From Nusa Penida to Bali

Hello family and friends,

We have arrived in Bali for the last few days in this beautiful country. Our departure from Nusa Penida was bittersweet. Well, perhaps more bitter than sweet because we already miss our many local friends. It was also difficult because the last few days in our village were so incredible.

Last night the entire village came to the community center for the farewell party. They cooked a massive meal for us which included four pigs! It was an impressive spread. The night beforehand we camped on the beach. We made a bonfire and sat under the stars enjoying the company of a few locals who joined us.

We completed our second project and now the community center has a concrete floor. This project went even quicker than the first floor because of the layout of the center and also maybe because we lived on the worksite! Sleepy heads were never far from our project!

Our independent study projects also went well and on our last day on Nusa Penida we had a presentation where students showed off their new talents and insights. The projects ranged from learning how to care for cows, to learning traditional dances to learning how to fight crickets (a favorite pastime of boys). Students had a great time sharing what they had learned.

Today we are on Bali with some time to look for gifts and eat good food. Tomorrow morning at 2:30 am we hike to Bali's second highest mountain in time to catch the sunrise! It is bound to be stunning.

Bye for now,
Josie and Santiago

Greetings from Nusa Lembongan

Hello all!

We've just arrived at Nusa Lembongan where we are all SCUBA diving or learning how to do so. It is a gorgeous spot and all is going well.

For the last two weeks our students have worked hard our on projects in Tiagan, Nusa Penida. We have completed the first of two floors in the temple known as Pura Desa. A huge temple ceremony is scheduled for later this week so we had to work fast to ensure that the first floor was completed in time! The floor looks lovely and we are proud of our students' hard work. It took a lot of sweat and lifting buckets of sand and cement, but it was worth it. We are now skilled at extracting water from a well, mixing cement and laying a foundation!

It didn't take long for us to adjust to life at the banjar (community center). We sleep in open air huts and have learned new methods of using the bathroom, getting clean and washing up. We also eat like the locals do- delicious rice and noodles at every meal.

Some afternoons when we are finished with our work, we go to the beach or to a swimming hole which we can jump into from an overhanging cliff. On other days we play volleyball and hang out with the locals after work.

Last weekend our students joined local families for short homestays-- everyone had fun getting to known their Indonesian families. Smiles and friendly gestures are universal here which has helped tremendously to break down the language barrier.

Now, it's time to head back to the water to learn more about diving! All is well here.

Bye for now,
Josie and Santiago

Greetings from Bali!

Hey all!

After all the anticipation we've finally made in to wonderful Indonesia. The group arrived safe and sound (and quite exhausted from the long travels). Today we got oriented to our new environment and culture. In the morning we bought traditional temple clothes and went for a walk through rice patties to an organic restarant. Lunch was beautiful- the restaurant overlooks the garden where all our food was picked.-- fresh and delicious. Then went went to the monkey forest to check out the local wildlife. For dinner we had a Balinese feast while watching a traditional dance in a temple. Tomorrow morning we take a boat to Nusa Penida to meet the community well be living in a working with.

Selamant jalan!

-Josie and Santi

Meet the trip leaders

2009 Nusa Penida leaders: Santiago Walker and Josie Keefe

JOSIE KEEFE: Columbia University, B.A., Cultural Anthropology. During high school, Josie studied abroad in southern France and took the opportunity to travel throughout both France and Spain. While at Columbia, Josie studied Southeast Asian culture and printmaking. Josie ran the Columbia University radio station, and worked as a DJ in New York City. She helped start Showpaper; a publication of local independent concerts, and is currently learning to play the drums. While at Columbia Josie tutored high school students and worked for an online music TV website. During her junior year at Columbia, Josie studied art and culture in Indonesia. She focused her studies on Indonesian language and batik while living in a small village in Bali. She did an independent study project on Baten, the art of making Balinese floral offerings. In her free time Josie enjoys biking, cooking, yoga, music, and making art. She is proficient in Indonesian and French.

SANTIAGO WALKER: Rice University, B.S. cum laude, Earth Science with a focus on Petroleum Geosciences; Yale University, M.A. Santiago was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to a British-Grenadian father and a Venezuelan-Trinidadian mother. After graduation from Rice, Santiago went on to pursue a Master's degree in International Development Economics at Yale, where he focused on the interplay between development and the environment. He currently works for BP Trinidad and Tobago in Market Development and teaches at a local community college, where he designed and is currently delivering a course in Environmental Economics. He is heavily involved in community service and is campaign coordinator for United Way at BP. This year he is also on the National Volunteer Week committee and is in charge of fundraising. He has traveled widely in Central and South America, Western Europe, and Asia. Santiago counts teaching English in Brazil, painting a stadium in Mexico, and exploring the Caribbean coast of Panama among his most memorable recent travel experiences. This will be Santiago’s third summer with Putney. He led a Putney Community Service program in the Dominican Republic in 2007 and a National Geographic Student Expeditions program in Iceland in 2008. Santiago speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Caribbean Creole, and is avidly learning Bahasa Indonesian.

Welcome!

In order to keep parents updated on the progress of their child's Putney program, from time to time over the course of the program, the trip leaders will post an update on this blog. We hope that the occasional updates will keep you informed about the activities, projects and successes of the summer, as well as comfort the usual worries in sending a son or daughter to a far-away place.

You should expect leaders to post blogs no more than once per week during the program. We feel strongly that the leaders' first priority is the students and the program. The reasons for infrequent updates will be the very busy schedules of our program leaders as well as inconsistent internet access at Putney's various destinations throughout the world. Please know that any important issues on the program will be discussed and resolved with leaders and parents by phone, not through the blog.

We suggest that you subscribe to the blog during your first visit so that you will receive e-mail notifications at the end of the day whenever a new update is posted. To subscribe, enter your email address under 'Subscribe via e-mail' on the right-hand column of the blog.

Have a fantastic summer!

Best wishes from us all at the Putney Barn