Kaitlin Shiroishi's Work with Alternative Breaks in Bali

She is a Global Health major and general biology minor. She is very passionate about global health as well as epidemiology and plan to possibly peruse the field in the future.

Bali Institute aims to educate individuals on Balinese culture through cultural immersion and community service. The institute takes participants to several NGOs to learn about health care and culture in Bali. It helps to promote sustainable tourism for the region of Bali.

She worked with Bali Institute as well as nursing students in Bali. One experience was going with the Nursing students to conduct health screenings in a local village to test diabetic patients vitals and blood sugar and pass on the information to the Balinese government. These patients may lack access to health care and or don’t have the time. Another big thing was visiting NGOs such as, a birthing clinic which offers free care for mothers, a disability clinic which does the same to help rehabilitate patients, many environmental NGOs which aid in recycling and reducing waste to help combat pollution, a women’s health clinic to help women heal from their trauma, and several farms which promoted sustainable farming practices.

She faced discomfort at first being in a foreign region. Going from a relatively modern life style to a more rural setting was scary for her a bit but she was able to get used to it through out the program. She also understood my privilege as a tourist and started to embrace the unfamiliarity, knowing many individuals live in rural settings, and my privilege only prevents her from truly understanding the rich culture and life style that the balinese people live in.list

"My most valuable lesson I brought back from my field experience was the importance of sustainable tourism especially when visiting global south regions. We were taught how tourism can negatively impact the Balinese people and how its common for them to be exploited by companies who come onto their land and build hotels, restaurants, and tourist spots to gain profit while giving little to nothing back to the local people. I plan on using my knowledge of sustainable tourism and how to properly give back to the community that was so kind to welcome me. Friendships were also something I brought back with me, the people I met in my cohort were so wonderful to work with, as well as people I met in the Bali Institute. These people definitely made my experience something unforgettable and I will definitely miss working with everyone I met."

Overall, Kaitlin recommends this opportunity to anybody interested! She is currently a Global Health major and throughout her courses she has learned a lot about cultural diversity and how many countries may experience health inequality due to exploitation due to corporations and or the global north, and many of the things she saw on this trip aligned with what she has learned. She believes that its definitely different when you see these things happen in person.