283.Volunteering abroad comes with a bit of a social stigma(恥辱).From my(1)
,this couldn't be further from the truth.Volunteering isn't so expensive that it's only a(2)
for the well-off.I spent 10 weeks volunteering in Arizona with America Conservation Experience(ACE),helping(3)
America's natural beauty. The(4)
was arranged through BUNAC,a work and volunteer organization.(5)
it cost me around﹩1,000 — a sum which I(6)
mostly by working part-time. The self-indulgent(放縱自己的)image is(7)
to overseas volunteer projects.However,the work can be(8)
.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℃,(9)
pleasant if you're carrying 50 kg of concrete for 10 hours at a time.And then there was the wildlife to deal with,which(10)
my strength of character and made my(11)
of the English household spider disappear. (12)
do most people volunteer for?Probably they want to(13)
things to the world.But in reality,you(14)
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(15)
.I gained a far deeper(16)
of the local environment than the average tourist,(17)
ex-national park rangers(護林者)who knew(18)
of the area's history and ecosystem.But best of all,my 10 weeks were spent volunteering with young people from a mix of(19)
—from Belgians to South Koreans.When I left Arizona,I returned home having made a lifelong(20)
( travel) through a desert,came across a spring of clear water.The water was sweet.He filled his leather container so that he could bring some back to an elder(2)
had been his teacher.After a four-day journey,the young man presented the water to the old man.His teacher took a deep drink,smiled warmly,and thanked his student very much(3)
the sweet water.The young man went home with a happy heart. After the student(4)
(leave),the teacher let another student taste the water.He spit it out,(5)
(say) it was awful.Obviously,it was no longer fresh because of the old leather container.He asked his teacher, "Sir,the water was awful.Why did you pretend(6)
(like)it" The teacher replied,"You taste the water.I tasted the gift.The water was(7)
(simple) the container for an act of kindness and love.Nothing could be (8)
(sweet). We understand this lesson best when we receive gifts of love from children.Whether(9)
is a cheap pipe or a diamond neck lace,the proper response is(10)
(appreciate).We love the idea within the gift rather than the thing.