Southeast Asia · Cambodia

Songs, Circles, and a Guitar I Can't Actually Play

We sat in a circle under the mango trees, and someone handed me a guitar I barely knew how to hold. The kids didn't care. They clapped anyway, they sang anyway, and by the end of the afternoon I was laughing so hard I'd forgotten to feel self-conscious.

This was a community music program run by a local NGO in rural Cambodia. The children gathered every week, and volunteers helped lead games, songs, and activities. I showed up thinking I'd teach something. I left knowing I'd been the one learning.

Southeast Asia · Vietnam & Cambodia

Paper Planes, Smiling Kids, and the Best Day of the Trip

We were supposed to do a structured lesson. Instead, one of the kids found a piece of paper and started folding. Within ten minutes, every child in the room had a paper plane, and we'd given up entirely on the lesson plan in the best possible way.

These programs weren't glamorous. We slept in shared rooms, ate what the families ate, and spent our time doing things that felt small but weren't: teaching the alphabet, playing games, helping with a community meal. The kind of work that doesn't photograph well but stays with you forever.

If you're thinking about volunteering abroad, I'll say this: do your research, pick ethical programs, and go in with humility. You are a guest. Act like one.