Volunteering: Why it's the Perfect Intro to travel
Considering this is my first truly travel related post I thought it would be kinda poetic to write about my first ever solo travel experience: Volunteering.
Since before I’d even finished school I knew taking a Gap year to volunteer overseas was what I wanted to do. It was work, travel and study combined, which is exactly what I wanted from my Gap year. I have been obsessed with animals since childhood and always wanted to volunteer with them, so I decided an animal welfare organisation was for me.
After talking to a travel agent (one who I know publicly shame, stay tuned for the deets) and finding their opinion on what was appropriate for a first time traveler and volunteer, I found myself flying to Thailand to the Wildlife Friends Foundation. This began me on my path to overseas travel and taught me more about the world and myself than I could possibly imagine.
Here are eight reasons why I believe that volunteering is a perfect introduction to overseas travel.
You will learn a ridiculous amount about traveling abroad.
BOOM! Reason Numero Uno.
Let’s get this straight. You’re not going to have a personal chauffeur. It will be up to you and your group to travel around the area you are in outside of volunteering. For me that was in a little village in Petchaburi, Thailand. Although admittedly terrifying for a first time traveler, this does give you a unique opportunity. You get to make mistakes! Fumble around and learn as a large group. In my case, a few of the group members I was with had already been backpacking Asia for months, so it was up to me to simply ask questions, watch and let them teach me tips and tricks for traveling. Then just apply the skills in future travel. Simples!
You get to experience new cultures.
As much as you learn about culture through conversation, there is something surreal about living with another county’s culture so close. The compound where we worked was westernised to make volunteers feel more at home, but even that felt somewhat alien. We constantly visited the local Buddhist temple (equipped with its own miniature reclining Buddha), villages and street markets. You end up learning the language, becoming friends with the locals and learning more about their culture then you ever could have from afar. It’s truly amazing.
Your personal growth will be off the charts!
You will get homesick, get your hands dirty, arrive without knowing anyone and you’ll have no personal space. At times some aspects of your work will be difficult (it was the langurs for me). You will learn and become a better person for it. Communicating, working and coexisting not just with a large group unknown of people, but also in a new work environment and country is half the fun of volunteering abroad, and it will strengthen you into an entirely new person.
Your comfort zone will be a distant speck on the horizon.
(and that's ok!)
I realise that this is a small part of the point I made above but I think it’s too important not to be said again. You will be out of your comfort zone. One of my favourite pieces of advice I’ve been told in my travels is, “Get comfortable with being uncomfortable”. That, to me, sums up volunteering and travel altogether perfectly. There might not be hot water, you’ll probably be sleeping on a cot and the food will be bad. There will be an unbelievable amount of bugs, you’ll be working in ways you never thought you would, muscles you didn't know existed will ache and creating friendships takes a deal of effort. But you won't change it for the world.
The friends you meet.
When you’re living with such a large group of people for such an extended period of time, it’s inevitable that everyone becomes much closer much faster than in your average everyday situation. In my short month there I had become closer with people than even with people I had known my whole life back home. You share, laugh, work and bond over the volunteering experience. I still talk to people I met years ago in Thailand, two of which practically saved my ass in my recent trip to Canada (more on that later). I’ll be seeing friends in my upcoming trip to London and I couldn’t be more excited. You really do make lifelong friends.
You will get to communicate with people from all walks of life.
Volunteering attracts people from all over the globe and gives you an amazing chance to learn about others’ lives, giving you insight that you might never have had before. In my month in Thailand I worked with people from the UK, Canada, Luxemburg, France, Amsterdam, Australia, New Zealand and many more places. Even the ages were diverse, ranging from people as young as I was (18), through to people over 50. It’s a truly fantastic chance to learn how to communicate with people outside what you’re used to.
It will be more fun than you could possibly imagine!
Probably the most important point on this entire list. You will go out and drink, dance and see the local nightlife. You will laugh and joke with your new-found friends. You will hike through unfamiliar environments. Dodge all the new animals and insects that want you as a meal. Find fun and fulfilment in your work. I could not believe the characters some of the animals I worked with had. Whether it was Ollie the Otter, Blue the Macaw, Mr. Oo the Gibbon, or the Smokey-faced langurs, my work challenged me, and provided me with an amazing amount of entertaining, which I can still look back at today and laugh upon.
You’ll get a sense of accomplishment by giving back.
Everyone says that they want to save the world but how many people actually get down to it and make a difference. You will. You get to see that before your eyes. You get to see it smeared across your handssss and wait nope that's something else. Ew. You are actively giving back to the planet and the local communities that you work in. It’s an extremely fulfilling experience that will leave you warm and fuzzy on the inside after a hard, long day of work!
Volunteering was one of the most fulfilling and life-changing events of my life. I can’t wait for the day that I pack my bags and run back to Thailand, but until then I still have the memories and the invaluable lessons I learnt. Volunteer abroad, you won’t regret it.
Love Axel <3
Nomadic Cinematic
Click here to check out Wildlife Friends Foundation. Have a look at some photos and bios, maybe donate or volunteer yourself! Tell Blue I said hello ;)
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