July 17th 2010

Hey everyone.
Finally internet again.

Thanks for all the good wishes and amazing messages. I miss Calgary, a little bit, but your love online goes a long way. Thanks to family and friends who are reading this and keeping up with me, you are great!

The kitchen is coming along really well. We are already half way up with the walls, the rebar and reinforcements are all done, now it's just going to be mixing cement and hauling bricks for the most part. Hopefully by the end of Tuesday, the walls can go up, and we can start doing the roofing. On Wednesday our family is hosting a wedding at their house, so we get to build with the other group up in the mountain, so that will be fun!
The family has really opened up to us... The little boy goes to school in his cute uniform and he is SO smart. He is already starting to learn his colors and numbers, and general sayings from us teaching him. Ina is just amazing. She is so quiet but definitely a warrior.
Unfortunately, this trip is a little different from the last, organization around here hasn't been the best, and the way we are interacting with the families are not the same as the last trip. If you remember we had a meeting before building their house, and there were only a small amount of people at our work site, and a goodbye meeting. Here, we met our families on Day 1 of the build, and have no translators, so we as a group are trying really hard to interact. I don't know what the mother and father do for a living and who the other people at our work site are. I'm guessing they are family but they could be friends too.
Did you know, the universal word that EVERYONE understands is GAGA? Haha. Wherever we are, if we mention Gaga and music, people know what we are talking about. It's great because singing and dancing brings people together.

Yesterday night my group decided to celebrate my birthday early, so we all went out to this place where there was live music, and the owners came and sang happy birthday to me on a stage. It was fabulous haha. My group is great and we are getting along really well. I'm excited and hope that this week we connect on a deeper level and understand each other's need for humility. It seems like we're all seeking something different on this trip, and getting to know each other helps us just a little bit more to find that answer.

Today we took a tour around Kuta, visited a Bali play, a Fabric store, a Coffee plantation, had lunch at a volcano and dinner on the Beach with a full plate of crab, prawns, and fish, with the eye in... Yikes. I guess because I'm hungry I have to eat it all, and yes, now I'm getting used to seafood. Next step, Sushi with actual fish, and not chicken haha. We also had a group of men sing to our table and the first song they sang was Heal the World by MJ. It was the perfect ending to a great day.
We also visited a Hindu temple today. It was brilliant. It was so tranquil and just so majestic in so many levels. It was really nice to reflect and relax in the serenity of the temple. Pictures will come soon.

Here is my update, I wish I could provide more information about the families, but that's all I really know. I'll keep you updated for sure.

A West Jet lady at the airport told me that Bali is a place where when you get here, you'll understand how everyone is connected to everyone else, and I can feel it. It seems that even though Bali is more richer in economy than Guatemala, everyone here has everything they need. They live comfortably. They don't shower themselves with useless stuff, but they get things that are needed for their family and their own personal needs. Like us, we work hard and buy a bed, a nice TV and clothes, but it shouldn't be to the point where it is over excessive.

Well I love and miss you all. I hope the rain stays away, and the Stampede is tons of fun.
xoxox
Carpe Diem!

Shabana



Heal the World Lyrics:
"Heal The World"

There's A Place In
Your Heart
And I Know That It Is Love
And This Place Could
Be Much
Brighter Than Tomorrow
And If You Really Try
You'll Find There's No Need
To Cry
In This Place You'll Feel
There's No Hurt Or Sorrow

There Are Ways
To Get There
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
Make A Better Place...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

If You Want To Know Why
There's A Love That
Cannot Lie
Love Is Strong
It Only Cares For
Joyful Giving
If We Try
We Shall See
In This Bliss
We Cannot Feel
Fear Or Dread
We Stop Existing And
Start Living

Then It Feels That Always
Love's Enough For
Us Growing
So Make A Better World
Make A Better World...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

And The Dream We Were
Conceived In
Will Reveal A Joyful Face
And The World We
Once Believed In
Will Shine Again In Grace
Then Why Do We Keep
Strangling Life
Wound This Earth
Crucify Its Soul
Though It's Plain To See
This World Is Heavenly
Be God's Glow

We Could Fly So High
Let Our Spirits Never Die
In My Heart
I Feel You Are All
My Brothers
Create A World With
No Fear
Together We'll Cry
Happy Tears
See The Nations Turn
Their Swords
Into Plowshares

We Could Really Get There
If You Cared Enough
For The Living
Make A Little Space
To Make A Better Place...

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

You And For Me