{"id":8830,"date":"2017-06-21T10:20:39","date_gmt":"2017-06-21T09:20:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/?p=8830"},"modified":"2021-06-18T14:58:16","modified_gmt":"2021-06-18T13:58:16","slug":"warm-welcome-atauro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/","title":{"rendered":"A warm welcome on Ata\u00faro"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I first started thinking about my gap year, I already knew the ocean would feature highly in my plans. Ever since I can remember, the ocean has held a special place in my heart, and at just 11 years old I asked my mom if I could be SCUBA certified. I quickly fell in love with exploring areas that few humans can say they\u2019ve ever been. I left each dive yearning for more. <\/span><\/p>\n

When I found Blue Ventures I knew it was a perfect match. Not only would I be able to strengthen my passion for diving but I\u2019d also be able to enrich my knowledge of the marine ecosystem surrounding me through their science training program. Another goal for my gap year was to go to a place I had never heard of before, and Ata\u00faro Island in Timor-Leste fit that niche perfectly. Not only was it in the coral triangle – one of, if not the most, biodiverse and beautiful places to dive – but I\u2019d never heard of Ata\u00faro before discovering Blue Ventures. A small, mysterious island half-way around the world was calling my name.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>
Ata\u00faro Island | Photo: Vik Mohan<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Early morning dive | Photo: Jenny House<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Underwater surveys | Photo: Jen Craighill<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

I\u2019m so glad I took the opportunity to come to Ata\u00faro. The Blue Ventures staff were amazing, the accommodation at Barry\u2019s Place was wonderful, and the diving that I had so looked forward to was absolutely out of this world! However, I\u2019m actually going to talk about something else, because my favourite part of the trip was being given the chance to connect with the friendly Ata\u00faro community.<\/p>\n

I really felt I was making new friendships and truly experiencing the local culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is one of the aspects that really separates Blue Ventures expeditions from all the other diving-based expeditions. From walking through the lively Saturday markets, to aiding in conversational English practice at a nearby school, and even practicing my Tetum (one of Timor-Leste\u2019s official languages) with Antonio, our boat captain, during boat marshall duties, I really felt I was making new friendships and truly experiencing the local culture. Blue Ventures\u2019 work here is all about supporting grassroots conservation efforts, and the foundation of trust and community integration that this brings is really noticeable as a volunteer.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>
Conversational English practice at AHHA School | Photo: Christian Saylor<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Ata\u00faro Saturday Market | Photo: Christina Saylor<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Photo: Martin Muir<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

An example of this integration is the Blue Ventures homestay programme, which directly supports the community by providing a sustainable and alternative income. When I first heard I would be partaking in a two-week homestay programme I was a little nervous, but mostly excited. I had participated in two other homestays before, which I\u2019d enjoyed, but both had involved a complete inability to communicate with my hosts and restless nights sleeping on the floor.<\/p>\n

Our host family was absolutely delightful and made every effort to make sure we were comfortable.<\/span><\/p>\n

To my pleasant surprise, my homestay on\u00a0<\/span>Ata\u00faro<\/span>\u00a0couldn\u2019t have been more different. My fellow volunteer and I not only had spacious room with comfortable beds and mosquito nets, but we even had an ensuite toilet! Our host family was absolutely delightful and made every effort to make sure we were comfortable. The family was composed of Yule, the mother, Moises, the father, their son Ryvaldo and their daughters Nona and Pisi\u2019a. Moises works on a boat all week so we only met him once, but he was very friendly. Most of our days were spent diving and working back at Barry\u2019s Place with the other volunteers, but it was always lovely to have a welcoming home to return to each evening.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>
Volunteer Mackenzie with her homestay family | Photo: Mackenzie Burke<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Picnic to celebrate Mackenzie’s birthday | Photo: Mackenzie Burke<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

We often helped Yule with the cooking, or entertained the kids. They taught us new Tetum words and we taught them some English as well. Over the two weeks we became really close with the family and even continued to visit them after our placement in their house had ended. For example, our host sister Pisi\u2019a was turning two on the same day her grandmother turned 95, so the family decided to throw a big party. We were invited along, and went over early to help them prepare the feast. We even gave Pisi\u2019a a little doll as a birthday present, which she adored!<\/span><\/p>\n

I truly think the homestay programme allows volunteers to have a more fulfilling expedition.<\/span><\/p>\n

I absolutely loved my time in Timor-Leste with Blue Ventures and my only sadness was that it ended too soon. I\u2019m so thankful to have had the opportunity to participate in the homestay programme. I truly think it allows volunteers to have a more fulfilling expedition because getting to know members of the community gives a context to the importance of marine conservation in the region. I have no doubt that Blue Ventures\u2019 marine research and community-based programmes will have substantial long-lasting positive effects for the citizens in and around Timor-Leste, and especially on\u00a0Ata\u00faro<\/span>. I hope to come back a few years from now and see just how much has been achieved by the community.<\/p>\n

\n

Interested in experiencing the hospitality of\u00a0Ata\u00faro Island\u00a0<\/span>for yourself?<\/p>\n

Sign up for\u00a0a marine conservation expedition<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\n

Blue Ventures would like to thank our supporters and funders including the Darwin Initiative through UK Government funding, the\u00a0GEF through UNEP under the Dugong and Seagrass Project, and Wilstar.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Volunteer Mackenzie Burke came to Ata\u00faro Island for the diving and the marine science, but was blown away by the welcome she received from her host community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":8836,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[587,471,478],"tags":[590,538,512,649,511],"class_list":["post-8830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-timor-leste","category-volunteer-expeditions","category-volunteer-stories","tag-atauro","tag-community","tag-expeditions-2","tag-homestay","tag-volunteering"],"yoast_head":"\nA warm welcome on Ata\u00faro - Blue Ventures - Beyond Conservation blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Volunteer Mackenzie Burke came to Ata\u00faro Island for the diving and the marine science, but was blown away by the welcome she received from her host community.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A warm welcome on Ata\u00faro - Blue Ventures - Beyond Conservation blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Volunteer Mackenzie Burke came to Ata\u00faro Island for the diving and the marine science, but was blown away by the welcome she received from her host community.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blue Ventures - Beyond Conservation blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-21T09:20:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-18T13:58:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/06\/IMG_9443.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"772\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Guest author\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@blueventures\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@blueventures\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guest author\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Guest author\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26aa6c1cd6bdaa25bb3ac95ee7f87c41\"},\"headline\":\"A warm welcome on Ata\u00faro\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-21T09:20:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-18T13:58:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":909,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/media\\\/2017\\\/06\\\/IMG_9443.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Atauro\",\"community\",\"expeditions\",\"homestay\",\"volunteering\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Timor-Leste\",\"Volunteer Expeditions\",\"Volunteer Stories\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/\",\"name\":\"A warm welcome on Ata\u00faro - Blue Ventures - Beyond Conservation blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/media\\\/2017\\\/06\\\/IMG_9443.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-21T09:20:39+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-18T13:58:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26aa6c1cd6bdaa25bb3ac95ee7f87c41\"},\"description\":\"Volunteer Mackenzie Burke came to Ata\u00faro Island for the diving and the marine science, but was blown away by the welcome she received from her host community.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/media\\\/2017\\\/06\\\/IMG_9443.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/media\\\/2017\\\/06\\\/IMG_9443.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":772,\"caption\":\"Volunteer Mackenzie with her homestay family | Photo: Mackenzie Burke\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/warm-welcome-atauro\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A warm welcome on Ata\u00faro\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Blue Ventures - Beyond Conservation blog\",\"description\":\"Voices from the front line of marine conversation\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/26aa6c1cd6bdaa25bb3ac95ee7f87c41\",\"name\":\"Guest author\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b16ca02b7cc5fd761aae7db86d1128e1d097a29a07f58c89b90870ce7e0822b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b16ca02b7cc5fd761aae7db86d1128e1d097a29a07f58c89b90870ce7e0822b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/b16ca02b7cc5fd761aae7db86d1128e1d097a29a07f58c89b90870ce7e0822b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guest author\"},\"description\":\"We regularly invite guest authors, including expedition volunteers, independent researchers, medical elective students and former staff to contribute to the Beyond Conservation blog.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blog.blueventures.org\\\/en\\\/author\\\/guest\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A warm welcome on Ata\u00faro - Blue Ventures - Beyond Conservation blog","description":"Volunteer Mackenzie Burke came to Ata\u00faro Island for the diving and the marine science, but was blown away by the welcome she received from her host community.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A warm welcome on Ata\u00faro - Blue Ventures - Beyond Conservation blog","og_description":"Volunteer Mackenzie Burke came to Ata\u00faro Island for the diving and the marine science, but was blown away by the welcome she received from her host community.","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/","og_site_name":"Blue Ventures - Beyond Conservation blog","article_published_time":"2017-06-21T09:20:39+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-18T13:58:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":772,"url":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/06\/IMG_9443.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Guest author","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@blueventures","twitter_site":"@blueventures","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guest author","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/"},"author":{"name":"Guest author","@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/26aa6c1cd6bdaa25bb3ac95ee7f87c41"},"headline":"A warm welcome on Ata\u00faro","datePublished":"2017-06-21T09:20:39+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-18T13:58:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/"},"wordCount":909,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/06\/IMG_9443.jpg","keywords":["Atauro","community","expeditions","homestay","volunteering"],"articleSection":["Timor-Leste","Volunteer Expeditions","Volunteer Stories"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/","name":"A warm welcome on Ata\u00faro - Blue Ventures - Beyond Conservation blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/06\/IMG_9443.jpg","datePublished":"2017-06-21T09:20:39+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-18T13:58:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/26aa6c1cd6bdaa25bb3ac95ee7f87c41"},"description":"Volunteer Mackenzie Burke came to Ata\u00faro Island for the diving and the marine science, but was blown away by the welcome she received from her host community.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/06\/IMG_9443.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/media\/2017\/06\/IMG_9443.jpg","width":1080,"height":772,"caption":"Volunteer Mackenzie with her homestay family | Photo: Mackenzie Burke"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/warm-welcome-atauro\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A warm welcome on Ata\u00faro"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/","name":"Blue Ventures - Beyond Conservation blog","description":"Voices from the front line of marine conversation","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/26aa6c1cd6bdaa25bb3ac95ee7f87c41","name":"Guest author","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b16ca02b7cc5fd761aae7db86d1128e1d097a29a07f58c89b90870ce7e0822b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b16ca02b7cc5fd761aae7db86d1128e1d097a29a07f58c89b90870ce7e0822b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b16ca02b7cc5fd761aae7db86d1128e1d097a29a07f58c89b90870ce7e0822b0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Guest author"},"description":"We regularly invite guest authors, including expedition volunteers, independent researchers, medical elective students and former staff to contribute to the Beyond Conservation blog.","url":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/author\/guest\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/112"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.blueventures.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}