For most, Thailand is the perfect vacation destination. A land of golden temples, beautiful beaches, delicious food and bargain shopping; Thailand is truly a veritable oasis in an increasingly hectic world. My expectations were no different, but for my first trip to Thailand, I was fortunate enough to join the Salesforce.com Foundation on a volunteering adventure. With our 1:1:1 model, we at salesforce.com are very lucky to be given company time to volunteer and help the greater community.

It all began late September 2008 when I came across an Intranet posting that caught my eye. I was sold when I noticed the trip started right after Dreamforce. I think we can all agree a little break after Dreamforce does the body good.

The Foundation was planning to visit an under-developed school and village in Nakhon Ratchasima Province (a.k.a. Khorat), Thailand. Due to the harsh climates and hostile landscape, the people there (mostly farmers) are constantly suffering from poor harvest and droughts. The average annual household income is known to be the lowest in the country, inevitably resulting in poor quality of life and limited educational opportunities. Fun fact - Khorat was thevenue of the 2007 Southeast Asian Games.

All the volunteers planned to meet Sunday night (11/9) in Bangkok for dinner at Cabbages and Condoms. In an effort to promote health education in the rural villages of Thailand, the Population and Community Development Assosiation [PDA] has developed this restaurant as a social enterprise and is just one of their many programs that brings awareness to family planning and AIDS education in the region. PDA has recruited and trained respected members of local urban and rural neighbourhoods to distribute and provide information on affordable contraceptives directly to their communities. The relevant theme of this restaurant was only the beginning of our roles as "young salesforce doctors" and one of the missions of educating youth on good health. The restaurant provides condoms at the end of the meal, as opposed to the traditional candy or mint. I was delighted to see so much culture and diversity present from our team representing the San Francisco, Singapore and Australia offices.This trip not only allowed me to get to know Thailand more, but also some ofthe amazing people who work in our company.

Monday

The morning came quickly with all the excitement. I enjoyed my last American breakfast, loaded up the vans and headed off to meet our Thailand Volunteering Partners. The plan was to visit the Pariyat Pisarn School with the Education for Development Foundation (EDF). EDF has been awarding scholarships to students in this school through various partners (including salesforce.com). This was our first chance to visit the school, students and families of this area.

Upon arrival, the entire village gave us the warmest welcome including freshly-made leis, live music, melodious singing, cultural dancing and abundant blessings.

We were led to one of the school's open halls, where we enjoyed a welcome speech from the principal and were introduced to the teachers and staff. They began the Bai Sri Ceremony to receive white string bracelets tied on each of us by all the adults in the village. It's a token to bring us good luck and happiness.

We moved into our respective homes and got ready for dinner. The homes in the village were actually nicer than what I expected. I had seen pictures with wooden floors and thatched roofs on stilts. These homes were more modern, but still lacked some of the things we take for granted like flushable toilets or running hot water. Nevertheless, we were happy to have a place to sleep even if it did require a mosquito net for protection. 

Tuesday

After a very quick bath from a bucket of water, we headed back to the school to take part in an age-old tradition, feeding the monks. Most Buddhist monks rely on the people in the surrounding villages to provide food in exchange for blessings and good fortune. Our surrogate family prepared baskets of rice and noodles, so we could take part in this tradition with the students and teachers.

We began the school day with the students, who stood in multiple single-file lines, singing their national anthem (I remember doing the same thing, but reciting the Pledge of Allegiance). After a few Muay Thai boxing moves to get the energy up, we were off to the classrooms to learn some famous English songs.

The plan was to teach the students some basic English through popular songs. We went for the obvious pick, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" - this actually worked both ways, because we later learned the Thai translation. And in a relatively short time, we got the whole class room on their feet singing and gesturing, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, Knees and Toes..."

Our next task was to paint the outside walls of their bathroom. They looked like they hadn't been touched in years, so it was our jobs to spice them up. With a few ideas in mind, we got to work. I must say, the finished product was quite impressive. Extra Kudos to Joyce Teo for her artistic styling that really brought the images to life. 

Before	After

After a tasty Thai lunch, we trekked out through the village to visit some of the students who had received scholarships to learn more about their home and environment. Many of the families in this village make a living through farming and silk weaving. We were fortunate to visit the home of woman who was making silk right before our eyes. They breed the silk worms in their shed and when the cocoons are ready, they boil them and extract the silk from an ingenious machine. And the best part, they don't really let anything go to waste, after they get the silk from the cocoon, they enjoy consuming the silk worms as a protein-packed snack. (I passed at this part. I'm not really fear factor material).

Wednesday

Wednesday was a very important day in Thailand - Loy Krathong. Held on the 12^th full moon of the Thai calendar year (typically November for us), Loy Krathong appears to be a celebration of the River Goddess through the form of a festival of lights. Loy means "to float"and Krathong is a raft made from a decorated banana tree trunk. A candle and incense are placed on this raft and floated down the river to signify letting go of negative feelings, so you can start the New Year fresh.

We spent the morning with all the students creating all sorts of Krathongs that would later be cast down the river by many people from the villages. A few of the talented adults assisted the Salesforce team to complete our Krathong. I thought it looked great, but you should check out some of the others created by the villagers.

After honing my skills in arts and crafts, it was a quick lunch and back to painting. This time we focused on the walls surrounding the main halls. Again, I was so impressed by what the volunteers and students were able to achieve. 

After some painting, we all cleaned up and prepared for the Loy Krathong festival that would happen later that night. Two things (in addition to floating the Krathong) that typically occur at the festival are fireworks and a beauty pageant. We were invited earlier to have a female representative from the team represent Salesforce, and the winner was...Lindsay Krebs! She was such a great sport and totally fit in, except for the fact that she was about a foot taller than the other contestants.  

She didn't come in 1^st(probably a good idea, considering the other contestants had spent most of the year preparing for this night), but received a much deserved honorable reward.

Thursday

By the time Thursday arrived, you could already sense the trip had gone too fast. The theme for Thursday was Health Awareness. After a quick breakfast, all the students, volunteers and teachers marched around the village carrying various signs promoting healthy living to all those around. Two of my favorites: "Good Health is not for Sale" and the more direct, "Drink Milk, not Beer."

We concluded the Health Fair with one more important task that we should all be practicing- the importance of good dental hygiene. We went through some brushing "best practices" and provided new toothbrushes and toothpaste to all the students. We even gave them these interesting chewable tablets you can use to identify whereall the plaque resides on your teeth. Not the most appealing thing to see right before lunch.

Thanks go to Dr. Kanazawa and his staff at Kanazawa Dental Clinic, Tokyo, Japan for their kind contribution of toothbrushes, toothpaste and testers. 歯ブラシとテスターを提供してくださった自由が丘かなざわ歯科医院のみなさま、どうもありがとうございました！

We spent the afternoon back in the classroom helping the students read and write some simple English sentences. They were all given notebooks to practice what they learned. Those notebooks books quickly turned into a "yearbook," where each student came to the volunteers requesting a little message before we left. I soon came to realize the volunteer with the longest line of students was the one who had the most Sponge Bob SquarePants stickers (I still don't understand the fascination of that show).

Thursday night was our final night, so the school decided to take the stage from the Loy Krathong festival and set it up in the school. Various acts went on stage showcasing a variety of cultures throughout the night. We heard some speeches from the principal, Troy Westley and Julie Trell. We got to experience a very cool culture of New Zealand culture, the Haka, by Gareth Baker. We heard some stellar live jamming from Mike Burnside and others from the village. A group of us jumped on stage to show the people of Thailand some famous dances like the Hokey Pokey and Macarena. Julie said one little girl learned the Macarena after 2 minutes -nice job! J And then we danced until the elephants came home. 

Friday

Friday morning was our last morning at the village. With all of our gear packed, we headed to the school for the closing ceremony. The village had been so kind during the whole trip and the students left a lasting impression. It was sad saying goodbye. Aftera number of closing remarks, we provided our home-stay families with various gifts (i.e. home supplies, chocolates, personal gifts). A woman from the village, and mother of one of the 12 scholars, created hand-made silk pillows for all of us as parting gifts. With along drive back ahead of us, we said our final goodbyes and loaded up the vans.

This trip to Thailand was one of my favorite experiences. Traveling to another country is always a pleasure, but it's not often we get to experience the world from another's perspective. For me, the combination of travelling the beaten trail and being able to help those who don't have the things we often take for granted was so rewarding. I only hope I was able to give them what they gave me. Regardless of what they did or did not have, the students, teachers and villagers were always smiling.For this reason, I now understand why they call Thailand The Land of a Thousand Smiles. I encourage everyone to really try and take advantage of your time to volunteer. Whether it's in your local town or across the globe, all volunteer work is so humbling and a responsibility we should remember as we continue to grow.

I appreciate your time,and recommend visiting my photo album for more pictures from the trip.

Kap Kun Kap! (Thank you!)

Sati