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Disclaimer: All blog posts are written by students and do not necessarily reflect the views of UTS staff.

  • Samithy’s Australian Thai Youth Ambassador Program Experience

    Samithy’s Australian Thai Youth Ambassador Program Experience

    Sawaddi Khrup everyone!

    On the 15th January to the 14th February I went to Ubon Ratchathani in Thailand as part of the Australian Thai Youth Ambassador Program (ATYAP). In my own words ATYAP is about teaching English to underprivileged Thai children with the aim of building cross-cultural bonds. I boarded the plane with 38 other like-minded university students not knowing what to expect. To be honest the days prior to going on the trip I was scared of going on the program. However by the end of it all I can confidently say that ATYAP has undoubtedly been the best university experience.


    Our first couple of days in Ubon was quite serene; the stark contrast between the chaotic nature of Sydney was a nice change of pace. During the first couple of days during the day the 38 of us went through a two-day intensive course, which was aimed to give us some tools, and techniques that can be beneficial for teaching and also an understanding of the Thai language and culture. While we weren’t preparing lesson plans we spent our nights and the Night Market, which is the best place for authentic Thai cuisine. We spent every night at the Night Markets trying different dishes ranging from Street Pad Thai, Duck Noodle Soup, Dumplings, mango sticky rice, Thai Milk Tea, random assortment of meat skewers and various insects.

    Prior to teaching we also found out what schools we would be teaching at and also who our partner would be. I would be teaching Primary School at a school called Baan Na Kham. The school was located 45mins away from our hotel near the farms and was heavily under resourced. Fortunately to help overcome these problems I was paired up with the best teaching partner, Celine. Even though I had only known the people on ATYAP for a couple of days I could tell that I was going to enjoy my time in Thailand with them. Everyone on ATYAP came from different and diverse backgrounds ranging from what university they study at and their passions and I feel that’s what makes ATYAP so special.
    Our first official day of teaching was probably the most full on experience I had ever had. As soon as we got to the school we were greeted with performances from the kids, speeches from the director and blessings from a monk. Honestly I felt like it was a bit too much but I was reassured that this was how they treated guests. I guess one of the main things I learnt about the people of Thailand is how warm and welcoming the people are. Everyone at the school appreciated that we were coming to their school to teach English and although I felt like I wasn’t doing anything special to them it meant a lot. We were then given our timetables and told what classes we would be teaching. I would be teaching grade 4-6 while Celine would be teaching 1-3. Celine and I ended up teaching grade 1-6 together because we felt that having two people teaching at the same time enabled the kids to get the most out of this experience. Though teaching for 6 hours straight was extremely tiring the kids were so energetic and eager to learn so that’s what really motivated us to keep going. The kids were adorable and although they were shy at first they eventually warmed up to us at the end.
    Over the next 3 weeks we watched the kids grow from being quiet and reserved to loud. By the final week of teaching we couldn’t get the kids to stop hugging us. To be able to make an impact was the reason I wanted to go on ATYAP. As cliché as it is to say even though we went there to teach English to the kids I felt that the kids taught me so much more. It was clear that after the three weeks Celine and I left a lasting impression as they kept hanging onto us and asking if we were coming back next year. The three weeks I spent teaching was an amazing experience and is something that I will always cherish.

    Our final week in Thailand was spent in Bangkok. The week was spent doing ambassador stuff. We learnt Thai Dancing, which was more difficult than it looked, visited the Grand Palace, got interviewed by the Thai Rath Newspaper which is Thailand’s biggest newspaper, visited the floating markets, had lunch at the Australian Embassy, watched a Muay Thai show and visited Ancient Siam. The last week in Bangkok went by so quick that by the time we had a chance to settle in we had to leave back to Sydney.

    I’d like to thank Angelica and BUiLD for the opportunity to go on this program. The ATYAP experience has indeed been life changing. Looking back at the experience I could never imagine spending my break any other way. The four weeks spent in Thailand were truly amazing; it’s an experience I will never forget.

    Samithy Heng

    Global Short Programs Student

    Australian Thai Youth Ambassador Program 2015

  • An unforgettable summer in Thailand

    It may sound like a tired cliche but I would not be who I am today in my values, attitude and beliefs without these experiences overseas and the financial support of the program to help me be immersed in them.

    Having been involved overseas in Philippines and Cambodia for conference events, my time in Thailand has been by far the most deeply-grounded, inspirational and lifechanging experience. This is attributed to many reasons – the people, longevity, structure and the focus of it all being the English education and confidence development of the children (you get so attached and I’m still having ATYAP withdrawals to this day). Thank you for continuing to support the number and value of the grants to ATYAP. Angelica’s program cannot be described in words and the help provided to UTS students in them undertaking this experience is wonderful #ATYAP2015.

    This video was uploaded yesterday with the following description on Youtube and shared on my Facebook timeline. While it means so much to everyone who went, I hope you enjoy it as much! I want to submit this as my vlog/recount of my experience.

    The video is a snippet of what is otherwise difficult to explain in words and even then, it captures only so little of the rollercoaster of emotions of this memorable experience. Hope you enjoy!

    Kob Kun Krub ~ Special thanks to my family, UTS:BUiLD, Royal Thai Government, Baan Hua Kham, Ajahns, teachers, kids, an amazing group of friends, PG, Gloy and Angelica.

    Thomas Da Jose

    Global Short Programs Student

  • Michael Wu’s ATYAP Adventure

    ATYAP 2015 was a month to remember, an unforgettable journey. My journey began on the 15th of February. I was so excited to head to Thailand, as it was the first time I have been there. I was ready to meet new people and to start my experience of a lifetime.

    Heading to Thailand and teaching English to the children there made me very nervous at the beginning. I was nervous about the language barriers and how tough it would be to communicate to the children. We were also assigned partners or groups depending on the size of the school. I was also a bit nervous about this, as I wasn’t sure how well we would work together and if any issues will occur. I soon found that I shouldn’t have been worried by any of these things. Planning lesson plans was tough for me although I think I had it a bit easier as I was partnered up with a person who had previously done ATYAP

    My teaching experience was something novel to me, as I had never done anything like that before. We taught at Ubon Rachatani for 3 weeks. Before ATYAP I had never heard of a place called Ubon. My school was the furthest of all the schools, which meant were the first to leave every morning. But I soon realised the travel time was nothing compared to the experience I received and finding out new things about myself. Even thought the schools were quite disadvantaged everyone was so welcoming and offered everything as if they knew for a long time. What got to me was how happy and content the children were even though they had minimal possessions. It really made realise how lucky I was and how much I had compared to the children I was teaching. It really has made me look at my life from a different perspective and taught me what real happiness is.

    Besides teaching we would also go out on excursions. We went various places. Each time we went out I was so excited as I was very keen to explore Thailand. Travelling to these different places showed me Thailand’s real beauty and culture. I saw things that I don’t think I would have ever laid eyes on such as the Mekong River during dry season (pictured below). It looked incredible. The Grand Palace in Bangkok was spectacular but also had so much culture around it. it taught me about the great importance of the king and how Buddhism is a massive part of Thailand.

    The food was amazing. Every night after a long day of teaching we would head of to the night markets, which was a short walk away. The food was so cheap compared to Australian prices. 2 dollar pad thai and mango sticky rice was our life, not to mention skewers and all the fruit. I also tried to branch out from the classic thai foods. Things like papaya salad and crickets were both new to me, both were different in there own way. Experiencing all the new food was great fun for my stomach and me

    The ATYAP experience and been the best experience I’ve had so far. It has shown me the real Thailand and its people. People think Thailand is just for partying and the full moon but it is way more than that. This experience had taught me so much about my self and will be something I will remember for a lifetime.

    Michael Wu

    Global Short Programs Student

  • Australian Thai Youth Ambassador Program 2015

    Australian Thai Youth Ambassador Program 2015

    The Australian Thai Youth Ambassador Program (ATYAP) has definitely been one of the best experiences of my life. I am so thankful that I got the opportunity to learn so much be able to immerse myself in Thai culture. Thailand has such a diverse and fascinating culture filled with a deep history and various interesting aspects. From the various delicious Thai cuisines to the language to the friendly and welcoming nature of the people, everything about Thailand pulled me in and made me want to immerse myself in it and learn more about it.

    It was so much fun to be able to go to the Night Markets after we came back from teaching at school and try various one of a kind street foods from the stalls.

    Although we were teaching full time on weekdays, on the weekends we got to visit various places and immerse ourselves into its beautiful views. We got to experience Thailand’s strong Buddhism beliefs by attending a meditation retreat in our first weekend at Ubon Ratchathani. It was a great once in a life time experience and gave me an opportunity to reflect and be mindful of the things around me. I really enjoyed learning Thai dancing, at school as well as in Bangkok.

    The highlight of my trip had to be in the three weeks I spent at Pathumpitayakhom School, the school that I was allocated to teach in, along with 4 other people. As Ubon Ratchathani is located in the northeast of Thailand, the people there very rarely get the chance to interact with English speaking foreigners. Therefore our aim was to give them an opportunity to practice their English with someone who is fluent as well as teaching them about Australia and its culture.

    While there was a great disparity in the English skills of each of the students, which provided us with some challenges, I was truly impressed and blown away by the confidence that the students showed in speaking to a foreigner. It made me wish I had that courage when I was their age. Despite the language barrier, the students and teachers alike were very warm, welcoming and friendly towards us and were very enthusiastic to be able to learn English and have us teach their classes. The thing that I would look forward to the most, would be when the students would approach me after class, after school or during their free period to try and talk to me while subsequently practicing their speaking skills and teach me Thai words or phrases.

    T

    Never have I received so much love, hospitality and kindness from a group of people I had just met and known for a very short period of time. The thing that shocked me the most as I walked into my very first class on my first day of teaching at Pathumpitayakhom was seeing each and every student in that class looking at me with warm welcoming smiles and eagerness in their eyes, something that is extremely rare to come by at a school in Australia, and I instantly fell in love with them. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that moment because I had never been greeted with such enthusiasm by a group of people I had never met in my entire life.

    On our last day at Pathumpitayakhom, I received so many heartfelt letters, messages and gifts that brought me to tears. We even got serenaded in our very last class. Although our aim was to teach the students and expand their knowledge and skills I felt as though I was the one that learnt a lot from them. I really admire the courage, enthusiasm, hospitality and kindness that they displayed and hope to be able to emulate it in my life in the future.


    They even sent us to the airport at 7am in the morning on a Saturday and didn’t leave until they watched our plane take flight.

    It was such an amazing and heartwarming experience and I had never thought that I would fall in love with such a large group of people so quickly and have so much love for them. I’m so glad that it’s the 21st Century and we have technology and social media, allowing me to be able to keep in touch with them and be even more amazed at how much their English has improved in such a short time. When I first met some of them, they weren’t even able to string together a coherent sentence or question (as they had rote learned English all their life) but now they are able to ask me how my day was and tell me about what they’ve been up to in their school holidays.

    Our short time in Bangkok was also a lot of fun and gave us the opportunity to do more touristy things such as going to the Floating Market and visiting the Grand Palace and shopping at Khao San Road. We also got the rare chance of visiting the Australian Ambassador’s house as well as visiting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Thai Rath Newspaper, amongst other places that we visited.


    I am so grateful to Angelica for creating the program and giving us the opportunity to immerse ourselves into Thai culture as well as being able to meet such amazing people and students and learning and improving myself in ways that I never thought I would.

    Global Short Programs Student

  • Teaching in Ubon

    Teaching in Ubon

    My experience from the Australian Thai Youth Ambassador Program (ATYAP) 2015 has been not only rewarding but of deep meaning. The Program is structured to have the first 3 weeks as teaching weeks with excursions organised on some weekends in Ubon Ratchathani and the last week to be of cultural exploration in Bangkok.

    The school I took part in teaching involved only 60 students from kindergarten to Year 6, mostly from families struggling financially. It is the smallest school to receive assistance from the program. My teaching partner and I devised a schedule on topics to teach the students whilst trying to incorporate 4 fundamental areas into the program. They are English Language Skills, Australian Culture, Thailand and the World and Good Citizenship. In addition to that, we also felt it was important to introduce creativity, games and phonetics/phonics into the curriculum where possible. On special occasions such as on Australia Day, we introduced the children to the nation’s history, culture, wildlife, food and music such as dancing to “Give Me A Home Among the Gumtrees”. We also made a billboard showing the works of the students dedicated for Australia Day. I personally spent extra time to play with the children, especially with sports like soccer and welcomed the girls to participate as a means to help them engage in physical sport but also to bring together students of both genders and teach them leadership, team work and confidence. This effort eventually paid off as one of the girls managed to strike a goal with the help of the entire team in the last game I played with them.

    We also managed to visit sick children at the local public hospital and an orphanage during breaktime from teaching and organised old clothes, books and toys to be distributed to these children. I was also personally tasked with a box of knitted dolls made by retired grannies living in rural NSW to distribute them to those who would need them the most. The team also hand-made a card to give to the hospital with folded hearts. On the last days teaching, we also managed to buy 600 pairs of socks, 32 dictionaries, 5 soccer balls, 100 story books and 2 dozen shuttlecocks for the poorest schools.

    Some organised excursions were sponsored by the Thai Tourism Authority and/or the Consul General in Sydney. They include a therapeutic visit to an international forest monastery and ancient cave paintings located near the border of Cambodia. The forest monastery also offered guidance in meditation and healthy living and was a very rare and helpful opportunity for us collectively.

    In Bangkok, some group members like myself were struggling emotionally with parting the children we taught, but the authorities had already packed a number of activities such as Thai Dancing classes, visit to the Grand Palace, the Floating Markets etc. to help us cope and we also stayed in contact with some of the children and teachers.

    All in all, I am deeply touched by the warmth of the Thai people. In fact, the sense of unity among the children and teachers are indeed precious.

    Global Short Programs Student

  • Sasi in Ubon

    I thought joining ATYAP would be an interesting experience and would be a good chance to visit my birth country and do some volunteering, but what I got back was so much more.

    I haven’t visited Thailand for many years even though I was born there and when I do visit I would only stay in the main cities. ATYAP gave me the opportunity to spend time in Ubon Ratchathani to teach English to children from disadvantaged schools. I was assigned to Baan Na Khaam primary school with my partner Samithy. The school was quite small with approximately 100 students. I was assigned 3 classes every day, teaching years 1, 2 and 3. At first I was very nervous as it would be my first time teaching English to primary children. Samithy and I organised lesson plans for the entire week ahead but when it came down to it we realised that the best way is to prepare for every lesson the night before to suite the students’ needs as everyone was at different English levels.

    My first class was very daunting. Teaching 20 children alone with minimal teaching experience scared me. My plan was to get students to introduce themselves and say their favourite food. It didn’t go as well as planned as the students were quite shy towards a new teacher. The second lesson however went better than expected. I was teaching years 2 and Samithy happened to have a free period so he came to help out. In this lesson I changed the plan a bit and added a few ice breakers and games and found that it worked very well. By the end of the lesson Samithy and I decided ask the principal to combine our time tables so that we could teach every lesson together. The principal agreed but this meant that Samithy and I would have to teach 6 hours a day 5 days a week which would be quite stressful but we really wanted to maximise our impact in the school. This worked well for us as we could bounce off each other for ideas and there would always be someone to control the class.

    Teaching that many lessons made me really bond with the children. Every lesson we would start off with phonics ie. Sounding out letters and forming words, then we would go through the content of that lesson ie. Colours then we would always aim to end the lesson with a game. This experience was very rewarding because by the end of the 3 weeks I saw the growth in every individual student whether it be to do with academics or merely their gain in confidence. The shy children in the beginning now began to participate more in group activities. Most students who couldn’t identify the sound of each letter could now form words. It’s an amazing feeling to know that I’ve made a difference in someone’s life.

    The farewell ceremony was very beautiful. When the priest finished chanting everyone in the school lined up and tied bracelets around my arms as a form of good luck, by the end of it both of my arms were halfway covered with bracelets. I was very touched when all the students came and gave small gifts as a token of their appreciation. One girl gave me a small box and wrote me a card saying, “I don’t have any pretty or expensive gifts to give you but I still want to give you something to show that I love you and for you to remember me by” and inside that box was a little worn stuffed mouse. This made me feel very loved and appreciated. I realised that I really want to do more things like ATYAP and really help make a difference in as many people’s lives as possible. It was a teary farewell, I never thought that I could be so attached to so many people in a short period of only 3 weeks.

    There were activities on the weekends the first was to the International Monastery where I spent a night and day doing what the monks do. Waking up at 4am, chanting, meditating and going on arms rounds. It was tiring but I began to understand the core beliefs of Buddhism and why the monks choose to endure and make sacrifices. It was a very enlightening experience. As well I also went to see many beautiful temples and learnt Thai dancing.

    From this trip I learned that Thai society is very respectful especially towards their elders and teachers, the people there give you the warmest welcome and make you feel at home and that everyone is always willing and ready to help when you’re in need.

    Global Short Programs Student

  • SAWASDEE KRUP! HELLO!

    SAWASDEE KRUP! HELLO!

    Wow! Where do I even begin? Thailand. There are truly no words to describe my journey to this beautiful land besides, “Only the best trip of my life”. Sitting here in Sydney, a month after the trip, I still find myself reminiscing about my adventures in Thailand. On the 15th of January I embarked on a journey to South-east Asia, not knowing what to expect, not knowing what would happen in the coming month and not knowing the amazing people that are now one of my closest friends.

    The Australian Thai Youth Ambassadors Program was a gift, a gift that keeps on giving, even to this day, more than a month past the trip! ATYAP was an immensely enriching experience as it not only highlighted the importance of mentoring and educating less fortunate children but also fostered a cross-cultural understanding of heritage and values. Before I begin, I must stop to thank everyone that had a part in making this trip such a success mainly the Thai Consulate in Sydney, The Australian Government, Angelica Casado who is the director of ATYAP and UTS BUiLD for providing me with a travel grant of AUD $750.

    Our first stop in Thailand was at Ubon Ratchathani, a small province in North-eastern Thailand, where we would be teaching at 11 different schools for a period of 3 weeks. Coming from an Indian background and having witnessed the standard of living in India, I wasn’t expecting a whole lot from Thailand. I was so wrong; this place totally blew me away! From my very first steps out of the plane to the last steps out of Thailand, everything was perfect.

    Initially, I was petrified! I hadn’t had any teaching experience and we were supposed to teach under privileged children for 15 days. I was grouped with 6 other ATYAPers in the largest school of 2400 children, Ubon Wittaya Khom, and that was a tremendous task in itself. However, the school was literally a 5 min walk from our hotel, which couldn’t have worked out any better for us!! Nevertheless, we spent the weekend before our first day of teaching to plan lessons and games to keep the children entertained.

    The first teaching day came around and without a doubt all 7 of us were blown away by the amazing hospitality of all the teachers. We were given a tour of the school, our very own table to sit on during free periods and A MASSIVE BOUQUET OF FLOWERS (which I brought with me to Australia!!) along with so much more! I was to teach the children in Prathom 2 (translates to Grade 2) and I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better bunch of students, I LOVED THEM SO MUCH!

    The kids were just so amazing and lovely and they couldn’t get enough of us just as much as we couldn’t get enough of them! I couldn’t fathom how happy they were to be living in Thailand having just the bare minimum everyday of their life. I’m not going to lie; seeing them really opened my eyes and I have learnt an immense amount from the children. Living in Australia, where there is no shortage of anything, makes us take everything for granted. Spending 3 weeks with children who are nowhere near as fortunate, has made me understand the true value of life and that we should cherish and love everything we are given.

    The second week of teaching saw us all introduce Australian heritage and values into our lessons to educate children on a cross-cultural basis in honour of Australia Day. We had such a positive influence over the kids and vice versa that the 7 of us teaching at Ubon Wittaya Khom were so overwhelmed so much so that we decided to make ‘fairybread’ (buttered bread with sprinkles) for all our lovely students, which was undoubtedly a moment of true happiness for everyone involved.

    We were so touched by the warmth and generosity of every single person at the school, that we wanted to give them back something in return and so volunteered to organise and run an English camp for Prathoms 1 to 6 (grades 1- 6), including kindergarten. English camp ran for 6 days over the last week of teaching and included singing, dancing, games and everything fun that the kids loved. Its funny how a 21 year old can learn so much from children under the age of 12 and that’s exactly my story. I’d like to think that the kids taught me more than I did to them and I feel as though our stay in that school over a period of just 15 days has influenced the students’ mindset for the entirety of their lives. To top it all off, we were even made honourary teachers as we got given the shirts that the teachers wore as a uniform!

    I find it absolutely astonishing that I’ve gone almost the entire blog without mentioning food. Oh My God The Food! What can I say? The Thai food that we get here in Sydney merely scratches the surface of the exquisite cuisine that is so readily available everywhere in Thailand. From the mango sticky rice, pandan bread and Thai milk tea to the Som Tum (spicy papaya salad) and Tom Yum (spicy seafood based soup) and the traditional ‘Isan’ food, everything was mouth watering and delicious. Every single person on ATYAP was so impressed by the food; we made it a daily routine to venture to the nearby night markets after we’d all return from our respective schools, for dinner. I can easily say that that was probably the best collective decision all trip! … but the food didn’t stop when we left Ubon Ratchathani for Bangkok, in fact, Bangkok had twice as much!

    The last week in Thailand was spent on formalities in Bangkok, literally from the get go. From walking off the plane and jumping straight into Thai dancing to suiting up on a moving bus to meet the Australian Ambassador to Thailand. We were even lucky enough to watch a theatrical performance of the origins of Muay Thai, where we literally treated as VIPs. It was all so surreal, everything fell in place and there was absolutely nothing that could have been done differently.

    Also, how can I forget the shopping? I think it would be fair to say that everyone on the trip made full use of the currency and cheap conversion rate and it was amazing! However, the highlight of Bangkok would without a doubt have to be visiting the Grand Palace. Picture the Buckingham Palace in London with an Asian twist. That was exactly it, beautiful, majestic, intricate and breath taking are just some of the words that come to mind, however, I don’t quite think there is a word to describe such a marvellous experience.

    Wow! Thinking back to my time in Thailand and writing this reflection is already bringing tears to my eyes and that’s how strong the power of giving back to people is. There truly is no substitute for such a feeling and I really hope that this program continues for a lot more years to come as I feel that more people should endeavour to do just as I did. If given the chance to participate in the Australian Thai Youth Ambassadors Program again, I wouldn’t even have the slightest bit of hesitation and would definitely recommended others to embark on such a beautiful journey with me, one that is so rewarding for everyone involved. Before I bid farewell, I’d like to leave with this quote from Mother Theresa as I feel that it sums up my entire trip exceptionally well:

    “It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”

    Thank you again UTS BUilD for providing me with a travel grant for this trip, it helped in more ways than one! …. And with that blog, comes the end of an experience, one that I will cherish for the rest of my life. THAILAND, YOU GAVE ME NOTHING BUT THE BEST!

    SAWASDEE KRUP! KHOB KUN KRUP! THANK YOU!

  • Doing time with Bloom Microventures

    My two-and-a-bit weeks in and around Hanoi have been incredible. Bloom Microfinance are doing great work giving rural communities access to investment capital and training programs. They’re also giving tourists a glimpse of the everyday life of Vietnamese villagers.

    Here are a few things I’ve learnt on this program with Bloom:

    Good land is in short supply in Vietnam. With a population density of nearly 300 people per square kilometre (in comparison Australia has around 3) that’s not surprising. This puts huge pressure on farming families, who need to grow enough rice to feed themselves, plus some extra crops to sell for cash.

    For a communist country, Vietnam seems to love capitalism. I’d read lots before I came about the business boom that’s been happening in this country over the past decade – and it’s obvious in nearly every part of Vietnam. Everywhere you go there are ads for goods (foreign and local) and lots of new development. The good news is that the standard of living seems to be increasing for most Vietnamese people. The bad news is that the gap between the rich and poor is getting wider all the time.

    Harvesting cassava is really hard work! In fact, all farming in Vietnam still uses a lot of manual labour. Workers here are just as likely to be women as men. And people work well into their 60s and 70s. I really admire the strength and stamina of the farmers we’ve met.

    The only thing stopping NGOs from helping more is revenue. Raising funds is tough and time consuming. Most NGOs rely on foreign donors, who can influence how funds are spent. This can limit the options open to NGOs.

    Traffic in Vietnam is crazy. From the incessant beeping to the motorcycles taking shortcuts through parks to the cars driving down the wrong side of the road, the streets of Vietnam are no place for the fainthearted. One of our Vietnamese guides told us that we were the bravest group they’d come across. We definitely embraced the gung-ho ‘just walk slowly into the on-coming traffic’ attitude very early on!

    Young people in Vietnam are working hard to learn English. I was stopped on the street by three different sets of strangers wanting to practice their English on me. From tourism students in their mid-twenties to girls in their early years of high school, each of them wanted to improve their skills as they knew it was the best way to improve their career opportunities.

    NGO fieldwork requires patience and empathy. Working with a community requires trust and that only comes with time and consultation. While that might make change frustratingly slow, it’s the only way to make it long-lasting. Communities need to be responsible for their own decisions, even if they’re making the “wrong” ones. All outsiders can do is offer their knowledge (when asked) and assist with resourcing programs that are truly desired by the community.

    This is an excerpt from Global Short Program Student Dan’s blog 17 Days in Hanoi. Check it out to read more about her experience in Vietnam on the Poverty Reduction through Microfinance program in January 2014. 

  • She left Sydney for Thailand

    Sawasdee! Hello!

    Well that’s it… I’m finally in Bangkok, Thailand! But, as normal, there were a few hiccups along the way.

    So I guess the best place to start is this morning. 3am to be exact. I decided in my half-asleep wisdom to turn off my alarm. A great idea if you wanted a sleep in. Or if you accidentally set the alarm. Or if you didn’t really want to wake up and you were just kidding yourself the night before when you set the alarm. What it’s not good for is when you need to be at the airport at 7:30am and the 3am alarm was set so you could (finally) pack. Whoops.

    A final few checks that I had everything, a few extended goodbyes, and it was off through customs. That was it. No more friends or family for 34 days. (Except for those flying up in 2 days time. But you don’t think of that when you’re standing in line at customs with puffy red eyes.) I made my way through customs, and then a body scan. Yep, you read right – a body scan. So I’m not sure if this is a new thing, or if it’s just because I haven’t travelled in a while but oh golly. I had to stand in a glass cage with my hands in a diamond above my head as a super quick X-ray whizzed around me and scanned my body. Kinda invasive, kinda cool. Youtube it!

    8.5 hours later and I wake up to a smoggy, 28 degree Bangkok. It’s beautiful. The landing was perfect, and there has always been something welcoming about touching down in Asian countries to me. I think it has to do with my heritage, and the memories associated with the smells of Asian countries – but it’s almost like an overwhelming sense of familiarity. I managed to nab myself an express immigration pass to cleared immigration and customs pretty quickly before jumping into a taxi towards my hotel.

    Just to give you a quick update – Thailand is currently in the middle of huge political unrest. There have been antigovernment demonstrations in the middle of the city that have become violent and left many people injured. You can feel a sense of unease in the air. On the way towards to hotel, I passed a police blockade. We were travelling in the opposite direction, so I didn’t really get a good look at what was happening, but you can’t miss the number of police around Bangkok. They’re everywhere you look at the moment. I don’t ever recall it being like this on past visits. I am intrigued as to how intense things will get as we get closer to February 2nd when there are scheduled elections.

    But, I wasn’t going to let all this doom and gloom ruin my first day. I was pretty tired when I arrived at the hotel, and managed to touch base with home before heading out to explore the block that my hotel was on. Considering the situation at the moment, I was pretty wary about straying too far from the safety of the hotel, so the street stalls around Chong Nonsi BTS were the plans for the night. I’ve always had a pretty good stomach for street food, so I got pretty excited about what was around. There were noodle stalls, seafood-on-a-stick stalls, BBQ meat stalls – but I felt like something refreshing, so the fruit stall caught my eye. Those of you who are good friends with me probably understand my love/hate relationship with pineapple. It is delicious, but is the hardest fruit in the entire world to cut up. Bangkok has provided me with an answer to my biggest life problems. Precut Pineapple. For $1. Oh man.

    This is an excerpt from Global Short Programs Student Sarah’s personal blog She Left Sydney: A Story About How One Girl Went to Find the World. Check it out to read more about her experience in Thailand on the Australian Youth Ambassadors in Thailand program!

  • An internship in China

    As I reached the bottom of the stairs of my airplane, I hoisted my over-weight hand-carry up one stair at a time. I’ve never had to walk up the stairs of my flight before. I felt like a celebrity until I got up to the top entrance of the plane where I’m supposed to look back and wave at the paparazzi. I looked back, took a deep breath and said to myself, there no turning back – you’re going to Beijing…

    As I sat waiting for other passengers to board the flight, I glanced around trying to look calm, controlled and content, thinking to myself “Seriously, who fly’s on the 1st of the 1st? It a public holiday!” A middle aged man politely excused himself, as he reached into his seat next to me. It was a full flight. The Captain announced to his staff to get ready for takeoff. This is when I started to panic. I asked myself “What am I doing here?” “Why am I going to Beijing?” “Is my Mandarin good enough to work in Beijing?” “Why are there people flying on the 1st of the 1st?!? Why are you even here?” Mind you this was the first time I’ve ever travelled alone. I shut my eyes and gripped on tightly to my seat until a few moments later an airhostess handed me an arrival card. I started filling in my details until I realised that I had not printed out my hotel address properly nor translated it into Chinese characters as it only resembled a few Pinyin words that did not make any sense to my outdated Chinese vocabulary at the back of my mind. How would the taxi driver know where my hotel is?  I started to get nervous and desperately glanced around. After some failed attempts to grab the attention of the airhostess, the gentleman next to me, turns and asks me “Are you okay? I’m a local from Beijing, do you need any help?” That was the moment of relief. He filled in all the required details in Chinese and wrote my hotel address in Chinese characters so I would be able to show the taxi driver. From that moment on, all my doubts about my trip to Beijing faded.

    ….

    As I pushed my trolley full of luggage towards the taxi gate, a large swarm of people rushed through running towards the taxis. There were many of them, parked in all different directions honking at each other with half open doors and potential clients screaming on top of their lungs trying to bargain for the best price. I’ve heard about black taxis which are a common mode of transport in Beijing, however to see that many of them with people lunging at them at every possible second, I had no chance.  It was night time in the freezing cold as well. I just stood there clinging tightly to my luggage hoping that if I waited long enough, the crowd would eventually go. But it didn’t.

    A tap on the shoulder, it was the gentleman I sat next to on the plane. He had already managed to successfully hail a taxi and offered to share it with me as my hotel was on the way to his workplace. My mother always told me to never get into a car with a stranger… I weighed my options. To get into a taxi with a stranger who is a local in Beijing and knows where they are going and already has a taxi on standby or to stand there in the freezing cold attempting to hail a taxi with my five bags of luggage, and try to bargain with a taxi driver who might take me to who knows where. I got in.

    Twenty minutes later I arrived at my hotel; the gentleman refused to take my share of the taxi fare and even handed me a few boxes of famous souvenirs he had brought on his trip and then he leaves.

    As I progressed through my month in Beijing as a foreigner this is one of many examples of how awesome and nice people in Beijing are. Even though there were many differences in culture and values, the one thing that stood out to me were that the people were always willing to help. My internship went very well which I’ve definitely learnt a lot which will help me in the future. I will never forget this life changing experience.

    Jenny

    Global Short Programs Student

    Summer 2013-14