Volunteer in Jakarta

Being a volunteer teacher was what I wanted to do for a long time. Now the dream came true. As a counselor of overseas education, I helped Chinese high school students to pursue higher education in American universities. I wondered if I could do something for the students who lived in wholly different backgrounds. When I knew IHF had centers in Jakarta and Bali, I applied without hesitation.

I arrived at Jakarta center on March 3, and began to teach Chinese for junior high school students in the first week. In the following two weeks, I also taught English for the younger children from age 6 to 12. Familiar with common characteristics of teenagers, I got along well with the junior high school students, and they learned Chinese fast with strong passions and good methods. I was happy that they liked my class. It was a small challenge for me to teach young kids. Without any experience in teaching children, I prepared for the class more carefully. It was more difficult for us teachers to teach young children because we also needed to maintain discipline in the classroom. The goal of education was guiding students to study, think and explore. It's more important for children to learn something in IHF because of their limited learning resources and poor conditions. I felt fulfilled when the kids acquired English vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation that I taught.

Besides teaching and doing online tasks, I harvested friendship. Hanging out with the co-directors and local volunteers made me excited. We knew more about each other as well as the city in our spare time. I would miss the students and co-directors after leaving Jakarta at the end of March.