I have loved reading about Lesley's adventures abroad with Habitat for Humanity. I was fortunate enough to work briefly with this organization and gained immense respect for their conduct and their passion to help those in need. Be sure to check out more of her posts on Habitat by clicking on the link at the end of her post.
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Hey there! I'm Lesley, blogger at By the Porchlight. I blog about all things crafty and creative, and I also love talking about adventures... One of my most recent adventures? Thailand!
I've been known to take a trip or two with Habitat for Humanity's Global Village program. In 2009, I traveled to Poland to help on a build, and years before that I traveled to Florida & Birmingham with Habitat. When I found our the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate was taking a team of 12 people to Bangkok, Thailand early on in 2012, I couldn't sign up fast enough! And so, after a lot of fundraising and planning, in February, I was lucky enough to go to Thailand. And what a warm, welcoming, wonderful place it was!
I'm sure you can imagine that any trip abroad to build houses involves a whole lot of hard work. It sure does! Especially when you're coming from Newfoundland (that's in Atlantic Canada...) - land of fog, ice and snow - going to hot, sunny Thailand. The heat was phenomenal since we're not used to it... but we got through it and helped build a well-deserving, hard-working family a home!
On any Habitat build site you work on, you'll be working alongside not only the future homeowners and a team of local professionals, but you often get to work with local volunteers and previous Habitat homeowners. Not only is this a truly unique cultural experience but also an enlightening one. I love seeing how a team of people from all over the world with strong language & cultural barriers can come together for a common goal and really succeed. I would recommend a Habitat trip to anyone!
...but be prepared to mix a lot of cement.
I came back to Canada already practically mapping out my next trip to Thailand, begging my hubby to move there! I couldn't believe that in the core of downtown Bangkok I felt safer than I had ever felt traveling the world before. I couldn't get enough of the rich culture and smiling faces. And I couldn't wait to go back!
If you'd like to read more about the cultural side of my trip, please hop on over here to read this post!
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Thanks so much for writing Lesley! Be sure to check out her other travel posts and say hi on her blog!
If you have lived abroad and would like to be featured, shoot me an email at lostintravelsblog@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you!
You can read more of the Perspective Series here.
