Falling in Love with Bali

I have traveled overseas for volunteer work before. It was about 5 years ago, and I traveled to Uganda for 2 weeks of volunteer work. It was my first big trip going without friends or family but I was confident with the long flight because I would be meeting with 12 other volunteers the day of our flight from Newark airport. This time was different though. I was ready to venture and travel the world again.This time I would be doing the flight by myself and landing in a different country half way across the world. I was nervous, I was excited, and I was overwhelmed with empowerment that I was actually doing this. I would be in Bali for two weeks, volunteering to teach health education to 5th graders. The experience that I had during my stay was beyond what I had imagined. The overall love and culture of Bali is amazing. The first week of orientation we experienced so much of the culture, religion and beauty of Bali thanks to our Green Lion staff. We visited sacred and holy temples, learned about the importance of the religion and participated in a holy water tradition. We were able to learn the art of Batik painting and became mini artists for the day, painting our own. We learned about the Bali language and the history behind it so that we could interact with Ubud villagers. We walked through town, experienced a traditional Balinese dance, and did so much that we were all overwhelmed with gratitude and joy each day we returned to our volunteer house. I had the opportunity we live 15 other volunteers. Each girl with a story of her own and from a different part of the world. We created a bond that will last us a lifetime and we found a place we fell in love with that will be a part of us forever. I could not have asked for a better stay and experience in Bali and can not wait to return one day. So much gratitude and love for those who have made this kind of volunteering available.