"Not as Expected 2/10"

"Not as Expected

08/16/2016

When I signed up for the Marine Biology trip to Fiji, I was so excited. I love engaging in new experiences and making friends from all over the world. However, my expectations were quickly depleted. To start off, the social environment of the trip was awful. Everyone was super cliquey, and it reminded me of middle school. There were 2 distinct friend groups on the trip, and if possible, they had little interaction as possible. It wasn't a fun environment to be stuck in for 16 days. Because of this, I was incredibly homesick for most of the trip.

Next, my initial trip leaders were rude and distant towards me. They made us do push-ups if we were even 5 minutes late to an activity. I understand if timeliness is important, but then in turn, they themselves would be 30 minutes late to an activity. The hypocrisy drove me insane. The two trip leaders made no effort to befriend me, and only learned my name 4 days into the trip, even though there are only 15 children and we spent all day together. When I informed my trip leaders of an intense skin reaction I was having that looked like chicken pox, they told me to "get used to it" and that I would probably have it for the next 3 weeks, giving me no medicine or actual diagnosis. Needless to say, that wasn't comforting at all. Then, I continuously had stomach problems because my body had a hard time adjusting to Fijian food, and when I told my trip leaders, they either didn't believe me or acted irritated. In addition, they advised against using medicine I had brought on the trip for that specific sickness. Overall, they did very little to help me adjust and made me grow less likely to reach out to them for help.

Lastly, the simple day-to-day living environment was a bit tricky as well. I was surprised to find myself without warm water or electricity for more than half the trip. I was essentially camping, which wasn't what I had initially signed up for. Herds of rats came into my tent 3 nights in a row, preventing me from getting very much sleep. As for the food, a lot of it was inedible because they didn't remove the bones, so I found myself incredibly hungry and ended up eating unhealthy foods to make up for my loss of food intake. The daily activities were fun, but sometimes a bit too intense. A mandatory 3 hour hike in the hottest part of the day made one of my friends vomit and made us an hour and a half late to lunch, when we were all hungry before we even left. Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this trip to my friends."

Review from GoOverseas.com, found here.

Head of Rustic Pathways Sexual Misconduct Scandal

You may want to check out the following article on the sexual misconduct scandal involving the head of Rustic Pathways, who still has ownership of the company and access to all program sites.

"

• Two low-ranking male staff members reported being coerced by Venning into sex acts while they massaged Venning, even though the employees had told Venning the contact was unwelcome. Both employees said they were not homosexual, and that they complied with Venning due to Southeast Asian culture that strongly discourages refusing orders from "the boss." A third employee said he rebuffed Venning after Venning touched him "in an unwelcome sexual manner" including his "private area." (The third now-former employee in a message to cleveland.com praised Venning, and denied that anything bad happened to him while he worked for Rustic Pathways.)
• The three employees who the memo said had unwelcome sexual contact with Venning said Venning paid them before or afterward. The company memo described the payments as "pocket money" or "tips."
• Venning impeded the investigation by refusing to provide to company officials records from his computer, the memo said. He also admitted to deleting files from the computer, according to the memo.
• He also intimidated and disparaged an American student whose February 2013 complaint, drawn from conversations with Asian staff, launched the investigation, and pressured subordinates to stop the investigation before it was complete, according to the memo.
• Venning arranged for underage students traveling with the company to be taken to the Red Light District in Bangkok, Thailand, where, the memo said, the students witnessed prostitution and possibly witnessed sexual activity. The trip to the red light district, which the company told cleveland.com was impromptu and unsanctioned, took place during a program through which students learned about impoverished and marginalized people in Thailand.
• "

Read the full article here.

Do you want to post about your Rustic Pathways Experience?

Rustic Pathways does a great job of making sure that most of the information available about their company on the internet is positive. But we know that personal experiences vary, so this is the place to share any problems you may have had working for Rustic Pathways or as a Rustic Pathways student or parent.

If you would like to share your story, leave a comment and we will repost it as a full post.

This blog is not affiliated with or managed by Rustic Pathways.

"Very Expensive"

"Reasonably-priced volunteer placements for 16-year-old

March 2009 Would like suggestions for almost 16 year old son for volunteering placements, organizations outside of Bay Area that are priced reasonably or offer financial aid. Looking for 2-3 week stints. Rustic Pathways would be an example of very expensive. Sarah"

Posted here in April, 2009. 

"The trips are NOT as advertised"

"Cons:
-If you aren't a social butterfly, you might want to take a friend. Everyone is in "I must make friends" mode for the first few days, so if you don't find a friend quickly you're kind of out of luck for the trip. Everyone is really nice though, it's just high school clique-ish-ness that's at fault.

-The trips are NOT as advertised. The itinerary is total crap. The trip will still be amazing, but it will be because of the few special moments you have and bonds you form with the local people, not because of all the picturesque things described in the itinerary. The days of the trip will likely be more repetitive than described. For example, on my Service in the Clouds trip, each day during the first week in our first village we taught English in the morning and built a playground in the evening. It didn't feel at all mundane, but it wasn't the shiny list of different activities every day that was described in the itinerary. Don't get your hopes up for one particular event described in the itinerary, just read it for the general feel/focus of the trip, which IS maintained.

Counselors: What you get as a Rustic counselor is a young adult who is a very experienced traveller but wants to enjoy the trip just like you do. You don't get a teacher or a mom. This can be a pro or a con. For example, I am kind of a worrier so when I got a weird-looking bug bit in India I freaked out and got kind of hypochondriac. My counselors were nonchalant about it, and they were correct because it turned out to be nothing and they are experienced enough to know it, but they didn't take me to the doctor or anything which was a bit disconcerning to me, being the worrier I am. It has also been great, though, because the students get a lot of freedom during their trips because the counselors can relate to the students and the counselors seem approachable and fun to the students. They are not at all unqualified, just young and wanting to enjoy travelling along with you. It's as if you are going on a trip with a slightly-older friend who can show you the ropes and stuff."

- from a rustic pathways student

"high turnover, low employee morale"

"Rustic Pathways Anonymous:   (Current Employee)

“Good at first, then gets rough”

Pros

travel and freedom to work on projects that interest you.

See the world, get experience in many areas of business

Interacting with teenagers and watching them enjoy new experiences

Cons

expectation that you don't take days off...ever.

low pay, because they think you get 'experience' by traveling

high turnover, low employee morale, bad management and ownership

Advice to Senior Management

Pay attention to employee's quality of life. Take care of the employees and keep in mind that being overworked leads to lower quality work"

- from a current employee

"no response from owner of company"

"

Rustic Pathways Travel Manager:   (Current Employee)

“Lots of travel and hours with little compensation”

Pros

- Travel
- Meet new people and experience new cultures
- assist people in need
- visit amazing location
- 6 weeks vacation
- company covers costs while abroad

Cons

- You only travel to one location, over and over again
- low pay
- expected to work without days off during summer period
- expected to travel through the states in hotels that cost under $80 a night and with no daily stipend
- expected to work weekends during sales season
- no response from owner of company
-horrible hr department

Advice to Senior Management

- I would suggest a new hr department"

-from a current employee