2018 Indonesia Study Tour Participant

My first introduction to Indonesia was as a freshly minted college graduate serving as an English teacher at two institutions of higher education. My subsequent return to Indonesia on a VIA sponsored Indonesia study tour was one of the best travel experiences I have encountered. The organization and accommodations for this trip were outstanding and all locally owned and run. The people and projects that VIA partnered with to provide this experience connected me to amazing local individuals who were focused on social impact leadership in their communities. These groups included local villages striving to retain their youth, fair trade organizations seeking to improve the economies of local villages, and Taman Baca, an artist and intellectual collective for the community seeking among other things to freely discuss the events of ’65 in Indonesia. As with all VIA events, the invitation to enter local communities in a very authentic way provided participants with perspectives on Indonesian society that would not otherwise have been accessible. All of this is in addition to visiting the main cultural events and monuments in this part of the world. It was a once in a lifetime trip for me to a country rich in art, culture, humanity and change.