Rainy season

Rainy season is fully ongoing here in Bali. Driving the roads at the moment, you see more or less just the raincoats on the bikes. The local people told me that it started this year a bit earlier than usually. And I always answered "Aaah that's so ok, a bit rain, no care, because it's still warm". Yes in fact it is...comparing to Europe. But when you are used to the weather here, getting wet on the scooter feels super cold. I never thought, I would be very happy about my only pair of socks here in the evening.
It is my first rainy season living in a tropical place. And this is a new experience and lessons I had to learn. F. e. never close your wardrobe, always leave everything open and use the AC more....as everything is humid and mouldy. As I just opened my backpack I got shocked....all leather things, my belt, my purse and a bag...mouldy! But ok, it's normal. And at the end these are just things I never used.
The amount of rain is huge...I never had that hard rain like here. At some points I would be happier about a boat, instead of a motobike :-) Our surf camp got twice completely flooded, as the river brought a big swell with it.

But there are also good things in the rainy season. I finally have a lot of time to read my books, chilling in my new chillout area in the living room I created (never thought, painting a mandala could be so calming), playing chess at our warung or listening to the guitar playing of my friends, we sometimes even dance in the rain outside :-) this is a completely new feeling of freedom.

What's else new? I had visit from the Wasner brothers from Ulm :-) the guys travelled thru Bali and stopped for some days in Canggu. What a fun we had.

And I finally have my first very own motobike :-) It's a kind of a modified scooter, or better say a scooter, which likes to be a crossmachine :-). It has not really a proper light (backlight doesn't exist), no speedometer, no fuel gauge, it's loud and quick. But it's mine and I love it!

Small escape...

"I gotta get away sometimes(get away, get away)

I got to get away

I gotta slip away sometimes(get away, get away)

I got to slip away to my special place..."

Happy 40th birthday to me

It was easy always saying how old I was...Until the day came some days ago, when I turned 40. It sounds old, isn't it? But I saw many weeks ago a very nice quote saying "They say we not age by years but by stories we have to tell". Yes, absolutely right and I have a lot of them to tell. And yes age is nothing but a number at the end, as I never feel like I am 40 already.
Turning 30 ten years ago was way harder. I was always thinking like, with 30 you have to finally get serious, maybe settle down, and I was always saying now I am old, I could not even have blue hair again. You see I was pretty silly when I turned 30, cause since then I got crazier than I ever was before.
My birthday started in the morning with a completely swollen and closed right eye :-( I couldn't believe that a mosquito bit me in the night that bad. So I went to my 2 classes that day as a one-eyed Jack. Had a lovely breakfast with my 2 beautiful friends Isi and Bella, followed by some apple cider at the beach afterwards. As my very good friend Seno had also birthday, the whole squad met at the Od Man's Bar at 5 pm for the happy hour and some beers and wine. Forgot to mention that, of course, it rained like crazy that evening.
A bit more tipsy that maybe I wanted, my birthday ended at a live reggae performance, my favorite band played a lot of my beloved reggae songs and happy birthday for me, we were dancing and singing. The evening ended of course the way my last birthday parties always ended...but what happens in Canggu, stays in Canggu :-) and for this reason absolutely no pictures from the reggae place :-)
Big big thanks to everybody who called and texted me that day, I got so many lovely messages from all over the world. And even if I had such a great day here with my Bali family, I kept all my friends and family from home in my mind and heart <3

Isi and Bella and avocado :-)

Mango Apple Cider....cos champagne is soooo mahal (expensive)

Before happy hour...dress yourself proper for the scooter ride in the rain...Juda and Bella

Happy hour is ongoing.....Bella, Isi and Budy

My twin Seno and me....happy birthday my friend

Isi and Budy

Isi, Bella, Alena, Malika, Vindi, Seno, Maan and Juda

With Antoq...or Bagong :-)

Dreadlocks

And here they are...My beloved dreadlocks, I was dreaming about so many years :-) Most of my friends texted me yesterday and they exactly knew, what was the next step on my "one day" list.
I was dreaming having dreadlocks for many many years, but my office job, of course, didn't allowed me having some and I had also a short hair cut for the past 15 years. But as soon as I knew I will go, I started growing my hair. And today finally my maybe biggest dream turned into reality.

One day....

Some time ago I started writing a list with things I would like to do one day... Some of them were more "would love to" some of them were "facing my fears". Meanwhile I did a lot of things I never thought I would to...And today is the day when I am going to do something I wished nearly my whole life....Guess what point is going to be true today?

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