Questions families already send
These answers stay inside source files and the ethical limits of this rebuild. If a question is really a price or a 2026 seat request, the answer is: ask Linda with your constraints; this site will not mint a shop window. Expand each item, then follow the linked chapters for the long version.
Is this a 2026 public departure calendar?
No. Source itineraries use a Friday-to-Wednesday teaching pattern and a longer combined pattern through the following Saturday. journer.org transcribes those patterns and does not invent a public 2026 departure grid or program prices.
How many hours do volunteers actually teach?
The HCIA & Journer teaching itinerary documents six school-teaching hours and two community-service hours. Teams of two to three volunteers share a class. Themes may include English, Chinese, and games, with a closing certificate and gift exchange.
What is the optional diving pathway?
After the teaching week, a professional instructor collects the group for the Tulamben area (Tulanben in the source file). Theory, confined-water training, and four open-water dives follow. Participants who meet skill standards may receive a PADI Open Water certificate, described as allowing dives no deeper than 30 meters. journer does not claim an exclusive PADI partnership beyond that document.
Do I need a visa?
The guidebook described visa-free entry for Chinese citizens staying no more than thirty days, with passports valid more than six months from entry, plus a Kuala Lumpur transit-visa note for some transfers. Immigration rules change. Verify current Indonesian requirements with official sources. This site will not coach anyone to misstate their purpose of travel.
What documents should I pack?
Passport original, three photocopies of the photo page, and a round-trip itinerary. Keep copies split across bags and home. Do not send passport numbers in a first WeChat inquiry.
Where is airport pickup?
International arrivals, at the flight-information area opposite Kopi Bali, with staff holding a Journer sign. Message family after you are through, not before you clear controls. The guidebook notes that photographing before exiting customs is prohibited.
What lodging options exist?
A Marriott-brand option with two to four people per room, wifi, hot water, and on-site staff; guests fund transport to the volunteer site. A Journer volunteer house with four people per room, single beds, wifi and hot showers, no toiletries, possible water or power cuts, mosquitoes, random rooming, no opposite-gender rooms, quiet after 22:00; site transport included. Afternoon leisure is self-funded in both cases.
Can I choose my roommate?
Not in the volunteer house. Assignment is random. Exceptions require the responsible lead and supporting documents. Opposite-gender rooming is forbidden there and can cancel a volunteer certificate.
What is the school dress code?
No revealing clothing during volunteer teaching. Clothes must pass the knee. Shoes must not show toes. Off-duty clothing is less constrained. Temple visits add their own modest-dress rules; Tirta Empul also restricts entry for women who are menstruating, according to the guidebook.
Who is responsible on free afternoons?
You are. journer’s source safety chapter stands behind project-site and lodging safety and states it cannot police unsupervised tourism. Sign out, travel in pairs, prefer briefed drivers, avoid night wandering. Property loss on personal outings sits with the participant.
What happens if I miss a volunteer block?
Unexcused absence can cancel the volunteer certificate. Keep meal and teaching times. After arrival, changing the project needs the lead and proof. Inside two weeks of departure, dates and content are not to be changed.
Which schools do you partner with?
This website does not invent partner-school names. Teaching is described as school and community-center blocks. A 2020 certificate of appreciation is associated with Bali Rastiti Bhakti Foundation. Green School appears in the guidebook as a ticketed visitor site, not as a placement.
What does HCIA have to do with journer?
Itinerary PDFs are titled HCIA & Journer. journer describes a source-document collaboration on student volunteer-teaching calendars, including a diving variant. We do not claim a merger or exclusive ownership of HCIA programs.
What should I bring to teach Chinese or English?
A timed brief, teammate roles, and a no-projector backup. Chinese teachers should bring simple books where possible because local materials are scarce. Gifts belong in the scheduled exchange, not as private favors.
Is Bali safe?
The guidebook describes political stability, generally good public order, and many Chinese visitors, then lists practical rules: no unofficial lodging guests, sign-out before going out, briefed cars, caution at night. There is no absolutely safe place; there is disciplined movement.
How do I apply or get help in an emergency?
Coordination and emergency contact in the guidebook: Linda, (+86) 18810906728, WeChat 731163942. Use the apply page as a checklist for first inquiries. Do not invent an unpublished email on this site’s behalf.
Can I invite friends to the volunteer house?
No. Unapproved visitors are forbidden. If an invited stranger leads to theft, the participant is responsible.
What money and power should I plan for?
Modest cash to exchange (airport rates described as weaker; Ubud changers later), cards with a BCA-ATM plan for UnionPay cash, and a German-standard two-pin adapter. Live exchange rates are not printed here.
Still stuck
Safeguarding incidents, medical fitness to dive, and live immigration categories need humans: a clinician, an official government page, or the coordination channel. The FAQ is a map, not a substitute for those.
Questions we still will not answer here
Exact program fees, 2026 seat counts, the name of this year’s hotel property, the name of this year’s host teacher, and whether your particular ear will equalize. Those need a human, a clinician, or a contract. The FAQ is long so that the human conversation can be short. If your question is already answered above, read it twice before sending it as if it were new.