I've trained my teenage traveler well. I've never been more certain.
Having just celebrated her 16th birthday, my daughter got the chance to goto Thailand with Adventures Cross-Country(ARCC) on a1volunteer service. ARCC has a2no phone rule. When the group met for the first time at Los Angeles International Airport, all phones were3right away. Once a week, the kids could4their phones. It was amazing to have the first week of radio5. After all, these kids can usetheir phones freely at home. And this experience was also6.
Less than 24 hours7landing in Bangkok, they got on open-air bus-like trucks and bumped (颠簸行进)their way along dirt roads for a couple of8to the Village Hill Tribe. Their new home was a village9. Desks and chairs were pushed aside to clear floor space for the kids to10at night. During the crazy days in early August, there were insects everywhere. 11were finished by filling a bucket (桶) with a soft pipe(管子)and pouring it over the head. When my home12rang about a week after she left,13there were no complaints (抱怨). She said that the shower was the14thing that ever happened to her.
Experiences like this cannot be got by reading books or searching the Internet. They are learned by15and doing. All of the teenagers learned that people, including themselves, can do great things when they put their minds to them.