3
Location: Bangkok
Our Lifeworks team successfully started the first day of the Thailand trip. Despite the difference in our cultures, appearances, and personalities, we were quickly able to merge as a strong group with a common goal we all share; to contribute to the society in need our talents and efforts. Although we will not make a big impact on a global scale, we hope to impact the lives of the people we are helping and hope to utilize this opportunity as a stepping stone for each of us to become active contributors of our community. Our first day focused on getting to know each other as well as the city itself, Bangkok. The day started with everyone gathering for breakfast. We met as a whole group for the first time as most of the members arrived late at night. We were able to quickly overcome the awkwardness of meeting new people. Once the meal was over, our group headed to the sky, train to go to Siam. From there, we visited the floating market, a local marketplace built over the water, via Chao Phraya River tourist boats. At the floating market, we had the experience of trying new fruits such as durians, mangosteens, rambutan, and longan(lam yai). After tasting exotic fruits, we headed to the Grand Palace, where we got to see eye-opening temples and Buddha statues. We were able to experience first hand the culture of Thailand. After a seemingly long day of touring, we headed back for dinner. Although the jetlag and the immense summer heat exhausted most of us, we were still able to successfully learn about each other and Thailand. By sharing our goals for the program through a Lifeworks tradition called the “squeeze” after dinner, we once again had the opportunity to bond closer with each other. We hope to continue the success of the first day throughout the entire trip!
For the next five days, we will be volunteering at the New Life Project in Kanchanaburi where we will have limited internet access. Please do not panic about the lack of blog posts! We will post all about our experiences when we are back in Bangkok 🙂