wake up and smell the flowers!

ok, so with a little over 3 weeks before i depart for Bali, it really is time for me to wake up and smell the flowers and hopefully they'll give me some aromatic kick up the proverbial because i really need to sort out my things and decide what i am going to bring with me...i hate those decisions. i'm always one of those "get to where i'm going and realise i've left behind something i really want" kinda people and it annoys me when that happens so this time i want to be a bit more organised. of course the reason i am putting it off so much is it involves rooting through a garage load of boxes that came back here from Singapore and it also means really being picky about what i want to bring. the airlines limit to 20 kilos...maybe 25 on a push and a flutter of the eyelids if it's a male check-in attendant but that's it...and that's not a lot. over the years i have always firmly believed that those of us traversing the planet to start a new existence should be given some special dispensation from the baggage allowance limit because, hey, we genuinely need the stuff (this as opposed to people coming back from holidays with a bagful of crappy, dodgy souvenirs!) ok i'm being mean, i know, but it's been so long since i had to limit my stuff and now i'm all outta whack with the system.

ultimately though, the things that one needs in Bali are actually very minimal...when i lived there 10 years ago, i survived as a volunteer, living in the kampung of the headmistress of the school where i worked and had a bag of belongings. that was it! so if i've done it before, i can do it again. i know i can, i know i can. ok, ok enough procrastinating...it's off to the garage...

Green School...a greener look at life

so what's all the fuss about this amazing school that is enticing me from half way across the world, you might wonder? Green School, in my opinion is not just ANY school, it is the school of the future. i believe it is leading the way for schools all over the world to follow. it is a pioneer, exploring education and creating a campus that i have never seen the likes of before. i have searched my whole career for a school like Green School and now i am blessed to have found it in its early stages. i get to grow with it and contribute to its growth into a special and inspiring place for learning and living.

the thought of going back to living so close in connection to the environment feels me with such peace. i am so excited by the ideas and plans that the school has for sustainable living and cutting down on that 'carbon footprint'.

you must go and check out the Green School website and just click through the beautiful images of the campus. if they in themselves are not enough to inspire, read about the projects and plans the school hopes to implement in the months ahead. it is an exciting place to be going so stay tuned for helping your life look a little greener...

the relighting of a flame and a countdown begins...

and so another blog begins...and what may you ask, is she up to now...? well, about 11 years ago i first set foot in the charming and beautiful land of Bali, Indonesia and life was never the same again. a year later i moved there and living there was one of the most special times of my life. i never for a second took for granted how lucky i was to be there. to live there is to feel blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of a nation so rich in culture and tradition. it is a place to be inspired by artists, dancers, dreamers and livers of life. when i left at the end of 1999 i knew that my love affair with Bali was not yet over...

and so it comes to be...in a months time i leave again for Bali. the amazing thing about Bali is that when i send out the message to want to return, Bali welcomes me back with open arms and the magical place seems to do whatever it can to ensure that my return is easy. last year i entered a competition for a 5 day all expenses paid trip to Bali with a health magazine...at a time when i really needed a retreat. i sent out the message and joyfully received. i was one of two winners and had the most blissful 5 days in the paradise that is known as Como Shamhala at Begawan Giri.

and again the Gods have worked their mysterious ways. a beautiful and amazing school that is about to open in September recently came to my attention - Green School. a school for the future that focuses on sustainable living and inspired learning. when i sent my application, once again i received. i was offered a job as the pre school teacher and will make my way there at the end of July for one months training starting on August 1st.

that flame that was extinguished at the end of 1999 when i boarded an airplane and parted from the peaceful shores of Bali shall be lit once again...