Tags
Change the world, Giving, Happiness, Help others, Imagine, inspire, Inspired teacher, Inspired traveler, John Lennon, love, Thailand, Thailand adventures, travel, wanderlust
There are many things that come with traveling. Of course there are your adventures, crossing cities off of your list, and countless pictures to sift through; but I’m talking about a feeling you get inside. That feeling of realizing just how big this world is and just how many people there are that share it with you. Everyone has a story and when you open your eyes, ears, and hearts you will be surprised by what you can learn from others. And it’s not so much about telling your story, but sharing your time to hear others. There is so much knowledge to gain from another human being and so much inspiration humanity can give, all you have to do is give your time to seek it.
What you learn from traveling, about our shared humanity, will also hopefully translate into a sense of responsible and global citizenship – a commitment to do a little bit more and to make the world a little bit better. That’s something I think we could all use a little more of these days.
It was Miriam Bears who once said, “Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.
~Ronnie Charrier (ManyManyAdventures)
It was really astounding to see the piles of bags full of clothes, toys, and school supplies all lined up and ready to be packed into the cars. We asked for donations from students, parents and friends for any unwanted items that we could take with us. We loaded up the cars and set off to visit a government school for orphaned children. I was very excited and grateful to be part of a group of amazing people who put together this project.
The school that we visited holds about two hundred students, most of these kids are from the orphanage in Northern Thailand and are bused down to attend this government school. There is a temple that sits next door to the school and this is where half of the students sleep and are housed. The other half stay on the school grounds in a dorm-style building that stands next to the classrooms. They don’t own much, only have second-hand items and sleep in the temple. They are in need of clothes, school supplies and toys that all kids should have growing up. We tried to give what we could, but the most inspirational moments were when these kids had the biggest smiles on their faces as we were having fun, laughing, and playing!
We spent the afternoon enjoying small activities for the students, played some soccer, and participated in some fun dancing. They showed us their smiles and bright eyes. Every one of us had come back all thinking the same thing: when the next time was going to be and how do we make it better for the kids! Everyone had a great time but what made this trip special is helping and giving back to those that don’t have the things that we have. It puts your life into perspective to see what these kids accomplish with so little and what they teach us in return is to never take anything in life for granted.