Grade 11&12 went together to Ubud, Bali to experience Balinese culture: from actual cooking and other daily life chores, to dancing, art and religious way of life.

Here’s a break down of some of the things we did:

DAY 1: Lots of IB work in the morning. Grade 12 students worked on their EE and Grade 11 students on CAS journals. We left SWA in the afternoon and made it to Ubud early evening. We enjoyed a delicious dinner while watching the Balinese Traditional Welcome Dance.

DAY 2: Started with a very morning walk. Our guide Mr Dewa took us on a tour of his village. Dewa spoke of Animism, Siwabuddha, Buddha Mahayana and Hinduism and how we can express our love for others by simply smiling. This had a profound impact on our students who spent the remainder of the day discussing these four spiritual influences and of course exchanging healthy smiles with one another. We walked through roads inside the village, looking at their traditions, life, and realising that the Balinese represent a real working example of a truly sustainable society. We spent the whole afternoon working on making Coconut oil, Coffee, and Chocolate. All hands-on work helped us experience the Balinese culture. In the evening we went over to the Balinese Traditional Theater to watch their traditional dances.

DAY 3: Was a little tough. We paid a visit to the Elephant Safari near Taro, instead of spending time with elephants, we went trekking, walking for nearly 3~4 hours in the forest. The Biology students did some field-work while the rest of the team went on trekking. We then stumbled across a bunch of local children kicking a deflated ball, barefoot on a gravel-like surface. Seeing this, excited our budding footballers to join them in a friendly, yet equally competitive match. We ended the day with having a little free time in Ubud, for students and teachers to shop, eat, and just enjoy our night under the Ubud sky.

DAY 4: We separated into two different groups – the art students with Ms. Judy and Mr. Riga, and the rest of the team. The art students went to the Ubud Traditional market to take photos for their unit on “The Pasar”. They had a three-hour workshop with IB examiner Bruce Sharrett from the Ubud Center for Creativity. The rest of the team started a totally different day, as the art students were having their art workshop, we went into a local school and on to a cooking class and finally for a little action planned by Mr Rick: “Day in the Life of a Farmer” activity.

SWA students experienced themselves as teachers engaging local students in local schools. Students were separated into different groups that were responsible for teaching different classes. In addition, SWA students got to know more about the local students.

From the school, we went to Mr. Dewa’s house (our guide) for traditional Balinese cooking lessons. Both students and teachers enjoyed collaborating and cooking their own meal. Students were involved in making chili paste from scratch using mortar and pestle, curry sauces, shrimp canapés, chicken, tofu, tuna tempe and a variety of vegetables dishes. It was a fabulous experience for both students and teachers. After a short rest, Mr. Rick managed a “special activity” for students to experience. As we walked down the village road, we were told to experience the daily Balinese farmer life. Once we arrived at the rice paddy fields, students were given some implements to dig up and turn the soil. We learned how to carry two buckets of water from the pond using a piece of bamboo on our shoulders without spilling any water from the bucket. Furthermore, we skillfully managed to carry about 10 kg of grass in a basket on top of their heads whilst meandering through the narrow paths between the paddies. After the soil was turned, students learned how to plant the seeds and we ended the farmer work with walking back to the resort while enjoying the great view Ubud provided us.  The day ended with a very peaceful night, with laughter of students and teachers, having a relaxing time after all the hard work throughout the day.

DAY 5: Home sweet home…………..

Jason Lee, Grade 11-1