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Volunteer teaching in a school in Ubud for 4 weeks
"I had a big desire to work in a social project to do something good." With this demand Laura decided to come to Bali and support our teaching project in Ubud. Learn more about Laura's experiences in Bali and her daily tasks.
My first impressions
Before I came to Bali I was very excited and had a big desire to work in a social project to do something good. In Bali I had the chance the make this dream come true and experience the live in another culture and community.
My trip to Bali started with my arrival at the Ngurah Rai Airport, where I got picked up and were brought to my new home for the next four weeks. In Kengetan I was welcomed very warmly by the family of Ibu Agung and realized immediately how friendly, warm, keen and hospitable the Balinese people are.
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First small disappointment...
Thinking now about the moment when Ibu Agung's sister told me that the school will be closed during my first two weeks due to the holidays for the holy Hindu celebration of Galungan and Kuningan, makes me realize that this was not the worst thing to happen.
But in that moment I felt a bit disappointed because this meant that I would only work for two weeks in Ibu Agung's primary school and join her for the after school projects, which are called 'Bimbel' for only three weeks.
...which was in the end actually not that bad
So I decided to use my first two weeks to meet the other volunteers from Baliinternships and to make a lot of trips to see the beautiful island of Bali. Andrea, a volunteer from another school, and me made a trip in the north to see the Gitgit Twin Waterfall and the Danau Bratan.
At the weekend we stayed in Kuta and visited the Uluwatu Temple and the beautiful Padang Padang Beach. During the whole time I stayed in contact with Ibu Agung and she was very keen about my well-being. She integrated me from the first moment on in her family and I was very glad that we got along so well with each other, what made me feel very comfortable and happy.
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The 'Bimbel'
In my second week in Bali the 'Bimbel' started. Bimbel is the short form of Bimbingan Belajar. Ibu Agung picked me up every time and we drove together to the different schools where we taught different classes in the afternoon. I always met very friendly, open and motivated students in the classes where I taught English. Ibu Agung and me worked together and I really loved teaching the kids because they were very motivated and we had a lot of fun together. In the Bimbel I met a lot of very nice teachers who were very happy about the support during their English classes.
Working in the primary school
After this week my work in Ibu Agung's primary school started. At my first day I was a bit nervous but when I arrived at school, I was friendly welcomed and all pupils were so nice and happy that I stayed at their school for a few weeks. The teachers also welcomed me very friendly at their school and in the teachers room.
I taught the third, fifth and sixth grade in English. The pupils were very motivated but sometimes we had some communication difficulties because their English level is still low. The kids in the primary school are very young and just started to learn English. But somehow we always managed to understand and communicate with each other.
Sometimes there were special school activities like the competition day, where the pupils competed against each other in disciplines like running, sack race and running with a bottle of water on their heads or the cleaning day. On that day the pupils cleaned and tidied up the whole school. Every class room, the teachers room, the working center and also the schoolyard. This is necessary because the Balinese people don't pay a lot of attention to the rubbish and the waste disposal. After this day the school finally looked good and clean.
On Friday they had a temple ceremony in the morning which I was allowed to attend. At this morning I met Ibu Agung at her house to get dressed with the traditional clothes for the temple. We went there together and I joined the whole ceremony where the teachers and pupils prayed together. For me it was amazing to see how disciplined the students can be and to be part of this community for one day.
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Thank you!
During my whole time in Bali I felt very good and I was very happy to be there. I think that's mostly because of Ibu Agung's kindness. I am so thankful to meet her and to be part of her family during the whole four weeks. She always invited me to her house, to different trips in her environment like the traditional market in Sukawati, to drive along the fields, to visit the waterfall and also to a big temple ceremony in her village. I felt excited before the big ceremony but when we arrived there I realized that there is no reason to be nervous because all the people of the village welcomed me so friendly in their temple. Nobody looked at me in a weird way, everybody smiled at me and in their eyes and their expression I saw that I was welcomed. I also joined their prayer and I am really happy that I was allowed to attend their ceremony.
At the end of my time I am happy about my experience in Bali and about my work there and also about my experience to live in the Hindu culture and community. I am also very proud that I stayed in a lower standard than we have in Germany during the whole four weeks. During this time you recognize if you really live the life you want to live or not. For me it was the best experience I ever made and I will definitely come back to Bali to visit Ibu Agnung and to see all the places which I could not see during my four weeks in Bali.
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