“Prior to join the work camp you’ll be very excited and curious, during the work camp you’ll be very happy, tired, home sick, and after the work camp you’ll get loneliness syndrome for a while”

Doing voluntary service for 23 days is not common for me. It’s more like a challenge. Usually I do only two weeks. Bilateral Work Camp IIWC-SIW is extremely excellent camp ever for me. Working with 16 volunteers from Holland and 5 volunteers from Indonesia for more than three weeks in two difference places is so precious.

In this work camp, I worked for 12 days in Gedong Songo for environmental project and the remaining days in Tegal Rejo for project of children in prostitution area. In Gedong Songo, we did a lot of things related to environment. We cleaned up the surrounding of the temple, painted garbage bins, placed the garbage bins permanently and made environmental campaign on the stage of Gedong Songo. In the second project at Tegal Rejo, we more focused on children activities. Besides, we also involved local youth in our activities.

Like usual, work camp is always memorable. A lot of unforgettable moments that come across; smile, laugh, cry, home sick, and friendship indeed! In the morning you will always be woken up swiftly although you are in your nice dream. There is no time to take a shower in the morning and the occasion to use toilet/bath room is limited (everything is in hurry :D) otherwise everybody will yell and mock you horribly outside, hahah :D. Cooking team will always be busy in the kitchen; peeling while testing the foods. Washing team will always be wet and cleaning team will work in the last minutes; after meals.

For myself, I am satisfied with this work camp. Two thumbs up for all the volunteers, both Dutch and Indonesian!!! I admit that it was not that easy for the Dutch volunteers to deal with Indonesian way of life. They had a lot of cultural shocks during our stay. But it was not that hard too for them, I think. Everything was running well though with a lot of hard work and great effort.

I am very pleased because I find new friends, either from Indonesia or from Holland (from Indonesia not so many though!!), though I didn’t find my love, ahahhahaw :D. I’m so glad to know and to work with them; Jorine and Selmar (a nice couple ever in the work camp), Maurine who got new nick name namely Momo, Janine who I used to black mail (ik wil je vermoorden!!!), Bas(koro) who has very loud snore, Mark who was my secret friend and my roommate :D, Sander who got special jingle from the children in the prostitution area (should I write the lyric, Sander???), Torsten (Toto) who is very strong and hate question “are you tired?” (but finally he was tired, hahah), Madelon who looks like Kirsten Dunst (it’s based on polling of Indonesia participants, not only my personal opinion ya!!kwkwwk), Floor who has half blood Makassar-Holland and found my snore as her worst memory in the work camp (sowwrrry Floor), Tabitha who used to sing “tempe..tempe..I want tempe…!!!, Isa who got sick for five days, Anja who got night mare with the scratch of “suspected” rabies cat, Adi who will become model (hmmm…I don’t think so, sorry!!), Gangga who has lekker recipe and maybe found her love, Dwi who suddenly disappeared in the middle of the work camp, Rani who suddenly appeared in the middle of the work camp, Mariana who was locked in room 301 by Rani (hahahah), Luise who used to ask us to sing one, two, three, four…., Claudia who was well known as a Janet Jackson, and Lovi who was busy to meet local partners.

Spending 23 days together formulated our own experience. Somehow it was long work camp but it was finished too fast, wasn’t it guys????