Volunteer in Thailand with GapGuru

As a 17 year old, it was extremely intimidating to fly off to a major Thai city all alone. Meeting the team at the airport helped me get rid of some of that nervousness, as I was treated so well. David, Nid, and Will were extremely helpful and friendly, and I was grateful to have them receive me.

Soon after I was made aware of all my options, and I chose to teach at the Bang New school, alongside another volunteer Heather. The house was always crazy, especially with over 12 people living in it. But it was a lot of fun! Doi Saket is beautiful, and you could easily get around by riding one of the bicycles available at the house. The housekeeper PK was wonderful to me, and especially made vegetarian Thai delicacies to accommodate me. I could not have felt more welcome.

However, teaching the kids was the best part of the trip. I was able to learn so much from them and their culture-- it was an eye opening experience. The school headmaster was a lovely man, who sometimes took us out to lunches or dinners to show his appreciation. The other teachers were also lovely, always inquisitive about my life in Dubai. I was so honored to teach at such an institution. Hopefully I can revisit Bang New sometime in my life.

I got to do really crazy things on the weekends, like playing with tigers and bungee jumping! We also went to the city often, where I was continually amazed with Thailand and its beauty. My time in Thailand was definitely amazing, and I would love nothing more but to go back. I do hope that in the future I get the opportunity to do so. It has truly shaped me as a person, and made me so much more aware about the world around me.

I would really like to thank the Future Sense team, you really made it an incredibly wonderful summer!! Would not have been half as great without you.

During December of 2012, I Volunteered with Gap Guru and taught English too novice Buddhist Monks in Doi Saket, near Chiang Mai. From the moment I collected from the Airport by David and Nid (Gap Gurus Coordinators in Thailand,) i was made to feel welcomed at and home in a country i had never visited before! I cannot stress the how great it was to have friendly faces to speak too when you do not know anyone else in the country. Their hospitality, along with Pi Gaye (The housekeeper,) ensured that i was well fed, and prepared for my experience teaching.
The teaching itself was a truly magical experience. The novice monks were all exceptionally friendly and interested in everything I had to say, and despite limited English, were eager to ask questions about my life in Britain. As my time with the children progressed it was amazing to see the impact my lessons were having, with the novices learning English at an astounding rate. During my downtime at Wat Nong Bua (the temple I was teaching at) i had the rare opportunity to chat with monks in their homes. Learning the way of life of these people and the dedication they have to Buddhism was a humbling experience, and it is surely something i will never forget. The location of the temple, shrouded by exotic trees with a lake filled with Coy Carp was just stunning, and i could have spent my time with Gap Guru just relaxing in the temple grounds enjoying the peace and tranquility of rural Thailand.
When not teaching, David and Nid ensured I was up to speed with all things Thai. I sampled local cuisine (try raw pork or frog!) David also took to a Muy Thai fight, which is the national sport of Thailand. I honestly felt like i had connected with the people and culture by the end of my time with Gap Guru. I could rave on about my time there for hours, but it is something you have to experience first hand!

I went to Chiang Mai in Thailand through GapGuru with a friend for just under a month in the summer of 2014. We had no teaching experience, had never backpacked alone nor had we even been to Thailand before!! Not only were we complete novices but we were very apprehensive too even being quite confident girls. At 17 and 18 being given any responsibility to teach children is a daunting prospect. As soon as we got to Thailand, the welcome and support from the team ensured we felt comfortable and safe from the outset, the whole team were beyond friendly and immediately make you feel like part of the GapGuru family, this was continued throughout our stay. We not only got to teach at a school in the local area but we saw Thailand too, no task was too big for the team to try and sort out for us and we had to freedom to discover Thailand as we wished, truly being able to immerse ourselves into it as opposed to just being 'tourists'. The volunteering is why this trip is so wonderful, it gives you not only personal growth but a true sense of gratitude. I learnt from everybody I encountered on the trip and was inspired by not only the children and the teachers but also the Thailand support team too. This opportunity and experience is something I would urge anyone to go for, I have made friends for life and memories that I treasure and wish to add to in the near future when I hopefully return! I don't think there has been a time in my life where I have felt more happy and content and would urge anyone who's missing something, be it a travel bug, a desire to discover or an impulse to do something for others to go and divulge in GapGurus opportunities.

I went to teach at the temple for 4 weeks during the summer and I can honestly say it was the best experience of my life! At first I was slightly anxious as I was travelling alone but once I arrived I felt completely safe as the programme staff were always there if needed. Teaching the monks was a real once in a lifetime opportunity and seeing their enthusiasm about learning was really heartwarming. As I am very interested in Buddhism I also threw myself into any extra activities they invited me to and became really good friends with a few of the older monks.
As well as the teaching there was also plenty of time to discover the city of Chiang mai and its many beautiful surroundings. The programme staff once again helped to make sure that we did everything we wanted to do whilst in Thailand and arranged extra activities for us. This allowed us to see the 'real Thailand'.
Over the 4 weeks I gained so much confidence that has helped me to develop as a person, as well as making some friends that I will forever keep in contact with. I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to travel on their gap year and I hope to go back myself in the near future.

I had a great experience, I learned so much about the culture and myself, I got to see the real Thailand and met some amazing people. The in country team were so supportive and I felt very looked after. It was amazing working with the kids and the community and learning about a different culture, I felt like I was doing something meaningful as well as travelling and got a good balance between teaching and being a sightseeing. I hope to go back and visit one day and would do it all again!