Volunteering overseas is a wonderful way to learn more about other people and places, and yourself; but you will have to work at it. Like any process of learning it takes effort. Too often volunteers assume just looking at a place, just concentrating on the surface, is enough to tell them all they need to know. But if you want to actually learn about, and not just take photographs of those you work with, then you need to ask a lot of questions. Question the organisations you are going with before you go. If they cannot provide you with the answers you need, then look for an organisation that can. Then, when you are on your placement, keep asking the questions, be ready to look for answers that are based on more than your own observations, and realise that understanding others is about seeking out the complexities of people's lives.
Finally, a large part of being a volunteer is about forging relationships with others. Appreciating how your hosts may perceive you, and that it won’t necessarily be the easy welcome your placement organisation promised you, will help build those relationships. This can lead to your having both good and bad experiences. The important thing throughout all of these, however, is being ready to open your mind as well as your eyes, and to learn from, and be helped by, those you’ve come so far to visit. So, volunteer with an open mind and start your learning from the very day you decide you’ve got itchy feet to be off somewhere new.