Last Friday, my school had an advisement trip to Pattaya, a city next to the beach in the gulf of Thailand; it took us 2 hours to get there. At Pattaya our grade was divided to go do different community service, some went to the school for blinds, some went to a daycare center, and others went to Father Ray’s Children Village. I went to Father Ray’s Children Village, we were able to choose what we wanted to do there, farming or painting the playground. I’ve always wanted to try farming, and my idea of farming was to plant rice in a muddy field with buffalos. But, it turned out that we were gardening instead. We had to pull out morning glory, and also pull out other weeds in the cabbage field. Father Ray’s Children Village has their own garden to use for their meals. While gardening, a little brown puppy came running into the field, she was so cute! Later on, I found out that she’s a stray dog, and her mother left her behind. Father Ray found her at the side of the street, so he adopted her as their school’s dog. The puppy is named “Julie” because Father Ray wanted her to have an American name. From gardening at Father Ray’s Children Village, I’ve learned to be more appreciative of my vegetables.
After 2 whole hours of gardening in the scorching sun, we finally head to lunch. We went to eat at a bayside seafood restaurant named “Moom Aroi.” In Thai, that word means delicious corner. Whenever I go to Pattaya, I usually go there with my parents too. I really like the restaurant because the seafood is fresh, and the scenery is also pleasant. After eating, my friends and I sat on the raised platform, watching the ocean waves and took tons of photos. During my ride back to school, all my energy is drained out from squatting for 2 hours while pulling out the morning glory, so I slept the whole way.
From this advisement fieldtrip to Pattaya, I was a caring citizen, one of the six ESLRs. I was a caring citizen because I did some community service; I helped others by gardening for them, and pulled out fresh morning glory for their meal. By helping Father Ray’s Children Village farm, I learned how hard it is for other people to have a meal. They have to grow the vegetables themselves, and every meal takes hard work. After the field trip, I’m now more appreciative of my meals, especially my vegetables. I now know how it actually feels to work as a farmer; it is extremely tiring, even though I’ve done it for only 2 hours. But after doing the community work, I felt happy because I was not only helping others but I was having fun doing it too. Being a caring citizen is fun!
