I first made up my mind to live in Indonesia in 2019 in Bali.
After living in Bali for nearly two years, when the pandemic came and I saw my children spending time only at home, I thought that if they were only going to have online classes remotely from home anyway, it would be good to live in Jakarta where there are more cultural benefits, so I decided to leave Bali.
One of my close friends said he also had to leave Bali soon because he would be transferred to another island (he worked at Mandiri Bank). But he said that "the goddess of Bali seduces people (?)" in an expression saying "You'll return to Bali again soon enough."
I often heard similar stories. In an adult-oriented way.... Stories about how people who have experienced Indonesia because of the charm of Balinese women have the power to make them return again.... I would laugh and pass by thinking it was a similar context.
My main job is selling shrimp (I actually sell shrimp??), so I go to Sumba island periodically. When I take a plane from Jakarta, I either go through Lombok or through Bali. Usually I go through Bali, and the smoking area at Bali airport is outdoors on the rooftop (?), so whenever I have enough time for a connection, I always smoke a cigarette and then connect.
Today too, while waiting at the airport to connect in Bali to go to Sumba, I went to the smoking area... while looking at the Garuda statue in the distance... I was thinking to myself, once I send the older kids to college, I should come back to Bali with the little ones.... Whether it's the goddess of Bali pulling me... or whether it's because of the Bali climate when I arrive in Bali... I keep thinking about wanting to live in Bali.
My wife said to me... wasn't the time when I lived in Bali the most mentally peaceful?.... That seems like the right thing too. It seems like I spent the most time and mentally relaxed period of my life in Bali. I had never taken a true vacation in my lifetime, and it was a lifelong habit to plan and map out my route every night before falling asleep about what to do the next day, but when I lived in Bali, it seems like I had a true rest period without such plans for the next day or worries like that.
The "Franklin Planner" that I always held in my hand while working at a job in Korea requires lifetime plans, yearly plans, monthly plans, and daily plans. The logic is that if I record everything from very trivial things to very work-related things, I would somehow be reaching the lifetime plan I had made.... Whether it originated from such a lifestyle habit or not, if I didn't do mental imagery training of tomorrow's plan before bed, I felt anxious, and a day without plans or appointments made me nervous, but while living in Bali, like Indonesian people, if I can't do it today, I'll do it tomorrow.... It seems like it was a time when I could first experience such a lifestyle.
While waiting for a connection at the airport, I imagine again. Could I return to that Bali life, which was simple and not busy but had plenty of peace of mind, in 4-5 years?.... When it rains, water splashes in the living room (?)... A small swimming pool where you could touch the end with just two flounders... Snakes sometimes appear in the garden... Birds build nests.... Even without a driver, riding a motorcycle to drop off the kids at school and riding along the embankment path with my wife to watch the sunset—I want to go back to those days.
