Jogja on my mind

Yogyakarta, or Jogja as it's widely known, is a city in central Java.  A few days after I made it to Bali (which I'll get to in another post soon!), I jumped over to Yogyakarta for a friend's wedding.
Much different than Bali, the major religion here is Islam and there's fewer foreigners - tourism isn't their bread and butter so to speak. It's a much bigger city than my little town in Bali; things move faster, the traffic is heavier, it's urban in a uniquely Indonesian way.  This is evident through everything from style, food, clothes, prices (it's delightfully cheaper here) and even sounds as you can hear the call to prayer from the mosques drifting through the equatorial heat and buzz of motorbikes.

Jogja is also home to most of Indonesia's art universities and the energy here reflects that. Street art abounds with the smells of delicious street food making for a colorful, sensory experience.

Here are some snaps from my trip so far:

Well hello there!

Soto Sapi - Lamb soup with rice
Es Jeruk - Iced orange drink

Driver on a break

Irises on the street

Show your colors

Picked up this jumpsuit for $8US

Street food

Waiting for the green light

Gelato cappuccino shake 

Motorbike passenger selfie

Java Sawa - Rice Fields

Pedicabs

Ibu is always watching

All the fruits

Sate Ayam - Grilled Chicken
This man grills skewers of chicken on an open charcoal flame 

Change the ordinary

Buy the ticket, take the ride or One Night Only

I started seeing posts and getting messages on my facebook last night.. Rinjani's erupting again, flights are being cancelled.  Friends and acquaintances waylayed at airports around the world.

So I call Virgin Australia when I got home for work and they confirm, some flights have been cancelled, but mine's still a go.  I'm flying from Christchurch to Brisbane to Bali.  I think, OK, this ash cloud is going to blow over, I'll be there tomorrow night, Bintang beer in hand.  

I called again at 4am before my 6:30AM flight.  No they said, my flights still a go.  So I take my bags and my wonderful flatmate, and we haul out to the airport.  Upon arrival I'm told my flight's still a go, but the leg from Christchurch to Brisbane has been bumped to an afternoon flight run not by Virgin Australia, but Air NZ (of which I conveniently received an official email from Virgin Australia stating this change when we return from the airport at 6:00AM.)

I also call the travel agent I've booked with, Escape Travel, and am told to wait until we hear from Brisbane, where "ash cloud meetings" are held to determine whether flying conditions are OK.   Additionally they inform me that not only can they generally only notify of changes during their business hours, but my Bali flight is still a go and I should WAIT UNTIL WE HEAR AFTER THE MEETING TO CHANGE MY FLIGHT. 

At 2pm, when I hadn't heard, I called Virgin Australia.  They confirmed that Rinjani's still going, and the second leg of my flight, from Brisbane to Bali was cancelled, but that my flight from Christchurch to Brisbane was still all systems go.  

Thinking this was pretty weird, I asked why they wouldn't just postpone the whole thing and I could stay in Christchurch until it's all sorted.  

This is where a very fun little game of "buck passing" comes into play...

I was told yes, that is odd, but the travel agent booked the flight so any changes had to come through them.  

I then called the Escape Travel again and they informed me that it was too late to pay to change the date of the first leg of my flight, and if I DIDN'T GET ON THE PLANE TO BRISBANE I would be treated a s a no-show, and forfeit the cost of my entire booking.  

At this point, I thought, this is some sort of bureaucratic loop, it does't logically make sense.  Why would Virgin Australia fly me to Brisbane only to make me wait indefinitely (LITERALLY DAYS) for an ash cloud to move instead of just changing my booking?

So I head to the airport again thinking this is ludicrous, I don't know very many people in Brisbane.  Why would they waylay me in transit without support?   

Low and behold, when I check-in for my first flight (it was operated by Air NZ but Virgin did officially book me on it from a Virgin flight with a forwarding itinerary to Bali!) the Bali flight was cancelled, and I was told they couldn't check my bags through to Bali, but Brisbane should know more about the whole situation, they're closer to the action, etc...

Virgin Australia even KNEW ABOUT THIS as the agent from AIr NZ couldn't fine the additional baggage I added to my ticket, so went over to the Virgin Australia counter to confirm the booking.  

I thought, OK, this could make a little sense!  Maybe they've sorted it, or have a system in place, or are grouping people together from streamlined destinations to reduce the disruption to service.

Unfortunately, that is not the case, and the Brisbane branch of Virgin Australia were somewhat horrified to find that I'd been put on a flight at the risk of either losing my entire booking or being in limbo until a volcano stops erupting.  

Logically, it would seem that you either change the flight, or accommodate those that are in Brisbane until this whole thing blows over (literally) and yet I was told they could either fly me back where I came from and further delay my arrival at my destination, or cover my accommodation for ONE NIGHT ONLY when I've been booked on a forwarding flight 3 DAYS FROM NOW!  

As tempting as it was to hop on another 3 1/2 hour flight back to exactly where I came from, I opted for the hotel, and will be in Brisbane for the next few days.

I'm lucky enough that a bunch of people stepped up via a facebook post I put up, and I have friends and places to stay until I leave.

It's really mind-boggling that I was forced to choose between either losing my entire flight or showing up to a place without plans, without knowing if I had any people here, only to be told that I wasn't supposed to be here in the first place and that I'd only have a guaranteed place to stay for a night (when they re-booked me for 3 days later!)

Between Escape Travel and Virgin Australia, it looks like I just can't win, and that's a shame because when these things happen that's when a company really has the opportunity to be flexible, accommodating and at least cover a girl's hotel when she's told by literally every company representative to get on a flight to limbo!  

Love,

Norma Jean 

A Tale of Two Cities

I'm moving again.  Moving countries, changing visas, swapping out cultures, food, friends, climates, and generally shaking everything up.

The good news is, I've done this before.  I could say I know what I'm doing, but it's more like I know what not to do, how to be graceful, grateful.  

I don't want to hold on
I want to love
everything
everyone
everywhere
and I do

They'll just never be in the same place.
And that's OK.

Leaving Christchurch is bittersweet.   It's not goodbye but see you later, come visit, stay in touch, who knows! I've made friends here, started building a community, and a life. A life that I'm consciously giving up to follow my heart, feel the wind on my face as I ride my scooter through a throng of traffic, eat spicy street food, leaving the security and pure beauty that is New Zealand behind for a freedom the west wasn't built for.

I'm going back to a place that I've lived, where I have friends, community, and generally know my way around.  That's not to say it will be the same.  That's not to say time won't have passed and my friends, community, and very town that I know in Bali won't be different, but I'm different.  Nothing is ever the same.  And that's OK.

Love,

Norma Jean

You can view all of my doodles, with everything I love on my website, Norma Jean Loves

a world of doodles is born

It all started with a boy.  A boy and a book.  A book and a tender heart.

Let me elaborate... about a year and a half ago, I dated a boy.  We had a lot in common; he's smart and funny, comes from a good family, and makes music.  It was only for about 6 weeks, and it ended because he just didn't like me that much.

Objectively, it wasn't a good fit, and our lives were in different places.  As a logical person, this totally makes sense.  As a life-long romantic, who was currently a traveling, musical, bliss-sprinkler in the midst of the counter-culture shock of the west, and the first winter I'd had in years (and a pretty rough start in Australia,) it was slightly devastating.


Feeling pretty isolated, and not having internet (part of said rough start) I joined my local library to check my emails, and keep in touch with the wider world.

Libraries are magical universes unto themselves; time stops, things are still, there are limitless stories.  All is quiet thanks to the watchful eyes of dowager librarians in lumpy grandpa cardigans.

It is here, in a library, in suburban Melbourne, that I found an American friend who's heart had also been been tender, and open, and bruised, and resilient.  All at the same time.   His name is Leonard Cohen and his 'Book of Longing' brought me so much.

I had started writing poetry about feeling sad, that longing for community, the isolation of winter - both in Melbourne and being coldly alone in a new place,  expectations set upon women, and mostly girly, romantic notions of things that didn't work out.


Reading a book of how someone else felt the same way was inspiring, and inspired me to start creating out of it.  It started with a couple little doodles.. they weren't for anyone else but myself.

I think I started drawing them as a roadmap to get back to myself, to gain perspective of  my life, what I value, and how to genuinely love myself in the face of isolation, a consumerist society, and the illusion of loneliness.  


I'd take pictures of them and read them on the tram or waiting at bus stops, reminding myself that everything is okay and the feeling that it's not, is temporary.  I started sharing them with friends who felt similarly, who'd internalized the idea that in any way they just weren't enough.  Enough for a boy, enough for a job, enough for themselves.

Sometimes the road we pave for ourselves helps others get to the same destination.

Friends encouraged me to share them, and I decided to launch the ambitious project of posting a new doodle, everyday for the entire year of 2015 on my Instagram.

It's been a pretty great ride so far, and the road that I've started down I now walk with heaps of supporters, friends, and an entire online illustration community.


Today is day 280 out of 365.  I've gone through more relationships, friends, jobs, and moments of self-doubt since those first little cartoons.  I've come out stronger, my heart confident that I know who I am, and that I'm not only okay, I'm great (hopefully with a sense of irony, humor and a bit of grace!)

Love,

Norma Jean

Check out my Instagram  or website, Norma Jean Loves where you can see my doodles, music, and everything I love.

You lost me from Hello

Book Reviewed: What Happens in Tuscany

Author: T.A. Williams

Recently I was given a gift certificate for doing a Beta reading of the fabulous new book by Lisa Brunette, a friend and author who writes the Dreamslipper books.  It seemed appropriate to use the gift card to further support authors and find a bunch of new things to read from the Amazon eBooks, every expat readers best friend.

Since I love reading books about life, travel, relationships, adventure, etc - but I am not into romance novels - it can be hard to find the right book for me.  What Happens in Tuscany seemed like it might fit the bill and the reviews were decent so I gave it a try.

Although there was nothing egregiously terrible about the book, and I enjoyed many elements of the plot, it failed to hit home.  I couldn't connect with the characters.  Just when I thought there was common ground, they would do something that just seemed, well, out of character.  There was a dissonance that made me feel like I was lost.  Throughout the entire book I just kept thinking, something is wrong.  The two lead female characters didn't act or think like any women I had ever met.  It was like they where copies of a copy.

Having read thousands of books in my life and never having had this experience before, I thought.  What kind of woman writes a book like this?  Who is like, "Hey I was ruffled, nearly sexually assaulted, and photographed nude by a stranger - but that's not a big deal."  Honestly, you don't just toss in an incident like that and treat it like is was a crazy Saturday at the pool. Who thinks like this?  So I google the author.  It was not written by a woman.  It was written by a man.

The Wonderful Land of Oz!

Norma Jean joined the ensemble

not so long ago in a land called Anjung-Eup.

However, she ran away to star in her own drama

and give law school the old college try...

only to be side tracked by music and Bali.

We now join Norma Jean,

whose life is already in progress:

(This drama is filmed in front of a live studio audience)

Hello Australia!

 After being abroad for 3 years 

(and not having been home/ to a western country for 2) 

I decided to head off to Australia.

I lived in Bali for almost a year making my album, and came to Australia a few weeks ago to check out the music scene, play some open mics and connect with other musicians (hopefully to get a band together - but that's a whole other post!).  Hours before I boarded the plane,  I also lost my bank card, so this was a pivotal moment for me.  Realizing that I could stay in Bali and sort it out, or get on the plane, I chose the latter.  With grace, hope, $4 and infinite possibility I arrived in Australia!

The adventures have continued in Boomtown, also known as Perth, and they have been nothing but extraordinary!  I have experienced INCREDIBLE generosity, predictable selfishness and everything in between, have pet and eaten kangaroos (not the same ones ;), ridden a Harley, hiked in the outback, sang at few open mics (with a bunch more coming up), connected with the local music community and made friends that I will have for a lifetime!

It went a little something like this:

Beach

Kangaroos (the ones we pet!)

My new friend Stu and I 

playing at an Open Mic

Aboriginal Cave Art

They have NICE coffee (in the cutest cafes!)

The biggest lesson learned so far has been this:

The deciding factor in any experience is YOU.  If you decide things will work out, they will.  Choose your people discerningly, know that you are ALWAYS enough and that you carry the magic in you!

With LOVE from the Wonderful Land of OZ!

XOXO,
Norma Jean

Over the top - Nothing but BLUE SKIES :)

A Love Story

The first time I knew love,

was on the tail of a ferry leaving France.

I stood alone and wept silent, painful tears

as chunks of my heart fell out and

mixed with the foam 

the sea and the salt.

It felt as I was being torn from the arms of my mother.

It remains one of the most painful memories of my life,

as it was the first time my heart was broken.

That was when I decided I would do anything,

would give up every part of a normal thing,

to be with my love again.

I was seven,

when I lost my heart to travel.

I'd imagine that this must be how some people feel 

about their children, 

or their husbands,

or their careers.

For me though, my heart skips-a-beat

for foreign sounds,

unknown places,

smells I've never found before.

For the majority of my life 

I've gone from one love to the next.

Chasing the always changing sunsets.

Wrapped in the vines embrace of new jungles.

 Caressed by the winds of many mountain tops.

My heart skipped from one place to another,

avoiding the heartache of loving what I would lose.

That was until I came to Korea.

Now I find myself falling in love again and again.

Each time I turn around I feel like my heart has more room 

for this beautiful, unique world.

It's not that I find it perfect,

but I find it perfect for me.

I accept it's failures,

and my insides go pitter-patter for it's charms.

For better or for worse,

I have fallen deeply, madly, passionately

 in love with this place,

with this Drama.

Philippines or Bust: Part 5

Home Again, Home Again, Lickety Split

From deserted to hectic.
The world seemed to be on fast forward on the mainland.

In the Saturday traffic and festivities,
what was a four hour trip became a seven hour trip.

Once back in Cebu I asked the cabbie for an affordable airport hotel and he found it for me.
The most expensive and scariest place I stayed.
Despite being terrifying and $20 a night,
it was only a 5 minute walk from the gate.
So, a little bit awesome.

I enjoyed a leisurely wait for my plane, excited to get back.

Headed home.

It will take me a while to really know what I thought about the Philippines.

It was such a whirlwind trip I'm still getting my head around what I saw and learned.

My first thought and most regular thought is that it's the "Asian Central America".
With the heavy influences of both Spanish and US culture,
it often felt like I was in Honduras or parts of Mexico.

If felt very familiar.

In addition many of the people I met were warm and delightful.

Overall, I ended up feeling safer then I'd expected,

mostly because so many kind people took it upon themselves to ensure I was cared for.

Price wise, it was amazing. 

From Korea, you don't really need much money to get to the Philippines
or to enjoy your vacation there.

In fact, if I'd had money to spend I don't even know what I would have done with it.

It was a wonderful trip and I ready to be home.

I went, I saw, I conquered.

Philippines or Bust: Part 4

Malapascua

When the bus arrives at the rural ferry terminal. I learn the regular ferry isn't running.  The water is too dangerous and choppy right now.  However, there is a guy with a boat that will take us for the right price.  It's more expensive than usual, and he explains it's because we might die.

Once we are on the open water, it becomes readily apparent that he wasn't kidding. The crossing makes everyone nervous, including the crew.  Thankfully, the captain and his mate are good at what they do.   We move carefully and effectively through the rough waters.

When we arrive it feels like this is what I've been searching for, this is my paradise.

I decide to spend a little more for a nice room.
It costs $9 a night.
Later I learn the owner  had died the day we arrived.
For the next three days they hold the wake in the main building.
It is an intimate and surreal experience.

I'm also lucky enough to make a friend.
As fate would have it,  he is another English teacher on vacation from Prague.

We explore the island together.
Enjoying the $1.50 meals and winding paths.

As usual, my keen eye for anything mysterious-in-a-bucket uncovers a delightful, delicious surprise.
No, I don't know what it was but I know I liked it.

While my friend looks for scuba trips.
I discover some of the islands efforts to make their world better for folks like this little guys.

Lunch alone turns into lunch with the islands school children.

We decide to lay low on day two and go scuba diving instead of diving. It costs all of $7 for 3.5 hours.

Truth be told, I couldn't be happier.

I could play on the beach forever.

One the way home we discover what that awful smell is, lol,  dried sea urchin.

The island is nothing less than stunning.

And I love to watch my food simmer in cast-iron pots.

Since it was my last night, my friend and I left the rum on the porch
and headed to the beach for a few light hearted evening cocktails.

A few of the children stop by my porch to hang out for a bit.

I tried to savor my morning and my memories on my final day.

Alas the end finally came.
As one last act of rest, I get a two hour Thai massage for $25.
The busses had wrecked havoc on my back.
Might as well fix it while I could afford it.
Then it really was time to go home.