A Traveling Rite of Passage

As I write this my daughter is on a bus to the Eastern Cape on a school trip and my son is flying back from Sweden, where he has been on holiday on his own, for the last two weeks. Just over a year ago, I was on the back of an elephant in the jungle of the Golden Triangle, in the north of Thailand when it occurred to me that family holidays as we knew them were coming to an end. My daughter had been reluctant to come away with us then. She had been on exchange to Canada earlier that year and had a taste for hitting out on her own. My son was bemoaning the fact that there would probably not be anyone his age on that holiday. All in all, though, it turned out to be a great holiday. Besides the elephant trekking, we visited the Tiger Temple, and all got our PADI open-water diving licences.

And so here we are with them taking turns to leave the nest and giving me the opportunity to bond with one and then the other (or so I thought).  While my daughter has her exchange to Canada and her service trip to Thailand behind her, it is the first time that my son has been so far away from home by himself, for this length of time.  I think in many ways this trip has been a rite of passage for him. He has changed so much physically and emotionally over the past year, that it feels appropriate that we should mark it somehow.

He had to deal with the disappointment of not leaving as planned when we arrived at the check-in counter to discover that the UK visa he had would not allow him to travel without one of his parents, even though he would only be in transit. There was nothing for us to do but return home with the hope that we would be able to make a plan in the morning. He put on a brave face but I could see the disappointment.  

Thankfully we managed to get him onto another flight via Amsterdam the next night (and he didn't need a visa to use their airport!). As it happened, it did work out for the best (as mother said it would) as the KLM flight was more convenient.

By all accounts he seems to have had a wonderful time. It is hard to tell how much he has missed us since his communication is limited to one word, and at times one letter: ‘Y’ (why) or ‘K’ (okay). Our children have been travelling since they were babies and I believe that after every trip they have grown from the stimulation, the exposure to different cultures and the opportunity to leave home comforts and deal with change. I am hoping for a more detailed account and eager to see what difference this trip has made.

Saving the World in Thailand

My daughter is back from her "expoitition and adventure" in Thailand. She is tanned and fit and her bed and bathroom have never looked this good to her. Digging trenches, breaking up rocks and building a water storage tank is not the average holiday pastime of 16 and 17 year olds but that is exactly what she and 14 other teenagers did this December. After a selection process that looked at community involvement and leadership skills, she was chosen for the project in Thailand. 

I was confident that she would be well looked after, judging from the very good organisation and preparation involved but made sure that she was prepared with medicines for diarrhoea, nausea, pain and fever and Wetwipes ... I had no idea that you could get so many wetwipes - wetwipes for outdoors and for feminine hygiene, wetwipes in lieu of  toilet paper, wetwipes with mosquito repellent and wetwipes for sensitive skin! And then there was the Tabard candle to burn to keep mozzies away, plus the cream and a little battery-operated gadget that was supposed to do the same. Satisfied that we had covered most medical emergencies, we put her on the plane with warnings ringing in her ears not to leave her bag alone nor to carry parcels for other people and breathed a sigh of relief when she got safely to the village.

St Cyprian's School is part of Round Square (which suits her aim of saving the world very well). Round Square has four other service projects in Honduras, Kenya and India and six St Cyprian's girls were chosen to go and do their bit. They have lived and worked with villagers, met young people from around the world and experienced firsthand what it means to make a difference. 

Accommodation in the village - 4 hours drive from the nearest town, not a word of English and (luckily) a flushing loo installed the week before they arrived! This was not her first time away from home, but there's a world of difference between staying in boarding school in Toronto and a hut on stilts in the hills of the north of Thailand!   

Halfway there! Boulders collected from the river, smashed up to make concrete, learning to skim cement...talk about hard labour!

Proud as punch to have made a difference!
In front of the water storage tanks. 

The highlight of the trip for her, was standing in front of the water tank for a photograph, and hearing it fill up, knowing that the village would have fresh water when they left - what a wonderful opportunity for students and villagers alike.