From November 18th to 19th, I participated in the Between The Roots (BTR) service trip to Phetchaburi. We were there to provide education for unprivileged Thai students and plant biogas balloons in the small village. During this experience, I felt very engaged and collaborative with the members and executives, from planning this project during school to successfully executing our ideas in the local community. 

Even if there were some miscommunications on the first day of the trip, where it did not go as smoothly as we wanted, the members—including myself—thoroughly enjoyed the overall trip. The stay at the hotel was a relaxing time for all of us, making up for the rough start earlier in the day. We were served a three-course meal for dinner in a spacious and comfortable room with a beautiful view of the place. On the second day, we traveled to teach primary school students English. I found this activity new since I don't often teach students English or provide them with any education. This was my first time doing this, and I immensely enjoyed it.

We were divided into three groups—one in control of teaching the English alphabet, one teaching numbers, and another teaching English words. My group taught the students simple English words such as "thank you," "sleep," "drink," and many more. I loved talking and spending time with the kids since they also seemed to enjoy learning from the educational materials provided by our executives and teachers. Later in the afternoon, we traveled further into the village to help the people plant the biogas balloon. We started by digging a hole in the dirt to place the balloon.

I learned that an act as simple as this activity can help serve up to 10 years of sustainability and efficiency for the people living there. This made the group and I very happy and proud to be doing this, giving a hand to the villagers who have to deal with the trash and waste in their area every day. Overall, I am glad to be a part of this community and BTR's first service trip this year. I learned a lot from the activities and enjoyed every bit of my time during this experience.