Bill is always pushing himself outside the comfort zone; whether that be learning a new language or traveling across the globe, there is always something that he ambitiously pursues.
I chose this program because one of my closest friends went through the same program and told me about her experience. It sounded amazing and thoughtful and it interested me to learn more about opportunities to provide service abroad.
I love giving back to the community whenever I can and I love traveling. Being able to experience this program was a dream come true for me and I learned a lot about myself. It is something I still look back on to this day and reflect on.
My provider assisted me with planning and organizing the trip from start to finish. We were made sure that there would be someone to accompany us every leg of the journey; every airport, every city, every car ride. The program also provided the agenda for what we would be doing every day. I had to organize my own luggage and passport but not too much to worry about.
One piece of advice I'd love to give someone is to go in with an open mind. Know that it will not be like anything you've ever experienced before but in a good way. You will learn a lot about yourself, your surroundings, and your community. It taught me not just the value of service, but also the value of quality time and quality people.
Ever since the program, I actively reflect and still keep in touch with people I met on the program because it gave me such a strong comradery between the others in the program.
An average day looks like waking up, eating breakfast with everyone and talking about the agenda for the rest of the day. This may include eating breakfast, and then discussing what happened yesterday, what you learned yesterday, and then we will discuss what service project we will be doing today and what else to look forward to.
My biggest fear was probably the language barrier.
I did not know any Thai and I still don't know a lot, but rest assured: the program leaders made sure we had a pocket of useful phrases kept on our body at all times and even helped us translate when needed. It ended up not being a big deal because most of the time they would communicate for us and we can focus on providing service and enjoying ourselves.
I think my favorite memory would be the day of arrival.
My group just spent over 16 hours flying, layovers and flying again nonstop. When we finally arrived at the base house, it was already late into the evening in Thailand and not only that, we were pretty jetlagged. It was a long and exhausting journey, but nothing will compare to the joy of arriving there, suddenly curing all fatigue and exhaustion due to the adrenaline of pure excitement for what was to come.
That night, I still remember getting settled into my room and bed, lying down, and just looking outside the window. I saw the moon amongst the skies, and the stars just seemed to glisten with grace. It was a beautiful night and I remember looking outside and thinking about how exciting a journey this next week was going to be.