SEA GYPSIES SERVICE - High School Summer Programs (800) 321-4353

	Click here to watch a streaming video of two students talk about their Sea Gypsies Service Experience.

La Costa de Andaman – Bienvenido a un pedazo del paraíso
El Sur de Tailandia es conocido como uno de los destinos más idílicos del mundo; bendecido con un paisaje imponente, rica biodiversidad y playas prístinas. Las plantaciones de cocos rodean las bases de los numerosos acantilados de piedra caliza y las aguas de color esmeralda traslapan suavemente las numerosas playas de arena blanca. Esta tierra es también conocida por sus varias y fascinantes culturas, incluyendo los “gitanos del mar”. Ellos han vivido en esta área por cientos de años, tienen su propio idioma, una cultura colorida, creencias y tradiciones únicas las cuales han sido preservadas a pesar de la modernización. Los gitanos del mar de Tailandia tienen un conocimiento impresionante sobre el océano y sus ecosistemas y saben sobrevivir cómodamente usando el océano como su recurso primario. Pocas personas en el mundo tienen una comprensión tan holística del océano y cómo vivir con él y a través de este programa podrás entender un poco más de su sabiduría

La vida después del Tsunami y planes para el futuro
La costa Andaman de Tailandia fue totalmente devastada por el tsunami de 2004 en el Océano Índico. Algunas aldeas gitanas asombrosamente sobrevivieron debido a su conocimiento del océano, pero la mayoría de los asentamientos cerca al mar fueron destruidos. La escasez de tierras y el rápido crecimiento de la industria de turismo en Tailandia son una gran presión sobre la cultura gitana y estas ahora se encuentran luchando una batalla para preservar su fascinante estilo de vida. Tendrás la oportunidad de visitar cuatro pueblos distintos a lo largo de la costa de Andaman y apoyaras con múltiples proyectos a estas comunidades. Tu primera parada es la aldea de Moken de Baan Talae Nok, la cual sufrió daños importantes durante el tsunami. Muchas familias perdieron amigos y parientes y sus principales formas de ingreso. Para tratar estas necesidades, las mujeres han creado una cooperativa de elaboración de jabón natural y tratan de sobrevivir de esto. Trabajarás al lado de estas mujeres mientras escuchas sus historias de vida. La segunda aldea en la que trabajaras esta situada cerca de Khao Lak, la región que fue más golpeada por el tsunami. Para ayudar a preservar su cultura indígena, la aldea ha fijado un centro comunitario básico el cual ayudarás a pintar y a amoblar. El viaje continuara a un pueblo pesquero musulmán en la isla de Panyee, donde tendrás la oportunidad de enseñarás inglés en la escuela local. Finalmente llegaremos a la aldea gitana de Baan Sangka-ooh en la isla de Lanta, donde vivirás con una familia anfitriona en una casa humilde a la orilla de la playa. Trabajaras con los pescadores en los barcos tradicionales de cola larga, tiraras las redes y probaras tus habilidades como pescador. Con un poco de suerte pescaras y así contribuirás para la cena la cual será cocinada en una barbacoa sobre la playa.

Acompáñanos en esta aventura de dos emocionantes semanas en la costa de Andaman y conoce una de las culturas más fascinantes del mundo. Deberás estar dispuesto a trabajar fuerte en los proyectos de servicio comunitario y disfrutar de la cultura local además de ver unos de los lugares más imponentes de Tailandia.
Para más información acerca de este programa, escríbenos a: thailand@rusticpathways.com

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Day 1, Tuesday
Relax and prepare yourself for your adventure on world-class Singapore Airlines. Meet other students, watch on-demand movies and unwind. A Rustic Pathways Flight Leader will accompany each of our escorted group flights from Los Angeles, making sure that your journey is easy and enjoyable.

Day 2, Wednesday
Ghost Day - This day is officially 'lost' as we pass the International Date Line. We'll be sure to pick up a free day for you on your way home.

Day 3, Thursday
Sawat di kap and welcome to Thailand! You'll be greeted by a crowd of excited students and staff who have been anxiously awaiting your arrival. After a quick meet and greet session, we’ll be back on an airplane headed to the south of Thailand and Phuket Island, Thailand’s biggest island. After we check into our guesthouse, we’ll go out for dinner and our first taste of Thai food. The seafood in the south of Thailand is fresh and delicious.

Day 4, Friday
After a great night's sleep, we'll grab a light morning breakfast and have a general program orientation and a few activities to get acquainted with one another. Then, we'll grab our things, jump into our vans and head up north to Baan Talae Nok. On our ride, we’ll be driving past some of the hardest hit aress of the 2004 tsunami and we’ll be able to stop along the way to check out some of the big boats which are still washed way up on shore. When we reach the village, we’ll meet and greet our host stay families and then get a tour of the village. We’ll also get to go to the beach as well today and play with some of the local children.

Day 5 - 7, Saturday - Monday
The next few days are spent at Baan Talae Nok village. Here, our days will be spent touring different places in the area, hanging out with the locals, as well helping out on several service projects which include beach cleanups, teaching English, working at a woman’s soap cooperative and guide training as well. We will be cooking and eating with our families and there will be cultural activities at night.

Day 8, Tuesday
Rising early, we'll enjoy our last day with our homestay family. In the morning, we’ll finish up our projects and then spend some final quality time with our families. After lunch and goodbyes, we’ll pack up the vans and head south to beautiful Phang Nga Bay. On the way, we’ll stop at some scenic points as well as a lovely beach to break up the long drive. Tonight we’ll sleep in a guesthouse in the lovely town of Phang Nga.

Day 9, Wednesday
Rise and shine! Today is an early morning as we pack up and head to the boat pier. We’ll then pack up some long tail boats and take a boat tour through Thailand’s largest mangrove forest. Ride through caves and past towering limestone cliffs jetting out of the clear waters. Our destination today is the quaint Muslim fishing village on tiny Panyee Island. After settling into our guest house, we’ll take a short walking tour around the village. Walk past fisherman repairing their boats, woman in the colorful market selling their goods and then on to the school where we will be teaching at in the morning. During the evenings, there’s lots of people at the school playing sports. Jump right in and start making some friends! Tonight we will be going over some classroom teaching advice for tomorrow’s service.

Day 10, Thursday
Don’t be late for school! Another early morning as we catch the flag raising ceremony and start the day with all of the other students at the small island’s school. Prepare your lesson plans, team up with another student and jump into a classroom. You’ll be playing a lot of games with the students that make teaching easy and learning fun. Tonight, we’ll have a challenging and exciting game of futsol against the island’s famous futsol team. After you clean up, tour the village with your new friends, shop in the local market and enjoy the magnificent colors as the sun dips gently into the bay.

Day 11, Friday
Good morning! Yes, its early, but this is normal wake up time for the people who live here, as the day's first light arrives, the village is already in full swing. After some morning tea, hot cocoa and a simple breakfast, we pack up our things and jump on another boat to the mainland. On our boat ride we’ll pass some untouched ancient cave paintings that have been there for hundreds of years. Once on the mainland, we’ll meet our drivers again and pack up the vans. Our next destination is Lanta Island further south along the Andaman Sea. On the way, we’ll be passing jagged mountains, Buddhist temples and some natural hot springs as well. Tonight we’ll be staying in a guesthouse located right on the beach.

Days 12 - 14, Saturday – Monday
After a nice breakfast at the beachside restaurant, we’ll jump into the vans and head to the other side of the island to the Baan Sangka-ooh sea gypsy village. This village is located right on the beach and the people here live simply. Life runs in conjunction with the rhythms of the ocean as the main source of income and food comes from fishing. The next couple of days, we’ll be living with home stay families and running some service projects around the village. These projects may be helping to repair fishing nets and cEdad, painting and repairing long tail boats, helping to sort the day’s catch and more. We will also get a chance to hit the waters with the local fisherman and try our luck at fishing. Cast out a net and see what you get. We’ll be learning old fishing techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation. They may make it look easy, but its harder than you think. Now take that catch of the day, sort it with the women of the village and then lets learn how to prepare it during a beachside barbecue! These are just some of the things that we’ll be doing while we’re in the village.

Day 15, Tuesday
After a nice breakfast, its time to say goodbye to our host families and new friends in the village. After we pack up the vans, we’ll go with some of our village friends to the other side of the island to the Koh Lanta National Park where we’ll see some stunning seaside views, dense jungles and hopefully be able to spot some monkeys and other wildlife as well. Then it’s back to the mainland up to the town of Krabi. Let’s wind down, relax and get some traditional Thai massEdad, you’ll be sure to sleep well tonight.

Day 16, Wednesday
Today we’ll wake up early and head out on an Andaman adventure as we board speedboats and tour four different islands. There will be a chance for swimming, snorkeling or just relaxing on the beach and enjoying the view of the amazing crystal clear blue waters. After lunch, we’ll head back to the mainland once again to board an overnight bus to Bangkok.

Day 17, Thursday
Arrive to Bangkok in the early morning and transfer to Bangkok’s sleek new airport. Transfer to your next Rustic Pathways adventure, or say your goodbye’s and board the flight home. Kap kun kaaap and safe travels where ever you may be going!

1. Where will kids be staying on this program?
This trip will mostly be staying in local village homestays. Most homestays will be divided into boys / girls houses (boys in one house w/ the family and male leader, girls in another house w/ a female leader). In between villEdad we will be staying at small guesthouses along the way.

2. What is the ratio of staff / guides to students?
This trip has a capacity of 15 students. There will be 2 western staff (1 male, 1 female) as well as one local staff.

3. What kind of food will the kids be eating? What if my child has certain diet retrictions?
Kids will be eating a lot of local food in the villEdad. This will mostly be seafood dishes and rice, but we will also be preparing Thai foods that the kids are comfortable eating. We can usually cater to most dietary restrictions (vegetarian, vegan, lactose intolerant, etc.).

4. Will kids be able to do laundry?
Yes. Student can either try to wash their clothes the local way in the village, or we will also have laundry stops during our days between villEdad.

5. Will kids have a place to store their bags if they do another program? How will they pick these up?
Yes. We usually pick up their extra bags when they arrive in BKK and deliver them to the students when they connect to their next program.

6. How much spending money do you recommend?
We usually recommend about $150 / week. This money can be used to buy souvenirs in local markets. They will also need money for internet, laundry, phone calls home, massEdad and snacks for road trips.

7. Where is the closest hospital?
The closets major hospital with western style facilities is located on the island of Phuket. If we are on another island, we would visit the local clinic first, but if we had to evacuate someone, boats leave every hour.

8. Will kids have access to internet / phones?
Yes. In between villEdad we will stop at internet. Although students are allowed to have cell phones, they are not encouraged to use them. Staff will all have cell phones which students can use to call home at reasonable rates.

9. How will the weather be?
Although it is rainy season in Thailand during the whole summer, the weather is still very nice. If it rains, it will usually rain hard in the late afternoon for 30-45 minutes and then stop and be sunny again. The weather in Thailand is also very hot and can be humid at times too.

10. Are there a lot of bugs?
This trip does not have a noticeably large amount of bugs, but students should always bring some bug repellent just in case.

11. What kind of service will the kids be doing on this trip?
Service projects will vary from village to village, but we will be able to participate in a variety of different projects. Example service projects are: beach cleanups, working at a widowed women’s natural soap cooperative, helping to build up community centers, building bathrooms, working in community gardens, repairing fishing equipment and teaching at local schools.