Bali 2017

In July 2017 I travelled to Bali on a 4-week endeavour through Plan My Gap Year. This is the second time I've went abroad with PMGY, having gone to Sri Lanka in 2016, and I honestly cannot get enough of how amazing everything about the projects are!

Once you are accepted onto the project, you immediately are given tons of information to help you prepare for your trip, including what to bring and background information on what the culture and environment will be like. Any questions you have, Josh and Philip work round the clock to answer and they help put your mind at ease with any worries or concerns. I found this support to be incredible as I had to do little extra research about Bali and it helped me gain accurate expectations on what the project would be like.

I cannot hype up Bali as a destination enough, from the moment you arrive you are showered with love by the in-country team, which ended up becoming a second family. Everything from the food to accommodation was amazing, it was incredibly easy settling in and Bali felt like home after only a few days. Indra was an amazing coordinator to have, always making sure everyone was alright and making them laugh. Ketut and Rush felt like my Bali parents and they worked tirelessly to see every volunteer was content. Even if you felt the slightest bit unwell, they would do anything they could to make you feel better - truly treating you like their own. Katherine was an outstanding coordinator, she cares so much about the greater good of the world and it shows in how dedicated she is to making the project the best they can be. My time in Bali would not have been the same without her, she became one of my best friends due to how down to earth and lovable she is. I honestly can't fault the in-country support one bit, every aspect of it was outstanding and I think all PMGY destinations should aspire to have support as good as Bali does.

The project in itself was a dream, I was doing English teaching and each day we'd get the chance to go to a new school and interact with new kids of different ages. This allowed us to never get bored and challenged us as what we were teaching constantly had to change to fit the different abilities of the children. After the morning classes we would then teach the kids which voluntarily want to improve their English at Akasa, which would allow us to properly interact with them and see their progress. The kids were absolutely amazing, they are so eager to learn and so grateful - even if you have no experience in teaching, it's so easy to get the hang of.

Bali is genuinely the most beautiful place I've ever seen, I'm so honoured I got the chance to go there through PMGY and have such an amazing experience. Being able to teach during the week and make an impact on the life's of the children was so rewarding, and having the opportunity every weekend to explore Bali and see all it has to offer was mesmerising. I would highly recommend this project to anyone who wants to travel, you get so much out of so little with PMGY and you meet the most incredible people from all around the world. I'm confident that my time in Bali has truly made me a better person and the memories I have from my 4-weeks travelling will stick by me forever. I can't wait for my next adventure with PMGY, which I'm sure will be soon!