The day before Saraswati, 6 June 2008, Friday

The morning before Saraswati day, we all gathered at Made’s home in Singapadu to get the Samu library ready. Over coffee and snacks, the books are sorted out and stamped with our lady symbol of wisdom.



We are, as always, impressed with what Miyuki has in store for us, the finishing touches Miyuki made to the paintings in the library were sublime! And then there's her latest and most thoughtful contribution to the library- a sign!



The last time we were in Singapore, we requested for well wishes from our friends, wondered what became of them?




And now, there are finally books on the shelves!

Saraswati Day, 7 June 2008, Saturday

In Bali, they have days to do tribute to the many things they rely on, for livelihood or the elements that enrich their lives. They have days where they will make offerings to animals (Tumpek Kandang) , to plants (Tumpek Uduh), to instruments used in Wayang Kulit, or the traditional shadow puppet performances (Tumpek Wayang), and to things sharp (Tumpek Landep, for knives, computers cos they…errr… “keep the mind sharp” and even vehicles, don’t know how that came about though)

On this day, it is Saraswati Day! It’s sorta like our day isn’t it? This is the day to make offerings to lontars (traditional ‘books’ made of palm) and books, the stuff of wisdom.



All educational institutions will, on this day, have ceremonies conducted at their premises, to pray, to clear away obstacles and to make offerings.



In completing the ceremony, the pupils of class 6 (they’ll be graduating this month! Graduation ceremony on 13 June, wait for our entry on that ☺) pray on behalf of all the students.


Thus, as of today, the library we have been building is, I would say, spiritually open! We join the school in Samu (where our library is built) for the ceremony. Bantens and canangs (offerings of food or symbols) are offered in the school and the library, and is blessed by Dewi Saraswati.



So now, almost all are in place for the official opening of the library, except that many of the books we’ve ordered have not come in from the factory in Surabaya…in a few days time they’ll be here, we’ve been told, but we know, it’s always…just maybe…

Keeping us going

This entry is all about thanking people, remembering those who supported us and encouraged us when we started, and those who still are.

We thank Adrian’s cousin, who has generously donated but doesn’t want to be named.

We thank Phak, Owen and Emma who have donated so many of their books to the library.

We thank Brian and Fiona for their encouragement through donations.

We thank Yuriko (Miyuki’s best friend!), who brought very nice books all the way from Japan.

We thank Madhu and Iris for the very useful books.

Denise, thank you too though the books got lost ☺

Asma, we received your donations through Es, thanks again!

Es and Ann, though you’re both part of the committee…we still do thank you both, for spreading the word, coordinating the collecting of books, and bringing them over. It is heartwarming to know that all of you back there care for the kids here and what we are doing.

Many of the books had quite an adventure, traveling by land and sea for over 3 weeks. Others traveled more luxuriously, 2 and a half hours flight, with Es and Ann lugging them around. We do hope to find more economical and practical ways to ship things over though…contacts or ideas, anyone?

A lesson under the shade of a tree

This update is about 2 weeks outdated! The previous blog had it that we were all heading out of school for lessons…but we had consulted the village head too late! The bale banjar was to be still occupied for ceremonial preparations… Also, we completely forgot to at least TRY to inform the kids, so they all still came in their “pakaian adat” (ceremonial attire)- sarong and all!


In the end, we had to do it in school…but out of class and under the shade of a tree, it was a lot of fun! Lessons should be conducted so, shouldn’t they?



There were more kids than usual that day, the 4 of us had a rather hectic time, but it was well worth it. We started off singing some English songs that we learnt together previously, then played word games, followed by some light snacks, and finished off with a closing group photo session...we were so inspired, we’re planning for an English day camp during theirs hols in June!

Some Progress on the Library Project

Before we even started work on the library at Sekolah Dasar Samu (which is actually the only library we’re working on now, the other is an English program at Sekolah Dasar Belang), Miyuki had already drawn up the design for it.



For a volunteer project, she certainly has put in a lot of heart into it! Just goes to show that we don’t need lots of money to make a place look cosy!



Seems to be turning out like how Miyuki envisioned it.

Previously, we had some problems getting a tukang (worker), a general one, a fix-it-all. Which was in fact our good fortune, for some time later, SC’s dance teacher’s (Ibu* Cok Rai) husband (Pak Toni) volunteered to take it up.


So far Pak Toni has done a commendable job, and we’re considering of enlisting his help for future projects.

*Additional info: Ibu is a term used in Bali (actually, Indonesia) for calling women who are ehhh...well, not so young… (like “auntie” or “makcik”) For men, that’ll be “Bapak” or “Pak”. So I am called “Pak” pretty often here. Ibu Cok Rai is in fact younger than us, but we still call her “Ibu” cos she’s 1) Married, and 2) a mother already. Kids run around calling almost everyone “Ibu” or “Pak”, anyone that’s older than them. Adults will probably refer to you as so…probably cos they respect you as an equal hehe…so don’t be offended when you’re referred to as so here ya?

A lesson on instructions for next lesson

"When will we have English lesson again?"
"What time will we come to school?"
"Where will we have our English lesson?"
"How will we go there?"
"What will we wear?"
"What will we do there?"
"What time will we go home?"


Can you complete the sentences and answer all the questions? The kids sure can! And for real, we will have our next lesson outdoors, with songs and games, and food!

So where will we have our English lesson again?

Now we exist!

We are now officially in existance because...we've got an identity! Though identity is the cause of man's downfall, we decided that if we needed help, we've got to hang out with the Romans...hehehe...

We didn’t quite think we’d need a name...what more a logo...but having talked to some people in “the field”, it’s seemed more favourable to have one. With it, we’ll have an identity, and in wielding this passport of identity, we’ll be able to seek help from other more POWERFUL groups.

We have been thinking about what to call ourselves, I remember pondering over it in Singapore with Es, and we both thought Banjar Saraswati would be an appropriate name for us. The rest in Bali agreed, and then came the long and tedious process (for Miyuki) to design the logo. She painstakingly designed a few, but we couldn’t use them cos they were too detailed, we needed them to be simple enough to be made into a ink stamp.

note: I've tried to upload the other sample logos Miyuki has designed, by couldn't cos they're in a different format...being the computer dunce that I am, it cannot be helped...

WHY BANJAR SARASWATI?

Banjars are unique to Bali, they are like the village government. The people from the banjar form a community that looks out for each other. For example, during a funeral or a wedding, much help is needed for preparation, whether if it’s for food, or decorating the place, or just helping out serving and cleaning. The banjar holds a meeting and duties are delegated. They also call this “gotong royong”. Banjars are also responsible for many other things, like settling disputes, coming to aid during emergencies, doing spring cleaning for the village, etc etc...

In Bali, Saraswati is the slim waisted waif like goddess (also called "Dewi", male gods are called "Dewa")of wisdom and creativity (In India, she acquires a more voluptuous figure). Almost every education related institution has her presence, whether manifested as a statue in the courtyard, or her portrait in their logo.

In Banjar Saraswati, all of us form a community, and we help each other out. It’s like an extended community, one that is propelled by the common need to promote wisdom and creativity. All that is said sounds rather impressive, doesn’t it? We’re still far from that “grandeur”, but we’ll do it at Balinese pace, and well, we might just make it .

PS. All correspondence will be directed to and through our official email. Banjar Saraswati has her very own email! Contact her at: banjarsaraswati@gmail.com