Week 4 in Bali
Somehow, some way, we have reached the end of our month in Bali. What?!
Looking back at all of our weekend adventures and day trips, it really made our time fly by but gave us so many memories and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. We spent our final weekend in Ubud to walk through the infamous rice terrace, meet a bunch of monkeys, and hike up an active volcano for sunrise. Check it out below!
Our Week in Film:
Edumadic Profiles:
Meet Anna!
Anna is a 25 year old American from Dallas, Texas who recently left her job to go on the adventure of a lifetime and continue expanding her education and personal growth.
After graduating from Oklahoma State University in 2014, she delayed joining the workforce in favor of leaving the comfort of home and spending 10 months working as an au pair in Cologne, Germany. She knew she wasn’t ready to jump into a traditional job, and while living abroad she found a new confidence in herself to seek new opportunities that would continue to challenge her.
After returning home from Germany, Anna began working in the digital marketing department for a weekly newspaper in Dallas. She started to explore online classes to gain new and useful skills, but soon realized that a full-time job didn’t give her the time and energy she needed to really make the most of the online learning experience. When she discovered Edumadic, it was the final push she need to make a major life decision to step away from her job and take the time to travel and study.
“I feel that to really grasp the skills and concepts being taught, I need the courses to be my main priority and that just has not been possible in my current situation.”
Anna will now be making the most of her time taking courses in Web Design and Development that will give her more career flexibility and allow her to keep traveling. She’s hoping to recapture the freedom she felt when she made the leap to Germany, and find a new path to take post-Edumadic with even more confidence in her abilities to go after what she wants in life.
“I don’t like to say I came back a different person because I don’t think I did. I like to think that through the challenges I worked through moving to Germany finally helped me find the confidence I had always been looking for to truly be myself. I wasn’t afraid to hide from people anymore. I think a big part of this was that the friends I made were like-minded people I had been looking for my whole life.”
After the transformative experience she had in Germany, she can’t wait to see how life changing 3 months with Edumadic will be.
You can follow Anna on Instagram at @anna_gramss
Weekly Highlights:
Volcano Sunrise
A 4am wake up call was well worth it to experience sunrise at the top of Mount Batur. We trekked in the dark under the stars to find this stunning view at the summit.
Our breakfast was cooked in the volcanic steam, we slid down the volcanic ash, laughing the entire way, and our muscles are still sore from that hike!
Water temple
We visited a Hindu Balinese water temple, Tirta Empul Temple, famous for it’s holy spring water where visitors come to participate in a purification ritual as they cleanse their chakras in the fresh water pond.
Tegalalang Rice Terrace
It wouldn’t be a visit to Ubud without seeing the famous rice terraces stacked along a cliff.
600 meters above sea level, it’s one of the best tourist attractions to witness the incredible landscape that is native to Bali.
A Day in the Life:
This week we followed Victoria for a day! This is what she got up to:
8:30am — 10am Morning stretch
I’ve been starting my mornings with a yoga class with other fellow travelers at our homestay, with a beautiful view over the rice paddies and the sun shining (most of the time!). Such a great way to set my intentions for the day.
10am — 11am Breakfast bowl
Crate Cafe is a regular spot just a short walk away and their menu is filled with smoothie bowls and juices — “The Hipstar” smoothie bowl with dragon fruit, chia, coconut, and nuts is my go-to!
11am — 2pm Essays
This is the time I like to get the most work done — usually writing essays for courses that are due at my university back in Berlin, and also filling in my travel diary with all of these experiences. To be honest, I like to take a nap after I’ve been productive :).
2pm — 4pm Lounge & lunch
After a quick nap, a dip in the pool is a must, followed by my favorite Indonesian meal at a local place called Warung Jaba — it’s buffet style allows me to have all the vegetarian dishes (white rice with fried mashed potato balls, fried corn, omelette, bamboo, and yellow curry tempeh) for super cheap.
5pm onward…
We have tons of debaucherous evening options — 2 for 1 happy hour at Old Man’s and/or happy hour at The Lawn with the most amazing kiwi fruit popsicle caipiroska, and eventually you’ll find me down on the beach dancing in the waves at Sand Bar.
