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.