I just got back from the NOLS Outdoor Educator Backpacking/Sea Kayaking course in Alaska! It was amazing.

Everything was so natural and beautiful. True wilderness. We saw whales, including an orca that came right up to our kayaks, sea otters every day, sea lions, and fished and ate salmon! We camped next to a glacier and could hear the icebergs calving off. During the backpack section we camped on snow (my first time!).

There were so many mosquitoes they flew into our mouths. More mosquitoes than we have in Thailand!

I learned about how to pack my backpack well, good hiking technique, Leave No Trace, bomb proof camping, sea kayaking skills, navigation, and lots of other things. It was amazing to go to the other side of the world and see things I’ve never seen before!

AND the water was a LOT colder than here in Thailand where I usually sea kayak!!

-Pui

I spent 3+ months in the USA, and spent most of my time in Colorado and Wyoming, as well as Michigan.

I spent time at University of Denver, Kalamazoo College, friends’ houses, and had a lot of fun.

I saw my first snow at my friend Amanda’s house, and made a snowman on their deck. It was really cold.  We also traveled in the mountains, and went to the circus, skydiving, and lots of things.  After that I went to Lander, Wyoming, and did a NOLS course as well an internship at their Rock Mountain Branch. The course I did was the Wind River Wilderness for 30 days. I learned a lot about American culture! Different than Karen culture! I did my presentation about herbal medicine in Thailand while other people did presentations on the American wilderness. We did Leave No Trace and lots of backpacking.

It was a great course.

-Toto