Intro: Planning & Prep

Hello all, and welcome to my first solo blog, which is very much a work in progress. I’m going to start by writing that I have no idea how I’m going to format this, whether it’ll involve posts throughout my time away or only be published when I’m back, but we’re starting the writing now so I can lay out what the plan is and what my intentions are for this experience. 

I’m embarking on a trip to Bali through a volunteering internship offered by the organisation Think Pacific, in which I’ll be away for 4 weeks throughout the month of July 2025, living in a Balinese village with about 40 other students and learning about and working with the local partnered businesses of TP in the Ubud area through the Global Team Internship.

With the project duration being the 29th June - 26th July, I'll be flying out the day before it begins and flying home the day it ends, as things stand. There was of course the option to stay around longer and do some more travel, or visit somewhere else on the way back, such as Singapore, where I'll be changing flights both ways, but extremely briefly. However, for now, I want to see how the 4 weeks on project go and how I feel about things - it may well be more than enough for me.

I've been able to manage my budgeting through planning how much of my student loan I could have each term this year to put towards the project, along with some provision from my college at Cambridge called the Gateway Programme which provides funding for excursions over the summer. This has allowed me to pay for the project costs, my travel and extra spending money. I've been routinely planning and organising all the steps necessary since I first applied in January, with communication with TP consistently clarifying at which point we should be in the process throughout the year. This included sorting flights, travel insurance, DBS check, passport hygiene, vaccinations, forms and my visa, among other important elements required for travel, and I've learnt a lot already about what it takes to undergo this kind of trip, especially the travelling there solo.

Despite some bumps in the road, including delays in processing out visas, with mine actually being the very last of the groups to be processed, it seems everything is now in order. I suppose that is just the nature of travel with so many different elements to get organised. To keep myself calm and in check I've kept up with all my lists and plans, up to planning step-by-step what I need to do throughout my travel day, since it's going to be a long one and involves that change in Singapore. The first flight, from Heathrow to Changi airport, is 13 hours, with a 55 minute change (a bit scary, I know), and then just under 3 hours to Denpasar. I'll be arriving at 9am Bali time and will meet the TP team at the airport to transfer to the hotel we start the project at. I've booked my flights through Singapore Airlines, an airline me nor parents have ever flown with before, but have all heard many good things so I am looking forward to enjoying their service. 

The structure of the project means that the first week and weekend are all about welcome and immersion; the second, third and fourth weeks are for the Global Team Internship programme; second and third weekends are free for us to be able to travel in the area, and the final weekend is for rest and reflection. The arrival itinerary involves transport to the hotel, with the first day just being for meeting my teammates and exploring the local surroundings. The following 2 days involve a range of briefings and workshops as preparation in the hotel, before moving for the next 2 days to the team culture camp. Here we will share communal dorm rooms in a jungle setting, engaging in cultural sessions & games for team bonding & relaxation. 

It is not until the end of the week that we move Mas, Banjar Tarukan, Gianyar, the village we will be living in. About 5km from the centre of Ubud, Mas is a village of approximately 310 families, 12 of which are homestays partnered with TP, famous for woodcarving. It was declared a ‘Designated Tourist Village’ in 2014 with a halt put on any large scale hotel, villa or any building that would destroy the unique characteristics and style of Balinese village life. 
Here I will live with my teammates and spend my evenings in the week when we have finished project work for the day, and enjoy provided breakfast and dinner together. There are several small supermarkets, cafes and restaurants in the village within 10 minutes walking distance from all homestays, including local ‘warungs’ where you can buy local food. I'm really excited to enjoy life living in the village and appreciating the beautiful setting. We stay here, other than the free weekends until the final debrief days at the end of the project which takes place in a  resort in Sanur. This will involve reflection activities, team feedback with management, quality time as group and a farewell meal. The project then officially ends at 10am on the end date when I am planning on getting a transfer back to the hotel to catch my flight home in the evening.

Although we can stay in the homestays over the weekend, should we wish, I plan on making the most of the free weekends Friday evening - Sunday evening to explore the wider area and experience Bali as much as possible beyond the village. I've done some prior research to gather some possible ideas for the weekend travel, but have kept this limited to a point as I'll need to make plans with my teammates once we've settle into the project, and can decide together where we want to go and what we want to spend our time doing. I feel relatively relaxed about these plans as being in Bali itself is already such a wonderful experience so anything extra we can plan will just be additional to the experience. Still, I plan to prioritise trying a range of places to eat, exploring waterfalls, temples, markets, beaches, local nature including the rice fields and terraces, and potentially trying some activities offered involving ziplining, scuba diving, jungle carting. With timing limitations this may just be in the Ubud area, but should it be possible I'd like to venture out to Uluwatu, Seminyak, Canggu or Denpasar. I'm planning on trying as many different foods as possible, with my meals being provided in the homestay and having the option to buy lunches whilst on project and try different meals during the free weekends, as well as buying snacks from local shops. The primary sorts of foods eaten in Bali involve curry, rice and noodles, various vegetables, and often meat or fish though as a vegetarian I will avoid this and scope out what vegetarian alternatives are available. 
Day to day life on project will involve waking up around 7am and having breakfast in the homestay, working on the project in the day, and then returning to the homestay to relax in the evening with peers, in a local cafe, or join a team social activity before having dinner in the homestay at 7pm. In terms of the Global Team Internship itself, as outlined on the TP website, it involves:

- Experience; Gain unique experience of living and working in Indonesia

- Contribution; Make a tangible impact and find solutions to real world problems

- Challenge; Expand your comfort zone, throw yourself into diverse projects and themes

- Learn; Learn about a new culture by living in a traditional Balinese community

- Skills; Develop professional skills and gain experience employers are looking for

Each week there will be a new programme partner to work for and project brief, with the week beginning with a site visit to learn about the organisation's vision, goals and challenges. The task then is to work within a small group of 3-5 interns to tackle the brief and present back an ‘action project’, finding the best solution, with each week culminating in presenting our concepts to the partner for feedback and review. For host organisations, this is an opportunity to gain unique international insights from creative thinking students, to prototype new concepts, begin new projects that have been limited by staff resources or gain fresh perspectives on their strategies and operations. The partners include local enterprises, family-run businesses, start ups, social enterprises and charities from diverse areas of arts, tourism, retail, property and technology or mission focused in areas of environment, conservation or human rights. 

All organisations are chosen for their ethics and sustainability as fabulous mentors who value student perspectives, are eager to collaborate to grow their vision. They see external participation as a means to boost internal opportunity. Projects focus upon research, development and solving issues with a need to work collaboratively, consider cultural difference and learn quickly. We will receive guidance and support from the business representatives, then work independently with the group on the challenge set from different locations in the village throughout the week in the morning and afternoon. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will be spent working from co-working spaces and cafes in the homestay village, with a skills lab in the afternoon each day as an opportunity to develop your professional and personal skills and be involved in various group and individual activities. The skills labs will be facilitated by the local and international team, with guest speakers to inspire and support development. There is a focus on the development on skills of teamwork, confidence, public speaking, time management, leadership, communication, and pitch writing.

As required, I will be joining the project with:

- a 'learning mindset', adopting a humble approach to appreciating cultural differences and nuances

- a passion to learn, removing any ego and manifesting a genuine curiosity and thirst to understand Bali and Balinese life

- an active interest in local customs, values, religious beliefs, ceremonies and cultural practices

Being a place I have wanted to visit for years to experience its beauty in person, I'm extremely excited to learn about the culture in Bali whilst also hopefully developing my professional skills and building friendships with other students on the project. In particular I'm hoping to absorb as much information I can surrounding Balinese Hinduism as their core religion, the Balinese and Indonesian languages, and local customs, such as the Canang sari (offerings), both in the general area and more specifically in the village and with the family I'll be living with. I’m extremely nervous to be travelling so far on my own for the first time but I know it’s something I want to do and I have to make a start somewhere, so here we go. I'm really grateful for this experience and can't wait to hopefully record as much of it as possible here to reflect on and share with whoever wants to read it.