We're wrapping up our time in Seminyak, and we're very ready to get the heck out of here. As soon as I got back from diving, I got slammed by Shen's cold, so the negative aspects of the place have been amplified by my hacking cough and general malaise. We've also been left with a bad taste in our mouths from petty theft in our hotel room. One day we noticed that some money had gone missing from Shen's pocket after he hung his shorts from a peg in the bathroom. Not wanting to accuse anyone unfairly, the next day we did a test: we intentionally left a little money in the same place before we went to class. When we returned three hours later, after the room had been cleaned, it was gone. We spoke with the hotel owner and the two guys who clean the rooms, but of course, no one owned up, and it was just awkward. The hotel owner asked if we had remembered to lock the door. We had, but even if we hadn't, it was unlikely to be someone from outside the hotel. Here are the things that had not been stolen: An ipad, two iphones, a guitar, a pouch full of large bills...someone breaking in would probably not have bypassed those things for the $20 in the pocket of the wet swim trunks. It was a small amount, and I'm sure they need it more than we do. And of course, we're lucky none of those big things were taken. But it's just sad, after chatting with those guys every morning for the past two weeks.

On a lighter note ...Shen has been able to surf most days this week, and I felt well enough to join him yesterday. The waves aren't great, but it's still fun! Unfortunately, my arms are as good as wet noodles, so I can paddle for about thirty seconds before tiring out. Shen has been kind enough to take time out from his surfing to push me into waves so I can catch them - I know, I'm unforgivably spoiled. I spent a few hours yesterday swimming with just my arms - hopefully I can build my arm strength up. It would be nice to be able to surf like a grown-up.

Less fun but very interesting was our trip to the mall. I finally replaced my camera (much lower quality than my old one, but more convenient than my phone) and we got a local phone (less than $40 for the phone, SIM card, and 1000 Indonesian minutes!). We also wandered around the enormous department/grocery store. It's always interesting to see what's on offer in other countries. It was also a good opportunity to practice our language skills - with the taxi driver, the people at the bookstore, the random grocery store employees - pretty much anyone who would listen . The great thing about learning a new language is that you can get such joy and satisfaction from the simplest conversation, things like, "I'm going to wash my clothes by hand. Is this soap for use in a sink, or in a machine?" High five for that one!

Last night we had our last dinner here, at a restaurant called "Zula Vegetarian Paradise," where the staff wear shirts that say, "Nothing with a face, nothing with a mother." Take note of this restaurant, animal-loving friends! It's almost worth going to Seminyak just to eat there. Seitan wraps, chickpea patties, Middle Eastern platters, coconut quinoa, sizzling tempeh...yum!

In a few hours we leave for Ubud, which some call the "cultural capital" of Bali. It's supposedly a much calmer scene with lots of yoga, museums, traditional performances, etc. We're looking forward to the change!