Morning Bali Team, those of you who are out of bed,

Sorry for the delayed flight last night. I do hope Customs were kind to you and processed you quickly.

Welcome back to Terra Australis and the cold weather. From all reports it was a very successful tour and I would like to thank you all for the effort and diligence you made to preparing for this tour. I do hope upon reflection that you have gained from meeting the people in the organisations that we partner with and take from those interactions an increased empathy for those that are not as fortunate as us. I look forward to hearing about your experiences when we have a final de-brief meeting early next term.

Personally I would like to thank the tour staff, Aidan Johnstone-Tour Leader, Tamara Maddock and Maira de Souza. Without dedicated staff this tour would not happen. Knowing them as I do I am sure that you had a unique and fun adventure.

To the students, thank you for being outstanding ambassadors of St Stephen’s School. And finally, the parents, thank you! The support you provided to the students and the staff is very much appreciated.

Enjoy the remainder of your holiday break. We will see you in Term 3.

Regards

Donna Wilson

On Sunday we started the morning off with church, where we joined in song and were read messages within the bible.

After church we headed to the temple where there were some cheeky monkeys around and many screamed (I myself hid behind mr Johnstone, using him as a human shield)

After the temple we headed to lunch where we waited a long time for our food and drinks, but at least it was delicious. Following lunch we headed off to Kuta for some shopping.

The day ended with a frantic run through the pouring rain back to the hotel.

On Monday we started the day off by going to the turtle rehabilitation centre where we were able to name and release baby turtles.

Here are some of the turtle names:
Vayda – Sebastian
Lucy- flounder
Sam- Ariel
Kaylee- Ursula
Karah- flipper
Gabby- bobby
Luke- pip

Janya – Tina

Mr Johnstone – squirt
Mrs Desouza- Shelly
Mrs Maddock- Sheldon
ECT

After the turtles we headed off to a nice lunch at Single Fin Bali, where the ocean view was incredible.

Following lunch we headed to the beach where we got a whistle blown at us to come closer to shore while standing in waist deep water.

We then went back to the hotel to swim in the pool and chill before going out to our final team dinner. At dinner we did handstands and played Chinese whispers to determine if we could have dessert (we did). This was a device free dinner as the staff enthusiastically confiscated the phones at the dinner table.

our final evening ended with a reflection before heading to bed.

P.s I wrote this yesterday night and it deleted so I had to retype it

-Vayda

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Today we headed off to Akademi Kristus where we learnt all about their program. AK works to educate children and families from the slums in Sanur. It has grown from small lessons on a tarp under a tree, to a building equipped with two classrooms, computers and a martial arts gym. Many students thst go through AK are able to work in the business available at AK (soap business, graphic design, content creation). However, some choose to work elsewhere, with one student now becoming a doctor!

We then took part in a self defence class where we learnt different skills. After this, we went out to lunch with all the people from AK before heading to the slums to meet the families of the students and hand out hygiene packs. Amongst the slums, the locals had planted gardens and even built mini farms with goats and chickens. started and met some of the parents. Darcy says quote on quote “I saw a gigantic lizard, it was like this big”.

We then finished then day with a extended long car drive back to our hotel where we quickly left for dinner at an unfamiliar place with familiar food.

-Scarlett and Darcy

Good evening everyone! This is Karah reporting about today, today was an eye opening day filled with some sadness but also fun times and exicitement

We first went to a the Suwung Community School run by Bali Life which was located in the mountain of rubbish in which we the students, were exposed to the lives of the hidden part of Bali and were able to interact with the local community and have a great time completing different activities with the kids.

After a brief break at the hotel we trotted off to the the first bali home for the Friday night open house. We spent the evening playing games and sports building on the the bonds created on Wednesday. We also said our final goodbyes to the kids that we will not see in church on Sunday. What an eventful day for the kids.

-Karah

Today I over slept again and missed the run with mr johnstone I could tell he was seriously disappointed as he even sent a meme on the group chat about being upset. After this small mishap, we headed off early to do some activities at the kuta with the children. We had some very enjoyable moments playing games and drawing pictures of iconic australian animals, the nutbush even made an appreriance (a dress rehearsal for tomorrows performance). After this we said goodbye and sadly left the street centre. We then headed back for some rest time and then headed out for an early dinner before meeting up with the bali life foundation to hand out food and get to know some of the locals street kids and mothers who where grateful to receive some support. The Bali Life staff also gave their time to promote their Kuta Street Centre in an aim to give kids an education.

Very excited for tomorrow,

By Jacob AKA Master Harry

Today some of us started the morning with a run along the beach (Vayda, Sam, Gabby, Emily, Lucy and Mr Johnstone). After that, we had breakfast at the hotel and got ready for the day. Today we went to the Bali life foundation and met all the family. We spent time with them learning their games, playing sports, watched a traditional dance and some even got their hair braided. While at Bali Life we enjoyed a lunch together which made everyone feel welcomed into the home.

After getting back from the bali life, we got ready for our activities tomorrow at the Kuta Street Kids Centre and Womens Workshop. We then headed to the beach, where we played vollyball in the water.

After a quick rest we headed out for dinner.

Written by Vayda and Sam