8 Days To Go ….. and a Little History…

in 8 days we'll be going to bali for the first time in over 13 years. we are all very excited and for the count down the teenager made paul this calendar for his birthday…

and here's a bit of history… this me in 1986 at 19 for the first time in bali. i spend 7 weeks with a balinese family in a small village outside ubud and felt totally at home in this exotic culture. this is the only picture i have of myself on that trip since it was politically incorrect for german backpackers to travel with a camera!!!

a year later i was back. this time for several months…

that year i met paul at a road side stall in sayan. he was studying gamelan music and you can see him here with his teacher…

the following year, in 1988, we were both back in bali within a month of each other – both with the intention to live there. and after some weeks we were also living together…

and this is us in early 1989 in the house we built in lungsiakan…

there aren't many photos of us in bali but even though the boys can't wait to go and see all the places and meet all the people we have told them about since they were small. and i can't wait to see all my friends again. we have kept in touch by phone and email. most of them have children now like us and some are even grandparents…