A few more surf pics and Indo wrap up.

My last night in indo is tonight and I am keeping it low key seeing that me and the boys did it up big in kuta last night. Tomorrow I have a big day ahead of me traveling through Singapore on the way to Sydney. I have a 12 hour lay over so that should be pretty boring. I am super stoked on Australia. And just getting on the road in my own car and cruising. and yes ray I have been practicing looking right especially since in south Africa I was almost run over about 3 times crossing the road ha-ha.

Indonesia has been another great eye opening experience. There is definitely a culture shock once you are here especially in Bali. Little kids following you down the road begging for a few cents is reality here and something I have had to get used to as well as having to deal with the fact that it is usually past 3 in the morning while this is going on and they are being overlooked by their parents. It saddens me and makes me almost resent the country I come from. I have come to learn that all of the money spent on things such as war and oil consumption coming from our country could easily come close to eliminating such problems as poverty and UN education around the world. One very positive thing to come from this part of my trip is the ability to now accepts peoples cultures they have been raised in whether it be a poor Indonesian or a European with a totally different way of going about things. i.e. as my dad puts it French people have a stereotype of being "pompous assholes" where as I learned that this arrogance is just a way they have been raised and they are looking at things usually just as positively and with just as much appreciation as everyone else. I was frustrated with the two guys I was traveling with once they just gave up on the frenchies we were with because of their "attitude" where as I saw them as great people with just a different background. I can’t imagine how much this trip will enlighten my view on life if it has already had this big of an impact on me in just two months. Another thing I really enjoyed about being in this country is the way that life for the most part isn’t as fast paced and materialistically consumed especially in places like Sumbawa where people enjoy living so simple that they own a house, 1 outfit and a few goats while never using a computer their entire lives. I wish it was as just as easily done as said but I would love to be able to live a life like these people and have my outlook on life be only half as great as theirs. The culture here in indo is very interesting and I would love to come back for 6 months or so and learn bahsa the national language. There are 27 different languages here but the gov't set up this widespread language that is very easy to learn and is spread through most of Indonesia’s thousands of inhabited islands. And what is more amazing is that this was all brought about within the past 50 years. Besides the tourist hot spots the people seem so interested in you as a person and it is not uncommon to sit down for an hour or so and have a convo in broken English about everyday things and they are very interested in the way we live and how to make their lives better. The funniest thing is that 9 times out of 10 if you tell someone you are from California they automatically say “o Arnold Swartzinager (sp?) Ha-ha.

I miss everything back at home but know that what I will be able to pass along once I am back will not only benefit me but many of those around me. Thanks everyone for all the support and comments on this page. It makes me so excited to see all of the people interested and concerned in what I am doing. O and another thing; I am reading the best book ever right now titled Confessions of An Economic Hitman by John Perkins. I definitely suggest this book as it will most def. change a lot of your views on everything around you and your culture. Sorry if this constant babble bored you but I felt that a long one was due. Cheers Nick

me about to take one on the head
simplistic life?