Due to visa issues, Jona (a fellow volunteer at a different children’s home on the island) and I didn’t set off until three weeks later than planned. I was really disappointed when I heard the news, as I’d been looking forward to it so much. However, in hindsight, it wasn’t so bad, as it meant I had more time to say goodbye to everyone and finalise everything. On 21 September, we finally set off.
I met Jona at Frankfurt Airport. After saying goodbye to our families and being called onto the plane last, we finally took off. Six and a half hours later, we landed in Dubai after the first flight. The second flight, from Dubai to Denpasar, lasted ten hours, but it was very relaxing.
We landed in Bali at around 5 pm and were picked up by Pak Judih. We drove to a children’s home near Denpasar run by the same organisation that runs the homes where Jona and I will be living for the next nine months. We had an orientation seminar planned for the first three days there. By the time we arrived at the children’s home, it was late, and I collapsed into bed, exhausted.
The next day, our first full day in Bali, we went to the main office of the Protestant Church in Bali, where the Widhya Asih Foundation, which runs the children’s homes, also has its office. There, we met Forman, who gave us a very warm welcome and explained the work of the Widhya Asih Foundation. That day, we also had a short language course and motorbike lessons at the children’s home. Despite the packed schedule, we generally had very little to do during the first few days. On Wednesday evening, we were supposed to drive to Canggu to watch the sunset. However, as we didn’t have much to do that morning either, we drove to Canggu a little earlier to take a surfing lesson — for beginners, of course! After practising a few times, I eventually got the hang of it and had a brilliant time.
The next day, we set off for the children’s homes, feeling very nervous. I actually spent the entire two-hour drive to Singaraja asleep. However, I did notice that we drove uphill for a long time and then finally downhill again.
Once we arrived in Singaraja, I said goodbye to Jona, who had another three-hour journey ahead of her to Blimbingsari. Ibu Dessy, the home’s director, gave me a very warm welcome and showed me to my room. We chatted for quite a while after that, until around 12 o’clock when the younger children came home from senior high school. I spent the first few hours playing UNO and getting to know the children. When the older children arrived home at around 4 pm, we played a quick game of football barefoot just before dinner, which I hope will improve my Brazilian flair in the long run.
A lot has happened in the seven weeks I’ve been here, so I can’t possibly cover everything in this first blog post.
The first week in my new home was quite difficult, though. At times, I felt quite alone. That’s normal at the start, of course, and it was discussed at length during the training sessions. But actually being alone in this new situation was quite different. One reason for this was that I didn’t really have anything to do yet. First, Ibu Dessy had to clarify with the school when and how often I could come and teach English.
Things have improved significantly since then, though.
Since I didn’t have any set responsibilities during the first week, I used my time to get to know the children better. What better way to do that than by playing Uno? I often spent two hours a day playing it. I’d now consider myself a pro, and I’ve learnt all the Indonesian colours too.
I’ve also been using my free time to explore the town. Singaraja is located in the north of the island, right by the sea. It’s the second-largest town in Bali, yet it has remained completely untouched by tourism – I haven’t seen any tourists here yet. This makes the town feel more authentic than the tourist areas, which can feel ‘fake’.
In Canggu, where we went surfing, there’s a lot going on, but you can immediately sense the influence of tourism there too. That’s not the case at all in Singaraja, which is a good thing. If I fancy some Western influence, I can drive to Lovina, a holiday resort 20 minutes away that is nowhere near as crowded as Canggu.
So far, I’ve only explored Singaraja on foot, so I haven’t discovered many parts of the town yet. As a pedestrian, however, I’d say life is quite dangerous. This is partly because there isn’t really any space for pedestrians and partly because everyone here seems to drive as if they have five lives.
However, as I was out and about on foot, I also came into direct contact with the warm and open nature of the Balinese people. I often find myself having brief chats with people at the roadside or simply exchanging friendly greetings. Of course, this is partly because, as a European, I stand out. By now, though, I’ve got used to it.
At the end of the first week, three students from the children’s home, Leo, Ferlina and Widyani, took me on a trip to a nearby waterfall. Since it’s scorching hot in Singaraja every day, it was the perfect way to cool off.
After cooling off, we were all pretty hungry. So we decided to eat some babi guling. Almost everyone I asked beforehand said that babi guling was their favourite meal. It’s suckling pig, and the tender meat and crispy skin are served with rice and various side dishes. Although it has a very strong pork flavour, it was delicious.
I’m provided with three meals a day here at the children’s home, so I’ve already tried a wide variety of foods, and everything has tasted good so far, even if I often didn’t know exactly what it was. However, my absolute favourite food so far is a typical Indonesian snack called ‘Piscok’. This stands for ‘pisang cokelat’, which translates as ‘banana chocolate’. They are crêpe-like rolls filled with banana slices and melted chocolate. Simply wow!
As the children’s home is supported by the Protestant Church in Bali, religion plays a very important role here. Every evening, the children lead a short prayer service at the home. It quickly becomes clear that religion plays a significantly more important role in Indonesia than in Germany, whatever form it takes.
Every Sunday, the whole children’s home goes to church together, usually here in Singaraja, though Ibu Dessy told me that they often visit other churches as well.
Four weeks after my arrival, we attended a church service in Galungan, a small village in the mountains about an hour away. This was my second church visit. The service itself was quite similar to those I had attended in Germany. I didn’t understand a word of what was being said, but thankfully Ibu Dessy acted as translator. As we had practised the day before, halfway through the service, the children went up to the front to sing a song. I found myself on stage too, singing a song which, once again, I didn’t understand, but which sounded very beautiful.
The service ended with Holy Communion. Small pieces of white bread were handed out for this. The younger children were given grape juice, but according to Ibu Dessy, I was given wine which burned my throat. A strong mixture!
As I mentioned briefly earlier, I found the initial period at the children’s home quite challenging due to the unfamiliar routines, different mealtimes (everyone here goes to bed at 9 pm and wakes up at 5 am, but luckily I’m allowed to sleep in a little longer) and adapting to a new daily routine. Now, after seven weeks, I can say that I’m settling in better and better, and a regular routine is developing that I’m getting used to. Most of all, though, it’s lovely to see how I’m slowly becoming part of the family here. The children are becoming more open with me, and I’m building relationships with them. They confide in me, and we have fun together.
You’ll find out more about my work and daily life in my next blog post. See you then!
Sampai jumpa!
This text was automatically translated using an AI-powered translation system.
