I'd like to be able to blame it on being a visual person, but generally I have the ability to forget someone's name 5 seconds after I hear it. Their face is forever burned in my brain but their name is an impossibly distant whisp of nothingness until I see it in writing. The Balinese understand my dilemma and have been so kind as to modify their personal nomenclature accordingly. Nearly EVERY person you meet on the street has one of eight first names. Balinese children are traditionally named in the order of their birth; a few names connotate firstborn, a few more names connotate second-born, etc., up to the fourth child. (The order of birth also delineates your role and responsibilities in the family). Then with child five you begin choosing from the first group of names again. The net result is that in this picture of 14 people there are probably 3 people called Wayan, 3 called Nyoman, 3 Gedes, and so on. It's extremely handy for us Alzheimers sufferers and much classier than my normal practice of just calling everyone "Captain."

Women carry offerings to Pura Merajan Agung Temple during Galungan holiday, Ubud

© Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli