A Travel Day Gives a Chance for Reflection (and a stop at a fruit market!)

While on our journey today, we asked everyone the following questions:

• What has been your favorite part of IL so far? And what made that experience so memorable?
• What is one thing you’ve learned you want to take home with you?

Here are their responses:

Aashi

• My favorite part of the Thailand trip was visiting the kids at school and being immersed in their culture. It was beautiful to see our parallels in a different country. 
• I learned a lot about simplicity and living in the moment, and I hope to carry that home.

Barleen

• My favorite part of IL so far has been visiting the school and spending time with the kids. The water gun fight especially stood out to me because it gave us a chance to just have fun and be fully present in the moment with them. It felt really genuine and carefree. I also really enjoyed painting the bathrooms, because it felt good knowing that we were giving back to the community in a meaningful way.
• I hope to take back a stronger sense of mindfulness and kindness. Throughout this trip, I’ve realized how deeply rooted community is in Thailand, and it’s made me more aware of how people treat and support one another. Being surrounded by that kind of environment has shown me the importance of slowing down, being present, and showing genuine care for others.

Jaiwant

• My favorite thing in this trip was the bike ride because it was really fun, and I got to explore Bangkok, not on a bus and by myself on a bike.
• You know, live in the moment and, you know, not always focus on taking pictures and all that. because I’ve done a lot of that and sometimes I got carried away.

Emilia

• My favorite part of IL so far was hanging out with the kids at the school. It was memorable because I’ve never experienced another culture like that before.
• I really want to take home the way the people in Thailand live their lives, slow and peaceful. Their community is also much stronger and tight knit.

Gabby

• The elephants were cool, especially being up close with a large mammal, because I haven’t done that before.
• I want to bring home the ability to be present in the moment and a sense of peace.

Anjali

• My favorite part of IL so far has definitely been being around the little school kids. I was able to play hide and seek with them two days in a row, and it felt like they took me into their community immediately. I also really enjoyed our water gun fight as celebration for the Thai new year because I felt really carefree and almost like a little kid again. It all felt like I was a part of something bigger than myself, which felt very moving. Overall, I was left with a feeling of belonging and love that I have never felt from any other community in my life. 
• The most notable thing I’ve taken away from this experience is that when you put away assumptions or preconceived notions about a community or a group and view them simply as friends, you’re able to connect, learn, and grow together in a much more genuine  way. Something very unique about Thai culture is their deep desire to welcome anyone in with open arms, and it creates a sense of belonging that’s hard to put into words. I hope that when I come home, I’m able to spread some of what I’ve experienced with my own community.

Bodhi

• My favorite part of this IL so far has been the new year water fight at the school. Seeing the kids have so much fun was amazing, and they didn’t hesitate to fully immerse us and themselves in their culture and traditions. That’s something I’m not sure I’d be able to feel at home or honestly anywhere else, the welcoming energy and the consistent joy I’ve felt since the beginning of Intensive Learning is something so unique to Thailand and it has made even the most common activities ten times more fun.

Dean

• My favorite part of Intensive Learning has been meeting and fostering relationships with the kids at the Thai school. It was cool to realize that the kids in Thailand are just like the kids in America and to witness how accepting they were. I hope to take home with me the joyful and accepting energy that is the cornerstone of Thai culture.

Justin

• My favorite part was playing volleyball with the kids at the school. It was memorable because we got to have fun with them and with sports being so universal it connected us despite language barriers. It also brought me back to when I was a kid playing outside during recess and an overall positive experience.
• I want to take home being more welcoming and treating people like family and go beyond treating everyone the way you want to be treated. Everyone in Thailand respects and accepts everyone and that’s the best thing to do in foreign situations, spread love.

Brandon

• My favorite part was going to 7-11 because I got to try all the snacks that aren’t available in America and snacks are Halal.
• I want to bring home the ability to slow down and enjoy life.

Jenaya

• My favorite part was the new year celebration with water and how it was such a nostalgic feeling being kids again spraying each other with water; this brought me back to my childhood. Doing it with kids younger was inspiring because of their acceptance of us through language barriers.
• It’s not too hard to be nice to people, especially complete strangers. We should always welcome people with open arms, respect, and kindness. Seeing a smile from younger kids shows how it’s possible for Americans to be welcoming like the kids and people at the school were.

Sophia

• My favorite part was the elephants because I will probably never be able to experience that with friends in a new scenic place.
• I learned that even in a small amount of time you can make a strong and meaningful connection despite language barriers. 

Kayla

• My favorite part of the Thailand trip so far was experiencing a morning with the elephants. Each of the activities that we did with the elephants were really fun and is something that I will always remember, especially since I will probably never experience things such as feeding and bathing the elephants ever again. 
• I really want to take away the kindness and respect that I’ve received throughout my time here in Thailand and try to implement both traits into my daily life back home. At the school, I felt really welcomed by everyone even with the language barrier, and that is something I want to bring back with me to the US.

Jade

• My favorite part of IL so far has been spending time at the local school in Sing Buri. One of my favorite things to do is to meet new people and getting to meet so many who live completely different lifestyles than me was refreshing and something I’ve never experienced.
• I’ve learned to be okay with being uncomfortable because you never know what will come out of it.

Ben

• My favorite part of the trip so far was trying new foods with our tour guide, Thep, like durian, lychees, pastries with coconut milk and other ingredients, and much more. Understanding that this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience really helped me get outside of my comfort zone and eat things I wouldn’t normally eat back home.
• Something I hope to take away from this trip and bring back home is that it is easy to be kind to people and welcome them into your home and culture just like the children and teachers did at the Wat Chak Si School. It was also very cool to build such a great relationship with the kids through the challenges of language barriers. This shows that it is possible to get along with people who are different from you and build a lasting friendship (that we can continue through Instagram)!

Zaydan

• My favorite part of the trip so far was the bike tour through Bangkok. It’s always interesting seeing a city through that lens, especially the natural areas of the city. The short ferry ride across the city was surely a highlight, since we got a great view of a beautiful golden and white bridge that spanned the river. Finally, we were able to walk through a local market, and sample a variety of snacks.

Mr. Cotter

• The Thai new year celebration was my favorite part. We got to go through the religious aspect of washing the monks’ hands followed by dancing and celebrating with the locals and got into our water battle. They had a fire truck and we had mini water guns (toys for more Quaker) which made it a little unfair.
• I want to remind myself to be present in the moment when I get back home because with family it can sometimes distract my concentration from the present. It was a lot easier to be present and give my undivided attention to the ceremony because of the difficulty of language barriers so I wanted to make sure I was paying extra close attention.

Ms. Stutz

• The elephant sanctuary was my favorite part because the animals made me feel small, and it was cool to see them in their natural environment with so many elephants together at the same time.
• I’ve learned that everyone impacts each other in small ways. Our human world and environment world overlap a lot, and it’s very important to be stewards of our environment.

Ailsa

• The Thai new year celebration water fight was my favorite part. I took away the absolute pure joy from everyone participating, nobody was distracted by anything. Everyone was present in the moment and embraced the uncertainty and that everything we did was going to be ok. 
• I’ve learned a lot about different Thai food that I wasn’t familiar with and I learned more about different ingredients and fruits at the fruit market that I didn’t know about before.