Summer with ISV Thailand

The Thailand trip was a culture shock in the best way. We got to see through real life experiences how villagers live and got to experience wild elephant sanctuary and learn how life is for the elephants. Even though the stories of the elephants were heartbreaking, it was such a relief to see then flourishing. The first week without electricity was interesting. I really got to see how much we rely on electricity and all of our electronics. We had to work out in the hot sun and cook our own meals but even with all of that, we all got really close so that was nice. We bonded over playing cards, taking breaks in the shade, and eating around our giant rectangular table.The second week with the elephants was very cool. Hearing the stories of the elephants and seeing how far they have come was amazing. My heart still breaks a little when I look back at some photo and when I hear people talking about riding elephants because I know how bad that is for them and have see what it does to the elephants. The last two weeks were amazing. We traveled all over the place doing a bunch of activities. My favorite was going to the markets in Chiang Mia. There was so much going on and so much to see you never got all the way through it. My only big difficulty with the trip was the fact that people could not get over being on their phones. You are in a beautiful country, so put down your phone and enjoy what is in front of you. That would be my advice. Put down the phone and look what is happening around. Yes I missed my family and friends but I was only in Thailand for 4 weeks. My family and friend will their when I get back, so why not enjoy it.