The Girl

I went to Bali in September with my mother-in-law who lives in Australia. She and her sister are friends with a Balinese family, they’ve been friends for over 20 years. The father works as a tour guide.  I got to know the father and daughter as they spent quite a bit of time being our tour guides. Vina, the daughter, is in college studying hotel management and hospitality. She’s doing work study in Tennessee for a year, in fact, she just arrived yesterday.

As a tour guide, the father suffered a lot of hardship during the Covid lockdown. Bali is dependent on tourism, without it, many of the people have little hope of earning income. So, after 2 years of practically no family income, Vina is in Tennessee about to be living the American version of poverty. She is so naïve, so genuine and trusting. Her parents are incredibly worried about her while she has an experience of her lifetime. I feel that I have an obligation to look out for her while she’s here.

Yesterday I mailed Vina my old iPhone and added her to my cell phone plan. In a good year, the family has an income of about 11k. While it’s sufficient in Bali, it’s not going to help much on American expenses. I also sent her some money to buy a few warm pieces of clothing and some cooking utensils. Apparently, she packed months worth of noodles and spices!  I hope the work study will pay her enough to get some better food, I know she’s expected to find an apartment. She has 3 weeks of complimentary time in the hotel where she’ll be learning.

I hope that nothing ever happens that requires me to step in, but at the same time, I’m a little bit proud to be the person that Vina and her family can count on for the next year.