everything), Poccari (super sweet isotonic drink, and Papaya leaf juice, if you have flu or dengue), Jamu (natural "antibiotics") or condenced milk "Baearenmarke" if you have some stomach issues :-) aaaah I really love all the local medicine, which really help. But as the cut got infected I went to a doctor. It least I am still a german and of course I have a health insurance, which I nearly never used. Highly recommended: Canggu medical. Super cute and super nice staff. Taking care and asking several times, if it's too painful as the had to cut again and clean my foot sole.
Now I am sitting at my place, both feet injured but hey, yoga still works so everything is going to be alright in some days.
And of course I drink a coconut and will put some tumeric on the injury tomorrow :-) just in case

Grateful...

A friend asked me some days before what am I grateful for in the moment... Well there are many things

I am grateful to do what I love, for living on a tropical island, the first thing I see in the morning are my beloved palmtrees, having a family who is always there for me, being healthy....

Furthermore I am happy to get "local" every single day. Meanwhile I just like to talk in indonesian, refusing to answer in english anymore and I learnt how to eat with hands (no cutlery anymore needed) and how NOT to use toilet paper anymore :-) just getting washed the local style :-)

My favourite dish meanwhile is Lalapan. It's rice with some cucumber and tomato slices, chicken, tempe (pressed soy beans) and super spicy sambal... But it taste best if you share it with your family ❤️

Maan, Antoq, Budy, Dedi, Agell, Isi, me and loads of Lalapan