This summer, juniors Aurora MacDonald and Ella Collins are going on a Rustic Pathways adventure to Thailand! For 18 days, the two girls will immerse themselves in the Thai jungle to take care of elephants, experience the culture, as well as explore the country’s beautiful beaches.

Rustic Pathways organization combines amazing travel experiences with community service opportunities. Ella thinks that the program is “an amazing way to travel the world, make great friends, and help out less fortunate people.”

On July 1st, Ella and Aurora, along with any other students attending the trip, will take a 20 hour flight out of JFK airport and land in Thailand the next day. Although there is political instability there, the issues are not serious enough to cancel the trip. According to Aurora, “The Royal Thai Army just established headquarters in Bangkok and took control of the situation, so it doesn’t progress any further.” Ella added, “There are people from the Rustic Pathways program that live in Thailand and know the situation, and are not sending us into the city of Bangkok which is where most of the problems are. Otherwise everything is normal.”

The Elephants and Amazing Thailand trip begins with a quick visit to the country’s capital, Chiang Mai, and then off into the depths of a Thai jungle to the elephant conservation camp. Ella said, “On the trip we will be living, working with, riding, and caring for elephants for a week and a half.” After the community service aspect of the trip, they will head to Phuket, which was planned in place of touring Bangkok. “Once we get there, we will be canoeing, scuba diving, rock climbing, and just exploring the beaches there,” said Aurora. Ella said that she “honestly can’t complain about the changes.”

Last year, both girls went to Peru through the Rustic Pathways program, which started their passion for giving back. Aurora said, “After I took a trip to Peru – to help out an orphanage and a couple other schools in need of serious help – I realized how amazing it was being in a third world country and seeing how different life was.” Also, Ella noted that “it was an amazing experience, and not only did I make some amazing friends who I’m still close with now, but I felt like a really helped out a less fortunate community.”

Aurora said, “Traveling abroad is something everyone should be able to experience. It teaches you how privileged we are to live in America, and it really makes you feel good to give back to the world.”