Traveling for 2 years?It is not traveling anymore..it is LIVING there....
I prefer saying that I am traveling. It is just my way of perceiving things.
When I am in my journey to another island or country, I tend to be a stranger who tries to observe and survive within a society- It feels like that. In my first year, I did not have any idea about this mindset. I LIVED unhappily in Bali. Almost everyday, I complained about my surroundings and my workmates. I saw that things went unfairly- Balinese often took days of, while those who were not from Bali had to take over their work or I felt that men looked down at me when they asked me whether I was married and whom I lived with..The culture shock made feel exhausted.
Last year, I changed my job which luckily giving me
chances to mingle with locals. In the same year, I started to travel to
Southeast Asia with my own money. The experiences transformed me. I
reflected and discovered this kind of mindset which eases me to face the
culture shock. Then, I revealed the reasons why Balinese do this and
that and I had more compassion for them. I analyzed and made sense
everything. At that moment, I was feeling like I was in my immersion
program or like Hazen in Survive the Tribe (in modern setting).
I
then understand that their ways to interact are unique-one of them is by
asking whether you are single or married. It is uncommon that a
Balinese woman live by herself in a very young age. She usually lives
with her boyfriend or friends.
About their taking days off- it is because the peers, their neighborhood 'demand' them to attend every ceremony. That preserved culture is one of the magnets of this Island of God.
Then, I armed my mind with this way of thinking- I am here
to explore Bali including the social life. This is what I call
traveler's mindset
