What inspired you to volunteer abroad with Rustic Pathways in Thailand?
Marcus: Growing up in countries such as Nigeria and Oman I saw a lot of poverty in areas where I lived. This gave me a mindset to try and make an impact and help people where I can. But I always wanted to do something above organizing fundraisers and actually try to help people directly. Knowing this, my friend introduced me to Rustic Pathways and I was hooked. You could do everything and anything anywhere but what really caught my eye was the Hill Tribe program in Thailand because it was focused on teaching and helping the local children. I really wanted to do something that I had never done before and this course can really take you out of your comfort zone! My friend kept pushing me to go because she knew it would be an unforgettable time. She had no idea!
What was your favorite moment of the trip?
Marcus: One thing I will always remember while participating in the program is working on building a library for a local village. It was pure physical labor and you could see, even after one day, the difference everyone working together made. You could almost see the final product when we finished. I remember making cement for 4 hours straight and being exhausted from working. It was just satisfying being able to see how you helped make something with your friends and being proud of your work you did that day.
I cannot forget the time I tackled one of the staff to the ground to get my friend, Nikki, to draw a tattoo with pen on him! Keith was one of the staff members on the course and was hilarious to be around! He was the type of guy who would always pull pranks on other staff members for a laugh. One day Nikki decided to invent a symbol and started drawing it on everyone to show they were part of the Rustic Gang. Keith refused to take part. I didn’t let that happen! As soon as he let his guard down, I grabbed him and managed to get him to the ground. In hindsight he probably let me, but I won't tell my friends that! Needless to say he got me back with a lot of water balloons while we were organizing a day at a local school!
But my favorite moment of the trip would have to be playing football with not only the staff and my friends, but with the local people as well! No matter who they were, we all got to playing together and it just made the end of a long day of teaching perfect!
Tell me about one person you met.
Marcus: One person I met on the trip would be a guy called Ethan. He was 16 and kind of had trouble sleeping comfortably! I’ll never forget waking up on my first morning at the Home with his foot in my face. After getting his feet away from me, he helped me out around the Home, as he had been there a week before already, which was awesome. During the course of the week we became great friends. We laughed about everything, talking about sports, movies and of course girls. He was like the little brother I never had, and it made the trip so much better having a close friend there. He was crazy fun to be around sometimes, and we got around to do some of the most random things like capturing a beetle as a pet for our room for the week. I don’t even know why it was funny, but it was things like that with the guy that made the trip even better for me.
If you could go back and do something differently, what would it be?
Marcus: If I had the opportunity to go back I would definitely stay longer. If you go to Thailand for a 2-week course you have the chance to go to a Refugee camp and all my friends who had been there kept saying how amazing an experience it was - how when you walk in the people start singing to you and I feel I missed out on something that would have been an incredible experience because of my short stay. I also would’ve gotten to know more of the Burmese staff a lot better. They have some amazing stories they want to share and come from the most crazy of backgrounds. You could spend hours talking with them! There are some great people working at the Children’s Home and I would’ve wanted to spend more time with them. I also would have gone on a ‘’Truckin’ and Trekkin’’’ trip. There are these trips the staff organize some afternoons and some crazy stuff happens on them! You can climb up mountains and jump into waterfalls they can honestly turn a normal hike into a heck of a memory! I missed out because I chose to go on a 3 hour bike ride through rice fields - which was cool and I got to take some great pictures - but I wish I went on one of those trips just because of the stories people had after them!
How has this experience impacted your future?
Marcus: It's something I always wanted to do, and I feel I came back a fuller person because of it. People always say I’m very lucky with the life I have, but I actually got to see how different people’s lives are and even with all our differences I had a lot of fun with my Thai buddy. Professionally, it has shown me how everyone can teach you something and that an understanding of cultural diversity can have a positive effect on people. Through teaching, it taught me how much work is needed in order to be able to be a benefit communities. It also helped me learn to really step into some one else’s shoes completely, allowing me to develop my skills whilst working on a team. Personally I feel like I’ve done something I’ve wanted to do for a long time and I’m happy I did it. I can tell my friends about what I’ve done and see them get green with envy and I’ve made amazing friends in my short time in Thailand. I'll never forget them.