Goodbye Bali

Tonight I leave Bali for Singapore and I am grateful for my time here.

The island has been good to me and while it was not a "tropical paradise," it was a place for renewal, reflection, and joy.

I haven't spent much time on the internet doing my usual work--reading the nytimes like I did daily back in the U.S. I just read this article just now however, and now I realize clearly that the ny times shapes my tastes to the elites' and teaches me to complain and feel like life should be working out a certain more bourgeois way. I read once that in order to be a great leader, you shouldn't be reading periodicals like the NY Times or The Economist. You should be reading the great classics. I'm going to take that advice now.

In Bali, I contemplated poverty and the non-U.S. life. I remembered again how much I had loved to live in a different country. I remembered how much it bothered me that just because I was born in a different country, I get more privileges than any common person in Bali does.

In the U.S., I felt like a poor person, "needing" a job to get by. I felt discriminated against at times and sensitive of my identity as an Asian American. In Bali, I realized how I am an incredibly rich person in the world. I could afford anything here, every luxury, every fine dining experience that Agus and Wayan would never dream in a million years of being served at.

When I heard Agus and Wayan tell me that their dream was to work for a cruise line, employers notorious for exploiting and trapping laborers on boats for months, I realized that I have so many options. I can dream big and I actually have the realistic means to go for it. And I need to--to be given those opportunities and not do anything with them is clearly a waste. There are people here whose dreams are so limited.

In Bali, I remembered dreams from my youth to write from abroad and to tell the stories of those too poor to tell them themselves. I realized the dreams are very much still alive.

Bali helped me remember my dreams and stoked the passions that had lain dormant for some time. It showed me what was real and what was still alive--even after all the religious confusion and chaos. It showed me that I am privileged and that I want to make the most of it with joy and love for the rest of the world.

Thank you Bali. I'll be coming back soon.