Avoiding Volunteerism and Avoiding Poverty Tourism

Travel is one thing, and there is so much more. You don't need to even go far away. If you've never volunteered in your life, it probably not a good idea to start in a different country. Why not help first in your own area, learn about volunteering and then think about doing it elsewhere. And also volunteering is about how do I help a community the way it wants to be helped, not how we want it to be?