Authentically Lifing

Little spring break staycation to Hana

My whole rig. Racks, car, canoe. I'm psyched and celebrating!

Meet Margarita! My sweet OC-1, which stands for Outrigger Canoe for one person. You usually have seen me in a 6 man canoe

Isaac is loving baseball season this year. So glad he gets to play. Makawao Marlins

Lesson learned. NEVER let your license expire. It took me three times of taking the driver's test and one written test to finally get this bad boy. Sheesh.

Santa arrives to Maui via Outrigger Canoe

Shepherd's Play. I'm Gallus in the red cap.

Advent

Turkey Trot Paddle

My new ride

Celebrating new beginnings

46th birthday fun

Paintball fun for Isaa's 10th birthday

My first long distance race after returning

Brothers reading and snugging

Kai's 7th grade class

Isaac's 4th grade class

Teaching kindergarten in a new way.

An art project Kai did for 7th grade.

Our new bunnies. Shaka (black and white) and Sweetpea (white with black nose and ears).

It has been so good to be back with my paddling community.

Back on Maui, the land of rainbows.

FAMILY It was so hard saying goodbye to my tribe. These women, my sisters, know me better than anyone. We share a history. There is so much beauty and strength in each and everyone of us. When we come together, we raise each other up. I miss them.

cousins exploring

NC blackberry goodness

Summertime fun with my mom.

Playing behind waterfalls.

Some close friends of ours from Carbondale came to NC for the summer and have a house on a beautiful lake. We enjoyed playing on the boat and being in the water.

June 19th, last day of Green School Bali. I took the boys to one of my favorite shops in Asheville to pick out whatever old fashion candy they wanted.

although hiking on the parkway came with some challenges, we LOVED it.

The boys made so many amazing treats during our Nailed It cooking challenge. This was by far one of my favorites. Southern Biscuit Strawberry Shortcake

Sister LOVE

The boys and I spent many many days on the river or in the river.

Our real first time out and about was for Kai's birthday. He really wanted to race go carts, so I found a place that was open and we were 3 of 8 people there. Kai was in heaven.

A fun Covid friendly activity we took up is geocaching. You use your phone to get coordinates and clues to find little caches. You either sign something or there are little treasures to take and you leave something in return.

Jeff came for a visit for Kai's 13th birthday and we went down the Nantahala. This was one of my most favorite things to do. We often went when I was growing up, because my dad and stepmom were big whitewater canoers.

Showing them how to suck honeysuckles. I immediately was taken right back to my childhood.

Isaac always took very careful notes and wrote down steps. Kai just jumped right in. Fun to watch how they each approach cooking.

I showed them my old house and the property I grew up on. They had never been to NC before this. It gave me so much pleasure showing them all my favorite childhood places.

I showed the boys where I went to middle school. Black Mountain Middle School.

Masking a solar oven. The boys made nachos and smores in here.

planting their own spring gardens

Every Wednesday, the Green School had Screen free day. So, I created cooking competitions for the boys and projects. We made gardens, solar oven, water filters, forts, paper out of plant fibers, went geocaching, and other fun activities.

Isaac's rock collection from the back yard.

This is Marshmallow. He is the sweetest bunny that came to us at just the right time. Truly a therapy bunny. Thanks to SOLA, School of Living Arts in Asheville.

Luckily our house was walking distance to woods and little green spaces that we could get out into and get fresh air and move our bodies. I was still teaching in Bali and the boys were attending classes. We had a 12 hour time difference, so we worked with it.

We made it to Asheville 30some hours later at midnight on the 29th. We were there one day and then NC went into lockdown. Luckily I was able to load up on groceries and my sister could drop food off on our porch. It was a LONG 5 weeks before I was able to see my sisters out on the lawn, socially distanced and it was so hard to have travelled that far and gone through so much and not to be able to hug them.

Absolutely no one in customs and no one at baggage claim. Ghost town!

We were supposed to fly LA to Charlotte, but that flight was cancelled. We were rerouted to Dallas and then had a flight Dallas to Asheville.

Our angels were with us though and we made our LA flight with literally 10 min. to spare. I was seriously doubting our luggage would make it and thought we may never see it again with how crazy things were. As you can see, we had a jumbo jet almost to ourselves. There may have been 50 people on that flight.

However, once we got to Tokyo, the weather was not good, so we had to circle around for quite some time, which made making our connecting flight to LA, a near miss.

I was relieved that Japan kept its borders open and we were able to make our Tokyo flight.

I rented two capsules. Kai had one and Isaac and I split the other. Little twin bed sleeping fun.

We were excited beyond excited to find these airport sleeping capsules. The boys were psyched. I gotta say, they were cool. We were able to take showers, which I was grateful for because I had no clue what was in that disinfectant they sprayed on us, and I wanted it off.

Then we had to walk by a large temperature checker. At this time, all of Jakarta was shut down and we were not allowed to leave the airport. We had something like a 12 hour delay overnight. To say I was worried about how to stay safe, healthy and where to sleep, is an understatement.

Upon arriving in Jakarta, we had to walk through this glass tunnel that had a huge fan spraying some sort of disinfectant on us.

Flight 1 of 5. Bali to Jakarta. A trip to be remembered!

March 28, 2020 The day after Nyepi. Bali decided to stay shut down. No one allowed outside their houses. All roads, stores, EVERYTHING still closed.
Covid timeline for us:
March 10-16, the boys were supposed to meet Jeff in Australia for a week visit. The week before, we started hearing talk about a virus and we were trying to understand it the best we could.
March 8th Jeff and I decided to call off the visit and wait to see what happened. Good thing, because that next week, Australia closed its boarders.
March 11th we started getting temperature checks before entering campus and having to have our hands sprayed with sanitizer.
March 16, had faculty meeting about covid and told what was known about it and how we needed to be washing hands and not touching our faces.
March 18 and 19, Green school faculty had professional development meeting about how we would run an online school curriculum if we might have to after spring break.
March 21 and 22 we did 2 days of online teaching with the students to roll out our program and work out any glitches. The idea was that this was just a back up plan, but that we would most likely return in person after spring break on April 8th. We were told on the 22nd that if we planned on traveling to any "RED" countries and had to quarantine upon returning as a result, our pay would be docked. We were told that we were expected to be on campus April 8th to be ready for in person or online teaching. I had been planning a trip to Borneo with the boys for our two weeks off. I decided we would stay in Bali and explore.
March 24th all faculty got a personal call from the heads of school and we were told that we would be going to remote learning most likely for the remainder of the school year and if we needed to go back to our home countries, they understood.
March 25th, I got an email letter from the US Embassy stating that all residents were being urged to return to the US or be stuck in Bali for an indefinite period of time. Turns out that the few colleagues of mine who weren't able to get out in time, were stuck until mid to late September. Quick decisions had to be made because March 27th was Nyepi and all of Bali, including internet, airports and roads would be shut down and closed. Returning back to Maui was challenging and uncertain. Our home was rented out and it was uncertain if Maui would close to people going in and out and I wanted to be able to get to family on the mainland if needed. I stayed up until past midnight trying to secure tickets for the 26th. I couldn't get them, so prayed that the flights I got for the 28th would be up and running without Bali or Japan boarders shutting down. At this time, we couldn't fly via NZ or Australia because they were already closed. Our friend Linda and my sister offered us their AirBNB in Asheville NC, with a car. DONE! I would have three of my sisters and years of childhood friends and supports in Asheville. Direct flights to Dallas for Jeff's parents, NY to Jeff's brother, and Direct flights to FL to my other sister and grandma and my mom and we could drive anywhere. No Brainer!
March 27th Nyepi - Bali shut down. No leaving the house.
March 28th Balinese government decided to extend the shut down. No one allowed to leave houses for any reason or be on the roads. My landlord's brother was a policeman in our small town. He got the boys and I government issued papers saying we had permission to be taken to the airport. We had a police escort to the airport and were stopped every 4KM to have our papers checked. for the 1 1/2 hour car drive it took to the airport, we saw maybe 5 cars total. If you have ever been to Bali, you know how strange this was.
The hardest thing about all this, is having become so close to our friends and colleagues and without any notice or having the opportunity to have closure and goodbyes, we left and haven't seen any of them since. That is hard.

St. Paddy's day with our sweet Frisky

The beginning of Online learning. March 18, 2020 Three days before spring break.

Water temple blessings.

I still can't comprehend how he was able to fall and stay asleep on our motor bike. Luckily my arms and legs kept him secure.

Helping our neighbors harvest the rice fields. It is hot, long and hard labor and they do this from sun up to sun down, until the job is done. Kai was a rock star and helped the longest.

The boys making forts.

Preparing for Nyepi. Nyepi is Balinese New Year and is a day of silence. Everything in Bali is shut down, including the airport (no flights in our out), internet, all stores, shops, restaurants, everything. Leading up to Nyepi, every village makes paper-mache ogoh-ogoh. The eve of Nyepi is a huge celebration where each family blesses their family temple and then they have a ritual where they chase away malevolent forces from their compounds using pots, pans and other loud instruments. It is said that these spirits are later manifested as the ogoh-ogoh and paraded around in the streets.
The next day is Nyepi and a time for total relaxation and contemplation, "also a time for Mother Nature to reboot herself after a year of bearing human activity." I was also told by our driver that the malevolent spirits may still be out and about, so the Balinese have everything shut down and quiet to trick the spirits into thinking no one inhabits the island and then the spirits leave.

Gifts of fruit left for us by our landlord. Every day his wife came to our house and blessed our home and left offerings at the little temples around the house.

Meet Frisky, our sweet little kitten that found us and had us adopt her.

Kai taking aim at the monkeys getting into the trash bins at one of our favorite restaurants.

The school has a snake man that comes to deal with any snakes we might get on campus. This is part of his collection of rescued snakes that he now has as pets.

Dinner out with colleagues

Have you ever seen such a beautiful chrysalis?

My little basketball Garuda

Two very long snakes caught on campus. We had a snake guy that was called if any snakes were seen. In Bali there are several deadly snakes, so you can never be too careful. Luckily, we never came across any dangerous snakes.

Night Blooming Cereus. This is the flower that produces the yummy dragon fruit.

Kai celebrating his friend's birthday

Isaac celebrating his friend's birthday.

This particular group of boys I worked with really got a lot out of times I incorporated outside, natural movement and connection with nature into our lessons. On this day, we went to feed the pigs and adventure around campus, observing grasshoppers, ant colonies, butterflies, spider webs, and other things that caught our fancy.

Getting ready for Galungan. A Balinese holiday, lasting 10 days, celebrating the victory of dharma over adharma, of good against evil, when ancestral spirits visit the Earth. The last day of the holiday is called Kuningan, and this is when the deceased relatives leave earth.

During Galungan, the spirits of the deceased relatives return to visit their homes and it is the responsibility of the Balinese to be hospitable and welcoming to their ancestors through prayers and offerings. These bamboo poles or Penjor, are decorated with offerings and line the roads. It is a happy time where the Balinese connect with God, eat good food and dress in ceremonial clothing and visit the temples with their families.

Valentine's Day with these beauties

February break beach trip to Amed, Bali

The giant smoky quartz on campus

Whole school V-Day dance celebration

A wet ride to school. Some days were simply impossible to stay dry.

Isaac did a great job on his basket ball team, the Garudas!

Saying goodbye to our dear friend Linda. We were able to spend 6 months with her during her stay in Bali.

I had the opportunity to lead meditation groups at the school, once I became certified in Primelight meditation.

Family campout trip with the 3rd grade.

Rainy night swims in our pool was one of the boys favorite things to do.

Planting new startings with the 5th grade.

Halong Bay, Vietnam 3 day boat trip

Trying the cobra liquor.

The boys got creative with the rose petals the hotel staff decorated our bed with.

Vietnamese water puppet theatre.

We had to try the bike taxi.

Mua Cave and Hang Mua is like a miniature Great Wall of China with nearly 500 steps up to the top. We did it and enjoyed the amazing views of the mountains and river below that we later took a boat ride on.

Bich Dong Pagoda- Buddhist temple and caves

Tam Coc Boat Ride. All paddled by feet. Such a beautiful boat ride.

This was a special art center for adults with disabilities. They were all making these beautiful embroidered landscapes to sell to tourists. Isaac and I each bought one.

Our long trip to Vietnam included seated exercises. I loved that many folks on the flight took part in them.

This was the most funny text I have ever received. I signed us up for a tour and this is the text I got. Do I look like a boss in the above picture?

I then flew to TX to pick up Kai and Isaac and we flew to Vietnam for another unforgettable trip of a lifetime.

My Dear friend Beth. We were in Waldorf Remedial training together. For sure sisters from another mister.

Nothing quite like a good Southern New Year's day breakfast. Grits and a black eyed pea and collard green omelet.

New Year's Eve 2019 Fun with my sisters!

I then flew to NC for a week to spend time with my sisters and visit with old friends.

Jeff met us in the LA airport and took the boys to Dallas to spend Christmas with his folks and I flew to FL to see my grandma (for her 92 birthday), my mom, sister and aunt and uncles.

We spent a few days in LA with Pasha.

L.A. customs photos after flying for 20 some hours.

Headed back to the states for Christmas

Can I just say lunch time was my absolute favorite. Free, organic, homemade lunch every day.

These are my awesome Student Support Colleagues. We made an amazing team.

Isaac and his best buddies

Receiving blessings at the water temple.

As part of his PE class, Isaac had swim class every week. I'm so grateful for what my boys were able to experience. Kai had classes he chose from called Jalan Jalan. These were electives the middle schoolers got to choose from. They included: standup paddling, surfing, rock climbing (this is what Kai chose), biking, robotics, coding, cooking, gardening. There truly was something for everyone.

Kai and his school buddies started a little business called TROGS. They collected frog and toad eggs and once hatched, they sold terrariums with a frog or toad at the Friday Farmer's Market at school. Brilliant and it kept the boys busy. We had hundreds of eggs and baby frogs. This one pictured on Isaac's shirt is not a baby.

At 2:00 every day at school, this gong is rung 3 times, 20 sec apart. When the first gong is rung, the entire school stops and comes to stillness. It is a reminder to regroup, breathe and take a pause. After the third gong, the whole school comes magically back alive. I saw a couple guys moving a heavy piece of furniture on their shoulders one day. They paused with the furniture still lifted, and then carried on when the third gong rang. I never thought it possible a whole school of over 550 students and faculty could all come to stillness at once. It truly is powerful to witness and my most favorite part of the day.

Our little Balinese Christmas tree. Made of bamboo of course.

Saraswati Day in Bali and at school. Saraswati is the Goddess of Knowledge. On this day, the Balinese people bring offerings to their holy books and scrolls in their houses and students celebrate it at school. The philosophy of Saraswati day, is that the most important thing for human life is knowledge.

Sunset in the rice fields.

Our Thanksgiving Feast with our good friend Linda. Roasted chicken, dragonfruit/apple sauce, sweet potatoes, stuffing, green beans and I found someone to make us a pumpkin pie. We were so happy.

Isaac and his besties - Milo and Dilan

Isaac's class

This big guy (about a foot long gecko) is called a Tokay because the sound they make. I do miss them. I had one visit me every night in my shower.

This beautiful lizard visited one day on the step outside my classroom.

Preparing for the ceremony

Inside my classroom. These boys rotating through the stations I had set up for the day.

Riding the motorbike can often be a very rainy wet ride.

Good friends visiting from Carbondale, CO

Halloween!!! I'm a Phoenix

I made these costumes for the boys and their friends.

One of Isaac's teachers, Pak Michael. He was one of our school dogs who was always eating our leftover lunches out of the compost.

Yum. Dessert crepe.

This is how we got around in Bali. It took me a little while to be brave enough to try, but once I felt I had it down, the boys and I had a blast exploring!

Time with our dear friend Linda.

Getting ready to start our hike up Mount Batur.

Sunrise hike up Mount Batur with my colleagues.

Driving home from our hike. We were wiped out after getting a 3am start.

Working with some of my students. I had them drawing pictures under their desks to help them build core strength.

For Isaac's 9th birthday, I took us to Komodo Islands on a Liveaboard boat. It was by far the most fun trip ever. The boys cried when we got back into harbor.

Isaac's says he slept the best he has ever slept in his life aboard the boat. He loved to read until he fell asleep. Every day was so full that some days he didn't even make it into the covers before falling asleep.

Every night, our boat chef made fresh caught fish from that day.

Kai loved going out and driving the little boat we used to go to little islands.

Have you ever seen such large shells? Venus and her angels.

View from our bedroom window in one of the little inlets we spent the night.

The snorkeling was beyond anything I have ever seen. The best I can describe is that it was like a Disney movie, but real. The colors of the coral and fish were incredible, vibrant and I'd never seen such an underwater world. I literally had to remind myself that this was real. Unfortunately I didn't have an underwater camera.

Baby Komodo Dragon up in the tree. As soon as they hatch, baby Komodos run away and climb up trees to avoid being eaten by their mother or other Komodos. They don't come down to live on the ground until they are 4 years old.

Despite how dangerous these Komodo dragons are, our guides assured us we were safe. To kill its prey, the Komodo will spring up and knock the prey over with its huge feet. Then using its serrated teeth, it will shred their prey to death. The Komodo's saliva contains 50 strains of bacteria, which will kill its prey within 24 hours, if by chance it gets away. The Komodo's sense of smell is so good, that it can easily track down any prey that gets away. It was a sweltering hot day and no one was moving very quickly if they didn't have to. We definitely felt like we were melting.

Komodos are the largest living lizards in the world.

White sand beach

Pink sand beach

Bats in the mangroves

Hike with Papa during his visit for Isaac's birthday.

We did a ropes course at Tree Tops Bali for Isaac's 9th birthday.

This birthday boy wanted cotton candy rather than a birthday cake. 9 Years Old!!

For my birthday Kai made me this Buddha with the 3-D printer at school and Isaac gifted me this beautiful shell.

My dear friend and colleague Gena painted and gifted me this beautiful painting of a rising phoenix, for my birthday, my symbol for the year.

Eggplants? :)

Lucky me. Birthday party with new and old friends. All converging a world away in Bali.

Preparing for ceremony.

Balinese fishing boats.

I cherish moments like this one. They do love each other.

The boys and I found this cool old board washed up on the beach. We each took turns displaying our shell collections.

An all day biking adventure with Sepeda Bali.

Along our ride we got to see tangerines being harvested and even had the privilege of eating some of them.

We stopped to rehydrate with some fresh coconut water.

The Salak plant, see the fruit it produces in the next picture. You definitely don't want to accidentally run into this plant.

My most favorite fruit in Bali - Salak or snakefruit. It is crunchy and tastes a bit like a mixture of pineapple and apple. Sooo good.

This is how the rice is dried. Just right out in the open streets.

We had to go for a visa run in Singapore, and spent a long weekend exploring the cleanest city in the world.

Little India

Little China.

The boys each had a bookmark made with their name written on it in Chinese with their zodiac animal.

I loved teaching the boys how to get around using the subway. They got it quickly and quickly I could tell them the destination and they could get us there.

Duck and pig anyone?

Gardens By the Bay, Singapore

Full moon ceremony the first week of school. Every month we were in session on the full moon, we would have full moon ceremonies where the entire school community would dress in ceremonial clothing and take part in ceremony at the school's temple.

"On the full moon, the Balinese celebrate Purnama (which means “perfect”). It is believed that when the moon is brightest, Chandra the moon god gives his blessings through lunar light. The Balinese pray at their homes and sometimes visit temples. When other ceremonies coincide with a Purnama, that ceremony immediately gets elevated in size, which translates to more blessings. On the new moon, the Balinese celebrate Tilem (a term that refers to the darkness of a moonless night). It is similar to the Purnama celebration, except on this day, the Balinese pray to Surya, the sun god, for the blessing of light to guide them in the darkest night. Philosophically speaking, the cycle of the moon represents the cycle of light and dark inherent in humans. Sometimes, people are bright and joyful; at other times, people can be dark and malicious. These ceremonies serve as reminders to remain vigilant of ourselves and our surroundings, and to not stray from our path just because we’re in the dark."

First day of School

Welcome bag for each student. Bag made from upcycled rice bag, pocket school calendar, hat, reusable water bottle, handkerchief and Balinese healing oil.

Every morning we were picked up by the Bio Bus. The buses transport faculty and students to and from school and the various towns students lived in.

Part of our teacher orientation included Mepantigan - traditional Balinese Mud wrestling and a water blessing ceremony.

Notice the red, black and white checkered print. These are sacred colors for the Balinese. White is said to awaken goodness in spirit, red evokes creativity and bravery and black represents power or protection from bad spirits. This is called Tridatu, or the three powers.

Everyday we were served school cooked organic lunches. Many of the ingredients grown on campus and all other ingredients from local sources.

Eating lunch on the bridge, over the river at the Green school and hearing from John Hardy (the founder) about how his vision of the Green School came to be.

The famous bridge at the Green School

Upcycled windshields used as white boards in the classrooms

Visiting the bamboo factory to see how all the bamboo is processed and treated to be ready to make all the amazing structures and furniture at the school.

Doing a trash walk with founder John Hardy.

This is the largest Smokey quartz crystal I have ever seen. A space for students and faculty to come to have a quiet moment.

A cool swivel door leading into the I-Hub or innovation center, where the student got to learn about all sorts of things - Repurposing recycled plastic by melting it down and creating cool keychains, vases, and other creations, learning how to make essential oils, making bio soap from the byproducts of the cooking oil collected from local restaurants used by the school to make bio diesel to run the school buses, 3-D printing, creating fun inventions out of bamboo, and the list goes on as far as your imagination can take you. This was one of Kai's favorite places.

One of the art classrooms

The water vortex. This, along with solar power, takes the Green school off the grid.

Composting toilet!

Classroom gardens

The school's pet rabbits. Do you see one of them hiding under the incline?

Each classroom has a garden.

These solar panels help with drawing water from the very humid air to collect water for drinking.

bathrooms

The school has a number of different types of composting toilets

Downstairs in the heart of school

5th grade

The Heart of School. This is where we had lunch as a whole school. Upstairs is the high school and admin offices.

The yoga shala. Every lunch break (if we didn't have our two recess/lunch duties) we had the opportunity to attend yoga, gong baths, or meditation classes. The school definitely supported teachers maintaining balance and self-care.

Isaac's classroom from the outside. Each grade has two classrooms (Merah and Putih or Red and White). Red, white and black are sacred colors of Bali.

Isaac's beautiful 3rd grade classroom

Dragonfruit bowl. Isaac was in heaven with all the fresh fruit bowls.

We had to try the fish pedicure.

We loved going to this little restaurant on Friday nights to have dinner and watch a family movie. By wearing these headphones, guests who were not interested in watching the movie didn't have to hear it. Good idea.

I love how restaurants are coming up with a greener way of making to-go containers.

Exploring Bali by bike was one of our favorite ways to explore.

Luwak Coffee - Luwaks or Civets are fed the coffee berries. The berries are digested and fermented in the Luwak's belly and then pooped out. The beans are then cleaned and roasted and sold as a very expensive Luwak coffee.