I cannot express my gratitude enough to the people of Bali- whether it was the volunteer coordinators, my new friends, the accommodation hosts, or the students that welcomed us to their school with their bright smiles. They were all an integral part of my incredible experience.

Back in May of 2017, I felt the urge to volunteer abroad. I messaged a couple of friends, many expressed interest, but only one- Demi, followed through. Hence, we started looking into organizations to volunteer abroad with. There were many choices. Ultimately, we chose IVHQ due to their affordability, destination/projects offered,  and the support that was provided to make us feel safe. 

Months came and went, then finally it was August 23. Demi and I boarded our 20 hour flight (including layovers) to Bali, Indonesia. As written in my prior blog post ‘to: bali’, Demi and I had decided to arrive a couple of days before our volunteer project to explore Bali a little bit. Go read about it here.

Back to our volunteer abroad experience with IVHQ..

When you register with IVHQ, there is always a couple of days to a week of orientation before you work on your project. Our orientation was for 3 days. I will now outline what we did each day. If you’re interested in volunteering abroad, keep reading!

Sunday
For those that arrive the day before the project, there is a pick up service from the airport (that is already included in your project fees) to take you to your accommodation. Since Demi and I arrived several days earlier, we had to venture back to the airport to be picked up by the local staff. You could also choose to be picked up at a local location, but that location was harder for us to get to. The local staff were a part of ‘Green Lion Bali‘. Our local coordinators were Yanik and Dayu, the most genuine and friendliest people we met thus far. 

We stayed in Wiwik 3. Supposedly, it was three of us to a room, but our third roommate decided to room somewhere else..so Demi and I got the room to ourselves! Here are some pictures of our accommodation and the surrounding area. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Sunday was purely a day for us to familiarize ourselves with the surrounding area and to meet our new friends. When we gathered at the place for meals, we met volunteers who have been there for several weeks as well as new volunteers. This is where we met Celeste.

Monday
For our first day of introductory week, we learned about Bali’s culture and traditions, such as their ceremonies. Did you know they have daily ceremonies in the morning and evening? There are flowering offerings and a square made with banana leaves and rice. The incense is used to ascend their wishes to the Gods. We could see them outside of homes and shops everywhere we went. They also have ceremonies every 15 days, every 6 months, and annually. 

• 

• 

After learning about the ceremonies, we began our walking tour to the Ubud Market via Monkey Forest Street. It felt like we walked several miles to get there. The weather was hot and humid. Luckily, I brought a portable fan from home or I think I would have had a heat stroke. Before we arrived at the market, we passed by Ubud Palace, where we took a look around and took a group photo! This is where everyone saw I had a portable fan and we decided to stay in a circle to cool down together 😀 .

• 

• 

When we arrived at the market, we began browsing through the different stores/stalls. Almost everyone in our group bought a pair of elephant pants, but we all paid a different price for it. The price you paid was reflective of your bargaining skills. Let’s just say I didn’t get the best price for the pants. After the market, we walked to The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary to see the monkeys roaming around!! Let’s be real here, I was scared. I was worried about a monkey attacking me, chasing me, or even biting me. Hey, luckily none of that happened and I even got a photo with a monkey.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We then ended the evening with a Balinese traditional dance show: Kecak Ramayana and Fire Dance. We were seated outdoors and it was too dark to take any pictures. 

Tuesday
Tuesday’s lesson was ‘Bahase language class’. We learned the alphabet (abjad), numbers (angka/nomor), greetings (salam), colors (warna), and various animals (binatang). After learning the various greetings, it was interesting to see everyone utilizing them. Each morning, we would say good morning (selamat pagi) and every night, good night (selamat malam). As bonus, we learned how to say ‘cheaper’ and ‘too expensive’ when we bargain! It is ‘lebih murah’ and ‘terlalu mahal’, respectively. Now go try it and see if you can get the elephant pants for a good price 🙂

In the afternoon, we attended a batik painting class. This was my favorite part of introductory week. First, we were given a piece of white cloth where you could design in pencil what you would like to appear on your cloth. You could choose to trace over certain designs or create your own. Many people, myself included, traced. Then, it was given to a professional to use wax to outline your piece. Finally, you get to use paint and color your art work!

• 

• 

• 

Wednesday
WALKING TOUR. We walked to visit a rice field and learned how rice is made!

• 

• 

• 

LUNCH TIME. We stopped by a restaurant for our last Bahase language class. Eating, learning, and having fun at the same time? Mmm, yes please. 🤤

• 

• 

• 

So at the beginning of post, I mentioned meeting Celeste, but you guys are probably wondering: who is Celeste? Celeste is our new friend. She stayed in Wiwik 3 with us and coincidentally, she is also from California! The three of us: Demi, Celeste, and I, became friends instantaneously. Later, we will even go chasing waterfalls together. 

Thursday
Our three day orientation ended and Thursday was our first lesson. As part of the ‘healthcare education’ project, we were requested to teach about STDs/HIV. There were 3 of us in the healthcare education project: Macey, Demi and I. Macey was supposed to be our third roommate, which, as you guys remember, did not happen. Here we are drafting up our lesson plan.

In the afternoon, we were driven to the school where we were met by a group of eager high school students. They listened attentively and asked questions. Some were shy, but we had prepared games to engage the students and encourage their participation. We used a lot of visuals- drew cartoon viruses and showed pictures of various STDs, such as chlamydia and gonorrhea. In the end, we felt the students had a better understanding of STDs/HIV, how it is transmitted, and how to protect themselves from it. We found it so cute that the students requested to shake our hands and take pictures with us.

• 

• 

After our class, we were told that Friday was ‘Red Day’ and school was going to be closed. Since we were unable to teach on Friday, we were asked to prepare a lesson plan for the incoming volunteers. Topic: Tobacco Smoking. As you can tell, we love visual aids.

Friday
Due to ‘Red Day’, we re-joined the other volunteers for the last day of introductory week. We went to the Holy Water Temple known as ‘Pura Tirta Empul’ where we dunked our heads under the faucets and made a wish. First, you needed to have your shoulders and knees covered so you could bring a sarong you bought or rent one onsite. Most of us brought our own. We still had to rent a key and store our things in the lockers because your whole body was going into the bath. 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The water was freezing cold and there were so many people!! Mostly the people were at the beginning because once you step into the water, you kind of freeze because the water temperature is chilling to the bone. But slowly, we started to move. Before we entered the water, we were told that you are not supposed to dunk your head under all of the faucets. Some faucets were for the dead. So we followed Yanik and Dayu to prevent making that mistake.

• 

• 

Saturday
As the week came to an end, I was sadden by the fact that my adventure here in Bali was coming to a close. To finish with a bang, Demi and I decided to go to several waterfalls and invited Celeste to join us. We went to a nearby tour agency and found a driver to take us to 3 waterfalls. Unfortunately, we only went to 2 of the 3 after an incident. Tip: never step on the green parts of the rock, they are extremely slippery. One member of our team ended up falling in-between two rocks and scored a huge bruise! Luckily, I brought my handy-dandy first aid kit.

The waterfalls:
Kanto Lampo Waterfall ✔️
Tibumana Waterfall ✔️
Goa Rangreng Waterfall

• 

• 

• 

• 

terima kasih, bali~