Maple Grove Senior High School G.O.L.D.

Why now? Why Thailand?

MGSH GOLD’s mission is to develop future leaders into their best selves by fostering better understanding of their reality through service in others worlds.

Day 5 | Mountain Village Homestay & Infrastructure Service

Day 3 | Journey to the Rustic Pathways Children's Home

Day 4 | Explore Mae Sariang and Karen Culture

Day 1-2 | Depart Minnesota and arrive in Thailand!

Today will be your first opportunity to jump into Karen and Thai culture. After breakfast, a short ride in our songthaews will bring us to a village home where traditional Karen weaving has been passed down through the generations of the Karen people. Afterward, we will visit a Buddhist temple to learn about Buddhism and its profound impact on Thai culture.

Returning to The Children’s Home for a late lunch, the afternoon will be a time for you to hang out and learn a new skill with the Karen students. Together, with some local Muay Thai masters from Mae Saeriang, your group will have a private Muay Thai training session. Take turns kicking and laughing as you enjoy the workout and learning this unique martial art style. After dinner arrive back to the Children’s home, enjoy interacting with some games or downtime with the Children Home students and then head off to sleep in preparation for your first day of service!

Rising early, today you will start your village homestay where you will take on your group service project and spend the night in a local village! First, you will review the plans for the service project at breakfast getting everyone in the group on the same page with the day’s plan. After breakfast, we’ll jump in the back of a few 4×4’s and begin our journey into the mountains of North West Thailand. This is some incredibly remote and rugged terrain, so expect a bumpy and fun ride. Today your group will take part in a larger Rustic Pathways initiative, ROAD, or Rural Outreach and Development program. This ambitious project was established to address some of the issues facing the Karen villages in which our students come from. Once in the village, we’ll get straight to work on the service project. Be prepared for some sweat as you get your hands dirty working in collaboration with our Staff on this service project. Work through most of the day before enjoying a well-deserved Thai feast. After dinner, you will have the opportunity to meet some of the village leaders and learn about them and their lifestyle, and how this project is improving their community.

Today you will begin the drive out to Mae Sariang, Thailand. This is the first time that you’ll see rural Thailand, and the beauty of this area is sure to take your breath away. After climbing through the mountainous roads from Chiang Mai, you have arrived! Welcome to the Rustic Pathways Children’s Home! Looking out from the facility, you will see acres of rice paddies and a swift river adjoining the property.

Meet and hang out with the local students, and relax from the long drive to Mae Sariang. Today you will have a delicious home cooked meal at the Children’s Home. At dinner, there will be an orientation from the program manager and learn about the background of the Children’s Home project. This will provide a great introduction to the people you will meet, projects you will aid, and the powerful effect you and your group can have.

Day 7 | Back to Children’s Home and Prepare for English Exchange

Day 6 | Infrastructure Service & Night in the Village Under the Stars

Day 8 | English Exchange and Culture in Chiang Mai

Enjoy a hearty breakfast then jump right back into your service project. Working side by side with staff and locals, you will gain pride as you accomplish construction goals for the day and enjoy getting to know those around you even more closely. After wrapping up your portion of the ROAD initiative, you can take time in the afternoon to play soccer with the locals, practice your new Thai vocabulary with our staff and villagers, or find a quiet place to journal. Over a hearty and delicious dinner in the village you will work with our Rustic team to prepare for your teaching activities tomorrow. You’ll learn how to make a proper plan, what to expect from activities and games from non-English speakers, and how to get activities off to a good start, but you will have the freedom to build in content, sharing your own culture, background, and interests.

After a quick review of your plan, it’s time for the English camp! This will begin as an exercise in speaking very slowly and clearly. If you’re careful and energetic enough, you just might find that they’re hanging on your every word after just a few minutes ready for the games to begin! After the camp has finished, its time for lunch. We will all eat lunch together family style and have opportunity to take final glances out at the beautiful view you have now grown to love. This is a wonderful time for you to spend quality time and thank the students that have welcomed you into their home. After saying goodbye to your new friends, it’s time to pack back into our V.I.P vans, and begin the journey back to Chiang Mai. Checking back into the Chiang Mai hotel, you will have some time to relax and take a dip in the swimming pool. After some rest and recovery, it’s off to the famous Chiang Mai night Bazaar where you will enjoy shopping galore and a final dinner in Thailand.

Working side by side with staff and locals, you will gain pride as you accomplish your construction goals and enjoy getting to know those around you even more closely than the day before. After working up an appetite through a morning of service, we’ll return to Mae Sariang for lunch where another fantastic Thai lunch will await you. After lunch and some time to relax, it will be back to the Big House of the Children Home and time for some lesson planning as your group prepares an English camp for the Karen students. We’ll begin with everyone sharing their experiences, techniques, ideas, and then our Rustic staff will tell you what to expect when conducting a game activity with non-native English speakers. You’ll learn how to make a proper plan and get things off to a good start, and then you’re off on your way planning for tomorrow’s activities where you share some of your own culture with the students at the Children’s Home or one of our partner schools. After planning is complete, grab some dinner, hang out for a little, and get some rest, you have another big day tomorrow.

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Day 10 | Return Home

Day 9 | Sawasdee from the Land of Smiles and Return Home

After breakfast, you will head to the airport for your flight home. It might be hard to leave the “Land of Smiles”, with the incredible memories you have from your stay here. Travelling back you will be a different person, with firsthand experience working with the hilltribes and elephants of Northern Thailand. Chokdee (Good Luck!) and come back to visit soon!