Welcome back to Thailand. I hope you had a good week even though you are not in Thailand, like someone we both know...
I have been in Thailand for about two weeks now and have learned an immense amount. The one thing that keeps getting reinforced is that when you are open to learning, when you want to fill your head with knowledge from your surroundings, everything tends to stick a little harder.
I came into this internship open and wanting and was met with others who are open and willing to share. Being in an environment with students who chose to be here has created a safe place like none other.
This week, Angela and I began teaching our one hour English class. Every morning, the students and us listened to a song one of them chose and then began a lesson. We have gone over vocabulary that would be introduced in the content classes later that day. We have helped build an understanding of what it means to respect a person's earth rights. And we have began to understand why the students have this large desire to learn English and how to protect their communities.
During one of the content classes students were grouped together and asked to present on one of the four topics based on their own experiences: hydroelectric dams, land grabbing, Special Economic Zones, and coal mining. Each group had at least one, often times more than one, person who had experienced the negative impacts of each topic. And as the presentations drew to a close, more students would discuss examples of the same topic in their communities. They all know people who have been pushed off their land for development projects. Some are even currently fighting against their government for trying to do that exact thing. So, learning English and the other things ERS has to offer is not just a resume booster, it's a life changer. That's why on the first day of teaching English I did not have to deal with people focusing on their phones, or being distracted by outside noise, like my university professors do. These students have quit their jobs, left their families, and come to a place with a different culture, in order to better themselves and their communities.
When I came here, I thought I owed it to myself to be open to learning new things; but I quickly learned, I also owe it to the students here to learn from them and be open to what they have to offer the world.
By Friday, I was pleasantly exhausted. As I thought the rest of my day would consist of dinner then straight to bed, Hom, an alumni that now works on the teaching team, asked Angela and I if we would like to join her and two other students on a bike ride through town. So, open to learn, we joined.
We started out on a busier rode and went past many little shops. Even as we went farther out of the busier area, shops would pop up next to houses. There were also many dogs, seemingly ownerless and as cute as ever. Unfortunately, we were cruising (and my doctor advised not petting any stray dogs), so I did not pet the precious puppies.
We ended up seeing three Wats (Buddhist temples) that were so colorful. When we rode up to the last one, we heard loud Thai coming from inside. Monks were praying into speakerphones for the area to hear! It was so interesting to see the openness of the Buddhist religion and maybe the modern way for monks to not have to walk around so much?
I also noticed many buildings under construction, whether that be stalled, or the workers were just done for today, I am unsure. Along with the unfinished homes, there were houses with gated fences, paved driveways, and yards that would make my dad jealous. Then, you would look to the other side of the road and see tarps being held up by large sticks that I could only assume was someone's shelter. While the wealth gap in America is viscously large, I had never seen a wealth gap in more concrete images than as we were biking around the town.
As the biking wound down, we were reminded that tomorrow would be another physically impactful day, as we were going to Mae Ngat Dam reservoir to go swimming.
It was an hour ride in the Red Trucks (a large Uber). We then took another Red Truck to a line of boats that would take us farther into the reservoir to a line of house boats and inflatables. There were trees and now mountains everywhere we turned. It was gorgeous. After a hectic week it was nice to be in a calm environment with the seriousness of a classroom no longer hanging over all of us. Many students swam for the first time, there were a couple major fails on the inflatables, and one hospital trip for a sprained ankle. Overall, it was a wonderful day that ended in sour muscles, sunburns, and closer connections.
One question I did come away with was whether or not we were supporting a place that had surely taken the land from others. As we were riding the boat back to our rides home, I saw a farmer and his livestock on a side of one of the mountains. I can not find any information about whether or not there were protests against this development project, but it was a thought that crossed my mind after the classes and stories of community issues with projects that at least seem identical to this one.
But as we humans do so very well, I moved on and mainly remember the goodness of the day. Hopefully, though I will keep seeing and asking the questions that have the ability to remove the rose colored glasses from eyes and show the real cost of a growing economy.
I am looking forwards to this next week and the new things I will learn.
As for the rest of you, do not be sad you are leaving Thailand and heading back to your own homes. Luckily, someone we both know is still here...
Be well,
Annika