Lindsey Mederich’s trip to Bangkok, Thailand, this summer will be her first, but it won’t be a relaxing jaunt. The 20-year-old says her trip will help her see a new country, meet new people, and delve deeper into the causes of poverty.

Mederich will be far from her home in Naperville, Illinois. A psychology major at IU Bloomington, Mederich plans to spend her time teaching English to Thai children who live in the slums of Bangkok and massaging patients at an AIDS hospice through the Global Inter Trek program organized by Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. The purpose of the Trek is to call students to consider ministry to the poorest cities.

She will work with Thai women to develop crafts that they can sell to make money for their families. The women she will work with are at risk for a lifestyle of prostitution, which exacerbates the issue of AIDS. To prepare for this internship, Mederich read 500 pages of articles on urban poverty and underwent five days of discussion and training.

“I was interested in turning this amazing experience of volunteering in Bangkok into more of a service-learning opportunity,” Mederich says.

Mederich, who plans to graduate in December 2005, explains why she took the internship and how this experience will help her in her major area of study.