One of my favorite parts of my job is taking experiential education trips each year. In the past, I have helped organize and lead trips around the Pacific Northwest, Mexico, Washington DC and last year's finale at Eastside Prep: Cuba.
My new school groups students together by grade level and I was excited to find out that I would be accompanying the 9th grade and 3 other teacher-chaperones to Chiang Mai, Thailand. We worked with
Traidhos, which is an awesome organization and school, should you ever need a host for a school trip in SE Asia.
Day 1: Traveling
It took most of Sunday to get to Traidhos due to a layover in Bangkok. Still, we were all excited to be traveling. The students went crazy for fast-food chains and duty free shops during the stop (none of those items are available in Myanmar...yet).
 |
| Passport, Boarding Pass, Coffee = 3 of my Favorite Things! |
Traidhos welcomed us with a barbecue and bonfire after we settled into our apartments.
Day 2: Team-Building and Ropes on Campus
One of the goals for the week was to help the students gel as a group. This first day of low ropes and challenge activities required the students to work together and think creatively and critically to solve problems. It's really fun to sit back and watch them grapple with these challenges.
 |
| Challenge #1: Get ALL students up to the platform. |
 |
| They did it and in record time! |
 |
| Low ropes challenge course. |
The next challenge was an especially interesting one. Students received ropes, plastic barrels and an oar. They had to create a raft to cross the river and each take a turn rowing across to retrieve a scroll. The first team to collect all scrolls, wins.
 |
| Figuring out how to keep the raft together. |
 |
| I survey the teams working from a nearby bridge. |
 |
| Paddling towards the scrolls! |
 |
| Staying dry was a challenge! |
And in case you'd still like an idea of what kind of experience these kids were having, here's a quick video clip. My job is entertaining on a day-to-day basis, but events like these stand out.
The day ended with the long-awaited trip to the Chiang Mai night market, full of art, clothes, souvenirs, food. Thai markets are the best I've seen in Asia. Who knows? Maybe I will bring you a souvenir from here...
 |
| My co-chaperone shows off her market spoils! |
Day 3: Market and Elephant Nature Park
Our next day began with a road trip out to the Elephant Nature Park. It is a ways outside of town, so we stopped at a local market on the way.
 |
| Thai desserts |
 |
| Lots of snacks! |
 |
| Chilies and spices. |
 |
| Why are there pink and green eggs? I don't know, but they are pretty. |
 |
| A variety of insects... want to try? |
After a long morning drive, we arrived to the
Elephant Nature Park. This is an amazing spot and the owner really cares about the elephants and has invested a lot (time, energy, money) into creating this space for the animals. You can stay and volunteer at the park, or at the nearby cat and dog shelter. If you are looking for a place to live and volunteer for awhile, either of these would be wonderful options!
We received a lot of information about the elephants at the park and most are there because of injuries from humans. The park has only one rule - they don't use the traditional hook when caring for the elephants.
 |
| Feeding the elephants! |
 |
| Does it look like she is waving? |
 |
| Our next stop was the river, where, yes, we got to bathe the elephants! |
 |
| View of the park from the restaurant. |
 |
| Group pic by the river. |
 |
| Mama and baby |
We returned back to a Thai arts and crafts lesson.
 |
| Painting umbrellas |
 |
| Decorating paper lanterns |
 |
| Evening Muay Thai lesson |
Days 4-5: Biking, Kayaking and Boat House
Our next day began with a bike ride through the Thai countryside. We rode by farms, small houses and out to the edge of a national park. It was beautiful! I don't have more pictures to share because I'm not very good at biking and doing another activity, like snapping shots, at the same time.
 |
| Biking to the lake |
 |
| Temple rest stop |
 |
| Resting and lunch by the lake |
 |
| Beginning our kayak journey! |
It took about two hours of rowing to get to the boat house inn. We stopped to jump out of the boats and swim and cool off. Unfortunately, one of the students lost his Go Pro camera... But, we all made it to the small hotel and restaurant where we would stay the night. We jumped off of the diving boards, swam, ate a homemade Thai meal and played games before calling it an early night.
 |
| View from the boathouse |
 |
| Playing at the boat house |
 |
| Sunrise |
After a short motor boat trip out of the park, we traveled to a small village to participate in community service. We worked to continue building a new school building. The students worked diligently, kept great attitudes despite the hot conditions and hard work.
 |
| The new school will have four rooms. |
 |
| Mixing cement |
 |
| Slow, but steady, progress |
 |
| Group shot at the end of our workday |
After we returned to campus, we had a short break to rest and clean up. Unbelievably, it was already time for our last night's activities! We had a special Thai dinner, followed by dancing, music and fire-blowing! The highlight for the students was releasing the lanterns that they had previously constructed.
 |
| Traditional Thai dancing and music |
 |
| More dancers |
 |
| Fire throwing... |
 |
| And fire-blowing! |
 |
| Countdown to lantern release |
 |
| Watching it float away |
Are you thinking what I was thinking? As the daughter and sister of wildland firefighters, I wondered, "Isn't this a fire hazard?" I asked our group leader and he explained that when the lanterns burn out they are very high above ground and that any flame is completely extinguished by the time they return to earth.
Day 6: Goodbye
Our last day was a travel day back to Yangon. The kids were sad for their adventure to end, but we were happy to return them to their awaiting parents upon arrival.
What I'm reading: I just finished Tina Fey's Bossypants (Yes, laugh out loud funny!) and The Great Gatsby (I'm not sure how I got through high school English without reading that one... but I did!).
Where I'm typing: I'm finishing this post in Hong Kong - I have a long layover on my way back to Yangon from Taipei! Yay for great fast free wifi!
