The Best Souvenirs are Stories

The best souvenirs are stories, and this trip definitely left me with many of those. I participated in the Summer program where I got to spend time in Bangkok, work in a childcare center in Surin, and work at an elephant camp. When people ask me about my trip when I got home, I tried not to go on and on about it, so I limited myself to telling about five things.
1. The friendliness of the locals--during free time one night, our group decided to go out to a local hangout and a few of us got unbelievably lost, we asked a local to take us to the place, knowing that she couldn't understand us. She left her place of work and walked us thirty minutes in the opposite direction so we could reunite with our group. She hugged us and sent us off on our way, all on her own time. People were constantly trying to help us, talk to us, and even take pictures with us.
2. The elephants are amazing. They really have amazing capabilities and seem almost human. One of the elephants even picked flowers from a tree and handed them out to the girls.
3. The kids are so sweet. They hated going down for naps, and not getting to play with us when we needed to do clean up work around the child care center. Even though we didn't speak the same language, we still made strong bond with the kids.
4. On this trip you are never treated like a child. We were given free time to explore and do what we would like to do. One day while working in the elephant camp, after making lunch for everyone, the group decided to walk down to a local park and play a pickup game of soccer with some locals. We played for hours, making friends with the kids on the sidelines and getting shown up due to our lack of skills in soccer. We then walked down to the river and went swimming where the elephants usually bathe. One weekend, we had free and we planned our own trip to Cambodia. We had the free time to bond with one another, experience the real culture, and take advantage of everything the area had to offer.
5. The staff was always in good spirits. I won't lie, our group caused some trouble, but the staff was extremely helpful. I'm not saying they were always the most organized, and we occasionally felt like we had no idea what was going on, but they would always come through, and they needed to. I had the unique experience of breaking my ankle during the extended beach week. I had to have surgery while I was on the island, and the staff was extremely helpful in getting my things to me, assisting me in finding a good hospital, and making sure I eventually got home ok.

It's been four months since I've gotten home, and I'm still going to physical therapy and recovering from my ankle surgery. People see me still struggling and ask me all the time if the trip was worth it. I always have to smile, think back at my many experiences and consider all of the great stories I now have to tell.