Round Square Pre-conference in Bali

November 04, 2015 | Girls’ College

Experiencing the real Bali
Written by: Jamie-Lee McDonic

From Saturday 26 September to Friday 2 October, I and 6 other girls from Grade 10 and 11 were fortunate enough to go on a Pre-Conference trip to Green Camp Bali. We had an amazing week meeting students from the U.S, Canada, Australia and Peru. During our stay we discovered a lot about the Balinese culture. We had a traditional Balinese dance class, learnt how to make Canang which are offerings that are made on a daily basis to the Hindu gods as well as tasted the delicious cuisine Bali has to offer. 

Green Camp Bali is extremely eco-friendly and we learnt many things on how we can live greener more sustainable lives. We were taught how to make our own compost and how items such as car windshields can be converted into whiteboards. We also explored the neighbouring Green School, which boasts the largest bamboo structure in Indonesia. On one of the afternoons we walked down to the Ayung River and were put into teams of five. We had to build our own rafts with bamboo and tyres and then raft down the river to the finishing point (let’s just say we got very wet). We also tried our hand at coconut tree climbing and the local art of Mepantigan mud wrestling.

Our week in Bali allowed us to see the real Bali and not the over the top beach resort Bali that many people think the island is. We bonded over meals eaten on banana leaves and learnt that you can make just about anything with bamboo. We’d like to thank Mrs. Ashton and St Stithians Girls’ College for allowing us this opportunity and accompanying us on this adventure.