Thailand Summer High School Programs with Rustic Pathways

The program was wonderful! We had the chance to get certified in CPR and WFA all while having fun and volunteering. Our normal day-to-day schedule would change, but it basically involved volunteering in the morning, learning in the afternoon, and a fun activity with the rest of the Ricefields base at night. On weekends, we visited local temples and malls. The base was big and beautiful, the staff was very friendly. We also had the chance to make new friends from all around the world.

All my weeks included completely different experiences, yet all were positive ones.Visiting temples in Bangkok, getting to see the beauty, and learning about the culture was a great . So was riding elephants through the jungles of Thailand,washing them, and eating with bugs. Washing dogs, and removing tics from them, and patching up wounds is a completely different, yet no less rewarding experience. Overall I had a great time in all 3 of my weeks there.

I had such a fabulous summer with Rustic Pathways and can't wait to sign up to go on another program with them!! The local and western staff were amazing. I met so many people from all over the world that I can't wait to visit. I hope that everyone had as great of an experience as I did!

Traveling to Thailand with Rustic Pathways was incredible. I had Rustic leaders named Hannah and Kevin who were both incredibly kind and so much fun to be around. We traveled from Chiang Mai, to the Pai Valley, to Mae Hong Song, to Bangkok. We rode elephants, met the Long Neck Karen people, stayed with a Thai family, stayed in beautiful hotels, visited numerous beautiful temples including the Grand Palace in Bangkok, we swam in gorgeous waterfalls and visited beautiful caves. The kids I met were from all over the world and so much fun. The trip was one of the most incredible experiences of my life.

This program is amazing. I met some really good friends on this trip while being immersed in the Thai culture. The trip provides you with many opportunities to see the Thai lifestyle: I went to a village overnight, taught at a school, and went to local markets. It was just awesome in general.

If you are looking for a fun yet enriching program, do this.

My experience at the hilltribe orphanage could not have been better. The small group really bonded with each other and with the Thai students. You are always doing activities and have many opportunities to spend time with the natives. Everyone on my trip wished the trip could have been long. Amazing experience!

My daughter went on the Come with Nothing trip to Thailand last summer, between her Junior and Senior year of high school. She went not knowing anyone, with only a small backpack on her back. When we said good bye to her at JFK airport she also had 102 degree fever but she wasn't going to let that stop her from embarking on this trip. This was not an easy trip, it was more of a journey, 3 weeks of discovery about other people, places, and what you are made of.
This trip challenged her intellectually, emotionally, and physically. To be completely immersed in such a different culture than your own and to be able to work alongside the villagers was such a growth experience. She got to live and work in 3 remote villages and also spent 2 weeks at an orphanage in Thailand.
I have another daughter, twins, who went on one of the India trips last summer as well. I wish they had taken the trip with Rustic earlier in her high school years so they could have done a couple trips.I wish they would do these trips for parents! I would love to take one too! These trips were life-changers, the company is fantastic, and my daughter have made friends that they will stay in touch with for life (my daughter has already visited two friends from these trip on her college visits).
I have recommended Rustic to anyone who will listen and I would send my kids anyone without a moments hesitation.

My trip to Thailand with Rustic Pathways changed my life. But I guess you really can’t to go on such an extraordinary adventure and experience so many amazing things from half way around the world, and expect to return the same as the person you were when you left. There is so much to learn from different cultures and people that I feel I have truly grown as a person from experiencing them. It has given me a love for learning that I never had before; I am so interested in the world around me and want to do all I can to make a difference in it!
I met many great people and made close friends from all over the world while on my trip, and I still keep in touch with them today. I didn’t know anyone going into my trip, and I’m so grateful now, looking back, that I chose to go alone. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and I made new friends that I wouldn’t have if I had gone with my friends from back home. It has been especially helpful for me this year as Student Body President of my high school because I’ve already learned how to meet and talk to new people and find ways to serve them. I have learned what true leadership is, and that I can accomplish great things in this life! Traveling with Rustic Pathways has given me confidence in myself and a passion for service. I’ve found that I’m much happier when I’m helping others and thinking of their needs rather than my own. This has been useful as President to get other kids involved in serving so that they can feel the same great feeling that I do. It has inspired me to find ways to have an impact on other’s lives through serving them and being a positive role model.
One of my favorite things about Rustic Pathways is how well they combine meaningful service with a vacation of a lifetime! My trip was a perfect mix of service and adventure. You see what life is like for the people who live there as you work and serve among them, instead of just watching it through the eyes of a tourist. Rustic Pathways gets you into the natives’ homes, planting rice with the local farmers, and cooking meals for the elderly and sick. I have a whole new perspective of the country and culture through serving the people. I learned more, felt great about the work I was doing, and made a difference in others’ lives. For me, a service trip was the best thing because I didn’t want to travel all that way without doing something meaningful. I left a part of my heart in Thailand and I feel more homesick for Thailand than I did for home!
I have to say that of everything I miss about Thailand, the thing I miss the most is a seven year old orphan named Pah. We had the chance to visit and teach at a boys’ orphanage and work with the cutest kids in the world! We gave them balloons, which were a big hit, but probably not the best idea because soon I was being mobbed by thirty kids whacking me with balloons! I still look back on that day and can’t help but laugh. Pah and I were best friends from the moment we met. He was either in my lap, on my back, or hanging on to my legs the entire time we were there. I still think of him and wonder how he’s doing.
My Rustic Pathways trip was well planned, and gave me unique opportunities that I wouldn’t have had anywhere else. It was organized, but not overbooked. I can’t believe all that I got to do in just three short weeks! Reading about places in a textbook can only get you so far, but experiencing them for yourself is unlike anything else. Rustic Pathways has the BEST leaders who truly care about each student! They go above and beyond to get to know each student personally and make their trip extra special, just as they did for me. They are responsible and fun and I felt completely safe the whole time I was away from home.
My trip with Rustic Pathways gave me a new found confidence in myself and opened many new possibilities. It just plain made me pumped about life! Whenever I get down on myself and think I can’t do something, I just remember, “Wait a minute, Emily! You went on adventure half way around the world without knowing anyone. You got this!” I absolutely loved my trip with Rustic Pathways and I promise you that you will too. Thank you, Rustic, for taking me on the greatest adventure of my life!