A Return to Civility?

I recognize that I live in a pretty nice part of America. Minnesota is a great state, and my neighborhood is just about the best. All the same, during my first 12 days home, I’ve been continually surprised by the politeness and civility of the people I encounter.

Since we haven’t yet purchased a car, we’ve spent a lot of time walking around on various errands and family visits. There have been exactly two times that, while walking, I have had someone shout something at me. The first was last week, when walking with a friend and her 2-year-old. A car of young-ish appearing males drove by and shouted something I’ve now forgotten. The second was a few evenings ago, when I was out walking for exercise. Another car of young-ish men drove by and shouted something that I think was, “Run faster!”

In my pre-Thailand days, both these experiences would probably have bothered me a lot. “Why are they shouting at me?” I’d have thought. “What did I ever do to them?”

Post-Thailand, however, all I could think of each time it happened was, “Wow, that’s the first time someone has shouted at me in America!” and “Wow, that’s only the second time someone has shouted at me in America!” Living in Thailand, I had just gotten used to being stared at, shouted at, and pointed at all the time. Sometimes it was benign or even friendly, and sometimes it was most definitely not. It was just something that all of us Peace Corps Volunteers learned to live with, eventually, though I can’t say I knew anyone who liked it.

The other thing that has amazed me nearly every day since our return home is the way that people stop for us when we are crossing the street. We have a pretty good crosswalk law here, and a few years ago there was a lot of publicity about how cars that didn’t stop for pedestrians risked getting ticketed for it. I guess it worked, because I keep stopping at corners and intersections, waiting for cars to go by, and they keep stopping for me. It’s a little unsettling, but in a good way. I don’t think I ever had a vehicle stop for me in Thailand. Most of the time, I was on high alert, trying to make sure I didn’t get bowled over by a flying motorcycle, noodle stand, or pickup truck. Even in our little town, traffic could be pretty scary.

People talk all the time about the rude manners of Americans, but I’m giving high marks this week for the USA being pedestrian-friendly!

By the way, don't forget to check out my blog about our Cambodia-Malaysia travels at Kate's Travel Blog!

What's Inside...

Way, way back, during our Peace Corps training, one of our Thai training directors commented on the sad state of Thai education. “I see schools spending huge sums of money to have a beautiful sign made,” he said. “But when you go inside the school, there’s no teaching going on. I think this is what needs to change in Thailand.” We were still idealistic at that point, and didn’t know how hard it was going to be to promote “student-centered learning” in Thailand. But the comment stuck with us, and two years later in Minnesota, I’m still thinking about it.

Much of Thai society operates this way. A gleaming structure is beautiful to look at but has nothing of substance inside. A student from a school wins numerous awards, bringing honor to the school, but none of the other kids in his class can read. A shiny new airport is built at the cost of billions of dollars, but the runway is on top of a swamp and starts to sink. A ceremony is held for a new library, but there’s no books inside that kids actually want to read. Where is the thought? Where is the deliberation? Where is the meaning? Where is the real benefit?

This photo shows me sitting with three neighborhood kids outside the local elementary school in our training village. From the sign, and perhaps even from the nice plants behind it, you’d think that this school is a well-run, attractive spot, probably with some good education happening inside. In reality, class sizes were in the 40s and kids had few materials. Teachers often didn’t show up for class. And this was one of the better-run public schools that we saw in Thailand.

It’s often said about Thailand that the people there value social harmony and evenness. They don’t like having debate, disagreement, or anything that isn’t “beautiful.” (“Beautiful” was one of the words we heard most often in Thailand, right after “delicious.”) While this has its benefits, it also has some drastic consequences, because circumstances or situations that should be challenged are not. Airports are built on swamps, and teachers go shopping instead of teaching.

I’m now reading The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas Friedman, a book published in 2000 about globalization. My understanding of globalization is vastly different after two years in Thailand than it was before I went, and I’ll probably have several blogs on this topic. I chose to write about the school signs today, though, because of a particular quote in the book. While discussing the Southeast Asian economic crash of the late 1990s, he writes, “[The SE Asian countries] had replicated the outward configurations of the Western financial systems, but in many cases in was replication by rote. There was something missing inside.” In other words, while Thailand and other countries had appeared to transition to a free-market economy, in actuality there was no substance behind the change, and the transition failed. The fancy sign was on display, but no teaching was going on.

Home

We returned home on Sunday and have been spending several days recovering from jet lag and enjoying American food. Here is a short list of things we’re happy to be experiencing once again:

– spring weather, cool temperatures, and sweaters
– quiet traffic (hardly any motorcycles!)
– cereal and bagels for breakfast
– being able to state our opinions
– dry bathroom floors
– running paths
– family and friends!

I’ve started a new blog for descriptions and photos of our Cambodia-Malaysia trip. You can visit it at Kate's Travel Blog. I’ll continue to write more about Thailand at this site.

Sidficious and Friend Swim in the Straits of Melaka

Sidficious, the world traveler, appears again.

He enjoyed the water.

Good luck Ian and Calin!

And hello Liz!

Monkey Attack!

Ok, so it didn't actually succeed at attacking me, but it would have if the water hadn't been just a couple of feet away!

Today we rented a double-seated kayak for three hours, and eventually found ourselves on the most lovely little beach ever. We were the only people there. After some fish-watching, cookie-eating, and sunscreen-re-applying, we ducked back into the crystal clear water for a final swim before returning the kayak.

Suddenly, I saw a monkey come out of the trees and head straight for our stuff. When this happened on Tuesday at a more populated beach, I just walked out of the water toward the monkey and it ran away. Today, no such luck. I exited the water and walked towards it, assuming it would run. Instead, it bared its fangs and lunged towards me!

Shocked, I spun around and ran back into the sea. Apparently monkeys don't like getting wet, because it stopped shortly before reaching the water. It then returned to peruse our stuff.

After some quick consultation, we decided that it wasn't going to give up access to our things without a fight, so we came up with a weapon: rocks. From our position down at the water, we began throwing rocks at it. It bared its fangs a few more times, but didn't charge again and instead crept back into the trees. We then took turns standing guard while reassembling our belongings. The last we saw of the monkey, it was smuggling a coconut from the water's edge into the jungle.

Enjoying Malaysia

We've continued to have a fantastic time on our post-Peace Corps travels here in Malaysia. After leaving the Cameron Highlands, we visited the island of Penang in the northwest. Penang has an interesting history of British colonialism combined with Chinese settlement (as do other parts of Malaysia), which we enjoyed learning about at a couple of museums and by walking through town. We tried some local cuisine, including "laksa" -- a spicy, sour fish curry, as well as a rather bizzare potato/tofu mix covered in red sauce and eaten cold. I'll describe more when I can post pictures!

Now we're settled at the beach for a couple of days. It's a little rainy at times, but still very beautiful and relaxing.

Here are a few things we like about Malaysia as compared to Thailand:

1. People here drive more slowly and less crazily.
2. This is a truly multicultural society, with Chinese, Indians, and Malays all interacting and socializing.
3. There are multiple cuisines to choose from.
4. It is green and clean, compared to the dusty dry place we left in March!
5. Things seem to work pretty well here on the whole.
6. There is usually soap in the public bathrooms.

It's a great place to be!

Beautiful

We're now in what must be one of the most beautiful places on earth -- the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia. Sadly, our internet cafe doesn't have USB ports so I can't put up any photos yet. That will have to wait until we return home.

In the meantime, however, we're having a wonderful couple of days hiking, looking at roses, drinking tea and eating scones. The weather is remarkably cool, so we wear sweatshirts and socks and shoes. Vacation is good.

Kuala Lumpur

We've landed in another world. Yesterday we arrived in Malaysia, and the differences between here and Thailand (and Cambodia) are almost overwhelming! It's Southeast Asia, but then again, it's not the Southeast Asia we've become familiar with over the past two years. I have to say that we are enjoying it very much!

Today we toured some of Kuala Lumpur, the capital city. It's an amazingly clean and green city -- filled with parks, well-maintained streets, and beautiful buildings. Perhaps we just haven't seen the more run-down parts, but it has really been lovely to us.

We started with the Petronas Towers, of course, because how could you visit Malaysia and not stop by the world's tallest buildings? They didn't really look all that tall to me, but it was fun for taking photos anyway.

From the towers, we rode subways and monorails to the starting point of the Lonely Planet's "colonial district" walking tour. British and Islamic architecture combine to make some fantastic buildngs. We also visited the National Mosque, where we learned a lot about Islam in Malaysia. It was really interesting. As you can see, my clothing was not entirely suitable, so I had to cover up a little more. (I had been wearing capri pants and a t-shirt.)

At intervals, we've also enjoyed several delicious Indian meals. The Indian population in Malaysia is about 8% of the total, and I think that's even higher in KL, so finding cheap Indian food is very easy. I can't get enough!

Tomorrow, we'll start exploring more of the peninsula. Stay tuned!

Cambodia: Place of Contrasts

We've been in Cambodia 5 days now. I'll be writing fuller descriptions with photos of our travels after we return home, but I wanted to at least say a few things while we're still on the road.

To sum up Cambodia, I have to say that it is a place of contrasts. Wealth and spendor (a bit) contrast with grueling poverty. Delicious food contrasts with trash on the roads. The kindness of the people we meet today constrasts with the brutal history they experienced in their immediate past. The vast number of tourists from all different countries here in Siem Riep (site of Angkor Wat) contrasts with our bus rides through the countryside to get here, during which we saw almost no foreign faces. The amazing beauty of Angkor Wat contrasts with the 100+ degree heat that you must move through to explore it.

We have really enjoyed our time here so far, in part because the examination of these contrasts is so fascinating. We have spent most of our time on the beaten path, but did have the opportunity to spend a few hours one evening with a friend from Peace Corps Thailand who has been living and working here for a year. She gave us more of the story behind the scenes that most tourists in Cambodia see. Hearing her real stories of life here, and contrasting those with our tourist experience, reminded me of what it was like to live full-time in Thailand and contrast our experience there with what was usually written in guidebooks and seen by visitors. There's a world of difference between visiting a place and living in it. I'm glad that we've gotten the chance to do both here in Southeast Asia.

Now, we're off to some more good Cambodian food and Angkor Beer!

Phnom Penh

This morning Robert and I left Bangkok at an early hour and flew to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We'll be spending a little bit of time in this new country.

What I can say right now is that it's VERY HOT here. Bangkok was hot, too, but at least had frequent air-conditioning to help keep things feeling semi-normal. Here there doesn't seem to be so much AC. I can also say that there are lots of tasty baguettes. Ah, bread.

We did enjoy our ride from the airport to our guest house. Lots of new sights and sounds -- very different from Thailand! I haven't taken any photos yet, but I'm sure they will be forthcoming soon.

Chinatown

On Sunday, we visited Bangkok's Chinatown with our old Thai language instructor, Pi Lin, from Peace Corps training. Her family is Chinese and lives near Chinatown, so she was able to show us around and explain everything. It was my first time touring a Chinatown, and very fascinating.

We visited two major temples, and we learned that Chinese Buddhism has some differences from Thai Buddhism. For example, Thai Buddhism has just one "Buddha" god, but Chinese Buddhism has many, of which some have female attributes.

The second wat we visited was extremely smoky because so many people were burning large handfuls of incense sticks as they walked around. It made our eyes tear up!

Pi Lin also walked us through several lanes of market stalls. Since it was probably over 100 degrees F yesterday, this was very hot, but at least they were mostly shaded. It was cool to see the different kinds of food -- fish stomachs, large ocean worms, dozens of varieties of teas and mushrooms -- and multi-lingual signs. I recommend Chinatown to anyone who wants a new southeast Asian experience!

Fancy

On Friday, we got to attend the 45th anniversary celebration of Peace Corps Thailand. It was a very big event. Former Thailand volunteers flew in from different places around the world to be present for the ceremonies. The Crown Princess of Thailand also attended and spoke! We wore fancy Thai clothes all day, and boy are they hot.

On Saturday, many of the former volunteers were kind enough to participate in a panel and small group discussions for us newly finishing volunteers. They talked to us about returning to the USA, applying for jobs, considering graduate school, and keeping up a connection with the Peace Corps experience. It was very interesting and helpful. Thank you RPCVs!

It's now Monday afternoon, so we've got just 31 hours remaining of our Peace Corps service. The check-out process includes lots of paperwork and errand-running. Then we'll be on our way to parts yet unexplored...!

Airport Farewell

We left our site for the final time yesterday morning, in style and with an escort. For two years, we've traveled to Bangkok by riding a songtaew or bus into the capital of Lampang province, then boarded another bus or train for an 8-12 hour ride. For our last trip out, we were driven to the city in an air-conditioned van, and taken to the airport instead of the bus or train station (thanks mom!).

Our landlord, Robert's principal, had arranged for a large group of teachers to see us off. I think about twenty people in all, including Ajaan Warangkana and Pi Noy, were there. We were presented with jasmine wreaths and necklaces (14 total) and stood for dozens of photos. Since we arrived at the airport a full two hours before the flight, there was plenty of time for chatting and saying goodbye to those who had joined us.

When our boarding was finally called, and we walked through the door to the security screener, it was a little difficult to wave goodbye for the last time.

Goodbye Northern Thailand

I'm sweaty, covered in dust and grime, and pretty tired after many hours of cleaning and scrubbing the little pink house. But it's nearly time to go, so I wanted to make one last post from our site. In just 16 hours we'll drive away from here for the last time!

Several people have asked if our departure from Thailand will be the end of this blog. The answer is No! I've still got much more to say about our time here, and at least 1,000 more photos to show. I'm also sure that being back in America will make me think about some different things, and start reflecting on this experience in some new ways. If you want to keep learning about Peace Corps Thailand, keep coming back.

We'll be in the country for a few more days, doing a little celebration and a lot of paperwork. Then we're off on some travels to other parts of southeast Asia for just a couple of weeks before finally flying home to the USA mid-April. I don't know how often I'll be writing, but keep checking back if you're interested in seeing where we are and what we're up to!

The Perfect Lunch

When we return to America, I'll be able to make some of my favorite Thai foods at home, and find many of the others in restaurants. I'm sure they just won't taste the same as they do here, though.

Since school has ended we've had lots of time at home (packing, mostly), and it has meant that we've been able to go out and get one of my favorite foods for lunch nearly every day. Som tam, or papaya salad, is usually made from shredded raw papaya. It's pounded up with garlic, chili peppers, tomatoes, green beans, peanuts, and tamarind. Non-vegetarians might add shrimp, crab, or fermented fish paste. I just go for salt or soy sauce.

It's perfect eaten with sticky rice, and in this case, with some Diet Pepsi on the side. At night, it's great with a beer!

Bittersweet

If I were to do my Peace Corps Thailand service over again, and I could design my own project, I would be not an English teacher but a public health worker. I would be based not at schools, but at the local hospital. And much as I have loved and enjoyed my two co-teachers over these past two years, my counterparts would be the women in this picture, nurses in our town.

Last night this group of four single women, all of whom work at the hospital in town, took us out for dinner in the city. It was a fantastic evening, in part because we don’t usually get to go “to the city” for the evening, but mostly because they are a wonderful group of people. We first met three of them when they came to our house about a year and half ago asking whether we were available to teach them some evening English lessons. We taught them and a few others for about two months, and they were a great group. The fourth we met when we tried getting involved with the local HIV/AIDS organization, as she is the hospital’s liaison to that group.

These women understand the problems facing Thai society more than anyone we’ve talked to in our two years here. They’re dedicated to working with real people and real situations, not just filling in their time cards. Much of the evening was spent talking about alcohol problems, domestic abuse, teenage abortion, drug addiction, suicide, and of course AIDS, all problems rampant in our district but ones that teachers at our schools are generally not interested in discussing.

It was a rather bittersweet night, as we spent time with people who cared about the same issues we do, and who actually try to do something about it, and we wondered how our two years here would have been different if our assignment had been to work with them instead of in schools. Of course, we did try on numerous occasions to get involved with the hospital for “secondary project” work, but for a variety of reasons it never seemed to work out, and we continued teaching English. With just five days remaining in town, all I can do is hope that at some point in the future I’ll be doing a job in America that matters, and that Peace Corps will send another volunteer with the purpose of working with nurses like these. They’ve got great ideas and motivation on their own, but every little bit helps.

The Perfect Size

One thing Thailand does right is Dairy Queen Blizzard Sizes. There's a DQ at the Big C in our province, so every time we go to stock up on supplies I indulge in a little ice cream goodness.

This is a Thai small, for twenty-five baht, or about 76 cents in American money since the dollar dropped over the past few months. It's big enough to make you feel like you've had a real treat, but not so big that you're worried about calories or uncomfortably stuffed afterward!

You can get an "American" small-size DQ Blizzard in Thailand. It's called a "large"!

A little update on our air quality situation: yesterday morning the Peace Corps office called us to ask if we needed to evacuate. We declined, since we have too much to do during our last six days in our town, but I thought it emphasized the seriousness of the situation! I didn't see any ash falling yesterday, but the air isn't noticeably improved.

The Burning Skies...

About a month or so ago I wrote about our dry weather. It is of course the dry season here in northen Thailand, but this year is apparently much drier than usual. To be clear, it HAS NOT RAINED here since OCTOBER. It’s now mid-March. That is nearly five full months without rain. The effects of this dryness, combined with the fires that are constantly burning around town and on the mountainsides, are becoming unbearable.

We’re no longer able to do much exercise in the evenings, be it jogging, aerobics, or bicycling, because the smoke gets into our lungs and is quite painful. I’ve been going in the mornings, when the previous days’ fires have burnt out and new ones have not yet started. Smoke creeps into our house during the day from multiple directions (especially our next-door-neighbors’ back yard) and our outside surfaces are constantly covered in dust and ash, no matter how frequently I sweep. (Inside is not much better.)

When Robert went to the market yesterday evening to buy groceries, he came back and reported that in addition to choking on the smoke, he was seeing large pieces of ash falling from the sky all around. I went outside and sure enough, I could see them too. We took a photo of this one that had fallen in the road in front of our house. You might also notice in the photo that the sky is white, not blue, due to the thickness of the smoke and other dry dusty stuff in the air.

Today’s Bangkok Post had an article headlined, “Government set to declare state of emergency; One-week deadline for haze to improve,” about our air quality. You can read it by clicking on the link. If you do read it, be sure to notice the theory promoted by the Chief of the Chiang Mai Environmental Office as to why the air is so bad this year...

Cheers!

On Friday evening, our neighbors across the street hosted a little dinner gathering for us. For over four hours we sat, chatted, ate, and drank.

I've been fond of this group of people since we first arrived in our town. It was with them that we spent the day of the flood -- on the second story of one of their houses, after escaping from our own -- and I trust them completely. Many of them are semi-related in one way or another, and they break a few of the "rules" of Thai culture, which is part of why I enjoy them so much.

As part of our Peace Corps training, we females were warned that to drink any alcohol in public would be our downfall as volunteers. Thai women who drink are supposedly seen as loose and immoral in this very conservative culture. I adopted this new attitude quite well and, when I did have a half glass of beer during my last week at our host family's home, I felt guilty for days afterward. So, imagine my surprise when, upon our arrival at site in April of 2005, I saw the women across the street drinking merrily every night and not seeming to suffer -- or worry about -- any social consequences.

I later discovered that the supposed social prohibition against women drinking is a bit of a myth these days, as I watched female school district employees, teachers, and others all over our town enjoy alcohol on many occasions. It took me nearly a year before I was willing to ignore the Peace Corps warnings and drink in public, but when I finally did it was with this group. I still feel a bit weird whenever it happens, but on Friday night, I enjoyed the party. For, as you can see from the photo, what's not to enjoy?

My Husband, the Teacher

I’ve featured several people on this blog lately, all of them important in my life here in Thailand, and today I’ve decided to feature Robert. He’s pretty important, too!

Mostly I just want to show off a photo of him teaching. I think he does an excellent job. Like me, he teaches at two schools. Mondays and Tuesdays he goes to the big school in our town. Class sizes are in the 30s and 40s, and most of the kids are relatively wealthy for this area (which isn’t very wealthy, but it’s still noticeable). Wednesdays he is at the office with me, and Thursdays and Fridays he teaches at his village school. It’s three kilometers from our house – not all that far, but much farther than I want to ride a bike in 100 degree heat! It’s a very small, very poor school, and the kids have been just thrilled these last two years to have Robert there.

In December of 2005, the village school organized a little birthday party for Robert. The kids brought in gifts from their homes, including a bath towel, a mug, some potato chips, and a big bottle of Sprite – the last being collectively purchased and offered by a group of enthusiastic young boys, as shown in the second photo. (The other farang in the photo is our friend Calin, who was here visiting at the time.) Robert: a loveable guy!