My life on the other side of the world

10.844 kilometer bee line, the distance which lies in between me and my home. Separated from my family and friends through countries, mountains and sea. It's been a long journey but here I am: in the Philippines. My new home for 11 months.

Hey there!:)

My name is Miriam and I am a 19 year old German girl who is currently living in the probably most beautiful place in the world: Cebu, one of the 7107 islands of Philippines.

But how did I get here?
I am doing a voluntary year. We in Germany have the chance to do a so called FSJ (Voluntary social year) after Highschool. Young people work there in a social, cultural or ecological project without getting payed. It is just like an internship which provides an insight into social work.

Doing a FSJ in your own country is quite popular back in Germany.
But I wanted something different. I wanted to see something new. I wanted to go abroad.
That's why I decided to do a voluntary year in a developing country. In doing so, you support the development in your host country directly, you help disadvantaged people and assume global responsibility.

I am aware that I wouldn't just go there and save the world. But I am convinced that when many small people do many small things, the world gets a little bit better. Therefore, I have decided to give the most valuable thing I have - my time.

Why Philippines?

This is the most popular question I have been asked. To be honest when the most Germans hear Philippines, they think about beaches and vacation. They are not aware of all the problems Filipinos have to face. Behind the facade is a lot of poverty: people lack resources, medical care, money or education. They lack social protection against life risks such as unemployment, illness, old age or natural disasters.

Of course I was not aware of this as well, at least before I came here. But I researched about this country. As more time I spent on the internet, reading articles and watching videos about the Philippines, I became more and more interested in the culture. It supposed to be a really varied country, influenced by the Spaniards, Americans and Japanese.
I couldn't imagine how life would be in this Asian country. I hoped to get an insight into the culture, the customs and the life of Filipinos. I wanted to experience the perspective of life of people who are living so far from my place.

Moreover I wanted to develop my personality. A year far away from home, my family and my friends would not be easy for me. It was and still is a very big challenge for me.

I am not a professional writer and my English is quite bad but I would like to share some of my experiences with you. I am one of this persons who need to write down their thoughts in order to deal with them. Furthermore I am curious about what's other peoples opinion and experiences. I guess Steemit it is the perfect place for such an exchange.