Hello Hello!
So, it's been a while. A lot has happened. Where to begin? In the beginning? Let's try it.
On Valentine's Day, we arrived in Bali after a gruelling 16-turned-21 hour long bus ride from Yogya. Sweaty, tired and stinky we were immediately swept-up into the chaotic clinic life of the Yayasan Bumi Sehat birth clinic. It was very nice to be back in familiar territory since we'd been to Ubud several times before coming to land this last time.
When we arrived, the clinic was bursting with other volunteers and yet there was still plenty to do. There were lots of babies being born and people needing treatment for various ailments. In one 24-hour stretch, we welcomed a total of 7 new babies into the world--wow. We've been helping out as best we can by taking blood pressures at pre-natals, assisting in births, leading organizational projects and lending a hand at the accupuncture clinics lead by one crazy lady, Dr. Bobbi. This woman deserves her own T.V. show or maybe her own chapter in one of David Sedaris' books. She gives and gives, treats and treats, talks and talks and talks--boy, she is a trip to be around. After spending some odd 4 years in Bali, her Indonesian is...shall we say...lacking? But that does not stop her from telling every Indonesian patient to lay off the "goreng goreng" (fried fried [food]) and eat lots of "sayur hijao" (green veggies) or from scolding men for smoking when they come in for fertility treatments; "I make the sperm and you just go home and kill them again! You must quit smoking or no more treatment!" They all smile and nod (so smart). Anyways....moving on.
One day, Misra's bagging prenatal vitamins (a neverending project), Cailin's in a birth and who should casually plop himself down on the couch, but one Michael Franti. That's right. Turns out he's good friends with Robin Lim, the founder of Bumi Sehat, and he's putting on a small benefit concert with all proceeds going to the Bumi Sehat clinic---and we're invited. We had a private performance of around 80 people and dinner at a gorgeous venue on the beach of Seminyak, Bali and a larger concert to follow. Michael put on a great show--he is a very charismatic, loving, generous man(not to mention an incredible and inspiring musician). In fact, we're having trouble describing him--finding the right words to encompass his....well, just him. The night generated over 25,000 US dollars for Yayasan Bumi Sehat--funds that are badly needed to build a new facility big enough to hold this thriving and growing foundation. Terimakasih banyak, Michael! Thank you very much.
Oops, time's running out and it's really really hot in this internet cafe. Not to worry, we'll be sure to finish catching y'all up to speed SOON. Sip on this and you can gulp up a few more entries in the very near future.
Lots of love,
Misra and Cailin
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