Tag: Allegheny College

You never really know what you are getting yourself into until you actually go out and do it, and even then, what we do is rarely what we expected. That’s the way it is with most things in life and that is the way it has been with volunteering here in Thailand.

Coming into this, I didn’t really know what to expect because I had never done anything like this before. It all seemed so distant and unrealistic. I could not conceptualize that I would be in Asia, riding in tuk-tuks and eating an entire meal for under $2. It seemed impossible and so strange for someone coming from a Western background.  

But as it turned out, some of these expectations were indeed true, and I got to experience them in real life! And luckily, some of the expectations were NOT true, which made the experience more enjoyable for me.

My Expectations for Volunteering in Thailand

Some of the aspects of daily life that I was expecting to have to endure were cold showers and catching a taxi to work every day, neither of which turned out to be the case.  

The showers at the volunteer house each have a “personal instant hot water heater”, so the option is there if you want it. I came into this prepared for cold showers for two months, and I would usually take one anyway because of how hot and sweaty I was after a long hard day at work!  

The volunteer project has an SUV  they use to drive everyone to and from work during the week. Many volunteers also choose to walk to work — it takes about 15 minutes, and it’s a great way to see more of the area! We found an awesome new restaurant because of walking to work, which we would not have found if we had had to take a taxi every day.

I also did not really think about the cultural differences between the U.S. and Thailand before coming here. A lot of the typical “Asian” customs, such as taking off your shoes before entering homes and restaurants were normal for me because I was born and raised in Hawaii, which is widely influenced by Asian culture.  

The Reality of My Volunteer Experience

But the way the locals act in certain situations was somewhat of a shock to me because of their strong Buddhist faiths — something I can honestly say I knew nothing about.

Some of these beliefs can be seen in the way they treat dogs, as I talked about in my previous post (dogs are considered the lowest form of spiritual life and if you are a dog, then you must have done something terrible in your previous life to get there).

They also have a lot of interesting beliefs about the soul. For instance, they do not believe in euthanasia because if you end a life, the soul is unable to complete its process and is unable to advance to the next stage because the cycle was cut short.

I was lucky enough to be involved in a Buddhist holiday celebration at the beginning of my volunteering experience, which helped me to gain more of a perspective from the local Thai people. Coming into this, I certainly did not expect to learn so much culturally because of the Asian similarities within Hawaii, but my eyes were opened in so many ways, and I am glad I was open to having my expectations changed!

However, the best thing that I gained from volunteering in Thailand was actually not something I expected at all to find.  

I knew that there would be other volunteers here, and that we would be living and working together, but I did not think that we would become as close as we did. I figured we would be acquaintances and colleagues, but leaving today, I know that I have new, wonderful life-long friends! And all of the dogs have of course become some of my best friends as well.

The people who come to Rescue Paws from all over the world are there because they genuinely care about animals, and are looking to help people better understand the proper treatment of them. Sharing that with the other volunteers helped us to bond, and it was something that I had never really experienced aside from my closest friends and family.

The Rescue Paws staff helped us to come together and build something beautiful out of that. It is so rare to meet such wonderful caring people who are sooooo passionate about a cause, and I am leaving inspired by their dedication and hard work.

Advice for Your Own Volunteer Experience

My advice to future volunteers is to be open! Be open to different opinions and different perspectives. Be open to cold showers and sleepless nights. Be open to calling a taxi and going to some far-off place. Be open to everything because that is what makes your experience so much more worthwhile. If you try to make it live up to your expectations, chances are it won’t happen and you will have wasted so much time on those fruitless efforts.

Above all, be open to change.  

A lot changed during my two months here in Thailand — nearly every week at Rescue Paws we had a different procedure of doing things and different volunteers coming in and out. Sometimes it is just a matter of time and figuring out what works and what doesn’t, which is what started happening as my last couple of weeks came to a close.

Just don’t get too caught up in your expectations. Reality is always so much better.

About the Author:

Emily Evans is 20-years-old, from Waimea, Kaua’i, Hawai’i, and is a Greenheart Travel Correspondent for our volunteer in Thailand program!  One of the many things Emily looks forward to during her program is experiencing the Thai culture through the food and the Buddhist temples and walking the rescue dogs on the beach. Follow her adventures here!

Are you ready to leave a lasting impact on the lives of stray dogs in Thailand, and leave impacted by those you volunteer alongside in return?

I was raised on the concept that animals are like people — they have feelings, they need the basic essentials of life, and they want love.  I believe that depriving animals of these things is wrong, and from the moment I knew what a “pet peeve” was, mine was “animal cruelty”.

For the past couple of years, I have worked towards spreading awareness about the abuse and neglect of animals by doing community service work in the United States, and by sharing my experiences with others. But within the past 6 weeks while volunteering at a stray dog rescue project in Thailand, my view has been widened to encompass an international and intercultural perspective.

Animal Abuse in Thailand

Here in Thailand, I have seen the mistreatment of monkeys, bears, elephants, and of course, dogs.  It breaks my heart, but it also helps me to see things from a different perspective and inspires me to branch out to learn more about animal cruelty worldwide.

At Rescue Paws, our focus is the stray dog population.  In Thailand, dogs are considered the lowest form of life. For instance, if you are an awful person or do awful things in this life, you will come back as a dog in your next life.  This belief puts dogs in the position to be mistreated and abandoned, and that’s exactly what happens.

Every Dog Has a Story at the Volunteer Project

Each dog at Rescue Paws has a special story that has made an impact on me.  There’s Sandi, who was found on what was essentially a trash mountain.  There’s Sprite, who was hit on the back with a machete and is paralyzed from the waist down.   Then, there’s Blondie, who, along with her five newborn puppies, evaded our capture for 3 years before finally giving  in and accepting  our help.

I mentioned Blondie in one of my previous articles and so far at Rescue Paws, I think her story has impacted me the most. I believe   this is because it relates directly to the mission of our organization.

The Larger Effects of Rescuing Dogs

Our top priority at Rescue Paws is the sterilization of stray dogs. Over a period of six years, two dogs (one male, one female) can result in 67,000 dogs!  This means that if stray dogs are not sterilized, they can increase the population by that much. Rather than trying to rescue and adopt out hundreds of thousands of dogs, we focus on stopping the problem before it starts.

Take Blondie, for example: if she and each of her puppies had survived on their  own  in the streets, and each of the puppies had five offspring , that would result in 25 dogs that stemmed from Blondie not being sterilized.  Needless to say, the cycle would have continued a lot longer if we had not been able to capture her and her pups for sterilization.

Locals and Their Efforts in Helping Stray Dogs

Rescuing Blondie also showed me that there are local people who care about the stray dog population in Hua Hin. We found Blondie and her puppies thanks to a local man who showed us which way she went after we lost sight of her on the road, and we were only able to capture her with the help of one of the local restaurant owners across from our clinic.

The good hearts of these individuals  have shown me that Thai people are capable of change.  They could have just thought that what we were trying to do was fruitless, and they could have ignored us. Instead, they offered their assistance in order to help a wounded mother and her children — something that is not commonly seen within mainstream Thai culture.

Albert Einstein once said, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”  If those locals had not stepped up to help, we probably would not have found Blondie, who in turn would not have survived due to malnutrition and an infection from a huge wound on her neck.  If she had not survived, neither would have her puppies. Her story speaks to the importance of that quote and to the importance of the work I am doing here at Rescue Paws.

Before coming Thailand, I would have never thought that there were cultural beliefs in place that regarded dogs as the lowest form of life. We can’t always assume that animal cruelty and abuse is the same everywhere, so it is important that we take cultural differences into consideration when we are trying to change the way people think and act.  Not taking those differences into account is where we have our downfalls.  Accepting those differences is how we grow.

About the Author:

Emily Evans is 20-years-old, from Waimea, Kaua’i, Hawai’i, and is a Greenheart Travel Correspondent for our volunteer in Thailand program!  One of the many things Emily looks forward to during her program is experiencing the Thai culture through the food and the Buddhist temples and walking the rescue dogs on the beach. Follow her adventures here! 

Are you ready to take action and make a difference? Volunteer abroad!

This past week, I finished up my second week of volunteering in Thailand. Two weeks down, six more to go… And I can’t help but think how happy I am to be able to continue my work here and adding to the impact Greenheart Travel volunteers have been making in Thailand.

A Big Rescue at Rescue Paws

I have always believed that animals are people too, and they should be cared for just as much as we care for ourselves. The work that I am doing at the Rescue Paws volunteer project embodies that. The dogs at the shelter have all been found around the Khao Tao and Hua Hin areas, and all have been found in less than optimal condition.

One of the biggest rescue stories happened on my first day here, as we rescued a wounded mother dog and her five brand-new puppies. The Rescue Paws team had been trying to catch the mother for three years! She is just skin and bones, and her puppies were all covered in lice. Without our help, none of them would have survived much longer.

A Normal Day in the Life of a Volunteer in Thailand

Other than rescues like that, our normal day consists of cleaning the clinic and the kennels, feeding and walking the dogs, and any other little odd-jobs around the office.

Our day starts at 8am (Monday through Friday), when we leave the volunteer house with Hanli, Rescue Paws’ Operations Manager, who drives us to work. If she is ever unable to drive us, we walk to work, which takes about 15 minutes and is beautiful the whole way. At the clinic, our main priority is to clean the floors, which the dogs “go” on during the night. After that, we give the dogs their medications and food, which is specific to each dog.

At first, all of this information was very overwhelming — how was I supposed to remember all these dogs? How am I supposed to know what to do when everyone is just jumping in and doing it? But luckily, all the other volunteers were wonderful and helped me to get acclimated. By the third day, it was like I had been there for years!

Play Time for the Animals

After we are done taking care of the clinic dogs (and occasionally cats!), we head over to the kennels, which are also located on temple grounds. It’s about a five-minute walk. At the kennels, we start by splitting up into two groups: one group takes the dogs for a walk on the beach, while the other group stays and cleans the kennels.

While the dogs are out of the kennels, we power-wash and mop them down with diluted bleach water. Once the kennels are clean and the first round of dogs comes back, we all take the remaining dogs to the beach, where we let them off-leash. Watching them run around and play with each other is definitely my favorite part of the day. I also really enjoy cleaning the cat house that we have up at the clinic because I get to play with the kittens while I do it. Right now we have three little kitties!

After the walks, we head back to the clinic and break for lunch. We usually choose between three different restaurants that are around the clinic area and they all have DELICIOUS food! My favorite is called Loft Indy Kitchen, which has great food for very reasonable prices.

Afternoon Assignments

After lunch, we head back to the clinic, stopping at a small coffee stand along the way for a little pick-me-up. Back at the clinic, we usually are assigned something to do, which varies depending on the day — there are usually three or four different things that might come up:

• One is to clean up in/around the clinic area to make it look as nice as possible and to improve functionality.
• Another is to give tours to visitors and help them to walk some dogs on the beach (which usually happens on Thursdays).
• And a third is to go around to different towns and administer parasite treatments to the stray dogs in the area.

Every Wednesday, we split up into two groups, with one group going to Hua Hin Dog Shelter to help their staff administer medications and give medicated baths, and with one group staying at the clinic to set up an adoption table.  Every Wednesday there is a market in front of Rescue Paws with local vendors and we always have a little booth set up to try and get people to adopt! Being at the market on Wednesdays is my favorite part of the week.

Closing Time

After the afternoon activity, whatever it may be, we begin our daily closing-up tasks. We feed and administer meds to the dogs at the clinic, then go down to the kennels for the same thing. We clean up any messes that might need our attention before we go home for the night.

Back at the volunteer house, we are basically free to do whatever our hearts desire for the evening. I love to go straight to the beach when we get back, which is just a short five-minute walk down the road. Most of the time, there is no one even there so it’s like my own private paradise! For dinner, we all go to Mama’s, which is the only restaurant on our road. The owner is the nicest woman ever, and I am pretty sure we are some of her only customers… But, her food is to die for!

My Advice for Future Volunteers

So far, my life as a volunteer in Thailand has completely exceeded my expectations. I have fallen in love with the Rescue Paws team and with the town of Khao Tao. I’m only two weeks in and I have seen more of Thailand from a residential perspective than most foreigners see in their lifetime.

To all of you future volunteers out there, be open to the experience! You might be scared and confused at first, unsure of what to do and where to go, but don’t worry. In time, you will find your place and it will be amazing.  You will learn so much from this experience as long as you are willing to do anything that is asked of you. Don’t turn down opportunities because you think they won’t be up your alley. You never know what surprises might come your way.

Be sure to bring clothes that are both appropriate to work in AND appropriate for temple grounds (shoulders covered and knee-length shorts). I made the mistake of bringing tanks with me, so I have to cover up whenever I walk to and from the kennels. But, if you stick to that, and smile a lot at the monks and the locals, your time here will be extraordinary!

About the Author:

Emily Evans is 20-years-old, from Waimea, Kaua’i, Hawai’i, and is a Greenheart Travel Correspondent for our volunteer in Thailand program!  One of the many things Emily looks forward to during her program is experiencing the Thai culture through the food and the Buddhist temples and walking the rescue dogs on the beach. Follow her adventures here! 

Learn more about how you can make an impact in the lives of stray animals in Thailand AND get to play with puppies and kitties!

Greenheart Travel is excited to send a group of amazing travelers to study and volunteer abroad as part of our 2017 Travel Correspondent and Global Explorer Scholarship awards. To help introduce our inspiring writers, we are doing a series of spotlight interviews to help you get to know a little more about who they are, where they will be headed and what inspired them to travel abroad.

Read on to meet 20-year-old, Emily Evans, our Greenheart Travel Correspondent fromWaimea, Kaua’i, Hawai’i, who’ll be traveling abroad as a volunteer in Thailand!

Favorite thing to do in your free time?

As a college student, I don’t have a lot of free time, but dance has always been a passion of mine. I have been dancing ballet for just about 15 years, along with contemporary for 12 years. Recently, I started to take ballroom dance classes and it is so much fun! I am actually working on becoming a teaching assistant for the ballroom classes at my school.

Have you traveled abroad before?

Yes. When I was a junior in high school, I studied abroad in Germany for a year. While I was there, I had the opportunity to tour both Germany and parts of Europe with my fellow exchange students. We went to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Italy, France, Monaco, Switzerland and the Netherlands. My favorite places were Budapest and Paris.

What got you interested in volunteering and traveling abroad?

I am a part of a program at my school called Bonner, where we do service in the community in place of having a work-study job on campus. For the past two years, I have been working at my service site, Hog Heaven Rescue Farm, which is a facility for neglected and abused hoofed animals. I spent my entire summer there last year. Those experiences have completely changed my life and made me much more conscious of the world around me.

Since then, I have participated in dozens of service activities and traveled around the country to volunteer. I am a better person because of the service that I do and I am motivated every day to help however and wherever I can. The Bonner Program pushed me to do a summer of service abroad this year and my passion for animal welfare led me to Greenheart’s volunteer project in Thailand. I believe this is going to be the next big step in my journey of bettering both myself and the world.

What are you most excited about experiencing or seeing during your volunteer program?

I am most excited about becoming part of the community. Feeling at home within a community is very important to me and it is a feeling I know well. I come from a small community and it is like being part of an extended family. I am looking forward to gaining that feeling and experience with the people of Khao Tao and with the Rescue Paws team. By the end of my time there, I hope to be so comfortable with the people and the area that it is like I have lived there my whole life.

Why do you feel it’s important to travel to a new place and volunteer with the local community?

There are so many cultures, traditions, languages and religions that we aren’t exposed to while living in the United States. We are called the “melting pot” because while we have access to all these differences, we choose instead to blend them all together to make a uniform society. The only way to experience these differences is by seeing them first-hand in their places of origin.

It helps to expand our horizons to see what the world really holds. Otherwise, we are just seeing the world through a lens that society has deemed acceptable for us to look through. And volunteering abroad is even better than simply traveling abroad because it allows you to enter the real-life situations of that place.

Tourists tend to only see the good when they are on vacation — everything is bright and beautiful and fabulous. But volunteers get to see the good, the bad and the ugly, just as the local residents see it. No place is perfect, just like no one is perfect, and it is important to keep that in mind.

What are you most nervous about?

I am most nervous about the language barrier because it is so different from anything I have learned or tried to learn because it is based on sound combinations rather than letter combinations. Inflection will probably be my downfall, but hopefully I will catch on as I interact with the local Thai people — immersion has always been a powerful learning tool for me.

How well do you speak a second language at this point?

I am fluent in German and conversationally proficient in both American Sign Language and Spanish. Thai will be my next great feat!

How do you think you will change the most during your time abroad?

I think this experience will help me become more independent and confident with traveling alone. While I have traveled a lot before, I have always had someone waiting for me on the other side and I have always had English to fall back on. But this trip will force me to go out of my comfort zone in terms of language and experience, and I think it is something I need in order to have more experiences like this in the future. And I will probably have a higher spicy food tolerance by the time I leave too!