Dynamic Jakarta https://journals.worldnomads.com/jakartajourney/ Sat, 11 Apr 2026 18:36:54 GMT World Nomads Adventures When I travel I try to be a blessing to the people I meet. Whether it's playing with orphans in Ukraine, teaching English in China or building a house for a family in Mexico. I take photos when I travel so that on returning, I can share my experiences with others, in the hope that they are also inspired to be a blessing. I also study anthropology, which enables me to better understand the cultures I encounter, and to differentiate between "doing something which feels good but won't be appreciated" - an unfortunately common situation - and "actually making a difference". This set of photos represents the time I spent in Mexico. We were in the Baja, working with a family of six who had long lived in a cardboard shack they had built from scavenged materials. our team spent a week living with them, helping the family build a sturdier wooden house. Imagine the tough decision the father had to make when he acknowledged that he was unable to provide suitable accommodation for his family and asked for outside help. We made sure that the family was involved in building the house so that they would see it as "our house" rather than "the house we live in that those gringos built". I travel to learn about people, but also to learn from people. If I win this scholarship, it will be fantastic and awesome to photograph and learn about South African wildlife. But for me, it will be even more awesome to learn about South African people! https://journals.worldnomads.com/jakartajourney/photos/32219/Mexico/My-Photo-scholarship-2011-entry Travel Mexico jakartajourney https://journals.worldnomads.com/jakartajourney/photos/32219/Mexico/My-Photo-scholarship-2011-entry#comments https://journals.worldnomads.com/jakartajourney/photos/32219/Mexico/My-Photo-scholarship-2011-entry Tue, 8 Nov 2011 13:33:00 GMT 0 I come from a culturally diverse family, and recently returned to my mother's country of birth, Indonesia. A lot had changed since my last visit - cars no longer got mobbed by hawkers at every traffic light and street corner; the local mosque was more considerate and only played the call to prayer on Fridays - but it still had its charm and a certain unmistakable essence. There are two oppositional forces pulling Indonesia in different directions. There is a push to Westernise. People are listening to, and playing, western music; large shopping malls are popping up everywhere. There is the also the push of Islam. Mosques are being set up in poor areas and the Imams provide hospitals and schools for the community. But Indonesia seems to be taking both, and slowly charting its own course. Within the malls people are setting up street-vendor style stores. The barging culture is still strong, you just have to looking a different place. While Islamic values of modesty are held by most, the clothing is still made to look stylish or cute. And in the middle of it all, separate yet caught up by both, lives my Chinese family. They have faced change and hard times before, and most likely will again, but for now, they are happy to just let my cousins be kids. https://journals.worldnomads.com/jakartajourney/photos/26028/Indonesia/My-Photo-scholarship-2010-entry Travel Indonesia jakartajourney https://journals.worldnomads.com/jakartajourney/photos/26028/Indonesia/My-Photo-scholarship-2010-entry#comments https://journals.worldnomads.com/jakartajourney/photos/26028/Indonesia/My-Photo-scholarship-2010-entry Sun, 17 Oct 2010 20:22:44 GMT 0