Paula Burgi / November 2009

I found out about the Learn2give project through a website called helpx.net. The website involves giving your help in exchange for accommodation. I was still new to the website, and had been disappointed by hosts failing to send responses to my emails, so I was very happy when I got not only a quick response, but a very excited email welcoming me to the project.


After sending a resume and a few more confirmation emails, I was on a bus to Ubon Ratachani. At the bus station, I was picked up by 2 very enthusiastic students, both first years and part of the English Crazy Club. They took me to the Ubon Museum, and then to the University, where I met tons of people and felt instantly welcomed. As a gap year student thus soon going to college, it was great to be around other college students, as I had been with a bunch of middle aged people for the past month

Maria Jesus Saelices/Spain/November 2009

THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME

Thailand…

One thinks of Buddhism, great temples; tribes, elephants and tigers; paradisiacal islands; amazing cities and the best food ever…

To me… it’s been much more than that. There I found a family, and friends –great friends. I went to teach, but I was the one being taught –Thai language and alphabet, cooking, festivities, culture and religion… I went to volunteer, but I received much more than I could ever give.

I arrived in Non Dang (from now on, “my village”) in November 09. In the very South of Ubon Ratchathani province (near Cambodia), it’s not easy to get there, so I was picked up in Ubon by two teachers from the school.

Tilda & Kristina (Sweden)

Could we find a place to volunteer even as non-native English speakers and when only having 1½ week available to volunteer? It did not seem likely but we still searched the web for it. We, meaning myself aged 38 and daughter 15, both Swedish wanted to find a place where we cold stay as volunteers for such a limited period of time. We already had a holiday planned to south of Thailand with the rest of our family and wanted to stay behind to see another side of Thailand and also to try to do some good.

After finding the Learn2Give project on the web all was arranged for us in just days. The people in the project, especially Aom, fixed all and a little more with a smile.

We were a bit nervous when we arrived to Ubon. What had we gotten ourselves in to? We were still unsure of where to go and what sort of reaching we would be expected to do.

The English Crazy crew