My 1 month with the happiest locals I met in Bali
I recently watched a YouTube video on a Harvard Study on how to have a long and happy life by Robert Waldinger in Jay Shetty’s Channel.
It really dawned on me. It answered my long question on why I always look back being a barista for Starbucks Japan was the job I was happiest throughout my career. I made the least amount of money but I was happiest. It’s about having people that you care about and vice versa.
Robert introduced that good relationships seem to make us happy, not just more money. How I wish I had come across his work sooner.
I just experienced what Robert talked about, in Bali early 2023. Today I want to talk about the happy locals in Bali I encountered, sharing how they live differently from many of us.
Might not be rich in money, but mentally very wealthy
When I went to Bali I felt the people there are very wealthy. Not in money or assets, but mentally.
They told me how much they make, 2USD/hour doing housekeeping or resort related BOH jobs. This is far off what people make in Japan or US, where I am from. But they’re content with what they have. Their families, relatives, and friends stick together and help each other out, always having each other’s back.
It was almost like they don’t really want to get paid much, because it develops unnecessary cravings that result in unhappiness.
They frequently had traditional ceremonies. Tied to the ceremony, they will have family gatherings and feasts almost every week. When I stayed with a local family, they would slow cook pork or fish in charcoal. Each family member has their own role, and will cook together.
This is a video of the elder of the family slow cooking the pork. For goodness sake, "Good Mood, Good Food" everyone!
Japan is forgetting what cooking is
It’ll smell amazing in the house, so we all crave to eat but it has to wait... This is how it used to be in Japan, too. But now it’s more of Ready to Eat meals that are less tasty but will easily be prepared in a few minutes in a microwave.
Many of the family members will come visit the house to drop food off all the time, and will smoke, eat snacks or Rojak together while waiting for the food to be prepared.
They will drink a traditional sake called Arak, and share a small glass cup for everyone to drink one by one in a circle. The eldest man in the video below told me that the sharing glass means “we are all equal, the same.”
They will invite me to the feast and share me the food, and when it’s cooked this happily, the food is happy and tasty, too.
There is a lot of complexity in the seasoning using different spices and herbs, and wow it was always a pleasure to have it, with the local, very spicy but my favorite sambal mata sauce.
I learned that while the countryside Japan still have these things left, the urban areas have forgotten it. I think our Seven Elevens, Lawsons, and FamilyMart are amazing convenience stores.
But it fills the stomach, but doesn’t fill our hearts much. Bali reminded me of that.
The sharing and trading culture in Bali
I’m not 100% sure what went on but the family sort of took turns to be the guard of the house, 2-3 of them sleeping alongside each other in the living room. When the rest of the family will go back home, all living quite near each other, each will chip in a small amount of money for the groceries.
I would offer to chip in for the ingredients but they wouldn’t accept it, as I’m a guest. So I would ask them for the leftover bones or ingredients, buy some groceries on my own and cook non local dishes that might be interesting for them. I cooked for example pescatore pasta, Aqua Pazza, and some Japanese food, too.
I heard that one of the family members work for a big market, so the fish or pork they use are either very cheap or sometimes free for them.
In countryside Japan, the same thing happens so it made sense. Niseko, now a very prestige snow resort in North Japan in Hokkaido is a very expensive place to eat just about anything, but drive 30 minutes away in the summer and farmers pile up leftover veggies in road stations called "Michino Eki" 道の駅, a rest area for people on road trips where you can eat and buy local food. and
I was so sutprised when I saw a sign “take the vegetables for free.” You need labor to sell these vegetables, but there isn't enough. So local farmers just provide it for free for people that pass by the roadstation. The helping out rotates within the community. The locals got each other’s backs.
The sharing food continued throughout my 1 month stay with them, and I learned and saw so much.
The Balinese are so welcoming...
The locals are so welcoming! They told me that in school, they study several foreign languages. They’re curious about a lot of things, they always help and offer to help, and are fun to talk to. Most of the people I talked with were either police/security guard, or worked in the tourism industry.
So they need to talk to English speaking tourists and investors a lot. So their English was very good. They sing a lot of karaoke, and I was surprised how some of them can pronounce Japanese very well, too.
Before I arrived to Bali, the FIFA World Cup was taking place, so we also watched the tournament together. FIFA tweeted about the origami crane the Japanese squad left in the locker room, so I started to make it, too. I gave some away to the people on the streets, and also to my host family.
Then they tied it with a string and hung it on the living room door. That’s actually what the Japanese do, too. We’ll make 1000 cranes which is considered to be good luck and tie it together to a Senba Zuru 千羽鶴 to wish good luck especially during sports events, or people recovering from mid long term sickness in the hospital. It’s also a symbol of peace for us.
I still continue to fold origami cranes. I try to make one every day, as.a small but good habit. I’ll tie it when I have 100, and continue for awhile.
I will definitely be back to visit Bali
Follow Ryu Aomi for more to come :)
In this blog, I write about my food trips of the list of countries I want to visit.
- Foodie places (more flavorful than instagrammable)
- Nature spots
- Temples and shrines that might help me to be more mindful
Comments
Post a Comment