Whirlwind of expereinces & growth

I realize this entry is coming long after my return from Indonesia. For the past month or so I have been dealing with some family issues and was thrown into an extremely chaotic environment with little time for reflection. However, I have notice some major changes and reflections based on my experiences in Indonesia. There are many things that I found I could prepare for this trip and many I had to just learn as I went.

I first heard about this opportunity the previous year and was thinking that there was no way for me to be able to have that kind of experience in Child and Youth Care. However, with the support of my family and friends my dreams came true. One of the primary reasons for wanting this dream related to my curiosity of what Child and Youth Care practices are like in different countries and cultures. Another focus for my decision was the want to experience the aspects of special needs children and youth within another culture. To be able to see how they view special needs individuals and how they are treated. I was also excited about learning from my fellow travelers because we all came from different backgrounds and schooling disciplines.

With having all this excitement for new learning I knew I had some fears as well. Some of the most common fears for me related to culture shock and I was wondering if I was going to be able to cope with all of the changes. I knew that I have a hard time in extreme heat therefore I was afraid that the weather was going to be too much for me. I was unsure how I was going to handle the language difference and working with my translators. Finally, I was worried about my placement because I was placed at a school for Autistic children and they had wanted some education around sexual education. The week before leaving there was a change in my placement which was a relief because of being unsure about teaching sexual education to a Muslim country. My new placement was a special needs school for children and youth called Amaryllis.

Once arriving the most challenging aspects for me were our group process and my practicum placement. I think since we as a group did not have many opportunities to bond and get to know each other there were some conflicts within the group. This was a process for myself and I also needed to remind myself of the communication skills I have acquired over the past few years. I would recommend trying to get together as a group before embarking on this adventure to work out all of the kinks. I think we as a group were able to perform well in the end.

Having the opportunity to work within another culture as well as with my passions for special needs was unbelievable! I had my own personal challenges at Amaryllis mostly dealing with the language barriers between my translators and my practicum mentors. I found very little difficulty relating to the children and found so many similarities between children of Canada and children of Indonesia. The spirit I saw within these children was amazing and their willingness to communicate with me was heart warming. I was extremely sad to leave and know that there was little possibility of seeing these children again in the future. Going into the placement I never thought I would have been so affected by the work I was doing and the lives I was touching. I know I will never forget those children's faces and all of the laughs I had with them.

I wasn’t sure what things I was going to learn from going to another country to practice Child and Youth Care that I could not have learned at home however I needed to see what was out there in the world of Child and Youth Care. One of the best things that will always be with me is that children are children all across the world including children from different backgrounds as well as different levels of monetary standing. I also would not have had the chance to work side by side with both the nursing program and the early childhood education program. I would not have had the opportunity to learn from their perspectives on situations I was dealing with because typically I have been surrounded by similar professionals from similar professional backgrounds.

One of the most frustrating aspects of my trip was when I was sometimes relating or communicating to the Indonesian people because of their need to please and make our experience positive. I found myself needing to focus very hard on the non-verbal communication because sometimes the verbal and non-verbal communication conflicted with each other. I never wanted to offend anyone therefore I was constantly asking for clarification so that we were on the same page. Even though I was doing my best there were times when that was not enough. I learned that I need to be more flexible and open to change but I knew that about myself already, hehehe. This need for flexibility came at me almost everyday for instance I would leave practicum knowing one thing and arrive the next day needing to know something new.

I would like to thank everyone who stood behind and beside me through out this experience. I know there were some downs but they were definitely outweighed by the ups. Even though these are just some reflections from my trip I know there are many more to come as I delve more deeply into my experiences. Thank you for taking the time to read about what life was like for me in Indonesia and what it was like to practice in another country with different values and beliefs. This experience will always be with me and it’s even hard to realize that I even went at all.

Sincerely,

Heather Carroll-Fraser