Getting Ready to go Home!
So, it is my final week in Thailand! I can’t believe it is here already!! It feels like just yesterday I got here and was saying this is going to be a long 4 months! In such a short amount of time alot has happened good and some not so good, but all learning experiences. I have met alot of incredible people and created unforgettable memories.(cheesy, but true)
Now I am sitting here worried about going home and adjusting to everything once again and just being home. I have honestly gotten so used to Chiang Mai, and even though during my entire stay a part of me did miss home, I also felt peaceful and that I had a new home in a way. Being here, I didn’t have to worry about work or even school drama, all I had to do was worry about learning some damn Thai and wondering if my skin was going to melt off from the Sun. hahaah
Last night, I started to throw out all of the thing I didnt need and organize stuff to go home. As, I was doing it though, it still did not proces that I will be home in less than a week. Talking to my friends back and hearing the excited makes me happy but I am leaving my comfort zone for the last four months. Granted, there have some people that I was not to fond of and things I was not a big fan of here but it was still my comfort zone and I sort of became attached to it. I know when I get home things are going to be the same, and I am going to feel weird about it
But I am happy to be going home, but I will very much so miss Thailand and a piece of me will always be here
Mae Sod
On the last weekend of April, my IPSL class went on a trip to Mae Sod. Mae Sod is in Tak which is next to the border of Burma. While we were there we stayed in a nice little guest house.
Mae Sod was an eye opening trip because I was not to sure what to expect or how tofeel about it. Meeting all the different people tht I met open my eyes to issues that I had learned about but hearing it from them made it real. As I sat there and listen to the struggles these people wen through, it made me realize how severe the situation was and thier passion to want freedom. You never think about the freedom you have and all te good things in your life until you see someting that makes you think twice. While some people are complaining about thier “outdated” cell phones, other are wondering how they are going to make it through the night.
One particular situation that made me value my rights and freedom even more was when Isaw a couple being arrested for being Burmese. As we saw what was happening the police officer smiled at us as if nothing. What made it harder to watch was that we were not able to do anything about it and could not help these people. These people are working and risking their lives every day working to provide their families with a better lifestyle, but can not because they have to pay police officers off so that they can remain free. After this happened, I truly realized what it meant to be an American traveling in a different countr and how much liberty it gave me. There are things we don’t realize until we are facedwith a situation that makes us think about it.
I appreciated the Mae Sod trip because I was able to step into a different world for a couple days and see what I had learning about for the past four months. On a lighter note, I also did get to try Burmese food which was AMAZING!! Having nan every morning for breakfast and roti, what more could you ask for?! The food was great and I was gld to be able to learn about a different culture also.
Sukhothai
During my Songkran break, I went to Sukhothai with Shannon, Mercy, and Laura. We left Wednesday morning and stayed until Saturday morning. We stayed in the Orchid Hibiscus during our stay in there. The guesthouse was this quiet little getaway close to the the old city. My favorite part of the guesthouse was the pool! It had stars in it, what more could you ask for?! Everyday after we walked around to see Buddha’s, we would jump into the pool to cool off.
While we were there, we woke up before the sun rose and went to watch the sunrise on a mountain with a Buddha. The view was absolutely amazing! The ride there and the climb was hell but totally worth every minute of it. From where we were, we saw the entire city and the sun hitting the Buddha. Because it was still cool in the morning we went to Wat Si Chum, where we met an awesome monk. He talked about the Wat and even let us take pictures of him. Wat Si Chum was even more breathtaking than the pictures and what we learned in Art class. All I wanted to was just crawl on Buddha’s lap and take nap! But I didn’t because I don’t think the people working there would appreciate it to much. After we left, we rode our bikes to see the Diamond Buddha and ran into the monk again and we mediated with him. He gave us a tour and then gave us candy and blessed us.
Later on that evening we went to the national park and watched the sunset. We were so sad that our trip ended so quickly but it was nice to get away from the city and just relax for a couple of days
Songkran
Last week, we had our version of Spring Break and it was AMAZING! In Thailand, they celebrate Songkran which is their version of the New Year. During this time for the main days of Songkran, its one HUGE water fight between everyone. As soon as your in the city, there is no way you are going to stay dry even if your in a song tao. Chiang Mai is known for being the best place to be for Songkran and I must agree. Even on Sunday, before Songkran even really started people were throwing water into the song taos! Shannon, Jess, Maia, Mercy, Zach and I were going to the Sunday market and people would throw water through the windows and there was even this one Thai woman would climbed in our song tao and threw a bucket of water at us. It was all in good fun and we all knew the risk we were taking by going out.
During the three days of Songkran, I went to the city on one of the days and I got completely drenched from head to toe. It was so much fun, just throwing water at people and just acting like little kids. I went into town on Tuesday and it was so much fun not having a care in the world for a couple of hours and just having fun. The Thai people were having wayyy to much fun getting back at us(fa raan). But it was all in good spirit though. The only thing I wasn’t a big fan of was that people were using the moat water to wet us. Only reason I was a big fan of it was because the water is so dirty but I just sucked it up and took a good shower when I got home!
Nan
On March 25th, my Thai Studies program went to Nan, which is East of Chiang Mai. We were told that we were going to be staying in village that was made up of Hmong, Mien, and Lua people.
We arrived in Nan during the early evening, we all gathered at the meeting hall of the town. From there we met Jacob, who was living in the village and doing research on the Hmong people. He helped accommodate us with our families in the village. I, along with Ajan Otome and Zach, were the only ones place in a Lua home. We all stayed in the same house.
When we arrived to the our host home, the house was not ready for any visitors by the looks of it. The home was disorganized and not clean. Ajan Otome spoke with the father of our host family and told us that his son was out of town and would not be back until the next day. The father of our host family went out to buy us some food and gave us sardine and sticky rice in the mean time. We ended up staying in a empty house the first night. Ajan Otome then told us that the reason why the family was so unprepared was because they took us in at the last minute.
The next day we met out host father and got to know a little bit. Our host father was a single dad raising his two children and working in Chiang Mai sometimes during the week. On top of providing for his family, he also works on a project for the children in his village. He is trying to start a foundation and help these children receive a proper education.My host dad seemed pretty laid back for the most part and doing the best to raise his children. The food in his house was okay, it reminded of when my dad would cook on the weekends when my mom wasn’t around. He made ramen noodles with rice, which tasted amazing!
The following day the group as a whole went to an old refugee camp and then to a waterfall. The day trip was fun and very tiring because of the heat. I thought it was good to go back to where the Hmong people first came lived in Thailand. It something you never really hear about especially living in the States. Seeing the refugee camp made it all the more real that these people did run from their native country to seek safety. After we went to the waterfall and showered, I went to the Hmong village to hang out with Mercy, Shannon, and Ashley. We walked around for a while and they introduced me to their families. I ended up eating that evening in Mercy’s house and the food was delicious! After dinner we went to watch a movie in the soccer field of the village and then I went back to my host house.
On the last day while I was hanging out with Mercy, Shannon, Evie, and Ashley we all dressed up in Hmong outfits. It was so much fun playing dress up and jingling around the house. In the evening we had a farewell dinner with our families. Everyone in the program dressed up in their host families traditional clothing. Everyone looked so colorful! During the dinner, the families performed different dances, sang, and played instruments. After our host families performed for us we went on stage and sang “Build Me up Buttercup”, which was just to funny especially since my skirt almost fell off halfway during the performance! Then my host dad, Ajan Otome, Ajan Marcus, Zach, and I did a skit representing the Lua people when they used to hunt. I was laughing the entire time because in the skit I was Zach’s wife, Ajan Marcus was my child, and Ajan Otome was acting out the animals!
Overall the trip was amazing, besides the initial housing situation. I was able to live in a rural village and hear about the struggles these people went through to live in these villages. It also gave me a chance to see how strongly they hold on to their traditions in how they work.
ICU: Easter Class (Ajan Majorie)
On March 12, Mercy,Seashia, and I attended Ajan Majorie’s English class. During this class they were celebrating and talking about the meaning of Easter. Ajan Majorie started off the class by talking about the meaning of Easter and asked us for our input here and there. She talked about the Catholic and American traditional aspect of it. Some of the students seemed interested in the topic but there were others that were bust putting on make-up. It took Mercy, Seashia, and me by surprise because this is something we are not used to seeing back in our home school. As the class went on, the students decorated their eggs and at the end of the class we were going to judge the best one. While the students were decorating their eggs Seashia, Mercy, and I stepped out to hide the candies that Ajan Majorie bought for the students. After the we were done with hiding the candy the class went outside to look for the candy. After they were done looking for the candy we played egg toss with the students. I was one of the last groups standing. The class was fun overall. When the students left we spoke to Ajan Majorie and she thanked us for helping out and we talked about the the student that was putting on make-up during class. She felt the same way we did in the sense that this is behavior that is never done in class. She said that it depended on the kind of student and she tries her best to maintain the students attention. I stayed a little for the next class and saw the difference between both the classes. The second class was a lot interested in what Ajan Majorie was saying and you can see that it mostly depends on the student.
ICU: Geert/ Quality vs Quantity
Quantity/Quality
I think Thailand has the “Quality” characteristic in Geert’s breakdown. Thai people are more inclined to have things look a certain way and have them done right. As oppose to the idea of quantity, where you focus more on the how much of a product is made. One way I see this is how Thai people will make sure their product is presented a certain way and looks like its one of a kind. Also another way you can see this is how when you go into a store you can never find a lot of one product. You’ll see a couple of the same item but never in large amounts. They are also more into this idea of taking things more laid back and not rush it. When I was trying to get my passport pictures, I had to wait until the next day to get the pictures. Usually in the states this isn’t the case, you would wait 15 minutes up to an hour maximum. They prefer the customer to be pleased with the outcome of the product then having large amounts of one.
Bangkok
On the 25th we went to Bangkok, and it was a…..interesting trip lol. The trip there was fun and a little uncomfortable…Eight hours on a train isn’t the greatest thing in the world. It wasn’t the worst thing but the train wasn’t the cleanest and the food was not great. Halfway through the night they shut off the AC thinking no one would notice…yea, didn’t work out that way. I was sweating like a pig by morning and I felt so disgusting all I really wanted was a shower and clean clothes.
We left Chiang Mai 6 in the evening and got to Bangkok the next day early morning. As soon as we got to the guest house, showered, ate breakfast and left for a full day of activities. By the end of the day I was just dead and I needed to get some sleep ASAP.
The next day we went to see historical sites and learned about October 14. The sites were held so much memories and the start to many changes Thailand went through. I learned a lot about the struggles Thai people went through to get their voice heard and to make a difference in their government. Later on in the evening once we were free to roam around I went with some friends to eat and walked around the market. After a while we found saw a cabaret show. It was amazing! I loved every minute of it and on the Friday we went to another one that was longer and it was great. I loved that people can just be free about their sexuality, have fun and express themselves. I must say though, some of those Ladyboy’s were hard to tell! lol
On Thursday, we went to the Prateep Foundation, which is an organization that helps children in rural areas to recieve an education and get ahead in life. We got to see the kids in the school and even play with them for a little bit. They were so adorable! Afterward we went to a refugee center and learned about asylum seekers and refugees. It was informative and we got to see for ourselves and learn about the struggles these people go through daily in trying to survive. It was good to know that they had a place where they could find some peace and help.
Overall the trip was amazing. I learned so much more about Thailand than before. It was also great that we were able to see the historical sites for ourselves and get visual on different aspects of Thailand; from the expensive malls to the slums of it. Bangkok definitely did remind me of New York city, in the way it was so BUSY and there was much, much more diversity there. I loved it because didn’t need to take song tao to where I needed to go; all I had to do was just hop on the sky train. It was a different scenery from Chiang Mai and it was nice to get out of Chiang Mai for a couple of days and walk around the busy streets of Bangkok. It was also amazing going to the Wats and seeing the Emerald Buddha and the reclining Buddha! Amazing! Even though I thought the Emerald Buddha was going to be bigger it was still amazing and the artwork in the temple was breathtaking.
ICU: Language Class
Last week, I went to a English class to talk about American culture. A few of the other students in my program were also there. Let me start with saying that I got lost trying to get there! I had no clue where the class was but I eventually found my way. When I got there with Mercy, our other friends from the program were there. Before the class started, the teacher spoke to us and let us know what area we were going to be talking about.
The students in the class were getting ready for their final and us being the panelist served a study guide for them in a way. We talked about the American flag the repect held behind it; comparing it to the respect they have for the images of the King (money). We then got into subject of 9/11; which was a little uncomfortable. When one of the students asked us about 9/11 some of the class began to snicker. Although they could have been laughing at something else, the panelist including myself became upset about this. I know there is a cultural difference but I think there are issues that are not suppose to be funny. We explained to them that this wasn’t a funny incident and that many people lost thier live because of such a tragic event. Even though we exlpained to them I don’t feel like they really understood how much that upset us. We later talked about the idea of Big Brother in relation to the government.
We ended the class by talking about the this idea of the “melting pot” and “tossed salad”. We talked to the class about how America is so culturally diversed that we do not usually if at all call someone a foreigner the way Thailand does. I found the class to be interesting in finding about how they understood the different concepts we talked about in American culture. It did make me a little upset when they laughed about 9/11. I know that Thai people have the at times take things light but I felt like they should have been more conscious about what they were talking about. Although it has been almost 8 years, it is day that will always be remembered sadly. I feel as though maybe when teaching the students about different cultures, there should be a section in where they talk about being more culturally sensitive. But I found the class to be fun and also and eye opener.
ICU: Luncheon on Friday
On Friday, I had lunch with some Thai students to help them with having conversations in English. When we got there I thought it was going to be in a classroom setting with assigned students.But when we got there we spoke to the professor and she said that we were to sit with them and ask them questions and get them to talk. After I bought my lunch I sat down at one of the tables in the canteen with two of my friends and 4 Thai students and another professor. The lunch first started off very quiet and then I started to ask one of the Thai students questions. I can’t remember her name because she was extremely quiet and did not really say anything unless I asked her something. The other Thai students, Lizzy, Hon, & Xin, were more conversational with us. At the beginning Hon asked us where we from and what our name was. Lizzy proceeded to the same a little bit after and Xin came towards the end of the lunch. Xin seemed to be the most talkative and asking questions and maintaining the conversation. Hon was also interactive but was talking more with the professor. Lizzy was a third year, Hon was a fourth year, and Xin was a second year and all of them were English major. Xin was the only student there that wasn’t Thai. All the students seemed interested about where we lived and where we from. For the most part I think they did a good job in responding to us and asking questions. I thought the activity was cool, in my opinion, it gave me a chance to get to know other students on campus. I can’t wait to do more!
