Paul in Bali: Fish and Foreigners

First the Foreigners

Universitas Dhyana Pura (aka Undhira) has for several years run an International School. In the early years the students were mainly from The Netherlands but recently most of the students have come from Heilbronn University which is located (very roughly) between the better known cities of Heidelberg and Stuttgart in south-western Germany. This year the 7 German students were joined by 4 Japanese students from Momoyama University in Osaka, Japan. Four or five Undhira students join the group for some sessions and activities. Classes are held to explain local culture, to teach the Indonesian language, and to teach economic principles of "Community Intrapreneurship". As I'm not in the classes I'm not well equipped to explain the details but, as I understand, it is not so much about starting new business for the benefit of the initiating individual (that's the "entrepeneur") but about being innovative within existing businesses, or particularly in small communities.

Students of the "International Class"
(there are more - a couple are out of frame)

In mid October I joined a gathering of the International students, some Undhira staff who have studied in the USA, and local students from the classes getting most of their lectures in English. We shared stories of some local customs and practices in our various communities, and especially how (or "if") Halloween was celebrated. For many of the local students posing for a group photo was possibly the highlight of the morning.

The local students just love posing forthe camera.
The German guest students are just visible at the rear.

Most of the students in the blue uniforms belong to the 2
classes I teach in the "Hotel Management" stream.

Now for the Fish

The main buildings on the Dhyana Pura campus are located on the north and south sides of a water feature known variously as the "fish pond", the "Lotus pond" (no Lotus plants recently") or just "the lake". Apart from its visual appeal the lake has a practical purpose. It acts as a buffer and storage area for runoff and irrigation water enterring the campus from the slightly higher ground to the east of the campus. During the dry season some of the water is used to irrigate the green field. During times of heavy rain excess water runs away to the vegetable gardens cultivated by our farmer neighbour.

Dark clouds gather over the northern buildings on campus.

Some weekends I see a few locals fishing in the lake, and sometimes I even see them catch a small fish or two. On the weekend before last a fishing contest was held on campus. There were perhaps 50 or so people fishing, and occasionally fish were caught and flung onto the ground around the lake. They were definitely fishing for fun and some small prizes as the fish were certainly not edible. The largest fish I saw was perhaps about 25-30 cm, and you might get a small but boney fillet from it, but the water in the lake is very dirty and contaminated (and I presume so is the flesh of the fish).