Songkran Break & Koh Chang Beach

View from dive boat
Lunch on the beach
Jumping off of snorkeling boat
After news of protests going on in Bangkok during the same time we were to travel through it to get to Koh Chang we were a bit concerned. We were reassured that we would not be affected and learned that it had passed quickly anyway. So we were on our way with a flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, taxi from airport to bus station, taxi from bus station to ferry in Trat, taxi from ferry to our destination in Koh Chang! Certainly a lengthy journey and what made it feel even longer is the fact that food poisoning decided to set in in my body on our way down. After losing fluids in all directions when we finally reached our bungalos I could not do much other than lay in bed. After a day had gone by and I was getting worse it was time for a trip to the local hospital. This was not exactly exciting considering I had never needed to go to a hospital before coming to Thailand and now this would be the second time. The doctors gave me an IV of water and glucose but it took them about five times to finally insert a needle in my arm since my veins were so dehydrated. That certainly didn't feel too pleasant but I felt much better after being there for quite a few hours with Kel by my side... until the songtaew/taxi ride home! The driver who knew he had just picked someone up from the hospital decided it would be a great idea to drive like a maniac all the way home, bumping us around over the awfully paved road and speeding around turns like his life depended on it. So I felt sick again but after a good night's sleep I felt much better in the morning, I was even able to make a trip to the beach in the afternoon.

The next day I felt almost perfect and went on a scuba diving trip with Reid. This was his first time so he took some diving lessons with a couple others on the boat while I went on a couple dives with some other certified divers. This made my trip to Koh Chang complete and at this point I did not care that I had been so sick previously. No pain no gain I guess in this situation. The sites underwater were gorgeous and the water temperature was perfect. The crew was great especially my dive master, Tea! The following day most of us went on a snorkeling boat trip. Another positive adventure especially since I have never actually been snorkeling; only scuba diving. It was so fun to swim among the shallow coral and see many new fish I hadn't seen the day before.

Village Home Stay in Pa Klang - Nan Province

View from lychee farm on top of mountain
Mercy and brothers on lychee farm
My home for the week
Mercy and I with our host moms
Walking through the village at sunset
Crazy squirrel
For this trip our Thai studies group traveled to the province of Nan which is located in North-Eastern Thailand on the border of Laos. In this village there were three main ethnic minority groups including Hmong, Lua, and Mien. I stayed with a Hmong family on my own during this stay. It was a much different experience not having a friend stay in the same home as me but I was grateful for this change as I realized how much more I was able to connect with the family.

This trip was a lot more relaxed than our last village home stay since we didn't have a fully packed schedule. This left us with free time to explore the village and partake in activities that our families wanted us to experience. I was living right around the corner from my friend Mercy and our families were related so I spent a lot of time with her and her family throughout the week. The first night we arrived Mercy's family and mine took us to a funeral in the village. A strange thought at first but it was more of a celebration than a mourning.

We basically spent the week exploring, being lazy, and spending time with our families. Mercy's family took us to their lychee farm which was at the very top of one of the mountains surrounding the village. It was huge and gorgeous but the fruit was not ripe yet so we couldn't taste test! Among other adventures was a trip to a mango farm-- we got to taste test this time :). One night there was an area set up outside where a couple movies were played under the stars-- a lot of fun! Since among most of these adventures Mercy and I were hanging out with her brothers it was a bit of a heartache leaving them and our families. The oldest brother, Song, shed some tears during our departure from the village and it was really difficult to leave. You spend a week with a family, can hardly communicate verbally, yet it is so easy to become attached to each other... to really care for each other. The people in this village were so loving and very brave to put up with us! We were the first group of foreign students to be hosted in the village.

Chiang Rai - Akha Village Trip

View from beginning of hiking trail
Some bananas!
Nick adding to the pile
Some cool bugs
Nick and Kel on our way to the trail
Standing in the back of the pick up truck on our way to the village during sunset
Ahhh. A trip away from all the hustle and bustle of school and peers. For this trip I traveled with two friends, Kelly and Nick, to Chiang Rai province which is North of Chiang Mai. We only planned to take a bus there but had no plans otherwise. After arriving in Chiang Rai after a five or six hour bus ride, we spoke with a few people about places to visit and decided to think about it over lunch. We decided to have lunch on the river which turned out to be dried up and full of green life so we had lunch in a restaurant close to the dried up 'river'. The area of Chiang Rai surrounding the bus station reminded me of Chiang Mai. It felt as if we drove in circles for hours on the bus and ended right back where we left from.

We finally decided to visit an Akha hilltribe village which was awhile away in the mountains of Chiang Rai. We were loaded in the back of a pickup truck along with a couple other travelers from Norway and we were on our way... or not. After what we assumed was about halfway there we suddenly turned around and ended up back at the bus station. What is going on?? It turns out we went back to pick up a few more travelers who were going to the village as well and then we were actually on our way... standing up for lack of room to sit. Once we drove past the area where we first turned around we soon realized why it was important to turn around where we did to pick up the others. We had a long way ahead of us! Steep, uphill, winding, dirt roads filled with rocks, potholes, and low branches were what were in store for us. We clinged on to the metal guard rail surrounding the bed of the pick up truck in which we stood trusting that it was sturdy enough to hold us. And finally... we made it.

We checked into our bungalos, explored a bit, had dinner and a couple drinks and went to bed. In the morning we decided to go on a hike through the jungle which surrounded the village. The hike was successful overall but we had some minor mishaps such as getting somewhat lost (although we were on a trail). We followed a certain trail which began going downhill and soon realized as we reached a burial site and an obviously unwalked trail that we may need to find a new route. The burial site was interesting though because it was obviously not a Buddhist burial in which they cremate their dead, but perhaps an Animist burial which may be reflective of the Akha people.

After finding our way back to the village, Kelly and I decided to head back out to find a waterfall that wasn't too far away. Although she managed to fall on her butt only after a simple 'hi' from a couple walking by, we successfully made it to the waterfall which we discovered we had completely to ourselves.

After a longer than expected journey home to Chiang Mai, I quickly rushed to my art class in which I managed to be only ten minutes late to.

ICU - Masculinity Versus Femininity

For this assignment I will talk about Hofstede's concept of masculinity versus femininity. According to Hofstede, a more masculine culture would focus on achievment, aquisition of money, and gain in general whereas a feminine culture would focus more on interdependence. Obviously my main comparisons will be between home in the US and Thailand. Without a doubt, Hofstede would consider the US to have an overall masculine culture. People in general, not just males as you may infer from the title of Hofstede's concept, are very independent and often seek gain for themselves. It seems it is common for a person in the US to make decisions for themselves with minimal regard for family members' input.

Hofstede would most definitely consider Thai culture to be feminine. Families here in Thailand seem to be more intent on staying close with their families and certainly not expecting their children to move far away. Families here depend on each other (not to say those in the US don't) and don't seem to need to work more than is necessary to remain happy.

I have seen some of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen here yet none of them are obnoxiously large. A family in the US might own a home with six bedrooms when there are only three people in the family- perhaps to prove or give an illusion of achievement (or just to have typical American space)- whereas a family in Thailand might own a home that has two bedrooms when there are five or more people in the family. Perhaps it is for economical reasons that families in Thailand seem to be more interdependent, but it doesn't seem like a bad quality for Americans to take another look at.

Speaking from a middle class family point of view, in American culture, families tend to urge their children to complete school successfully- and immediately or not too long afterwards (if they have not already) move out and begin a career. In Thai culture it seems quite different. Sure, families urge their children to successfully complete school if they can afford to support their child financially in this matter, but it seems quite rare for a family to urge their child to, for example, study abroad across the world. If a student wants to do this it seems quite difficult to initiate without their parents' consent for reason of guilt and perhaps for financial reasons. In the US, a student may consider traveling abroad even if their parents aren't crazy about the idea of them doing so. Certainly with debt as it is in The States, loans are common for any student to acquire to accomplish the goal of traveling wherever they want to study and not necessarily depending on their parent's money.

A great example is me coming to study in Chiang Mai. Once I considered traveling here for the semester, I felt my decision to come fell on my shoulders. So what if my parents didn't want me to go? I knew it would be a great opportunity for me and would positively affect the rest of my life. So what if my parents didn't want to pay? I would run right over to the nearest bank and get myself an appropriate sized loan (however indebted it would make me). Is this selfish? Basically, yes. As a young adult I feel my decisions are mostly mine and while I do care about what my family's thoughts are, it is difficult to rationalize choosing their decision (if it is drastically different) over mine after being raised in such an independent culture. As this was just an example and not my actual circumstance-- I thank my parents for accepting and understanding why I wanted to take part in this adventure, for being encouraging, and for helping me financially as well. I am very lucky.

RAIN!

Rain @ PIH
More rain @ PIH!
Shannon Des & Ginny @ Irish Pub
It rained for the first time since I arrived in Chiang Mai yesterday!!! I can't say I have missed it for the past sixty days... but I was so happy to see it! Some friends and I were gathered in the PIH common area getting ready to head out for some St. Patty's Day celebration when the wind started acting up and blowing the trees and our hair everywhere! After a nice big glass of Guiness at the Irish Pub (yes, Irish pubs in Thailand!!) and a glance out the window, we soon realized it was pouring down rain and was accompanied by some booming thunder and bright lighting! How amazing it was! Luck of the Irish as Kate put it ;) and indeed it must be true... that is unless the king made it rain. Either way, much needed rain on St. Patty's Day was exciting especially while listening to some live Irish music.

Today was much cooler and it felt great to breathe in the air once again! We have been clogged up with pollution for the past couple weeks causing most of us to become sick mostly with fatigue and congestion problems. There has been 'controlled' burning taking place in the mountains surrounding Chiang Mai and all of the crud and smoke has been lingering in the air with no where to go! There is hope finally that the air is beginning to clear.

I will probably be heading further up North this weekend to do some exploring near the border of Burma in Chiang Rai then next week our Thai Studies group will be on our way to Non, a province to the East of Chiang Mai, to stay in another village for a few days.

Excursion to Bangkok aka Krung Thep กรุงเท

Homes on the canal tour
@ Duang Prateep Foundation
Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn)

Our trip to Bangkok was a great trip jam-packed with activities and 100+ degree weather. We traveled all day every day and were drenched in sweat by the time we got back to our hotel each day. It was well worth it though, we went to Duang Prateep Foundation which was set up to help people in the Klong Toey slum area in Bangkok. We learned about the foundation and toured the slum itself. It was saddening to witness it first hand but I'm glad I could see how these people are actually living. We also visited Bangkok Regugee Center where they house registered refugees from many different countries. It was interesting to hear that even though they are registered through a refugee organization they are still at risk to be arrested as soon as they step outside of the center. They live their lives in constant fear there, although in many cases it is a lot better than what they have to deal with in their home countries. We were able to speak with some of them and tour the center where they can attend class and even work to make small amounts of money by teaching fellow refugees or by running the coffee shop for certain shifts that is within their center.

We traveled to Wat Arun (The temple of the Emerald Buddha) which was amazing to see as well as the murals of the Ramayana stories which covered the walls surrounding the temple grounds. We saw the Royal Barges Museum where they keep the barges that were used for the Royal Barge processions. Another stop was to Thammasat University, formerly known as The University of Moral and Political Science. It is famous for it's students standing up for democracy to an extent where a lot of them were killed. One of the last places I visited was a forensic museum located near the Royal Hospital. It was full of dead bodies of murderers as well as deformed babies' bodies. It was quite disturbing!

The night life was fun and full of things to do. There were markets throughout the streets just as there are all over Thailand, and many restaurants and bars. I went to a couple Katoey (lady boy) caberet shows and they were actually a lot of fun to watch!

We took an overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok each way which was definitely a first for me. Songkran break is coming up soon so we are planning a trip to fly from Chiang Mai to Bangkok this time since it will only be an hour as opposed to a 12 hour train ride, then take a shorter train from Bangkok to Ko Chang in the South... then a ferry to the island! The first three days of break though will be spent in Chiang Mai because there will be a huge water fight going on throughout the whole city!

English Camp

Welcome!
Children before activities began
Singing and dancing
For English Camp we spent a day at Watpranonmongphueng School. We split the students up (as well as ourselves) into separate groups. We set up stations where each group participated in a particular activity and after a certain amount of time moved to the next station. Our game was an acting game called 'Guess What' in which a student would have to act out an occupation that we told them in English while their classmates tried to guess what it was and say it in English as well.

Valentine's Day Children's Hostel Visit

Plants we painted together
Hangin out!
On Valentine's Day some students who live at PIH including myself went on a trip to a youth hostel to spend some time with the children who ranged in age from about 5 to 17 years old. The children were from various areas in Thailand and were living there for many different reasons. We sat together outside where we played games and did some activities. The children all performed a song for us and some of the older children did some traditional dancing for us which you can see in the video below. Towards the end of our stay we gave the children gifts that we brought for them and we concluded with lunch. They were really great kids and a lot of fun to be around so I was sad to leave.

ICU Observation - Warorot Market

This picture was not taken by me but it was taken from a footbridge connecting two multistory buildings which were filled with vendors. You can see songtaews (red trucks) and tuk tuks (blue smaller vehicles) lined up along the side of the road ready to transport market goers since parking is near impossible.
For this assignment we chose a place in Chiang Mai to hangout at and observe our surroundings. I am going to write a little bit about Warorot Market which is located a bit north of the Night Bazaar. It was my first trip to this market and it was quite overwhelming! You can find anything from fresh food and fresh flowers to jewelry and hill tribe clothing, all at great prices! Every direction you turn, down every alley, you will find vendors ready to bargain with you for their products. It was not unusual for vendors to venture away from their stalls for a bit while their neighbors looked after their products.

I noticed all types of people wandering around the market including Monks, locals, and farang. I never saw any of the Monks purchase anything at the market but there were a few who were enjoying lunch at one of the food areas where I ate. The locals I assume were the majority of the vendors and people purchasing goods from the market and the farang who included myself were minimal but well dispersed.

Communication between vendors and shopkeepers and customers was very civilized and mostly to the point. There didn't appear to be any sort of hierarchical status between seller and buyer because one held the power of having the product and the other held the power of having money to buy the product. All bargaining I witnessed seemed to flow smoothly because most of the people who were buying seemed to know exactly what they wanted and what kind of price they usually buy it for.

It was a lot of fun to bargain prices for products now that I have learned how to do so in Thai! Great time at Warorot Market!

Guest in Customs & Holidays in English-Speaking Countries

One of the activities for the ICU course was to help teach English major Thai students more about customs & holidays in English-speaking countries. The class I attented with two other Thai studies students was specifically for Valentine's Day. We talked with the students about what it's like living as a student in America and about what we traditionally do on Valentine's Day. Towards the end of the class we all made Valentine's cards and played 'love' music!

Language Lunch Exchange

Two out of four of the activities scheduled for the ICU course were called Language Lunch Exchange. A few students from the Thai studies program and myself met some of the students majoring in English at the cantene on campus. We sat and talked for about an hour on two separate occasions so we could get to know each other better. It gave us all the opportunity to learn more about each others' cultures and ask any questions we wanted to ask. It was a fun experience and we made some new friends out of it.

ICU

ดอกไม้

Dok Mai - my Thai nickname which means flower
One of the courses we are taking while studying here is called Intercultural Understanding. For this course we are expected to post on certain topics throughout the semester so I decided to keep everything on the same blog. Just a heads up! :)

Mae Chaem

Local village temple
Home in the village
Walking to the crematorium site
Bintou, our host Mom, her daughter and grandchild
Playing in the river before dinner

Hi! I haven't posted in awhile but I hope you have all been checking out pics on Facebook. Two weeks ago our Thai studies group went to stay in a village for a week with host families. There were two of us to each family and for the first half of the week our Thai buddies came to stay with us. Thai buddies are students from Payap who are involved with helping the Thai studies group. It was very helpful while they were staying with us because they were able to help make communication a lot easier. My friend Bintou and I stayed with our 'Meh' (Mom) and her two grandchildren. It was a great experience to see how some villagers live. It was very old-fashioned by our standards but simple and more stress-free. We attended Thai language class everyday outside in front of the village's wat (temple). During the trip we helped build a new crematorium... although it sounds creepy it was a lot of fun. We also visited some local waterfalls which I hope you have seen pictures of already. Despite my new found dismay for roosters which were all over the village and didn't just 'cock-a-doodle-do' at dawn but all throughout the day/night... the trip was great and we were fed great home-cooked meals everyday!

Much love!

PIH

My home for the semester
View from my room
Cows out front finishing someone's cereal
Paradornparp International House (PIH) is where I am living which houses many of the international students that study at Payap University. It houses both Thais who want to live with foreigners (farang) as well as people from many other countries. It's a great facility and everyone is very friendly. Thais are very laid back, always willing to help out and make new friends. Today I joined a local gym for the semester at 1700 baht (about $50 US). I definitely enjoy the prices here! Tonight was the first night our Thai Studies group met formally. We were brought to the local hospital to show us the procedure we would have to go through in the event of a medical problem, then we all headed off to the Sunday Night Market which is very popular in Chiang Mai. The market was gorgeous and was a lot of fun. I saw my first temples along the streets of the market which were immaculate. There were many Monks around them and they lead a chant throughout the evening inside one of the temples which a couple friends and I sat in on a portion of. It was great to experience the energy and calamity inside the temple while the chant was taking place. Tomorrow is our first full orientation day which we will use to discuss classes as well as begin our Thai Language class! There is a dinner planned at night and the following day I hear we will be staying out for a meditation retreat.

Almost There

Beijing airport
Coke & Yuan (thanks Pirreras for the money!)
Hey everyone! I am in Beijing sitting at the gate for my departure to Bangkok. My first two flights went well and I hope the same goes for the next two! Originally, I was scheduled to fly from Philadelphia to Beijing with a connection in Chicago but last night my flight was cancelled due to bad weather in Chicago. Thanks to my dad for calling me as soon as he heard about the cancellation! I called to reschedule my flight and they directed me through San Francisco to Beijing; a smart move!

I was talking with a girl before the flight to San Francisco and we were coincidentally seated next to each other. It turns out she has worked a number of jobs in the Hospitality field and we had a nice talk on the flight about the Hospitality industry since it is my major. Just before landing, the pilot and crew talked her into playing her acoustic guitar over the intercom on the plane. It was a lot of fun and helped the flight end on a nice note for everyone and I’m sure it was worth it for her to be able to say she played her guitar 40,000 feet in the air!

My flight from San Francisco to Beijing was the longest flight I have had, although, it didn’t feel that long. The twelve hour trip was sped up with quite a few hours of napping as well as a couple movies… can’t go wrong with Jason Statham! We were also served a few meals during the flight which were actually pretty yummy. It is difficult to get comfortable in those seats, so aside from being a wiggle worm, the flight was generally pleasing.

According to my luggage tags and an airline employee, my luggage is being transferred after each flight to my new destination which means I don’t have to pick it up after each flight (even though I am flying different airlines). Whether this is correct information or not may be a different story. I’m hoping that I will be greeted by my bright orange suitcases at the baggage claim in Chiang Mai!

Almost there…

Love,
Ashley