Basa-basi, or what makes this place so damn special

I have alluded to but not really given basa-basi it's due.  The nature,the extraordinary friendliness of the Balinese is truly something to behold and experience.  In the vast amount of cultures I have been privy to witness, and some even become a part of; (over 45 countries) the consistency of their  open nature is Real.

 I know generalizations are vapid and skewed and can be dangerous, but each day the sweet nature of the Balinese is what suffuses my day.....my being........my sense of place.  More than anything, the smiles I receive, the alertness and the meeting of eyes are a  direct result of how they are feeling inside.  
WOW!

I sense it  is the direct connection to their spirituality, different from the temporal world that the we dwell in, with it's sound byte race of distraction and dislocated center. They assert a different reality of what it is to be alive, human and connected to oneself, family, community and the larger belief system that is their macrocosm.  They have told me  they do not understand paranoia or the mistrust that is the underpinning of contemporary societies.  
Balance is the credo they live by.  Tempered by a lot of humor.


I have begun to see some "warts" and have certainly felt exploited and ripped off by the *&%$""@$!)(*<?  Fruit lady vendors,
but this is to such a small degree and is without a doubt my own fault at being so lousy at bargaining and disinterested in their complex ongoing bargaining culture .  (this is changing as I no longer want to feel badly about this, or blatantly disregard this and loose so much money over Fruit!)
It's exhausting, especially in the humid and hot days.
But, i will learn this skill! (as a NYJew I am a terrible bargainer)

They are great jokers..... no one is spared...... this is how they relate to friends and family.... a lot of teasing.  They keep things generally light.

Yes, they are gentle and open and Very Assertive.  They continually ask very pointed and personal questions.  How old am I?  always....where am i going?  How am i getting there?  where is my husband?????  etc etc


Their environmental circumstances are one of beauty and dysfunction.  Centralized Indonesian gov't in Jakarta  (and corruption) provides little in  infrastructure.  Strip away the culture of art and creating beauty and there is a lot of squalidness. 
(For me, in a third world country it's the open sewer systems, and the bathing, washing and *&^V%$# in the river )
The HHI for Indonesia is $2300 per year.  Even in tourist soaked Bali (o! to have come here 20 years ago) this is perhaps overly optimistic.
(I  expect to be charged more for fruit, but not gouged)

So, I can just observe and say that this is what living from the inside/out  creates......and i hope it's infectious.


(and what keeps me engaged in traveling......... even though  it is  at times difficult  and challenging to always be on my own  in a world of navigating differences)









travelin' woman