What inspired you to travel abroad?
I love to travel and experience other cultures. I have traveled to the Philippines to see my family and experience Filipino culture. I used to live in Taiwan, so why not go to another Asian country with different beliefs and cultures.
Why did you choose Thailand: From Ancient Temples to Bangkok?
I hesitated and changed my choices of countries so many times and Thailand was my 3rd choice. I was flexible with whatever the program placed me. However, the reason why I chose Thailand as one of my top three choices is because of the community service portion. I wanted to help the community while learning about the culture and experiencing it.
My friend and I bonding with our homestay families!
What was your favorite part of Thailand?
My favorite part about my host family was how welcoming everyone was and how everyone was connected. Either by blood or by generations of friendship. There were two parts that were my favorite. On the last night of the homestay, every family would light up lanterns and send them off to the sky. This symbolized the last day and that no matter how far apart we are, we will always be together. My second favorite part was when my family took me to a gorgeous cafe outside of the village. They wanted to do this to celebrate and bond with me. I appreciated their efforts in bonding with a foreign family member like me.
What made your experience abroad extraordinary?
The moments of bonding with my group members made my experience extraordinary. In the span of one month, they were my second family from completely different states.
How did the local program staff support you throughout your program?
They helped us transition and connect with locals when we began. Throughout the program, our program coordinator became our friend and it felt as though we were one big family.
What's one thing you wish you would have done differently during your time abroad?
One thing I would have done differently was created stable plans for free time. We didn't know what we could do around us and there were a lot of blank time slots we could have filled.
Describe what a typical day in your life abroad looked like.
I woke up around 8 a.m., headed to complete our activity in our itinerary, ate lunch at a local Thai restaurant or market, completed a second activity with the group in our free time, ate dinner, and headed back to the hostel around 8 p.m.
Learning how to preserve the elephant species and how important they are. Fun Fact: elephants rub clay on themselves as a sunscreen and mosquito repellant.
What did you enjoy doing in your free time abroad?
I enjoyed going to street markets and malls with our group members to practice our communication with the locals.
What type of accommodation did you have? What did you like best about it?
It was usually a typical hotel room with two beds a T.V. and a nice bathroom. It contained an air conditioner and the housekeepers gave us water every day. The hotel was close to everything that was in our itinerary.
What is one thing every future participant should know about your program before their program begins?
Be open to try new things and don't complain if something isn't fun. Acknowledge it and discuss it with the group leaders, but overall, just have fun and experience everything as much as you can.
Would you recommend Thailand: From Ancient Temples to Bangkok to others? Why?
I would recommend my program to others who want to learn about Thai culture because throughout my experience there was a lot of Buddhism involved with visits to local temples.
Ziplining our way through Thailand and conquering our fears while seeing beautiful scenery!
What do you feel the biggest benefit of traveling abroad is?
The biggest benefit I believe is to see everything in real life rather than through someone else's eyes or a picture or video. Even when I looked through my pictures it wasn't the same as experiencing it in real life.
Now that you're home, how has your time abroad impacted your life?
It has made me grateful for the things I have in America and how accessible things are at home.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
I think it means traveling not to destress on a vacation. Meaningful travel involves an emotional attachment to a specific day, memory, or experience from something that only comes from that country.
