After arriving in Indonesia, I decided to look for volunteer work as I had a lot of spare time. I was introduced to Kampung Kids, an organization that assisted children, so seeing the place I wanted to help out as well. I already had some experience in teaching kids before in Bangladesh, therefore, decided I would help out the kids by teaching English.

I took up the challenge to teach two classes / day, three times a week. At first I was nervous and scared; it was like the first day of school again for me. Questions flooded my head... would the children understand me because I don't speak a word of Indonesian... would they think I'm boring? Am I going teaching the right material?

However, after a couple of classes, I was able to understand the kids and see what they needed to learn. When they didn't understand me, I would have to use the Indonesian dictionary to communicate to them so at the same time I was also learning too. Each class was different; each class was enjoyable and fun.

These children look forward coming to class and they like the challenges that are given to them. They are always on time to class, up to date with their homework and not shy to ask questions if they don't understand. They are great kids and fun to be around with.

By John Nguyen