I’d been in Parismina a week. And it was nothing like I had expected. As my first trip ‘travelling’ it was quite a shock to the system and I had not properly adjusted my expectations. I felt isolated. We were in a remote and small village, I couldn’t speak the language, and I was really struggling with the physical volunteer work (in part due to jetlag). I had romanticised the volunteer experience, and it just wasn’t what I was expecting.