Students from Hokkaido International School, among other schools, during this summer’s Rustic Pathways program in Thailand. RUSTIC PATHWAYS
Teen Travel Company Rustic Pathways has completed a successful summer season. With students returning to their home countries to prepare for a new school year of high school or college, Rustic Pathways wanted to thank all the participants from international schools in Japan. A special thanks to Hokkaido International School, who helped kick off the 2011 summer season with a group visit to participate in community service activities at the Ricefields Base in Udon Thani, Thailand.
Rustic Pathways continues to run gap year programs for both individual students and groups throughout the year. Rustic Pathways has also announced that they will be opening programs in Japan next year. “Pat’s Happy Holidays” will extend its scope to include Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Macau. This trip has been quite popular and this year visited Singapore, Phuket, Bangkok, and Chiang Mai.
Rustic Pathways and the Rustic Pathways Foundation are teaming up with the ministries of education in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures to provide travel opportunities and cultural exchanges between Japanese students affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and Rustic Pathways’ students.
A very special program that has just been created for summer 2012 is “Bridge to Japan — A Friendship Tour.” The tuition paid by each Rustic Pathways student will enable one Japanese student to come along on this cultural adventure. Students will meet at the Rustic Pathways Ricefields Base in Thailand and embark on a journey through temples and orphanages, experiencing Thai culture and reaching out to local communities. The final days of the tour will end in Japan with a donation and opportunities to volunteer in devastated Japanese communities, as well as a celebration of the new friendship.
For more information about Rustic Pathways’ programs, see http://www.rusticpathways.com. — GEORGE WEID
