Eat Pray Bali

As I entered the security line at SFO airport, the security officer checked my passport and then my final destination on my boarding pass, it read Bali, Indonesia. He looked me over and with a surprised smile he exclaimed " wow! what an exotic location!" I smiled back at him and responded "I know. It will be a trip of a lifetime."
In the 4 weeks I spent in Ubud, Bali I learned about aspects of my personality, qualities, and skillets that I doubt I would have been able to gather in such a short period of time in any other experience. To start off, Ubud is magical. Every morning, I would wake up to the sound of crying roosters, exotic bird tunes, chirping crickets, clucking chickens, and the loud but overwhelmingly beautiful sound of the living jungle surrounding our villa. I shared a room with 7 other volunteers from all of the world. These girls became my family and support system for the next 4 weeks. We the together, we went out at night together, we shared our amazingly different, yet similar goals, life stories and fears with one another, and these individuals made my experience at Green Lion utterly unforgettable. During orientation week, we got to get a glimpse of Bali by exploring the monkey forest, the rice fields surrounding Ubud, the Holy Water Temple, the Ubud art market and many many more exciting cultural landmarks and experiences.
I took part in the teaching program and I was given a fifth grade class consisting of only 5-10 students daily. If I can emphasize one aspect of my time in Bali, it would be the fact that these children changed my view on life in a way I never expected. Their passion and urge for learning shocked me. It truly shocked me to see these children, some coming to school with the same clothes everyday, and to see that children with so little, were so rich in happiness and fulfillment. Although I tried my very best to leave a lasting impact on these children in the form of education, I truly believe that they have taught me more about life and the beauty it holds than I could ever teach them.
On our weekends, several of the other volunteers and I would take weekend trips to other parts of Bali. A few of my absolute favorite destinations were the surf areas of Uluwatu and Canggu along with the Gili Islands off the coast of Lombok. On these weekend trips, we got to explore all that the breathtaking island of Bali had to offer and try new experiences such as surfing (It's a lot harder than it looks!), diving and snorkeling.
Overall, I would not change any parts of experience in Bali for the world. Both the local ivhq staff as well as the amazingly friendly and supportive local Green Lion staff met my every need and were always on top of responding to my emails whether it be asking simple packing tips or more major topics such as sickness prevention medications prior to and after arrival. Yes, adjusting to Balinese life was not an easy task and I experienced homesickness, Bali Belly, and a number of other discomforts such as the massive bats, spiders and lizards that roamed the walls and grounds of every surface, but these were all aspects of this unique once in lifetime experience that has shaped me into a more independent, inquisitive and happy woman.