1) In Bali, a cell phone is a way of life. It is called a "hand phone" or "hp". People use it to text or "sms" as a way to communicate. Few people make actual calls. Phones run on a pay-as-you-go system. The credit is called "pulsa". When you run out of pulsa you must go to a small kiosk and get more added to your account. I got an sms from a friend one day that said "I have no pulse". A very funny mistake.
2) a bicycle is called a "push bike"
3) when you buy veggies or fruit in the supermarket, you must first take them to the veggie guy to weigh, bag, and put a price tag on before going to the check out.
4) if the cashier does not have "small money" to make change, they give you a little candy mint instead. But when I try to use this same mint to pay for my groceries the next time, they won't take it. :)
5) a bottle of water costs me around 6,000 rupiah. My rent is 4 million rupiah per month. My motorbike costs me 700,000 a month. All those zeros take some getting used to.
6) There are temple ceremonies happening each day for things like blessing of anything mechanical, blessing of the rice fields, blessing of the animals, blessing of the time a baby first touches the ground at 6 months old, or blessing of a girls first menstruation, blessing of a new house or business, full moon ceremonies along with hundreds of others. When ceremonies take place, people cannot come to work so a shop or office just closes.
7) Everyone in Bali celebrates 2 birthdays a year, six months apart.
8) A person cannot move into a new house until the geckos, spiders and ants do. Nature gets the utmost respect.
9) The concept of time does not really exist in Bali. People say that time in Bali is measured by a "rubber watch" meaning that time is flexible and expandable and people are not confined by it.
10) when a baby is born, it is believed that the soul of a relative who has passed away is reborn into the baby.
11) I have never seen a Balinese person get angry or say a cross word.
12) I have never seen a Balinese with a cast or a bandage on. This is particularly surprising given the number of motorbikes that are ridden around each day.
13) If a Balinese person gets sick, they usually go to a healer instead of a doctor.
2) a bicycle is called a "push bike"
3) when you buy veggies or fruit in the supermarket, you must first take them to the veggie guy to weigh, bag, and put a price tag on before going to the check out.
4) if the cashier does not have "small money" to make change, they give you a little candy mint instead. But when I try to use this same mint to pay for my groceries the next time, they won't take it. :)
5) a bottle of water costs me around 6,000 rupiah. My rent is 4 million rupiah per month. My motorbike costs me 700,000 a month. All those zeros take some getting used to.
6) There are temple ceremonies happening each day for things like blessing of anything mechanical, blessing of the rice fields, blessing of the animals, blessing of the time a baby first touches the ground at 6 months old, or blessing of a girls first menstruation, blessing of a new house or business, full moon ceremonies along with hundreds of others. When ceremonies take place, people cannot come to work so a shop or office just closes.
7) Everyone in Bali celebrates 2 birthdays a year, six months apart.
8) A person cannot move into a new house until the geckos, spiders and ants do. Nature gets the utmost respect.
9) The concept of time does not really exist in Bali. People say that time in Bali is measured by a "rubber watch" meaning that time is flexible and expandable and people are not confined by it.
10) when a baby is born, it is believed that the soul of a relative who has passed away is reborn into the baby.
11) I have never seen a Balinese person get angry or say a cross word.
12) I have never seen a Balinese with a cast or a bandage on. This is particularly surprising given the number of motorbikes that are ridden around each day.
13) If a Balinese person gets sick, they usually go to a healer instead of a doctor.
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