This was my 5th volunteer project done with GoEco and quickly climbed up in my top 3 travel experiences. I have spent 5 weeks in Indonesia doing both Bali and Lombok Sea Turtle conservation projects (and culture immersion week).

It is way more than learning about conservation and marine life. You get to fully engage with the local community and see the real Indonesia, not just IG hotspots. I recommend this with all my heart. traveling with purpose just feels different.

I have left back home with more than a fun memory. I left with new sense of self and meaning. With a newfound gratitude for my life and with a list of international friends to miss and see again.

While my time in Bali was a whirlwind of unforgettable experiences, I'll never forget my last day teaching. As the bell rang on our final class, I delivered a speech written in Indonesian, to explain to my students that I had to go back to America now but that I hoped to see them again some day. Nervous titters flooded the room. Before leaving, every child wanted a handshake, a reassurance, and for the little girls, a kiss on the cheek. Several of them cried. As a young person who just wants to feel like I've spent my time benefiting the world around me, there was no comparable feeling. Bali inspired, weathered, confounded, and irrevocably altered me. Just to know that somewhere out there, a child has a better chance at being successful because of me, is something I consider to be my greatest achievement.

I volunteered with the Green Lion Bali for 2 weeks. Those two weeks flew by way too fast! If I had the chance to do it over again, I would have stayed at least a month! The people I worked with, the friends I made, the staff and the locals were definitely the best part of this trip! During the first week, we got to explore the village (Penestanan Kaja), Ubud, the rice fields and many more places! This week was called the orientation week. We had a cooking class and a cultural class, we learned the basics of Bahasa language, we went to a traditional Balinese dance show in central Ubud, we visited a breathtaking temple and we had a 3-hour walk through the paddy fields. The very purpose of this orientation week was to help us prepare for the volunteer project the following week. At the end, we got assigned a school and a class to teach English. Every day, we would have to come up with simple activities for the children to learn English. There was also someone from the staff to help us translate in Bahasa for the kids. It was very helpful!
These two weeks passed by so fast! I would go back in a heartbeat! Thank you to everyone, especially the Green Lion and Go Eco, it was a pleasure to visit Indonesia!

Between the many activities that we do during this project, one of them includes to catch some crabs to feed the turtles. One thing that you learn during this activity is that crabs are very smart creatures, and is not that easy to caught them. But even been hard, it was very fun to do it.