I first arrived to Thailand with one friend, when I left I felt like I was leaving a family behind. I fell in love with the Thai people, their culture, and their adorable smiles.
Our accommodation was pretty basic, but that added to the charm of the experience. Everyone was really friendly; volunteers and thai interns bonded over stories from their respective countries. Both kids and teachers made me feel like my work was really appreciated.
Being able to directly interact with the kids made me realise that my small, but relevant, contribution was helping to achieve a much bigger goal.
I fell in love with the Land of Smile, and I never wanted to leave.

People say when you do something you have never done before, you step out of your comfort zone and you grow up. I had traveled to so many places that I had become numb about the world. Thailand changed all that. The land of smiles, indeed; never had I ever seen such welcoming people.
The homestay I had is a memory I will never forget. Thailand kids are just so smart; they got everything immediately and learned so fast. It's such a pity they are not getting the education they deserve to get. Due to a family emergency, I had to go back home on a very short notice and didn't get to say goodbye to the kids I spent every single day with and this is always going to be a huge pity for me. I won't forget the sunny afternoons when we played games together in the shady corner of the playground and how the kids circled me in not letting me go; not for the rest of my life.
I wish I could say I were going to go back there to be their teacher. But I can't. What the kids in Thailand really need are responsible teachers who are not there to experience a different kind of life or simply just looking for a thrill, and who can stay with them instead of leaving them behind after one or several weeks.

This was my first time travelling outside of the United States and I feel as though I could not have picked a better program. The experince of getting to know the locals on homestay was by far my favorite part. Getting to sit with them around a campfire, cooking rice and barbequing pork over a bamboo firepit and hear stories and learn some of thier traditions. During one particular homestay, we cooked a meal without any cutlery or kitchenware, we served to food on banana leaves, and at with our hands! All while watching the sunset over Thailand, voulunteers and locals eating together. It was such an amazing experience, I'm definitely hoping to do it atleast one more time!

IVHQ Thailand is a great experience, providing volunteers with the opportunity to make new friends from around the world, learn new skills and immerse themselves in a new culture. For me, teaching English at the mirror foundation was very rewarding, there was challenging moments and the language barrier often proved to be a difficulty. Yet, the friendly and eager pupils were
the reason why teaching was so much fun. The accomadtion at mirror is basic, but you easily adapt to living like a local, this includes eating rice three times a day too.
Aside from the volunteering, the weekends were some of my fondest moments occurred. From Saturday to Monday we were free to leave and explore more of Thailand. We ventured to Chiang Mai to visit an elephant sanctuary, a Grand Canyon and explore the night markets. There is also plenty to see in Chiang Rai if you want to stay local; including plenty of temples (the white temple is definitely worth seeing), the big Buddha statue, botanical gardens and cooking classes.
Volunteering in Thailand is one of the best things I've ever done, it does not come without its challenges and culture shock, yet, the experience exceeded any of the expectations I had. I made life long friends and grew in confidence and character.

For my first trip to Thailand, I decided to spend 2 weeks volunteering in northern Thailand, specifically Chang Rai. It was the best decision I have ever made. After 3 days, I was trying to see if I could rearrange my flights to stay longer. The program connects you with people from all over the world. In my group, we had people from the UK, Australia, Brazil, France, and the USA. Our big project for the first week was helping to build a dam for the local Karen village. Building that dam was why I went to Thailand. We were able to see the results of our work as we watched the water redirect and we were working with the local village men. They thanked us with a barbecue and the village head shook all of our hands to say "thank you." The next week, we were digging a water line for a school. We slept in the school and played with the children. We were able to really connect with the children and see what their lives are like. Throughout the program, Lynn, the program manager, checked in to make sure everything was okay and assured us that she was there if we needed anything. Even before I left for Thailand, Lynn was there to answer my countless questions and really prepared me for my trip. Volunteering with IVHQ was the best decision I have made and I hope to volunteer with them again soon.

I volunteered with Mirror Foundation, IVHQ's local partner in Chiang Rai, Thailand.

Accommodation: all volunteers lived at Mirror Foundation's premises, in a rural area, approximately 40 min north of Chiang Rai. I was placed in a bamboo house, where sleeping bags were put on the floor. We also had squat toilets and bucket showers, which is part of the experience. Wifi barely worked, which made difficult to plan lessons. Some volunteers were not mentally prepared to live in such different conditions they were used to, and keft the program early. In the beginning it was tough (mainly due to insects, reptiles, etc), but I managed to enjoy the experience.

Food: breakfast, lunch and dinner were provided during weekdays. Delicious local food!

Transportation to/from placement: provided by the local organizationin pickup trucks.

Weekends: during weekends, almost all volunteers leave the foundation and travel to other cities in Thailand or simply stay at a hotel in Chiang Rai.

Volunteering: indoor volunteers were taken to a different school, every week. It was a great experience teaching at public schools in small villages, tasting local food, talking to the local teachers. In my opinion, all volunteers should be fluent in English and have some teaching experience.

During my 1 week duration with the Mirror Foundation in Thailand with IVHQ, I learned a lot about myself, the culture and grew out of my comfort zone. Traveling alone especially to a unfamiliar country is not easy, nobody said it was going to be easy. Everyone that volunteers are most likely it in the same boat as you are. It's okay to be sacred, anxious, nervous, or even overwhelmed. However, I met some of the most nicest people in my program. People from all over the world hat are different than I am yet similar in so many ways. It help me transition and feel much more comfortable volunteering. I will never forget our outdoor project of picking and planting rice. It was not easy at all especially in the humid hot day in Thailand. But it made me appreciate those around me and what I have. Everyone worked so hard for something that we usually take for granted such as buying rice from a grocery store. Without knowing how much effort it is to grow rice. I appreciated everyone involved in this project because no matter what challenges came up (dehydration, tired, hot) we all overcomes it together!

What a wonderful experience! Through volunteering with IVHQ I have made lifelong friends from Thailand and around the world. Volunteers are often sent on home-stays to teach or do outdoor work (whichever program you choose) and those were my favorite part. The schools I would teach at on home-stays were extremely thankful, eager to learn, and rarely have access to English speaking teachers.

The foundation where volunteers stay is nice, although don't expect luxury (i.e. squat toilets, bucket showers, no A/C). But that's all part of the experience! It helps volunteers fully submerge into the culture and live like the surrounding hill tribes do. The wifi doesn't work well, which made us volunteers become close very quickly, but it did make it hard to plan teaching lessons.