Amazing Experience

This was an amazing experience. Being able to work with sea turtles first hand was always a goal of mine and GVI helped me achieve that. The work was not easy, there was lots of tank scrubbing and turtle cleaning! The hatchlings are adorable but cleaning 300 of them in one day is no easy task! Still, it was extremely rewarding to know that all our scrubbing was having positive effects and increasing the chances of survival of the green sea turtle species. Apart from working with the sea turtles, we also got a chance to set up camera traps on two islands, Koh Ra and Koh Phra Thong, to track the presence of pangolins in the area. This was an extremely educational experience for me since I am interested in a career in conservation and lots of what I learned during my GVI trip will stay with me forever. This was also a great opportunity for me to learn what the field is really like and to make good connections that may aid me in the future.
The relationship that GVI has with the local community is truly something I have never experienced before. I always felt welcome and appreciated at the Navy Base when working with the turtles and you can tell that our work there does not go unnoticed. GVI's volunteers are treated like a part of the community and I really felt at home on base and around the village. Everyone was extremely welcoming to us and I never felt like an intruder on the local community. While we were there, our volunteer group got invited to many cultural celebrations that felt intimate and I would have never had the chance to experience them otherwise. We were invited to a celebration of Buddhist Lent on a small island and to the King's and Queen's birthday celebrations at the Navy base. Both these events were honored by having either a beach clean or street clean that involved the local community. It was really great to see how the locals were excited and able to get involved in the conservation efforts that GVI is also interested in.
The living conditions were very basic but were not bad. There are a few 6 person rooms and one large kitchen/communal area that everyone works together to keep clean. There is a real emphasis on communal living on base and this really helped engage the volunteers. I met amazing people on my trip and really believe I made life long friends in the 4 weeks I spent there. (I definitely suggest staying 4 weeks over 2, 2 just isn't enough time!). The showers are cold but the weather is so hot that it's actually really nice! There are a few shops in the village that have pretty much everything you might need to get while you're there. The food was good. The weekends were good to travel around Thailand - I got to see some beautiful parks while I was there!
Overall, I had an amazing experience with GVI Thailand. I would love to go back some day and highly recommend that anyone who gets the chance to go does so!