Adventure of a Lifetime!

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!