Summer High School Programs in Thailand with Rustic Pathways

My trip with rustic pathways to the ricefields base was absolutely incredible. It was an adventure of a lifetime and a trip that will forever stay with me. The base house was such a luxury place to stay, with good showers/bathrooms, beds and even air conditioning! The people who work at the base house were so incredibly kind and I grew very connected with much of the Thai staff who came on many of our adventures together. The service programs were oh so fun but also rewarding. We did lots of manual labor, which was a big workout and many of the service programs revolved around kids! My personal favorites were teaching kids how to swim at the basehouse and teaching them English during a class at their school. These kids were so bright and lively and brought lots of happiness to my heart. We had many hours of service but also many hours of fun! We really got to explore Udon Thani with a tour of the amazing city and we also did lots of fun activities such as going bowling, to the mall, waterpark and the night markets. The food was also so tasty here, probably some of the best I have had. They always provided us with delicious meals and tropical fruit, and I loved any meal time since I got to enjoy the food with my friends. One of my favorite parts of this trip was the people I met here. These teens from all over the globe and states were so kind hearted and adventurous and I grew so close to all of them. This program let us have free time and I felt like I really got to know all of my fellow group members. It was the hardest thing to say goodbye to them, but I know that we will all forever cherish our time together in the most incredible place. I cannot reccomend this program enough! Please come to the land of smiles with rustic pathways to experience this adventure of a lifetime for yourself! Here more about my experience on my personal blog: https://littlelinnbigworld.wordpress.com/2018/07/10/travels-to-thailand/

My trip to Thailand is something that I will never forget. The Land of Smiles is truly that. The smiling Thai people are the most amazing, kind hearted and fun people I have ever met.

I have had the pleasure of traveling to many places in the world with my family but Rustic Pathways gave me the ability to see places and experience things my parents wouldn't have been able to find. It is a different kind of trip when you travel with Rustic. During my trip we traveled around to different cities. Some of my favorite experiences from this trip were riding on an elephant, swimming in a beautiful waterfall, seeing Muay Thai fighting, and staying in a treehouse. These experiences were unique to Rustic Pathways trips and helped to learn about the culture of Thailand.

The group leaders consisted of people native to Thailand and other leaders from around the world. The leaders were connecting with the kids like they were one of us. During car rides everyone would we talking, laughing, singing, and telling jokes and riddles.

My group and I became a super tight knit group and cried when we had to part ways at the end. I still talk to my group of kids and even making plans to hang out with them! I was lucky to have such an amazing experience with Rustic Pathways and can't wait for my next trip!

I had the most amazing time on my trip to Thailand this summer. We stayed at the Rustic Pathways Children’s Home, where students can stay if they don’t live close to good education. In Thailand, we spent time teaching English at local schools and workingg to build new classrooms. I think one of my favorite parts of the program was meeting my Thai buddy. Upon arrival, I got paired with a Thai student staying at the children’s home to talk to and show me around. We became friends quickly and still talk today. My experience in Thailand was incredible and I couldn’t recommend it more.

My trip to Thailand was extremely meaningful, and despite how corny this seems- it truly was life changing. In two short weeks in Thailand, the relationships I made were with people I would call my best friends, and even family. We disconnected from technology, and that combined with how fun and beneficial the trip was, and the study of Buddhism- I returned home a truly different person. Service anywhere can be very gratifying, but to work with children and have the instant satisfaction is a feeling unlike no other. Except working for elephants- this was truly magical to work with these majestic animals. To learn about our impact on the earth to and how we can help conserve and protect is truly something I couldn’t learn anywhere else. The service, fun, friends and learning all combined could not have taken place in anywhere better than Thailand and have as rewarding of an impact.

My trip to Thailand was extremely meaningful, and despite how corny this seems- it truly was life changing. In two short weeks in Thailand, the relationships I made were with people I would call my best friends, and even family. We disconnected from technology, and that combined with how fun and beneficial the trip was, and the study of Buddhism- I returned home a truly different person. Service anywhere can be very gratifying, but to work with children and have the instant satisfaction is a feeling unlike no other. Except working for elephants- this was truly magical to work with these majestic animals. To learn about our impact on the earth to and how we can help conserve and protect is truly something I couldn’t learn anywhere else. The service, fun, friends and learning all combined could not have taken place in anywhere better than Thailand and have as rewarding of an impact.

This past summer I went on the trip of a lifetime to Northern Thailand. I had been eyeing this trip for 2 years, but my parents wouldn't let me go because of their concerns about safety. They weren't comfortable with me going alone to the other side of the world, with a group of people I had never met before. Although this intimidated me, I'd been eager to travel somewhere farther and more unique than anywhere I'd ever been. My parents eventually decided to let me go on this trip with my older sister, and tears of joy came when they surprised me with the trip! We began our travel journey of 35 hours and halfway through I began to wonder if I had picked the right trip or if I was stepping way too far outside of my comfort zone. I didn't know any of the people in the airport and everyone was very anxious about their next 3 weeks traveling. After a very very long day of traveling, we arrived late at night at the base house where I would be staying for the next week. Everyone was very apprehensive and nervous when we arrived, but after a good night sleep, we began "orientation" the next morning. By learning everyone's names and walking around to meet the staff, I knew my next couple of weeks would be incredible! The friendlyness of the staff made the homesick feelings go away almost immediately. Over the next 2 weeks in Thailand, I had the best time of my life. I met people that I would've never thought I'd be friends with and made friends that I am still very close with 3 months later, and I know they will be life long friends. The service experience we did there was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but it gave me a new look into how other people live outside of the bubble that I live in at home. This brought me new and important experiences, and teaching english was so humbling to do to children who need to learn it in order to get a job to feed their families in Thailand. Everything we did over the weeks I was in Thailand made a huge impact on how I view the world and how I see different situations. I would not trade this experience for the world, it made such an impact in my life. The friendships, people, and experiences I had on this trip will continue to shine through my actions in my daily life and I will never forget them. If you are apprehensive of going on a trip through Rustic PAthways, don't be! I felt completely safe the entire time and the whole trip was wonderfully put together. If you get the chance, definately go through Rustic Pathways, as they made my experience in Thailand absolutely unforgettable.

I went on this trip because I received a magazine in the mail about a similar travel organization, I looked more into student travel and I came across Rustic Pathways, everything about Rustic Pathways was so great, the website was so easy to use, the people who work there were so beyond helpful and sweet, and the programs all look so incredible. I finally chose the program that stuck out to me the most! I was so excited and I couldn't wait for the trip, I was also extremely nervous as well. I had no prior experience with being away from my family for that long so I was not sure how it would go. When time came to get ready for the trip, the packing lists were so helpful, everything you need is on it and when they say don't over pack, I wish I listened to that more because I re-wore clothes and we were constantly buying souvenirs and elephant pants so I had so many clothes at the end of the program. I would recomend bringing an extra bag though for souvenirs and other things because it will be very helpful at the end when your packing. Anyway when I first arrived at the airport it was very organized and it was really easy to meet new people, especially when we were waiting for our bags to get checked, it was so easy to start conversations with people! This boosted my confidence and it made the long travel, layovers and flights much better. When we arrived, I was nervous at first about being away from home, and started questioning myself asking if i had chosen the right program, shortly after we arrived at the base house though I had the opportunity to meet some of the local staff, program leaders and other students who were so sweet and really great in making others feel comfortable. Whenever I felt anxious the program leaders were there for me and really helpful in making me feel better. Once the service trips had started, all of my worries had washed away, I had so much fun in the markets buying food, teaching the kids English and swimming lessons, and helping to build the house and playground! The service trips are split into smaller groups so I was able to meet some really awesome people and get close to them fast, I honestly had such a blast on the service projects and it was so rewarding to know that you were helping to make someones life better! Each and everyday after that I had so much fun, learned so much, and meet such amazing people who I got so close with. Every activity we did I learned something new about the Thai culture and we got to see such beautiful parts of Thailand wherever we went. Words can not describe how incredible this trip was, it truly was life changing! Going to the "land of smiles" made me smile every second I was there. We had so many opportunities and I was grateful for every second. I loved how the program also ensured that we had rest time, side trips, and other fun excursions alongside the incredible service projects. The side trip to Laos was so much fun and such a great opportunity to get closer to the other students on the program. Each second was such a fun adventure filled with breathtaking sights! The hard work that we did whenever we went on a service project was so amazing and rewarding, I had never sweated so much and loved every second of it before! I learned how to build a house, teach kids to swim, make thai curry, and so much more with those projects, I also got to learn Muay Thai boxing, meet monks, go to a thai waterpark, save and release turtles into the pond at Ricefields, get massages, visit a cave and China Town. There were so many activities, places we saw and things we did that there are too many to mention! When it was time to leave I was actually heartbroken, I could not believe how much fun I had and how close I had gotten with people I did not know at all in 2 and half weeks. It was so hard to say goodbye to everyone especially the incredible staff! I got so close to the local staff, program leaders and other students and I still talk to them everyday even after leaving the trip! To sum this experience up, it was truly life changing, I came back with a sense of how other people in this world live, I thought it was so incredible how people with so little can be so grateful and happy with what they have, which made me happier and grateful for everything that I have! I truly am so grateful i faced my fears and decided to travel with Rustic Pathways because it has open the doors up to new possibilities in my life and I now know that I want to travel the world and work for Rustic Pathways when I am older. If you are questioning whether or not you should go on this trip for any reason, the advice I give you is DO IT! Considering I only went on one trip with rustic as of now, and I loved every second of it, imagine how amazing it would be for someone to start when they're even younger than I am and travel to even more places and see the incredible world we live in! I wish I discovered Rustic sooner because I only have one more summer left before I graduate and I hope that next summer will be as amazing as this summer was and I already Know it will be!! I hope you decide to change your life and do a rustic pathways program because if you don't I'm telling you, you'll regret that decision for the rest of your life!

My first summer with rustic was definitely one for the books. Thailand itself was fantastic and the elephants there were amazing but the true memories were made with the people I met through the organization. I owe rustic everything and I am so thankfully that they exposed me to an experience that allowed me to see the world and discover other people and how they live. It was truly and amazing experience and I have already booked my rustic trip to Australia for next summer!