Madeleine Armstrong
Hello, I’m Madeleine Armstrong, Business Editor for Clinica, Informa’s magazine for the medical device industry.
I applied for the Thailand trip because I thought it was a great opportunity to do something different, experience a new part of the world and its culture, and to “give something back”, however cheesy that sounds!
I have worked with children before, teaching English in South Korea and as a Camp USA counsellor. I also currently volunteer as a “buddy” for a young person in foster care. I have really enjoyed all of these roles, which made me keen to get involved in the Thailand scheme, where we will be working at childcare centres for children from poor families. I also liked the idea of providing a service that is valued by the local community, which hopefully means I’ll get to know the country and local people a bit better than if I was just paying a fleeting visit as a tourist.
What do I want to get out of the trip? Apart from the obvious sense of achievement, I think I will learn how to work and communicate with different people – from Informa colleagues who I don’t know yet, to Thai workers at the centre, and of course the children. I’m sure this will be a challenge and will improve my patience levels too! These skills will be invaluable back at the office.
I think the trip will also help me put my own worries and stresses into perspective – although I might get stressed out by my current commute into work, or when frantically typing out stories for a deadline, I reckon this will pale into insignificance when I see the problems faced by the kids every day. Bringing this attitude back to work could help next time I face a stressful situation.
What will I bring to the group? I always try to be optimistic and see the funny side of situations, but also tend to “look after” people, which should make me useful in a crisis. I am also keen to muck in and help out in whatever way I can. Finally, I’m also planning to bring my travel games including “Mullet Top Trumps”.
End goal
My end goal is to broaden my perspective on life, gain experience of a new culture, and feel I have achieved something worthwhile.
What can I do to achieve this?
I aim to keep an open mind, try out as many new things as possible, talk to new people, and enjoy the whole experience – even if I am out of my comfort zone and doing things differently to how I normally do them. I hope this will help me achieve my goals.