Making friends, exploring Bali and immersing myself in the culture in Bali!
I signed up for The Mighty Roar Teaching Programme in Bali. I work with children back at home in numerous sports coaching roles where I lead sessions and help children directly which has fuelled my passion to work more with children in the future. This, combined with an urge to travel and see the world made me choose this programme to get the best of both worlds.
Before setting off for Bali I received many emails from The Mighty Roar about things I needed to do before departing, advice for documents to get and things to do whilst I was there. I also attended a zoom meeting with my parents which was run by one of the organisers. It contained all the information about my stay and offered an opportunity to ask any questions.
"If you are looking to immerse yourself within a different culture then volunteering to teach English in Bali with The Mighty Roar is a must"
A couple of days before my flight I was contacted by one of the members of the local team in Bali who was going to be my driver. Shortly after I landed he gave me directions for where he was going to meet me at the airport. We waited for another volunteer’s flight to get in and once I’d met her, we drove to the volunteer accommodation, about a 2.5 hour drive away. I got to the camp at about 2am so I quickly got shown to my room and in the morning I got to meet all the other volunteers at breakfast.
During the teaching programme each pair of teachers were given 2 classes of the same age. We taught each of these classes Monday to Thursday. Every morning one of the co-teachers from the school would come over to our accommodation to let us know what was on the schedule for that day and help us plan the lessons. Sometimes, this included making worksheets and flashcards. On Wednesdays we didn't have any lessons to plan as this was an adventurous day where pupils could do arts and crafts or play sports.
In the evenings I would socialise with other volunteers by playing cards or going to the local karaoke bar. There were about 20 volunteers in total on the childcare and teaching programme, however we also shared our camp with the volunteers on the marine conservation programme. I still keep in touch with around 5 of the volunteers and we’re planning to meet up again soon!
I also signed up for the Exploring Bali weekend trip. I, along with 5 other volunteers had a driver who took us door to door of all the sites on our itinerary and we had jam packed days sightseeing and going to all the tourist hotspots in Bali!
This experience for me was one where I could really immerse myself in their culture and gain a wider appreciation for the world whilst also having fun and making friends and memories for life! I'd recommend teaching English in Bali with The Mighty Roar to anyone!
