Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.
Vincent: In the morning, we had some time to plan the lessons for the afternoon. But usually it was fast to do, so once we were done, we just relaxed in our guest house or had a walk around in Ubud.
After lunch, we could really start our volunteering job - teaching! We were two volunteers to teach a class of 20 children who were between 10 and 12.
We mainly taught basic language like the alphabet, vocab and pronunciation, as they were very beginners. To do so, we played games and tried to make it fun for them to learn.
I really appreciated it. It was such a nice experience! The schooling was three hours, and then we usually finished with a big game on the playground. It was so much fun!
At 5pm teaching was done, but we still had time to enjoy our free time. And during the weekends, the school was closed, so we enjoyed this time to travel and see Bali, which was absolutely wonderful!
Ten years from now, what’s the one thing you think you’ll remember from the trip?
Vincent: During that trip, everything was just perfect. But what I really remember are my first impressions when I arrived to Bali, my first time in Asia.
When I went outside the airport, I could tell that I was not in Europe anymore. It was quite hot, the air was thick and very humid. It was very surprising at first but easy to get used to.
The locals of course were part of the change also. The first locals I saw were dozens of taxi drivers who were shouting at me to get into their cabs. Every second, I had to reject their proposal as somebody was waiting for me a little further.
Once I found him, he took me to his car and we were heading to Ubud. The landscape we passed by was just breathless, the vegetations, the rice fields, even the road is far different from western countries.
I had so many questions to ask to my driver about everything around us, but I think he enjoyed telling me about his country and his culture.
Do you feel like you made a significant impact on the local community? Why or why not?
Vincent: During the morning, the children had their regular lessons with teachers. But for those who were free in the afternoon, we were there to spend some time with them and teach extra English.
So yes, I think we were helpful for them in the way that they were not left on their own.
We also taught them English which will be useful for them because Bali is being more and more touristic and most of them will probably have to deal with foreigners.
Of course, it was difficult enough to teach them English as they didn’t speak English and we didn’t speak Bahasa (the Indonesian dialect from Bali). But in the end, I’m sure they’ve learned a bit from our lessons and also from us as foreigners.
Tell me about one person you met.
Vincent: I prefer to tell you about our bunch of volunteers, one of us found our name 'Team Awesome.' We loved it of course! Most of us were students in our twenties, from all around the world.
And to be honest, we have really shared an amazing experience in Bali. I think that when we spend some time altogether, it really creates bonds that wouldn’t exist in ordinary situations.
Actually, it is not so easy to keep in touch when everyone lives his life in his country, but I think that if one day we meet again, we’ll really have a good time! And if I’ve spent a great time there, it is also a lot thanks to them, thank you guys!