Name: Anna
Zehner
Class of: 2016
Program: Rustic Pathways: Village Documentary
When you did the program: Late June to mid July 2012
Location: Thailand
Summary: I spent three amazing weeks in Thailand on one
of the many programs Rustic Pathways has to offer. Though I was the youngest
people there, (they were all juniors and seniors) I still had loads of fun and
learned a lot about photography. I definitely recommend it!
About how many kids were in your summer
program? Fifteen
Who were the adults and what role did they
play in your experience? There were three
main 'counselors' and one translator. The counselors taught us about
photography and the culture of Thailand.
How much free time did you have and what did
you do with it? It depended on
the day but we had a good amount. With this time, we pretty much just hung out
and explored where we were staying.
Did you have room and board or a home stay in
another country? If so, what was your experience like? We shared a room with someone whenever we went
to a new hotel. The hotels were fairly nice for the area. We stayed at one
house for 5 days which was very nice as well.
What were the other students in your program
like and how were the relationships that you formed? Everyone was really nice and we all grew very
close.
What kinds of activities, social events, and
trips were organized for the students? We
went all around Thailand (and Burma for a couple of hours) taking pictures. We
also played and taught children at both an orphanage and learning center.
About how much of your own money do you think
you spent on gifts, food, transportation and other things not provided by the
program? $250
Did you have a curfew? If so, what time? 10 but they didn't mind if we stayed up later.
Did you have internet access? If so, how much
time did you spend using it? Not
very often, whenever we did have internet I'd use it for about 10 minutes or so
How organized was the program? How much
flexibility was there with the agendas? How much of a say did the students have
in this? Very organized
and quite flexible. If any of us wanted to do something they would try their
hardest to get us to do it, this most often was successful.
How was the food? Rate from 1-5 (1 being the worst
and 5 being the best) 5
What was your biggest takeaway from the
experience/what will you most remember? Learning about another culture and seeing how
happy the kids were when we would see them.
Who would you recommend this program to? Who
would this program not be best suited to? Anyone,
but mostly if your into photography.
Rate your overall experience: 5 (life-changing)
Any last thoughts:
Most kids had cameras but Rustic Pathways does supply cameras for
those who don't have them. I'm not sure exactly what type but good quality
cameras. The final result of the trip was a book that's a bit like a yearbook
for the kids at the orphanage and learning center.
