Volunteering: how it change my way of traveling

Volunteering is a wonderful way to travel and to get to know new places, It combines needs between travelers and hosts in a selfless exchange in which you can contribute in a positive way. There are various forms of gratification such as accommodation and food, but it is also about laughing, exchanging thoughts and in the process making friends from all over the world. I didn't know about this world, until my first experience in Brazil, where it made a change in the way I travel. In this article I tell you a little more about the positive impact it had on me.

A different awareness

 Before experiencing volunteering and getting to know the world from a different perspective, I was a very different traveler: I traveled for a couple of days or a weekend to the same places, had fun and then returned home. However, this type of travel did not allow me to immerse myself in the local culture, to get to know the essence of the place, its history and meet its people. Volunteering opened me the doors to a very different world in which I was able to enter into more authentic and impactful experiences. This type of travel allows you to learn a different awareness about the world, people and you, in a way that can make you a better version of yourself.

 An escape to a new way of being

The day I was leaving on my trip, I was very excited to see something new, to be able to enjoy a bit of freedom. The truth is that I was not ready for everything I was going to learn, this trip was literally the beginning of a new way of living, thinking and reconnecting with the simple things that life gives us, and that sometimes we do not realize that they are there, in front of us. 

Collaboration and entrepreneurship in perspective

The benefits I discovered in this type of experience is that we have the opportunity to generate some money while we are traveling. You can make collaborations or partnerships with the hosts, which allows you to sustain the trip and to acquire new competencies or skills. It is a unique, accessible and caring way to form an alliance that can materialize in the long term and even mature to lead to other personal projects or professional opportunities.

It's all about connection

This style of travel can be an answer for people who want to do something different, without taking a big hit to their pockets in the process. Volunteering, in my experience, made me reflect deeply on the way we travel and practice tourism. That in the end it's all about connection whether it's with the people I met, the places I visited, the nature I explored and myself. Specifically, all that positive impact was reflected through better eating (consumer awareness), better fitness (Yoga, trekking, hiking) and a different mindset. Ultimately this experience connected me with that pure essence of traveling, feeling free while leaving a good feeling along the way.

A different way of traveling

Having the experience of traveling and volunteering, I was able to get to know the different travelers, what are their motivations, what drives them to move forward, their dreams and their experiences. For me, it was a positive change in my way of thinking and in my person, which allowed me to be a different traveler, more connected to the places I visit, trying to immerse myself in the culture and get more involved with the environment.  In my case, volunteering has been my spur, what is yours? I hope I have encouraged you to experience this type of travel, see you in another adventure.

Xavier Amario - Engineer, musician and athlete , recent traveler, technology nerd and contributor to ksa Nature.