I arrived back in Bangkok late Sunday night after a long train ride from the north eastern city of Ubon Ratchathani. My week spent in Ubon was a unique and interesting experience. I arrived there on Friday (Jan 23rd) expecting to get an understanding of how poorer villagers in Thailand live (Ubon is one of the poorest provinces in Thailand). Though I did get to see a part of Thailand very different from Bangkok, it was not at all what I was expecting. Yet, that's how most adventures here seem to pan out... there's always a surprise.
I was met in Ubon by my Thai host family-- Poaw (Dad), Meh (Mom), and my sisters, Juice (15 yrs old) and Jet (10 yrs old). Poaw is a cosmetic surgeon and Meh is a nurse. Together they own and run a large clinic in the city. They even offered to do any touchups or 'work' for free. This was not the poor rural family that I had originally envisioned.
I spent the week living with the family and grandma in their spacious and beautiful home. The house was very different from an American one with very little furniture or space to entertain (Thais don't seem to invite guests over very much). It had two kitchens, one in the front of the house and one in the back (where mostly grandma cooked and cleaned). They also had a small Buddhist shrine in the house.
On Monday morning, I went to the school that we would be teaching at for the week. The school was very big and looked a bit like a miny college campus. It was a public school for over 5,000 middle school and high school students. Each day we visited different classrooms to meet and practice English with the students.
On Tuesday morning, the school held a special assembly to introduce our group of volunteers to the students. After our official introduction to the students, it seemed like we had skyrocketed from strange foreigners to instant celebrities. Everywhere we walked (at school and around town), people would crowd around us, practice their English with us, wai and bow to us (a sign of deep respect usually given to elders, teachers, and monks), and take pictures of us. In most of our classes, students bashfully asked about our opinions on Thai men or if we had any smart/ good looking elidigble American brothers. It was very funny. Adults would most often ask about the differences between Thailand and the US, especially in terms of education.
It's very clear that there are big differences between education in the US and Thailand. Almost all of the classes we met had nearly 55 students. Students came to class late, spoke to themselves over the teacher, and even accepted phone calls during class (all of this is considered completely normal!). Classes are mainly lecture-style with very little attention paid to individual students. They also all wear uniforms. Uniforms can change depending on the day of the week too. At our school, Mondays were blue and white while Fridays were green and red. Most students also take special classes after school and on the weekends. This means that after an 8 hour day at school, they'll go to night math, chemistry, history, etc classes. After this, most student spend much of their 'free time' studying. In America, that's what we call nerdy. Here, it's considered smart and prudent. Students take exams regularly to compete for the top spots in their class. I was very impressed but also a little intimidated. I don't think that I could devote myself so thoroughly to academics.
After school Meh and Poaw picked me up from school and dropped me off at home while they closed the clinic. We would go out for dinner after that each night around 9pm. It seems like most Thais eat dinner earlier, but my family had a clinic to run. The family also loved action movies and Starbucks (Starbucks isn't nearly popular here as home and more expensive compared to average Thai prices). The counters in the house were cluttered with both movies and empty Starbucks cups. Each night we watched a different movie and got Starbucks occassionaly. I had forgotten how much I missed Starbucks... my frapuccino was amazing!
It was a fun and very interesting week. I learned a lot about Thai families and culture. Families here are very close and protective of their children. When we went out for meals, Poaw ordered 8 dishes and we'd share them, taking itty bitty portions of each thing until we were full. They constantly tried to feed us and were always worried that we might be hungry. In all honesty, I'm not sure that I've ever eaten so much food in one week. By the time I left, I felt ill.
If you're wondering about breakfast, yes, I assure you it is very different here. On my first morning I awoke to a large spread at the table. Breakfast included two types of fried fish, pork balls, lots of rice, vegetable soup, spicy chicken, and a noodle dish. It was extremely overwhelming. Each day breakfast varied a bit, but there was always tons of salty fish. After a few days, my family caught on to the fact that I was not used to this and quickly bought cereal, eggs, spaghetti (very odd), and bread for future breakfasts.
I had a wonderful time with my Thai family and hope that they take me up on my offer to stay with my family in Chicago. However, I'm glad to be back to my life at Rangsit. I love my independence here and the freedom I have in deciding where I'll go, what I'll see, when I can go for a walk or cross the street, when and what I'll eat, and how late I can sleep. My week up north was great, but for now it's nice to be back.
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