Projects Abroad

My stay with Projects Abroad in Fiji changed my life, it changed me, changed my outlook on life and made it clear to me what I want to spend my life doing.
From the first moment I came across the Projects Abroad website and I signed up with them, They were so friendly and there to answer even the most stupidest questions I had for them. They put me in contact with the Country Assistant Manager in my destination Country (Fiji) and she told me everything that was going on and got me so excited for my trip. The attention, help and advice before I went away was absolutely 100%.
Even though I was a little delayed getting through immigration in Fiji a staff member was still there to meet me and was as happy and welcoming to me as if I were her own daughter coming home from abroad.
My host family were more incredible than I could have asked for or ever, ever imagined. They were Welcoming, they were friendly, open, funny and so interesting. They had so much to tell me and from my first night there, they were teasing me and calling me their daughter. From my fellow volunteers I heard they were also happy with their families which makes me feel like Projects Abroad have done well in choosing their host families. Saying that, everyone i Fiji is fantastic.
I usually set my alarm for about half six so that I could be showered and dressed and have my packed lunch ready and be out of the house by half past seven. My host mami would always be up and ready to wish me well for the day. The food I ate was delicious! I am vegetarian and the family were very open to cater for me and always asked me if I wanted to assist them to the Supermarket.
My school was fantastic and the teachers were also very understanding and it was clear that they respected the Organisation as well as the individual volunteers. All though it is Projects Abroad policy that the volunteers were there to assist the teachers, there would be staff situations that came up, where you as the volunteer would have to take the class alone, sometimes only an hour, but also sometimes for the whole day. This as you can imagine, can be very challenging but also incredibly rewarding. Work can sometimes be hard as it is in your own Country but when you're 1000's of miles in an unfamiliar place, where no one speaks your language it is ten times more daunting! Personally, I wouldn't of had my work any other way.. it kept me on my toes, it kept me determined and focused. There is no lies in the eyes of your class when they say 'Thank you teacher!'.. you know they genuinely mean it.
The Country Assistant Manager would come into the School and also to my home every now and again to check up if things were running well and keep notes on anything I had to say and would be very open to support any ideas that I wanted to bring to the School independently.
The team was really great at making sure all the volunteers kept in touch. Each volunteer got a contact list with everyone's numbers on it and at times I found this very helpful and convenient! At least once a week we would set a place and time where everyone could get together for dinner and drinks.
I have to admit that not all of it was paradise. Sometimes the staff members weren't so great,and sometimes I felt that they should be more efficient with things, especially considering the amount of money I paid to be there. For instance it was very frustrating when you and some fellow volunteers needed to go the office to get some teaching materials, check emails or reporting something of yours had been stolen, then to turn up and to find it being locked with no staff members answering their phones.
I think personally the only thing I would have done differently was brought more back up money, as when my credit card got blocked, I had nothing until my mother managed to wire me something across. Definitely something to remember for next time!
Excluding the minor downsides that occurred throughout my time there, I have to say that overall I was happy with the Organisation and would recommend it to anyone and everyone, whatever age you are! I got so involved with the local people that if the staff couldn't help me with something, one of the local people I'd met would! The advantage of Projects Abroad having a higher price for your placement is that you really have to work for it, whether that's getting a job, or also doing fundraising alongside it.
With its ups and its downs, I think Projects Abroad is brilliant and definitely have the volunteers at heart. They will pick up and work hard on any suggestions of improvement the volunteers come forward with. All in all I felt safe and well looked after and I am looking forward to my next placement with them.