My VP Bali Experience

I arrived in Ubud at the beginning of February 2015 to start my volunteer work with VP bali not knowing what to expect. I felt excited and nervous. As soon as i walked into my home stay i was greeted by the amazing Kimberley Vanderheyden and a bunch of smiling strangers who came from different places all over the world.
It was quite surprising how quickly i felt at home. We had all sorts of personalities among us, with some of us staying for only a few weeks, others for months. My first day of volunteering was a treat. In the twenty minute drive from our home stay to the school i got to see a different part of Ubud that i hadn't seen before. Beautiful nature and rice fields, local families outside their balinese homes/shopfronts and although these people had near to nothing, their smiling faces said otherwise. Arriving at the school was a real eye opener to how little these children had. I hadn't seen a classroom like this before with one whiteboard and a small cupboard filled with donated stationary and books, it surprised me that in these conditions there were so many eager children willing to learn and excited to meet me. I volunteered for a month and without a doubt could've stayed on longer. This experience has made me realise you need to stay open minded in your everyday life accepting everything that comes your way, the positive and the negative. Thank you VP Bali, I miss everything about this program and will treasure the memories and friends i have made forever.