To celebrate International Volunteer’s Day on December 5, we at VP Bali decided to dedicate an entire day for having fun with our volunteers and students. It was a total Fun Day, where we took a break from our usual class activities to have fun – and also provide a chance for our students and volunteers to connect with one another. Everyone, students and volunteers, at both schools in Program Ubud had fun with cultural performances and activities!

The school at Program Sakah was earlier to start. Preparations for the day had already begun since the day before. The students prepared simple traditional Balinese decorations, called paku pipit, and balloons. Once the volunteers arrived, the event commenced.

The first performance was a traditional Balinese welcoming dance, the Pendet dance. It is an obligatory dance in any Balinese event where guests are present, especially foreign guests. Our female students have been practicing for a week, and they looked beautiful when they were dancing! Balinese dances are famous for their tricky hand-twists and elegant flourishes. At the end of the dance, they showered the volunteers with flowers.

Next, the music suddenly changed from the slow melody of gamelan to modern upbeat music. It seems our students have also prepared a modern dance performance! It was exciting to see a mixture of performance art all in one place. Most importantly, it showed that our students truly have a passion for arts! Their steps and flourishes were synchronized to the beat, resulting in an exhilaratingly amazing performance.

Once the dance was over, the music changed again into the soothing melody of a Balinese flute. It was like we were stepping into a Balinese-themed restaurant set near a rice field. Some female students sat on the stage. They came prepared with flowers and lots of young coconut leaves. One of the called the volunteers up to the stage. The volunteers came up to the stage and sat with the students, unsure what to do. A student showed them some offerings. They wanted to show our volunteers how to make Balinese offerings! So, the volunteers took some coconut leaves and began to weave them into offerings. One type of offering that they made was the tipat nasi, or the casing for rice cakes. They also learned how to make a simple canang, the most common offering. They had a fun time, even though it was hard to learn the intricate art of weaving coconut leaves into gorgeous offerings.

After making offerings, our students cleared the stage and a new group of dancers, dressed in colourful sarongs, came on stage. They performed another Balinese traditional dance, the Cilinaya dance, a more complicated one than the Pendet. This dance involved a lot of teamwork and coordination, but they managed to beautifully pull it off! After taking a bow and receiving a big hand, they exited the stage with smiles.

And in came four boys dressed handsomely in Balinese attire. Music started to play in the background and they began to sing! They sang a Balinese love song. Their voices were beautiful, since they had been practicing a lot. Our volunteers enjoyed the song, even though it was difficult to understand. But at the end, the four boys received a big round of applause!

It was almost the end of the performances. But, it seems the students and volunteers saved the best for last. As the boys exited the stage, our students and volunteers – Carolina, Rachel, Veronique, Wynter, and Irene – filled the stage, lining up. The music suddenly turned funky. It was a recognizable jingle, the Macarena! Our students and volunteers, along with everyone, had a fun time moving their arms and hips dancing the Macarena in unison.

After dancing the Macarena, the students were assembled for the Student of the Month announcement. The Student of the Month is a monthly occasion when VP Bali shows our appreciation for our diligent and hard-working students by awarding them small gifts. It helps motivate the students to keep learning! Once the Student of the Month was over, all the students and volunteers gathered for a group picture.

At our main school in Program Ubud, the school was packed with both our younger and older students. They sat together in the school yard, eating traditional Balinese snacks – gelatinous bite-sized cakes topped with palm sugar and shredded coconut called jaja Bali – and enjoying the cultural performances.

As with any Balinese event, the opening act is always a dance. At Program Ubud, the opening dance was the Puspanjali dance. Meaning “dance of the welcoming flowers”, the Puspanjali dance is heavily inspired by Rejang and is often used as a welcoming dance. The dancers were a few of our female students, as the dance is always performed by women. They danced beautifully, with successful flourishes and elegant steps.

Next was a performance by our younger students. They performed a Balinese children’s song called Ratu Anom. The song is usually used in children games in Bali, as the lyrics are playful, dynamic and short. The students performed nicely, and received a lot of applause.

It was still time for our younger students. Another group took centre stage with their key-flutes. Time for another musical performance! With their key-flutes, the students delivered instrumental versions of several Indonesian and Balinese songs. They managed to deliver a great performance, even with the simple instruments. Creativity does go a long way!

Then, it was time for another musical performance. But this time, our students did not use instruments; they had something better, their own voices! In a group arranged like a musical, they sang an Indonesian song. The song was titled Selamat Pagi Guru and was about the respect from a student to their teacher. It really fitted the spirit of International Volunteer’s Day and our activities at school! It was a beautiful performance. The voices of our students were beautiful and they delivered a great performance.

Then, it was time for three of our older students to show off their musical skills. With two vocalists singing to an acoustic guitar, the trio delivered two songs: Tanam Saja and the hit All of Me by John Legend. The lead singer was fantastic, and managed to both songs perfectly! They received a huge round of applause from our volunteers.

It was time for the younger students again. After the trio sung, the students from Erin’s class came to the stage and did the hokey-pokey. It was a song that they learned in class, and is an effective way to teach younger students about important concepts in a playful environment. Though they were young, they managed to pull off the performance nicely. Erin looked so proud of her students! Still with the younger students, three young girls took the stage and began dancing to the tune of Indonesia’s popular girl band¸ Cherrybelle. Though they struggled with the complicated dance moves, they have a fun time and got some loud applause.

As usual, the best is often saved for last. The last performance at Program Ubud was the JuniKawaii dance, an original dance composed by our creative students. The dance mixed elements of traditional Balinese dances, such as the hand-twists and flourishes, with elements of contemporary dance, including hip-hop and modern dance. It was a beautiful fusion dance, with the music changing rapidly from traditional Balinese to upbeat hip music. The students performed magnificently, their movements tuned nicely to the music. It was truly a great creative performance by the students.

But the fun doesn’t stop there! After the dances, our students quickly scrambled to several stations set up in classrooms in the school. There, they did several traditional Balinese activities – making offerings, dancing, and making traditional satay. Our volunteers at Program Ubud – Attilla, Matt, Erin, Kerttu, Adrian, Essi, and Jess – had a fun time going from station to station experiencing the different cultural activities.

At one station, female students were teaching the volunteers how to make traditional Balinese offerings. They learned how to make tipat nasi¸canang, and other offerings from young coconut leaves. At another station, the volunteers had a fun time learning Balinese dances. It’s actually harder than it looks! Though it was hard to learn, it was a great moment for our students to act as teachers for the volunteers about their culture. At the last station, which was perhaps the most favourite, our volunteers learned how to make sate lilit, a Balinese type of satay where the meat is twisted around the stick, rather than skewered, hence the name sate lilit. The volunteers enjoyed making satay, even though they had to get their hands dirty (and smelly with the meat dough!) After preparing the satay, they had a chance to enjoy the fruits of their labour. Fresh satay from the grill is always delicious!

As the last satay stick is finished, the day also came to an end. It felt rather short, but it was packed with a lot of fun. It was exciting to see the students form new connections with the volunteers through creative and fun means, and it was also a great opportunity to have the volunteers participate directly in Balinese culture with hopes that they can experience the wonderful culture of Bali first-hand. Happy International Volunteer’s Day!