Come with Nothing, Go Home Changed

I did "Come With Nothing, Go Home Rich," a Rustic program where you bring only 5 items in your suitcase and spend 3 weeks doing service work in villages. We bought all of our necessities in Thailand at the beginning of the trip. I was surprised to see how few clothes and toiletries I actually needed to last me the month. In the villages, we had breakfast at around 7:30 and worked at our service site all morning. The service work usually involved mixing cement (by hand) to build freestanding buildings or to lay ground. We took a break in the middle of the day (the hottest hours being from 1-3), and then worked into the evening. We ate dinner at around 6:30 with our group, the American trip leaders, and our 4 thai staff. Bedtime was usually early, as we were always exhausted. Being in the villages was spectacular. We got to live like and with the villagers, in some cases in a homestay! The children in the villages were charming and energetic; some of them helped us at our work site! In between villages, there was always a thrilling activity planned. We rode elephants, took a muay thai lesson, and hiked among many other activities. It was an unforgettable three weeks!