I volunteered at Aay's Village in July 2018, and I loved it! You get in close contact with the beautiful environment in the village, which is something quite different than the big cities in the area. When you enter the project house, you see tall mountains and rice fields and green forests. Moreover, you get to taste local Lao food and befriend the very welcoming people in the Village. It is simple living spaces, so you should definitely read the volunteer handbook before arriving at the village! The most beautiful experience I had, personally, was teaching the many children working this the local team in the village. The children are so eager to learn and I really believe that Aay's Village contribute to sustainable development in the area, through education. On my last day, I have never felt such appreciation from the children and the local people as the children almost hugged me the way out of the village and the locals had a ceremony wishing me (and my boyfriend) a safe journey home. There is so much to say about my journey volunteering at Aay's Village, but overall it's a lovely experience. I believe if I was to give any tips to any future volunteers out there is that if you are going to stay longer than 15 days, you need to withdraw $ dollars before you arrive at the airport in Vientiane. Bring crackers or other dry food from your home country so that you may eat in between the meals if you get hungry, or just embrace the local food market! Moreover, just make the best out of he trip by working with the local team, if you have an idea to create something while you are there the local team will do what they can to help you. For example: some Spanish volunteers wanted to build more tables to the classroom which the local team helped out with brining wood to the project house.
