As part of the school's program, each year the middle school spends one week in a different country. This program is called WWW. Being in 8th grade, I traveled to Thailand for a service trip. I loved the trip because we got to learn about many different cultures and help people. We left Abu Dhabi and flew to Bankock, then flew to Udon Thani. We took a Song tow to the hotel which is a truck that has seats in the trunk and speakers on the back of the drivers seat. We take these everywhere because you can fit lots of people in.
There are a few places that were super cool, in the Hotel, we'll it is more like a plot of land with a few important buildings there that are super cool or that house us. There were three houses for people the part that connected all the rooms was outdoor but the rooms were indoor and had good AC. Only the rooms were inside and the Café. The Café is a place where kids can go get milkshakes and things like that, everything bought there is donated to help people who need the money. Then there was the food area and that was my favorite area because it was an out door building that had all the kids that visited hands prints on the ceiling. The food there was the best, it was never the same thing. There was fried rice, stir fry, and fruits. It was amazing one day they had burgers and fries and me and my friend wanted the thai food back.
On the first day, we stayed at the Hotel and played with Thai kids. The kids didn't speak any English, but I learned that you don't need to talk to understand each other. In the end we became good friends, without talking much we laughed a lot. We took a lot of pictures to remember each other. That was amazing and I enjoyed it a lot. The second part of the day we went to a farm and helped a poor farmer start a fishery so he can have a better life. We were given 6 sticks and told to make a fishery which is like a table but instead of wood to cover it we have a net that will dips down into the water then the fish are poured into there. The fish can grow and be fed without being lost and also they can easily be taken out when they get big enough. We got to use saws and nails to build it all, and then we got to meet the people we helped. There was also a lake with at big wheel that spun thanks to the water. Then there were some rice fields which separated this area and a big field for playing soccer, a volleyball court, a barn with a few bulls in it. Then there was also a running path that brought you to a field with an awesome view, and a great view of the sun set. It so was beautiful.
On the Second day, we got to build a bathroom, for someone who needs it badly. It was fun because we got to make concrete and then fix the walls and floor. We also got to dig the hole for the poop, it was a lot of fun because we all got to work together and get muddy. We learned how much work is actually put into building anything. We did the same thing for the seccond part of the day.
On the third day, we didn't do any service work instead we went shopping at a silk market and we learned about what the Thai people call fashion. When we went shopping we noticed that there were a lot of things were fake, like there were fake things that weren't the original companies product but they do have copies of fakes. Then went to a Buddhist garden to see all of the stone statures they have made over the past years. It was amazing to see how tall they could make it, and how full of detail. That night we went to a bowling ally and got to know each other more.
On the fourth day, we got to learn Moj Tai which is like boxing. We go to learn from the #1 best in the world, which was super cool. We got to learn how to fight and watch them fight. It was super cool, we didn't learn much about the culture but we did learn how to fight. The second part of the day we did this thing called meals on flip flops which is kind of like wheals on meals but the only difference is that we walk everywhere. We got to make and deliver a meal to the people and learn about why they need the meals. Each person had there own sad story that makes us realize how lucky we are. Normally you will hear about the people and it just seams like a story because you don't see there pain but we saw the things that made each story so sad. Like one person let two students come into here house to study if they brought a little income to help keep them feed, but instead they would lay around the house all day and refuse to learn anything.
On the fifth day, we got to go to a buddhist temple an learn about the buddhist life. Then after learning about there life, we went into there garden and planted trees in there. We learned about what they do in there daily life and how it effects them as people. I didn't like that one as much because we just filled pots with dirt and water. Second, we went somewhere that they didn't have enough food and we built them a garden so they can have more food. I didn't like that as much mostly because of the weather because it was hot and we were hunched over land, but we did have a new appreciation for farmers. They truly had a lot of patience and stamina. Then as a last, night there we had a bonfire and watched the Thai dancers dance for us. The first people were traditional dancers and the second people who danced were Hip Hop dancers. Then we had a ceremony where we got a bunch of bracelets tied around our wrist which symbolizes blessings. Then we went to the food area where we watched a slide show of everything we did. Then we walked over to the volleyball court and set off flying lanters. It was beautiful and we watched them fly until they were all burned out.
Thanks,
Regan
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