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CONTENTS

Lessons Learnt in Volunteering (Charlie) 3

Books, Films and Stuff (Sarah Oakes) 5

Free gift! (Hello Mister) 6

Guide to AVC 2011 (Sarah) 7

Culture Shock Shocker (Pete H) 14

Hello Mrs (Anon) 15

Cooking on a camp stove (Sarah) 16

EDITORIAL

By Pete Howson and Sarah Oakes

Unfortunately this is the very last Hello Mister from

Sarah and I. We hope the last 12 issues have taught

you many things.

But before you cry about that, remember the next few

weeks will see many tears of joy, brought on by

people from the Philippines dancing to songs about

spaghetti (sorry if you didn’t see it last year). But, also

many sad tears and bubbling runny noses, as Anne

will be leaving after the AVC event.

But don’t think about that now. Here’s a Guy Faulkes

night picture (5th November).

Love Pete and Sarah xxx

LESSONS LEARNT IN VOLUNTEERING

By Charlie Ventura

As I reflected my life as volunteer in 2 different

cultures (Cameroon & Indonesia) I would say that it

has a huge impact in my life as individual and my

professional choice.

We will not be surprise that when we go back home

some of our friends cannot relate to us anymore as

we are talking more on global issues and how we can

be involved and how I live my life now.

Contentment: If material things are not available its

fine with me because I saw so many people leaving

life without material things but they are happy.

Simplicity: I am not bothered anymore with product

brands (dress, perfume, shoes etc.).

Relationship: I value more on relationship rather that

wealth.

Passionate: I become more passionate in sharing my

knowledge and skills to the people I meet without

expecting any returns.

Confidence: Seeing different countries, meeting

different people with diverse background and

enhancing skill through volunteering I would say it

boost my personality.

These are the major changes in my personal life that I

really appreciate in volunteering and for my

professional life I would say that now I’m embracing

DEVELOPMENT WORK as my future career. I enjoy

working with local people and passionate about

poverty reduction where I believe that we are making

a difference and make this world a better place to live.

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According to Ralph Waldo Emerson successes are:

To laugh often and much

To win the respect of intelligent people and the

affection of children

To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure

the betrayal of false friends

To appreciate beauty

To find the best in others

To live the world a bit better whether by a healthy

child or a redeemed social condition

To know even one life has breathed easier because

you have lived.

This is to have success and being a volunteer you

become part of it!

BOOKS AND FILMS AND STUFF

The Tree of Life (2011)

By Sarah Oakes

The Tree of Life is the impressionistic story of a

Midwestern family in the 1950's. The film follows the

life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the

innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years

as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship

with his father (Brad Pitt).

Jack (played as an adult by Sean Penn) finds himself a

lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the

origins and meaning of life while questioning the

existence of faith.

“Through Malick's signature imagery, we see how

both brute nature and spiritual grace shape not only

our lives as individuals and families, but all life”.

That’s what the blurb says.

What it doesn’t really tell you is what it means by the

word ‘impressionistic’. In short, it’s a bit of a weird

one, to be honest. You are definitely not wasting your

time watching it - it’s a beautifully filmed movie, with

some quite incredible acting from children and adults

alike.

But I found it really hard to follow... because at no

point in the film do you really feel like you know

what’s actually going on – something I generally value

when watching a film (as does Pete, since if I don’t

know what’s going on, I spend the whole film asking:

‘Who’s that? Why’s he done that? What did he say?

What’s that supposed to mean?’)...Especially when

out of the blue, there’s a long section in the middle of

the film which takes you back to dinosaurs and the

dawn of time, apparently just for the hell of it. Again,

amazing cinematography, but my life lesson from this

film is that sometimes, you have to learn to just go

with the flow and not try and understand it too much.

Much like life I guess.

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Do you wish you could make good music just like

Indonesia’s pop stars on the tele? Well now you can

with this beautiful party bugle. Why not colour it in to

make it extra asik skarly!

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Isn’t it annoying when you spend ages doing the

washing up, then a few weeks later you have to

do it all over again! Well just like the washing up,

international development can also seem a little

unsustainable at times. That’s why this year’s AVC

will make your hard work here in Indonesia last

FOREVER!

We’ve got loads of sustainable stuff, like inspiring

talks from guest speakers, skills-sharing

workshops, fun, games and competitions. And at

the end of it all there’s a sustainable PARTY, so

make sure you pack your swimming costume,

plenty of energy and some interesting ideas to

share.

VSO Indonesia invites all volunteers and their

partners to present proposals for small projects

they would like to do within their placement

areas. These proposals should be within VSO’s

Vision and also be sustainable.

The selected proposals will be voted for by the

workshop attendees and the one selected is

funded through a small grant.

You can buy tickets for the raffle and support

your colleagues during the Partner Forum and the

Sector Workshops.

Volunteers and their partners can produce a

small project proposal for not more than 100

USD. Volunteers, partners and VSO staff can

donate a product or prize to the pot of prizes.

During the 1st day of the sectoral workshop, you

can buy tickets for a chance to win a price. During

the cultural evening, we will vote for the best

proposal, and hold the raffle. If your ticket wins,

you win a prize. If your project is chosen, you will

receive the prize money!

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So, how can you participate? You can do one, or

all of the following:

Bring a product from your organisation

and donate this as a prize!

Buy a lottery ticket!

Produce a small grant proposal!

Vote for the best proposal!

Like most problems, the best way to deal with

poverty is to use a roller-brush and a big tin of

paint. So this year VSO will be doing just that for

one of Bali’s most socially deprived communities.

Serangan is located approximately 45 minutes

from Denpasar. The town has just one primary

school and it’s not a very good one. The students

work in shabby surroundings making learning

unattractive and just plain boring.

VSO Indonesia has offered to help by supplying

75 budding volunteer Michelangelos to make the

place an inspirational space to learn new skills.

Following the event, all the paints and materials

will be donated to the school to enable them to

maintain the work properly, and maybe finish it

off if we fail to do it all on time.

VSO staff and volunteers will be joined by

volunteer partners, school staff and students.

Together we’re going to make a tangible

difference in people’s lives, which will inspire

others to do the same and raise the profile of the

great work VSO does in Indonesia.

This year, like every year, participants are

expected to perform a show featuring the

cultural richness of their homelands or regions of

Indonesia. You can express yourselves through

any medium you like - singing, dancing, poetry,

drama, etc.

Please be prepared, we hope all of you can

participate. It would be great if you could prepare

what you need to support your group

performance before you arrive in Bali. This could

include traditional clothing, music equipment,

folk songs, or whatever you wish. If possible,

please coordinate with your colleagues and

partners from the same nation or region of

Indonesia.

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Visit one of the many events and festivals (Ogoh

Ogoh parades at Nyepi, Ubud Writers and

Readers Festival, Kite Festival in Sanur, Bali Art

Festival in Denpasar)

Get wowed, get wet! at Waterbom (Kuta), 16

slides, 16 ways to get a heart attack. Our

favorites: The Smashdown and The Boomerang

Watch the Bull Races in Negara, West Bali.

Sparsely populated Negara, the capital of

Jembrana regency, holds the tradition of bull-

racing or Mekepung. Try to imagine Ben Hur, with

water buffalo's .

Put on your hiking boots and explore the

beautiful scenery of the Central Mountain Area

where you can still find locals playing the old,

Dutch game of spin top.

Spend a lazy afternoon at Sari Organic, the

restaurant with the best view in the whole of Bali.

Try their organic fruit juices and delicious food

while looking out over the rice fields and

mountains.

Top 5 by Jenny van Opdorp; Photos by Various

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HELLO MRS

By Anon

Hello Mrs

Listrik in the kampoeng’s a real pain in the ass! I just

hate it when, listening to my neighbour’s karaoke

performances through a massive speaker, suddenly it

all just cuts-out with no warning! I’m left sitting in the

dark listening to my own whaling. How can I get the

listrik a bit more reliable?

Before the advent of light bulbs, kampoeng folk would

often hang lemons from the ceiling with bits of string

attached. But if you have a small piece of zinc and a

penny, rumah Bapak could be lit up like Blackpool

Tower at Christmas without a cent going to PLN. Just

follow these steps:

1. Polish some zinc and a small copper coin with

sandpaper.

2. Squeeze lemon without breaking its skin. The

squeezing action releases juices inside the

lemon.

3. Insert a penny (or copper coin) and a peice of

zinc into the beautiful yellow fruit.

4. Connect your powerful generator to a light

bulb or Bapak’s speakers. Make sure you do it

at 630 in the morning. EVERYONE LIKES

KAREOKE AT 630 IN THE MORNING DON’T

THEY!!!

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Hello Mrs

I’m starting to get a bit bored in my placement Mrs.

I’m not sure if this is just a short period of general

malaise, or something more serious. I just feel like the

magic’s gone. I don’t know how to bring it back. Can

you help?

Lucky for you your VISA restrictions say nothing about

the performance of magic! Just follow these simple

steps and you placement will be as magical as it ever

was.

1. Take a coin and put it between two of your

fingers (on any hand). Squeeze your fingers

really tightly.

2. Push on the edge of the half of the coin that is

sticking out of the inner side of your hand.

Push it so that you can't see it from the inner

side of your hand anymore.

3. Show the crowd your palm, make sure they

can't see the back of your hand (where the

coin is sticking out). Tell them to note that

your hand is completely empty.

4. Make your hand into a fist (positioning it so

that the crowd can't see the coin). Blow on it

and close your eyes and pretend to

concentrate.

5. While you are "concentrating", loosen the two

fingers that are holding the coin. Let the coin

slip into your palm without being obvious.

6. Open your hands up and show the crowd the

coin that appeared to come out of midair to

settle on your hand.

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COOKING ON A CAMP STOVE BONFIRE

By Sarah Oakes

It’s bonfire night so here’s some bonfire night food!

Honey Carrot Soup:

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter

• 2 small leeks , sliced

• 800g carrots , roughly chopped

• 2 tsp clear honey

• small pinch dried chilli flakes (optional)

• 1 bay leaf

• 2½ l vegetable stock

• soured cream or yogurt to serve

Method:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium

heat. Add the leeks to the pan, then cook for 3 mins

until starting to soften. Add the carrots, honey, chilli

(if using) and bay leaf, then cook for 2 mins.

Pour in the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer for 30

mins. Blend the soup in batches, return to a clean pan,

then season to taste. When ready to serve, bring back

to a simmer, then ladle into mugs. Add a swirl of

soured cream or yogurt and serve with garlic bread or

bacon butties.

Cheesy Bonfire Bread:

Ingredients:

200g wholemeal flour

200g plain flour , plus extra for dusting

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

2tsp cream of tartar

1tsp salt

1tsp caster sugar

25g butter , melted

300ml milk , at room temperature

175g cheddar , coarsely grated

3 tbsp pumpkin seeds

85g roasted peppers/tomatoes, chopped

Method:

Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Sift the dry

ingredients into a large bowl and make a large well in

the middle. Combine the melted butter and milk, then

pour into the well. Mix to a soft dough.

Dust the work surface with flour. Add most of the

cheddar, 2 tbsp of the pumpkin seeds and the

chopped peppers/tomatoes to the dough. Gently

knead to combine on the floured surface. Divide into 8

lumps and shape into rough rounds two finger-widths

deep.

Place the pieces side by side on a floured baking

sheet, scatter the remaining cheddar and pumpkin

seeds over the top and bake for 30 mins until golden

brown and the cheese is bubbling. Cool on a wire rack

and eat while warm. The bread can be frozen at this

point. To reheat, wrap the bread tightly in foil and

bake at 200C/fan 180C/gas 6 for about 30 mins.