Making A Difference

Combining travel with volunteerism was an education in itself

- Miriam Roberts

xMy granddaughter Samantha graduated from the Collaborative Red Deer College/University of Alberta Bachelor of Science-Nursing Program in June 2017. After completing her training in three and a half years, she took a break from studying and working to go on a trip of a lifetime to Thailand. Being the adventurous type, she flew to Bangkok alone to meet the group she was traveling with. The Shanghai airport was a challenge to maneuver through to get to her departure gate; fortunately, she met an older woman who helped her find her way. When she arrived in Bangkok, she took a taxi to her hotel in the darkness of the early hours of the morning. When she was dropped off, she asked the taxi driver where the hotel was and he pointed in the general direction of a hotel a long way off, saying he could not get any closer. She had to make her way there by herself, asking people along the way, relying on her own ingenuity, and not panicking in a foreign country! Sam was relieved when she finally met up with the group of young people that she was to travel with, in the hotel.

Part of her tour in Thailand involved do ing volunteer activities, including working with elephants as well as teaching English to children at a local school. Most of the tour, however, included sightseeing, hiking, snorkeling, scuba diving, and sea kayaking. She was impressed with the beautiful scenery, especially Maya Bay, where the movie The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed.