Adventure Tourism graduates in Thai challenge
Two former students on the College's Adventure Tourism Management programme have been putting the knowledge and skills they learned on the course into practice, by working as outdoor instructors at a resort in Thailand.
While on the course, students have plenty of opportunities to gain practical experience, through the 25-day overseas expedition and the chance to gain qualifications in activities such as canoeing, sailing and windsurfing.
And over the past few years, several former students from the College have taken up the opportunity to work in Thailand after their studies. Katerina Markova and Lauren Reilly are currently out there, and they recount some of their experiences here:
"All the guide books in the world could not have prepared us for the degree of culture shock we experienced in our first few weeks in Northern Thailand. Adjusting to the tropical climate was hard enough but it was nothing compared to getting used to the Thai way of life. One of the first things to amaze us was the local barbers - one man with a chair and some tools in a hut overlooking the river. We discovered soon after that on occasion this also doubles up as a garage.
"Both the management team and every single member of the resort staff have been friendly and helpful and everyone made us feel welcome from day one. We have grasped the very basics of the extremely difficult Thai language, although we must admit that we have been allowed to be lazy on this matter because many of the resort staff are keen to learn English and so, want to speak with us as practice.
"The resort is located in the north of Thailand, on the Thai-Burmese border, and it is a part of the charming Tha Ton village. The village is divided by the Maekok River and surrounded by forested mountains. Tha Ton is a small picturesque village and quite popular with tourists as a stop off point on their journeys further north to Chiang Rai or Burma.
"The instructors make up a nice international group and the additional training we received in our first three weeks on arrival in Thailand was given with a very high level of professionalism and was certainly thorough enough for us to feel confident in each activity. The activities range from wall climbing and archery to raft building and jungle survival.
"Throughout the training period and also with every group, we have been putting into practice the experience and qualifications gained during the Adventure Tourism Management course. For instance the risk management module has enabled us to efficiently risk assess each activity and manage the risks accordingly. On a more practical side, the numerous residentials and hours spent at the Edgbaston Reservoir are definitely paying off.
"The resort also offers students the opportunity to come to Thailand and help other students that have less than themselves. They do this usually by helping in the funding and construction of a much needed school building such as a library or toilet block. The students also spend some time teaching English to the Thai children and interacting with them through sport and games.
"One student group even stayed in a hill tribe village while they were building a library in the local school and were given the honour of sleeping in the head man’s hut! We were lucky enough to be needed to stay with this group. The students and ourselves were the first European people that some members of this particular Lahu hill tribe had ever seen and were given a warm welcome in the form of a bonfire ceremony. This particular experience has been the highlight of our stay so far and we feel so privileged to have been able to experience this as invited guests rather than somebody who has just been herded off a tour bus."