Spring Semester in Thailand » share the experience!

We had an excellent time with our friends at the Lahu and Akha village of Ban Ba Lha this past week.  Ban Ba Lha, a small village a few hours north of Chiang Mai, is experiencing both pain and hope.  The village is home to the Black Lahu, Yellow Lahu, and Akha ethnic groups.  These peoples have come into northern Thailand fairly recently as a result of conflicts in their Chinese and Burmese homelands.  The Lahu, Akha, and other  “hill tribes”, as they are called, are often looked down upon by ethnic Thais, and are generally poor.  Most of the people of Ban Ba Lha make a living farming feed corn on the steep hills surrounding the village.  However, the soil surrounding the village is poor in nutrients.  Therefore, the farmers must keep on burning down patches of forest to grow more corn because their original fields can no longer support the crop.  As the forest has receded, animals that the villagers used to hunt for food, such as wild boar, jungle fowl, and deer, have disappeared.  The loss of trees on the mountain slopes means that the topsoil gets quickly washed into the rivers.  This loss of topsoil makes it near impossible to grow crops in the future.  In addition, the soil in the rivers smothers aquatic insects, which are the food for fish.  As a result, there are fewer fish for the villagers to eat and the fish that are present are smaller than they should be.

Despite these negative effects, the villagers continue to plant corn because they can get a good amount of money from multinational agribusinesses (on average about $3000 per year or $250 per month for each family of four).  However, the villagers become dependent on these businesses for their lives.  In the past, the Lahu and Akha people practiced subsistence farming, planting crops which they needed to survive.  Now, they plant only field corn, which they cannot eat but can sell for money to buy food.  The type of corn they grow is a hybrid variety.  This means that the corn they grow is a cross between two different strains of other corn.  Hybrid corn can grow faster than non-hybrid corn, but the seeds of hybrid corn cannot grow when they’re planted in the ground.  Therefore, the farmers must buy hybrid corn seeds from the large businesses they sell their corn to.  They are totally dependent on the company to buy their seeds and to sell their crop.  In short, they have lost much of their economic independence so they can simply earn a living.

One of the men in Ban Ba Lha saw how burning down the forest to grow corn meant that future generations would have no fertile land to farm on and decided to do something about it.  Witoon Daleethong, a Lahu man of about thirty who grew up in Ban Ba Lha, decided to help his fellow villagers diversify their crops.  Witoon was privileged enough to obtain a master’s degree in Sustainable Development from Chiang Mai University.  Instead of using his degree to earn money for himself, Witoon had a vision of returning to Ban Ba Lha to make sure future generations could continue to farm there.  However, Witoon’s wife and parents opposed this idea.  People get degrees so they can move out of their small village to make money in the city, they said.  His wife wanted to stay in Chiang Mai or move to Bangkok and she thought Witoon’s dream was frivolous.  After a few years of tears and struggle, Witoon was finally able to return to Ban Ba Lha with his family.

Witoon wanted his fellow villagers to plant fruit trees, tea, and coffee trees where they had been planting corn.  These trees would be able to grow in the nutrient-poor soil and their roots would prevent soil erosion.  In addition, the trees would be able to provide habitat for some of the animals that had disappeared from the area due to slash-and-burn agriculture.  Growing trees would also allow the farmers to be more independent, as they would not have to depend on large agri-businesses to buy or sell their crops.  However, trees cost a lot to buy and take several years to mature.  The farmers would have no income for a few years until the trees bore their fruits, which would be very difficult for the farmers.  As a result, only few farmers wanted to follow Witoon’s advice, and many thought he was crazy for wanting to plant something other than corn.

Over time, however, and thanks to the work of Ajarn Mike and former SST student Jonathan Adam, farmers in Ban Ba Lha began to catch Witoon’s vision.  They saw how fruit trees, especially bananas, could provide a steady, robust income while protecting the soil so future generations could continue to farm.  The farmers saw Ajarn Mike and SST students help Witoon with planting the trees and catch his vision.  Seeing foreigners support the effort to diversify crops encouraged village farmers to do the same. Many farmers realized that it would not be that difficult to plant a few trees on their land and began to do so.  Today, over 50 farmers have formally decided to have a co-op with Witoon, in which they help each other plant trees and sell their produce and these farmers receive financial help from Jonathan’s Restore ministry.  Now other farmers are planting trees on some areas of their land without joining the co-op.  (See the website thaiconnections.org/fcf/projectrestore  and short videos which describes Jonathan’s Restore ministry www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4b4uoS1uD4&feature=share also http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQvSlatnfus ).

This year, we wanted to help Witoon and other farmers expand the proportion of their land devoted to growing trees by planting 1,000 bananas.  The farmers supplied all the trees and we simply supplied a few hours of labor each day.  Together, we were able to plant a total of 1,006 banana trees over six days! The task of planting bananas was hard work, but we had a lot of fun doing it. Banana trees don’t have seeds we can plant, so we would transplant the stumps of banana trees to the desired area.  Each year, a banana plant can send up about six new trunks and also produce about 60 pounds of bananas for consumption or sale.  Many of these new trunks are unnecessary, so farmers will often uproot a few trunks from each banana plant, cut off the stump from the trunks, and replant the stumps in a new location.  The stump will then grow into a new banana tree. We had the fun of planting these trunks in farmers’ fields surrounding the village.  A group of us would carry the banana trunks from their original location to the site the farmers had selected.  Another group of us would slide the bananas down the hill to holes we or the farmers had dug.  The third group would fill in the soil around the banana stumps.  This division of labor was not only effective, but also helped us grow together as a team. It is amazing what can be accomplished when working together!  Next year at this time the villagers will have approximately 60,000 pounds of bananas they can sell to the many elephant camps, domestic consumers, and/or to the Chiang Mai Zoo.

During our time at Ban Ba Lha, we got to know many of the people.  Members of our group got to stay with host families throughout the village, both Lahu and Akha.  Our stay with the families helped us to see village life at a deeper level.  We had the opportunity to play with many of the children of the village in the afternoon and evenings, something that both the children and we looked forward to. Overall, our time in Ban Ba Lha was very rewarding and fun!

Blog post #12 was written by Jared Franklin, a senior Environmental Science Major from Messiah College.

1365296441 600 900 600 900

The morning I moved out of my home stay was a surreal one. There is always this strange continuum between sadness and excitement when one is going out to experience something new but leaving behind a place that you have started to call home is difficult. It started with the same breakfast that I have eaten in the same chair looking out at the same garden across from the same person (Peter Huang) for the last two months. Only this time was the last time. Then as I did every day, I went and brushed my teeth. Finally, Peter and I put our bags in Khun Pa’s car and drove to the university. Not forever though because I decided to leave my bag there to have an excuse to come back later for one final time!

After we got to CMU and said our final goodbyes, we got on the bus and drove off to begin our field trip. The first stop would be in Lampang at a very beautiful temple that contained this really interesting Worship hall that had a slit in it so that one could see the reflection of the massive Chedi from the outside on a white piece of cloth resting within it. I remember doing as I normally like to do at temples: sitting in front of the Buddha and enjoying the tranquility of the space as Buddhists come and perform their worship to the teachings of Buddha by bowing three times. For some reason, I find so much peace there, and I always find myself being overwhelmed by the greatness of God. I can’t help but think that His presence must be in this place and that ultimately these acts of seeking something greater by these Buddhists are simply worshiping the God of ultimate truths. And it overwhelms me and I feel God.

At lunch we celebrated three birthdays: Annabelle’s which was that day, mine which was on March 13th, and Elaine’s which was on March 21st. In traditional SST fashion, cakes were bought in our honor and a song was sung for all of us. That afternoon we explored the ruins at Si Satchanalai Historical Park, and by evening made it to Sukhothai.

The NEXT DAY …. WHAT A DAY! It started out with riding our bikes around various sites in the 700 year old historical park of Suhkothai (the city of the “Dawn of Happiness). Some of my favorite activities of the ride include the many crazy pictures we took, the Walking Buddha which is a Buddha statue where he is depicted in a walking pose. I really like his face in it—so very happy and peaceful. Finally I must be honest. Again I was a little teary eyed staring at the Chedi of Sukhothai. I don’t know why but the form of the lotus on top of the Chedi was just so beautiful I was just awestruck.  I sat there staring at this building that all of citizens of Sukhothai came to worship at basically 700 years ago. The cross between the history and art of it all was kind of similar to what my art professor last semester described as an aesthetic experience. The combo of all those things proved to make a great day, but of course all days must come to an end.

The next day, Tuesday, we drove to Lopburi and of course when anyone comes to Lopburi they go see the Khmer monkey temple. Pretty much you go into these old Khmer temple grounds with three prongs and there are hundreds of monkeys around: old ones, young ones, and little babies hanging onto their mothers. And if one wants to hold them, all they have to do is walk up to the monkeys in a slow and friendly manor. Since the thought of having monkeys climbing all over me sounded good I decided to squat down to invite them to jump on me. Sooner rather than later, I had at least ten monkeys climbing all over me and playing with my hair and clothes. IT WAS AWESOME! AND I FELT ECSTATIC! I kept squatting and making friends. We left far too soon, but it was probably good because I need to go clean up from the monkeys.

Wednesday we visited a museum of Thai folk life, then headed to Ayutthaya. This place had been rebuilt in many places so you could see how it really looked instead of trying to imagine based on crumbling ruins. Very beautiful. That night we ate dinner on a boat as it cruised the river. We ate looking off the boat at the sunset and enjoying the sites. We took pictures like tourists do; doing cheesy things like Titanic poses, but loving every second of it. Then came one of my favorites–Karaoke!  Leaving us with nothing to do but scream our lungs out to Bad Romance and Dancin’ Queen.

Thursday we went to the Summer Palace of King Rama V and Wat Niwet Dhamma Prawat made in the European style. It was really rather fascinating to see all of the European architecture in Thailand in Royal areas. One would imagine that the King’s palace would be the manifestation of all things Thai but not so. This palace feels like you are walking around a well-kept European or American Estate. After departing the palace, we drove to the country’s capital.

Bangkok. What can I say? Well, It is HUGE!!!!!!!! You can look out across it and have not a clue as to where the center of the city is. I love big cities for the huge amount of life flying by all around you. Tuk Tuks everywhere. People crowded everywhere. The feeling that you can walk in any direction and not be able to find the end of the city—it makes me feel alive. Truth be told though, I’m still partial to Chiang Mai.

The next day in Bangkok we went to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho where the Reclining Buddha is. Both were unlike anything we had seen before. I noticed, however, there was not the normal reverence towards the sacred grounds by the visitors. Regardless, both were very beautiful and I really enjoyed marveling at the decadence these spectacular Royal sights showed.

After we got back from Wat Pho, different groups set out for paradise in different locations. My piece of heaven, Koh Chang, was only a car ride away…but spring break is another SST student’s story to share.

May you be filled with joy and may those who love you always remind you of it.  — Ryan Talen, Junior Music Major and Chemistry Minor from Westmont College.

1364717062 600 900 600 900

Wow, I can’t believe it is actually the last week in Chiang Mai with our host families! We have now been in Thailand for over two months and on Sunday, we will say goodbye to our host families and begin our field trip down to Bangkok and then spring break on the beautiful beaches of Thailand! This week has mainly been a wrap up of all of the things that we have been doing for the past two months.

Most of us had our last visit to our internship placement and I know for many it was very hard to say goodbye. We have spent almost two months with these wonderful people and they have had amazing impacts on our lives. I know at Urban Light we were amazed at how much they are doing for the boys. Many of the boys are now living in their own little apartments and are able to get regular meals. This means that they do not have to be going to the bars or flower markets anymore. We are seeing lives changing and it is so awesome. We have learned so much from these people and these experiences and we hope that we can use what we have learned to make an impact and be a light to the world.

This week was also our last art class and although not all of us are aspiring artists, we will certainly miss it. A very nice Thai family came in to teach us how to do various paper crafts.  We all made paper jelly fish and banners that are traditionally used to decorate homes and temples here in Thailand. At this point we have so many art projects and will have to decide if and how we can get them all home with us. Some students will be giving these projects to their host families as creative and personal gifts.

This week we had our last two Thai writing classes and also our last few culture classes. Thai writing is very interesting because it is completely different from English. They have 44 consonants as compared to our 26! Crazy! They are also much more difficult to write and to remember, but maybe that is just because English is our first language. I think if you take a look at the Thai letters you will know what I mean. Still, it was so cool to learn how to read and write a little bit. I went with my khun mae (host mom) to the Chiang Mai Night Safari this week and I was amazed at the sign above the ticket window. One column was in Thai and the other was in English. They both said, “Night Safari: Adult”, followed by the price. The number in English was 800 baht while the number in Thai was 300 baht! I couldn’t believe it. However, we would have no idea because it is in Thai…a really good reason to learn how to read and write in Thai while in Thailand! Thankfully, I had my CMU student card with me so I only paid 300 baht.

I think I can speak for everyone and say that we will really miss our Thai professors, or Ajarns. We have spent a lot of time with our language professors especially and we have come to really appreciate them. They spend so much time with us and are always making us laugh. They are always very helpful and make sure that all of our questions are answered before they leave.

At this point in the trip we are feeling like we know the city a little more and we are able to navigate it for the most part. It is cool to think back at the beginning and see how far we have come. We are now able to catch a “rot dang” when we want to go somewhere and we can negotiate the price because we know a lot more Thai.

We celebrated Ajarn Ann’s birthday on Wednesday and although we will be very sad to see her go next week, we are so happy that she is able to be home for her daughter while she has her baby. We are very excited for them and pray that all goes well!

We are so thankful to our Thai Buddies and Phii Kia and Phii Kelsey for all of their work. We are especially thankful to Ajarn Mike and Ajarn Ann for all of their time spent helping us and making sure that we are comfortable and happy! I still can’t believe that this is our last week here at CMU and when I look back, I remember so many wonderful experiences and so many wonderful people that we have had the pleasure to get to know over the last two months.

I think many of us will be sad to leave all of these wonderful people and our host families but it is an experience that we will never forget and will be talking about for the rest of our lives. I am so thankful for this opportunity and I hope that I will not forget some of the very important things that I have learned while here at CMU and with my host family. “Mai pen rai” is a very common phrase use here in Thailand and it means no worries, no problem, hakuna matata! We have learned to adopt this phrase and this life style while we are here. This week, my khun mae told me that the reason she never tells me any plans is because she does not want to disappoint me. She has the plans in her mind but she knows something could change so she just tells me at the last minute. I think we can learn a lot from this and although planning is definitely necessary sometimes, I have really come to accept and appreciate the “mai pen rai” way of living.

Friday night was the farewell party and it was a fun time to show our appreciation for our families, ajarns, Thai buddies, and leaders. It was at a very nice banquet hall at the Park Hotel in Chiang Mai. We had a mix of Thai and American food and the entertainment was great. It seemed like the families really enjoyed it and even though this was just one thing that we did for them, we hope that they can see how appreciative and thankful we are for all that they have done for us.

We are now ready to head off for our field trip and spring break and will always look back on these past few months and remember how amazing it was. We will miss everyone here in Chiang Mai and we are so thankful for all that they have done for us.

Blog Post #10 is written by Colby Helgerson, a junior Criminal Justice major from Messiah College.

1362898729 600 900 600 900

There is a belief in many Hmong traditions that after a person dies, their spirit will wander restlessly around the world unless it is guided back to its place of birth in an elaborate ritual. As the Hmong people have found themselves uprooted from their villages in Northern Laos and Thailand and re-settled throughout world, the final journey home for many has become a long one. Although I identify as a Christian and I am strongly attached to Minnesota, I still find myself fascinated by this ritual. I ask how often have I felt similarly. How often have I felt as if I have been wandering in a land that does not always mirror me? How often have I felt that this land is not where I truly belong? One of the major reasons behind my decision to study abroad was the prospect of arriving in a part of the world that much of my family once called home and possibly find peace to some of these questions.

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit a Hmong village in Maetamen, located about two hours north of Chiang Mai City, with our Phii Kia Yang and classmate Pantelan Yang. That weekend, we were fortunate enough to be housed by a man by the name of Khun Kai who happened to be a family friend of Pantelan. Kai also works as a medical assistant in the village, providing services in the village’s only clinic.

The drive to their home was quite an adventure. We had began our journey roughly around sunset and about the time we had approached the village, it was already completely dark. Before we left the main road, Kai’s wife purchased our meal for the evening and we stocked up on gifts and candy that would become delightfully useful the next day. Soon after, the gravel beneath our tires turned to dirt and we found ourselves gripping onto whatever was bolted down as we bumped across the countryside. The home consisted of a one floor rambler with a living room and kitchen where the family lived and also a traditional Thai style home adjacent to it that was built on stilts with a kitchen on the first floor and a bedroom and living room on the second. This would be my bedroom for the night.

After we all settled into our rooms, we all gathered at the dining table and shared a meal with Khun Kai, his wife, and Phee, the only child left in the house. The dinner was very reminiscent of many that I have shared before with extended family members and friends. I sat down and finished my meal knowing full well that I was not quite done yet if my hosts had anything to say about it. As Ajarn Mike has stated before, when you sit down to eat with the Hmong, no matter how hungry you are, it is polite to reject the first and second offer. On the third rejection, you can either expect your wishes to be respected or you can expect your host to ladle another serving onto your plate. I received the latter.

We ended our evening with light conversation and introductions. It was refreshing being able to share a language with someone from across the world, even if my Hmong was still very sloppy. Khun Kai’s eldest son had moved to Chiang Mai city several years ago to study at Chiang Mai University and was still doing so. His daughter had married an American who at the time was teaching Thai in the area and together they moved elsewhere. Their youngest son Phee is 14 years old and speaks very little Hmong. Moments like these were extremely interesting to me because as a kid growing up in America, I had always viewed Thailand and Laos idealistically as the only places left in the world that had been able to preserve the Hmong tradition. In the United States, I am increasingly seeing the mixture of American and Hmong customs, from language, to styles of traditional clothing, to relationships, etc, which has not been surprising. But to come to a Hmong village in Thailand and to discover a similar phenomenon, this has challenged my preconceptions of my people in this country. I quickly realized that change touches every corner of the earth.

When I woke up the next morning, Khun Kai had already left for work and would not return until later in the afternoon. After breakfast, Khun Kai’s wife showed all of us around the village. I was surprised by the enormous amount of variety that surrounded the area. Some of the houses looked freshly constructed with bright paint and thick brick walls, while other homes were constructed more simply out of materials such as thatch and bamboo with dirt floors. Although a church had been constructed in the village, there were signs that many still practiced Animism which was a stark contrast to the other hill tribe areas I had seen in which religion seemed to unite entire villages together. There were large handfuls of children playing games throughout the village with whom we had a great time sharing our candy. There were also many older looking men and women walking about. However, there seemed to be a lack of young men and women in the village, possibly for the same reasons that Khun Kai addressed to us earlier.

Although there were a few small shops as well as hostels for tourists, the village seemed to primarily thrive off of the produce grown in the fields. Tea and cabbage seemed particularly popular this time of year. We got the chance to observe a family harvesting cabbage that morning. These Hmong women, who were at least in their late 40′s, were piling 40 to 50 pounds of cabbages onto a basket tied to their backs and carrying them to a truck where a waiting teenager piled them into rows. Pantelan and I got a chance to try our hands at this and we quickly discovered that this was not easy work.

We returned home, ate a quick lunch, and then we were out the door again with Khun Kai who had just finished up with work. The first place we visited was the clinic that he helped run. The clinic was a two floor building that happened to be empty that morning. My favorite part were the window drapes that had been stitched with Paj Ntaub story cloth quilts, a traditional Hmong embroidery technique.

After that we drove around to other nearby villages including a small Lahu village where Pantelan tried her best to de-shell coffee beans with a friend of Khun Kai. Similar to the Hmong village, everywhere we went, we saw children running around amongst the watchful eyes of elders sitting down to their crafts. We also visited a social service center that had been constructed by the Thai government on top of a large hill overlooking the valley. The combination of the clear 70 degree weather and the majestic view from the top made for one of the most beautiful sights I have seen in all of Thailand so far.

It was late afternoon by the time we returned home and after a quick nap and dinner, the sun had completely set over the village. This however, did not mean we were finished eating. Throughout my time in Thailand, I have learned again and again that breaking bread (or rice) is a great way of meeting your neighbors. We were invited over to a friend of Khun Kai in the village that had recently slaughtered a pig and we shared a traditional Hmong meal on the floor of their home. The small, one room home was packed with at least a dozen other family members, old and young, who were watching Thai soap operas and conversing about everything else that had happened in the day.

We woke up the next morning, packed our bags, and prepared to leave for Chiang Mai city again. Throughout our time there, we were greeted with an enormous amount of hospitality and our departure was no different. Again and again as we were leaving, Khun Kai told us that we were more than welcome to return whenever we had free time. We returned to our host families waiting for us at Chiang Mai University with bags of bananas and cabbages given to us by Khun Kai. I could not thank him and his family enough for the love and kindness that they showed to all of us throughout the weekend.

I came to Thailand expecting to experience a land still rich in the Hmong culture. I left the Hmong villages with a joy knowing that I had this experience, even if it was not exactly what I was expecting. I left with an understanding that culture everywhere, even here in Thailand, is constantly changing and that the Hmong in America are not the only ones who have found ingenious ways of adapting to our increasingly globalized world. More importantly, from my time there, I have discovered that they have found just as many ingenious ways of retaining a culture that I find incredibly beautiful. As I prepare for my own journey home in the next month and a half, I will continue to keep in mind the generosity as well as the intense curiosity sparked from my time in Maetamen and carry it with me for the rest of the program.

Blog Post #9 is written by Kevin Yang, a junior Political Science major and Urban Studies minor from Hamline University.

1362427416 600 900 600 900

To give a glimpse into the various internships that SST students have been participating in this semester, we asked one student from each of the five internship placements to write a brief description or vignette to share in this blog—we hope you enjoy the small taste of another important aspect of  our Spring Semester in Thailand program!

Four SST students, (Kayty Shrimp, Colby Helgerson, Annabelle Thompson, and Megan Olsen) have the privilege of interning at Urban Light (http://www.urban-light.org),  a socially engaged organization that runs a center for tribal boys who as sex workers in the “Red Light District” of Chiang Mai, an area known as the Night Bazaar where many tourists congregate.  At night, these young boys work in various restaurants, clubs, bars and other businesses in the Night Bazaar, only a few steps away from where Urban Light boldly opens its doors everyday.   Urban Light lives by the motto: “Be the light for a boy in need,” striving to rehabilitate, encourage, support and enable the young boys through a variety of means including education, vocational training when appropriate, job placement when available, therapies including arts & crafts and baking, and love (a welcomed change when so often all these boys face is opposition at every turn). It is hard to fathom what experiences these young boys face every night, but harder still to remember what they do when one sees their smiling, genuine faces everyday—refusing to do anything less than greet each day with gladness and stand brave in the face of trial, firm and strong with unbelievable grace. These boys teach one what it is like to see the best in every situation, have courage when faced with our great fears and challenges, and find the light in even the darkest of situations.

As interns, we entered at an interesting and exciting transition period. Urban Light had received a generous donation, the last amount of money needed to move from their original cramped location to a larger, newer location across the street. We were given the second floor, the designated area for the boys’ hang out and relax space; we were charged with numerous tasks including fundraising money, organizing and planning fundraisers and activities, purchasing items to furnish and decorate, and of course to build relationships with the boys. This task was sprinkled with hardships, but laden with a fulfilling and energizing air of accomplishment and purpose.

We have been very successful, having completed the room and providing the boys, our new friends, with a space that they can relax and be the young boys they really are, if only for a few hours. Successful fundraisers, generous support and an unwavering desire to create as great a space as possible regardless of hiccups and bumps along the way has provided Urban Light with a functioning, wonderful space for the boys and an attitude of socially conscious, morally driven social reform for us interns who, having completed the task, believe firmly within ourselves that a difference really can be made, even in such a large and complex problem as prostitution. We would like to thank everyone who helped and supported our efforts on behalf of Urban Light and are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with the amazing founders and boys themselves. It has been an amazing experience filled with wonderful moments and beyond incredible people that I will never forget.   – Megan Olsen, sophomore Sociology and Anthropology Major from Messiah College.

Five of the SST students go to two different internships. One of them is a Juvenile Detention Center for girls as young as 13, and as old as 24. They were convicted of crimes, but because of good behavior have been given the chance to go to what we call “Baan Dek” (children’s home). At Baan Dek, they are taught English and can participate in different vocational training. Sometimes they learn about making cards, Thai massage, meditation, Thai dance, or any number of activities. I really love going to Baan Dek, because I think it is fun to talk to the girls who stay there. They’re very sweet, and we have a good time laughing, playing games, and practicing our Thai/English.

Our other internship, which we go to on Wednesdays only, is an emergency shelter for people who have been trafficked, sexually abused, or are at a high risk in their environment. It is run by a government organization called the “Hug Project” which is working to raise awareness of and prevent future trafficking and abuse. We like to joke and say that we’re going to the “Hug Factory”. The shelter we visit is only a temporary home, and most of the girls there only stay for a couple of weeks while the government workers look for a more permanent placement for them. It’s a little harder to work in an ever-changing environment, because typically we don’t see the same girls each week. But we still have a good time going and getting to know the girls who we meet—playing and singing with them, and hopefully brightening their afternoon’s with laughter and fun.  –April Lambert, junior Social Work Major from Eastern University.

The hospital internship is at SanSai Hospital about 30 minutes from CMU. There are six pre-med students who rotate around the different wards everyday. The different wards are the Emergency Room, the Labor Room, the Operation room, Physical Therapy, Thai massage, the out-patient clinic, and “other”–which is either pharmacy or lab. We are mostly observing, which is extremely educational and interesting, but sometimes the nurses, EMT’s or doctor’s will teach us something as well.

One day, when I got to the ER I went around to the nurses and said, “Hey if any of you have some time today, could you possibly teach me something, maybe sutures, first aide, anatomy (anything really)?”    So one of the nurses started off teaching me some anatomy and we listened to a woman’s abdomen since she was complaining of abdominal pain. This was all through communicating with her little English and my tiny Thai. Then a man came in with a cut on his forehead and needed sutures. I had my notebook in hand ready to right down everything the EMT was going to teach me. Little did I know that after he did the first suture, he handed me the needle and forceps and I was to do the rest!! It was AMAZING. I was really slow at first, and the EMT was super helpful, but after I finished the second one I was more confident. I ended up closing up the cut with 3 sutures, so the man received four sutures in all.  I seriously felt on top of the world. I still can’t believe I did that. My first sutures… on a man’s forehead in Thailand!!  –Jaime Munroe, junior Pre-med Biology Major and Chemistry Minor from Westmont College.

Oh my, how do I explain such a wonderful internship in such few words? Every Monday through Thursday I go to the Sansri School with seven other American students. I am a double major in Early Childhood Education and Special Education with a minor in TESL. This internship hits every single aspect of my majors and minor in every way possible. I teach English to a classroom full of Thai fourth graders and I also have some special education students in my class.   All three of my majors and minors covered in a single internship experience!

After lunch I prepare my English lesson plans for my fifteen lively students.  It is stressful at times but my peers and I enjoy sharing lesson ideas, games, and supplies. Upon arriving to Sansri School I am greeted by fifteen jumping, happy, Thai fourth graders. I have such a bond with my students that the internship is my highlight of the program. Everyday my students revive my inner joy and I leave feeling so refreshed. They are the brightest ten-year-olds regardless of any language barrier.

My students told me that English is their favorite subject and that I am their favorite teacher. At this moment I have achieved all that I strive to do, to make learning fun and enjoyable.  In every way this internship has solidified my passion for teaching and without a doubt I know this is where God wants me at this moment. This experience reminds me to forget about my GPA, to forget about pressure, to forget about scores, and to focus on helping those who need it most—this is what I find my calling to be. I find the most joy in hearing my students saying, “Teacher Bri I love you”, or my students spending hours on a project and then giving it to me to keep. These little things are what make creating lesson plans, and teaching in the heat of Chiang Mai, and using limited supplies so worth it. I want my students to feel loved and important when they are with me. My favorite quote is, “I do not teach because I do not know how to do anything else, I teach because it is my passion”.  All I can say is four months away from home, foreign food, and heat are all completely worth it when my students tell me they love me! –Brianne Loop, sophomore Education Major from Messiah College.

Spending the past few weeks interning at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University (Wat Suan Dok) has taught me how to build true and meaningful relationships with people who do not share my deepest values and faith beliefs. At the start of my internship, I expected my relationships with the monks would consist of me as a Christian to be constantly explaining how my faith was similar and dissimilar to that of the Buddhist way of life. Instead, I have not only been taught to understand my faith in comparison and contrast to that of Buddhist life, but I have also learned how to live amongst people of different faith in a happy balance of disagreement. The monks have truly taught me how to love one another, disagree about our deepest beliefs, and yet continue to keep an open mind to learn from one another. The monks teach me to look passed the power gained in a successful argument, and submit to an open mind, open heart, and the will of God. –Victoria Bernabe, junior Sociology Major from Westmont College.

*Some of the internships, because of the sensitive nature of the people they are working with, have been asked not to take or share photos/videos—thus not all of the internships can be depicted in the slideshow.

1361869135 600 900 600 900