Elle's Belles: April 2012

Sunset from Bali airport

I can't say that we live a very 'green' life in Singapore. There isn't a big push to recycle and with all the flying that we do we are hardly what you would call an environmentally friendly couple. So, perhaps to alleviate some of our guilt, we decided to go 'green' for the first four days of our recent holiday in Bali. We stayed in a hut on stilts in a place called Bambu Indah. It was rustic, open-air (in the case of the bathroom) and creaky, but quite charming. We shared our open air bathroom with a cockroach and, at night, moths the size of baseballs, but in that rustic setting it was not alarming at all. We had views of distant rice paddies and a river gorge right below us. Instead of your standard swimming pool, the owners had installed a 'natural pool' - filtered water teaming with clever American bacteria that apparently keep the water clean. I was a little freaked out about not being able to see the bottom and then getting caught up in some slimy, long, green snaky thing (just a big of algae it turned out!) but after that first dip, I just loved it. Somehow so much more refreshing than a normal swimming pool and minus the chlorine.

Every care had been taken for the retreat to blend with and respect the natural environment. There was a lot of bamboo, including (cleverly we thought) bamboo straws. Why doesn't everyone use bamboo straws? They feel SO much nicer than the plastic variety. All our food came from the garden which I really appreciated. I loved the fact that the journey from source to plate was so short.

We hired a moped while we were there, for the princely sum of $5 a day. As you know, Tim loves anything with an engine and he was soon moving very confidently through the streets of Ubud, perhaps a little too confidently at times. I am lucky to have returned to Singapore with ten toes - I nearly lost a little toe from each foot in two separate (but not too serious) accidents. I think he forgot I was on the back - but apparently my weight really impacted performance...how rude.

I have a Singapore friend who recently moved to Bali and she happens to work for the school set up by the owner of Bambu Indah - The Green School (http://www.greenschool.org/). We took her up on her offer of a visit and so we took to the moped armed with two very basic maps, my excellent sense of direction and a reasonable hope that we would reach our destination in time for lunch. The school is special because 1) it is all made of bamboo and all the classrooms are open-air 2) it's very focused on experiential learning and educating the kids to be socially responsible and environmentally aware 3) it is VERY green, a bit like the place we stayed. An issue taxing them at the moment is that they are 'still on the grid' i.e. they are still pulling electricity from the mainframe and not fully self-sufficient. Imagine being vexed by such an issue! Also, which I thought was kind of cool, they have two loos in every cubicle. One for number ones, one for number twos (complete with a bucket of sawdust to throw over your brown snakes once you've finished). Sorry to lower the tone, but I thought it was cool.

Anyway, we thought it was all fascinating and it definitely got us thinking about the point of education. Is education about THE NOW - doing really worthwhile stuff that may not have 'conventional' academic value but certainly enriches a person's life or is it about THE FUTURE - knowing that school may not always be fascinating day-to-day, but the knowledge the kids are acquiring will serve them well later on. Ideally, I suppose it should be a bit of both. As a teacher, sometimes 'the future' is a hard sell. Most of the time, students are very much in the present. I know how important it is for my students to learn how to read for understanding, analyse a text, string a sentence together, punctuate properly, but oftentimes they can't imagine a future where they might need these skills. Of course, by the time they realise it, it is too late. Aaaahhh, the wisdom of old age!

Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure.