Happenings...

So, I have been going about my normal life and trying to organise my trip at the same time. It's good though, because I have this amazing trip as motivation to do everything else. I've also been talking to/boring my friends to death with my trip details and going-ons. I've had so many positive responses from my friends, and I have to say thank you because at this point, it's still quite new and I'm a little unsure of myself. Anyway, I've already had a few people approach me for details about my placement so that they can look into doing it themselves. I thought this was just fantastic, word of mouth is just so amazing sometimes! So I thought I'd do this post to get some of those websites and details out there. Perhaps you'll find something you like. Whoever you are...

Global Nomadic is the company that scouts all the volunteering positions (and some paid/internship style positions too!) and then works as your 'customer service' type operation for anything and everything to do with your placement. There are so many countries available, and they are constantly adding small NGO's to the list, so you should definitely check them out. All the fees are commission free and go directly to the NGO... plus it's a fraction of the cost of some of the volunteering positions I've seen elsewhere.

Starfish Language Centre is the service I'll actually be teaching in. It's small, and run in a classroom in Ubud which is in the hills of Bali. There are 55 children enrolled, who learn English there for free. There are also a large number of adult enrolments which are paid for and offset the cost of teaching the local children for free. The centre also offers language courses in Bahasa Indonesia, Japanese and French, and is open for expatriates and locals alike.

Obviously I can't say I know everything about these two companies/services, because I am yet to complete my placement, but at this point in time I am so happy with all the support all the co-ordinators have given me. Anyway, that's enough.