Volunteering abroad comes with a bit of a social stigma(耻辱). From my 21 , this couldn’t be further from the truth. Volunteering isn’t so expensive that it’s only a 22 for the well-off. I spent 10 weeks volunteering in Arizona with America Conservation Experience(ACE), helping 23 America’s natural beauty.
The 24 was arranged through BuNAC, a work and volunteer organization. 25 it cost me around $1,000 — a sum which I 26 mostly by working part-time.
The self-indulgent(放纵自己的) image is 27 to overseas volunteer projects. However, the work can be 28 . I spent my time maintaining trails, building fences and carrying out projects in some of the national monuments of America. Summer temperatures in Arizona stay well above 35℃, 29 pleasant if you’re carrying 50kg of concrete for 10 hours at a time. And then there was the wildlife to deal with, which 30 my strength of character and made my 31 of the English household spider disappear.
32 do most people volunteer for? Probably they want to 33 things to the world. But in reality, you 34 just as much as the local communities and ecosystems you’re helping.
Spending 10 weeks in America’s most beautiful national parks and forests was 35 . I gained a far deeper 36 of the local environment than the average tourist, 37 ex-national park rangers(护林者) who knew 38 of the area’s history and ecosystem. But best of all, my 10 weeks were spent volunteering with young people from a mix of 39 — from Belgians to South Koreans. When I left Arizona, I returned home having made a lifelong 40 with people from around the world.
中文谷
