Alumni Spotlight: Anna Bloom

I am a 19 year old student from San Diego, California. I was accepted as a Spring Admit to UC Berkeley and decided to travel with Pacific Discovery during my semester off after graduating from high school. I always wanted to travel to Southeast Asia so I seized the opportunity to go to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia for 9 weeks.

volunteer in asia

Describe your day to day activities as a volunteer.

Anna: For different volunteer projects we were assigned different tasks. When we worked at the Elephant Nature Park in Thailand, we spent our days cleaning up the grounds, preparing fresh food for the elephants, and bathing the elephants. During the building projects in Cambodia, we would spend the day sawing wood, shaving bamboo for the flooring and roofs, playing with kids from the school and village, and putting up the framework for the two shelters we built. Some of my favorite memories from the trip were from the volunteer projects. I feel that giving back to the communities that we visit is a vital part of ethical travel and Pacific Discovery did a great job finding fun and engaging service projects for our group.

Ten years from now, what's the one thing you think you'll remember from the trip?

Anna: I will always remember the little day to day things like group meals, walking through local markets and talking with the local people- those seemingly uneventful activities were when I was able to stop and look around and really live in the moment. That being said, my most vivid memory is probably watching the sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was truly incredible watching the sky change from light grey to bright pink and see the sun come up behind the ancient ruins.

Angkor Wat

Has your worldview changed as a result of your trip?

Anna: I think after having visited Southeast Asia I better understand that you do not need much in life to be happy. Happiness does not depend on how many possessions or how much money you have. You can wake up and just be happy to be alive and breathing. Watching kids in a remote village in Laos with no toys, electricity, or clean water run around with huge smiles on their faces was inspiring. It made me appreciate all that I have at home and also made me realize how many things I can live without. I definitely will strive for minimalism in the future.

What was the most interesting cultural difference you encountered?

Anna:Traveling throughout predominately Buddhist countries was fascinating! I loved visiting temples and seeing monks on the street wherever we went. I noticed the people were more friendly and relaxed than in America. I enjoyed learning about the different types of Buddhism in each of the countries we visited and could see how intertwined the religion is with their cultures. The atmosphere was calming and the cultural practices, such as bowing to greet others, were fun to adopt while we were there.

volunteers and elephants

Where would you most like to travel to next?

Anna: After traveling with Pacific Discovery, I would definitely say I have caught the travel bug. I would love to explore Japan and China for an extended period of time after I graduate college because I have found Asia to be a very stimulating and intriguing place. I am currently looking into a summer research opportunity in Taiwan. I would also love to study abroad in South America. Honestly, I would be excited to go anywhere! I feel much more confident and motivated to travel after my Southeast Asia semester.