Merle

Hello,

I’m Merle. I’m 18 years old, I’m from Schwerin, and I love music. I love music, including singing, playing the piano and clarinet, and dance theatre. I also enjoy sports, reading and taking photos. However, I am now leaving my familiar routine of recent years behind to gain new experiences in Indonesia. More specifically, I will be working for six months at Rehabilitasi Bersumberdaya Masyaraka in Rantepao, a relatively small town on Sulawesi.

RBM runs a home for children with disabilities and a mobile service, and I will be travelling to affected families in rural areas with this service. I’m eager to find out what tasks I will be doing and how I can contribute, perhaps musically too.

I’m also looking forward to experiencing daily life completely differently, meeting lots of new people, and discovering the country as a local rather than as a tourist. Alongside this new daily routine, I’ll be learning Bahasa Indonesia, which I hope to master during my stay. Alongside all the anticipation and curiosity, I’m also feeling a mix of excitement, fear of the unknown, and self-doubt.

However, I believe that, alongside unique experiences, these six months will present challenges, and I am eager to see how I will cope with them and how they will influence me.

Despite all the things that still need to be done before I leave and all the thoughts swirling through my head, one thing is certain: it all kicks off on 10 September, and I can’t wait!

Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing my impressions and experiences on this blog, and I hope you enjoy reading them!

Merle