Southeast Asia: Cities and Sanctuaries

Operation Groundswell was the most incredible experience! I'd travelled to quite a few countries before this trip, but they completely changed the way I view the world. I've always felt skeptical about the idea of voluntourism and how random volunteer projects abroad affect people in local contexts. OG showed me how endless the possibilities are for having positive impacts on the places you visit. This trip has helped me reframe the way I look at my personal travels. I also had the most amazing team to travel and learn with! We had a small team, everyone was coming from different locations around the US and Canada and we all were in different places in our lives and our travel experience. But everyone was so like-minded and easygoing. Our Program Leaders were hilarious and fun and loved to show us around the countries they call home. They encouraged us to learn and to see the world for all it has to offer. This program pushed me so far out of my comfort zone, and taught me to find comfort in the unknown. One of my favourite memories of the trip was at a homestay where we were all so uncomfortable with sleeping on the floor and having animals around all the time and sharing one squat toilet with over a dozen people. We started off so uncomfortable and scared, but it ended up being one of our favourite parts of the trip. We learned so much at that homestay, got to know each other really well and it felt like we had a truly positive impact on the community we were working with. Everyone who is interested in the world and how to explore it better, should definitely do a program with OG!