ICU Karen Wedding

On Friday, Misa and I went with Claire and her husband to a Christian Karen wedding in Chiang Rai. We left Friday afternoon and spent the night in a village outside of the city of Chiang Rai. We ate a delicious Karen dinner before going into the city to explore the night bizarre, which was overall disappointing and nothing comparable to the markets of Chiang Mai. We went to bed early that night so we could wake up early to eat breakfast and attend the wedding ceremony.
That morning we got up and went to a family friend’s house for breakfast. He made us ‘half farang half Karen’ food which turned out to be toast and omelet. We ate and talked while the boys became enveloped with a small group of owls in a tree next to the house. A young boy walked up to the house with a BB gun and they all took shots at the owls. They finally hit one between the eyes and it fell down dead. They said they were going to eat it but when they plucked it the bird was so small it didn't seem worth it. They kept shooting at the other owls in the tree until they hit another. They brought it over and it wasn't quite dead yet. They messed around with it for a little before pinching its throat shut. It struggled and took a long time to die.
We left soon after to return to the house and dress for the ceremony. When we got there we took our seats in a back pew. The wedding was like a typical Christian wedding. There were flower girls, and groomsmen. The bride wore the clothing of a married Karen woman with a veil. The ceremony was in both Karen and Thai. It was explained to me that the groom did not speak Karen and that the family hade taught him how to say ‘I do’ and nudged him at the appropriate time to say it. There was lots of singing, various friends and family seemed to have prepared songs and music especially for the ceremony.
After it was over we were invited back to the bride’s home to eat. We had more delicious Karen food, took some pictures, and then left for the long drive home to Chiang Rai. It was a lot of fun and I’m glad to have been able to have the cultural experience.

ICU Thoughts on Returning

The semester has come to an end too quickly. I feel that there are so many things that I have not done in Chiang Mai and now I am too swamped with work to go out and do them. When I first got here it seemed like I had an infinite amount of time to enjoy what Chiang Mai has to offer. Not only have I not seen and done many things, but now I’m too swamped with work and stressed out to efficiently plan my summer.

I have vague yet amazing plans for the summer after the Thai Studies program ends. I intend to fly to Nepal and travel through Northern India before returning to Thailand and beginning my travels through Southeast Asia. I have yet to plan, budget, and pick a return date. I feel an overwhelming amount of personal responsibility and I feel ready. Over the past year I have arranged visas, booked plane tickets, traveled solo, filed insurance claims, budgeted money, and nearly completed two successful semesters at universities in incredibly foreign environments. I have undoubtedly grown an immense amount and I feel like a new and more capable person. After all this I feel like returning home will be so simple.

But it seems strange that I will return with such a radically different outtake on life and the world. The world seems larger to me now, and I’m worried about relating to people back home in the same way. By the time I see my friends and family I will have done and seen so much I can’t even imagine I’ll be able to articulate it.

ICU

For the Thai Studies final project Evie and I have chosen to do a presentation on the role of food carving in Thai culture. We were able to include a lot of interesting information of the background of the art and how it evolved into the modern food carvings we see today. We came across (and included in our power point) a multitude of photos made for royal dinners and whatnot that were totally mind-blowing. Thais manage to make incredible ornate and complicated carvings. As an art student I find things like this inspiring and I hope to incorporate what I’ve learned into my work back home.

The best part of our project has turned out to be each (Thai Studies) student’s attempt to make a cucumber rose. We handed out knives and half of a cucumber to each Thai Studies student. We showed them a picture of the final product (a rose) and gave them one hour to complete. At the end of the hour we had each student pose with their carving. Some cucumbers came back in pieces some came back with tape others came back in a form somewhat resembling a rose. They’re all pretty humorous.

These attempts highlight the finesse and skill required to make many of the traditional food carvings associated with Thai culture. The tradition of food carving has definitely developed into an art form and is a staple Thailand’s culture and cuisine. Food carving is taught in schools and classes are offered for Thais and tourists alike. I’m glad that I have learned at least a little about this cultural art and that I will be able to take some of the carving techniques home. I hope to use food carving in someway in future sculpture projects so I can utilize my new skill.

ICU Elephants

I have always claimed that one day I would run way and become a mahout. I have always had a deep and serious love for elephants, and when it was confirmed that I would be coming to Thailand I immediately began to fantasize about personal encounters with my favorite animal.

Since my arrival I had done research on the various elephant camps and reserves in the area in hopes of finding one that would provide me with my ideal experience. I decided upon the ‘Thai Elephant Home’ and made a reservation. They did a wonderful job and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. They picked us up, we met with a couple other farang, and spent the entire day riding, feeding, swimming, and playing with the elephants. The elephants were treated well and it was a generally great day.

When I first arrived in Thailand I became acquainted with the reality of elephants within the country. While elephants are highly revered they are also utilized and exploited for money and tourism. I vividly remember seeing my first elephant in Thailand and while it was an impressive and memorable experience it opened my eyes to the role of elephants within Thailand, particularly within urban environments like Chiang Mai and Bangkok. I believe that every ‘urban elephant’ I have encountered has been under the authority of a Burmese refugee. It has been explained to me that a large number of these elephants were illegally taken from the jungle and used as a financial resource for refugees within Thailand. When I first arrived it was magical to see an elephant walking down the street and now it’s just disheartening.

ICU Bennett Response

The Bennett article which goes over the various stages of cultural interaction and adjustment classifies reactions to new cultures into a variety of stages and phases. I personally don’t believe these stages are as prevalent or inevitable as Bennett portrays them. However, I did identify with the ‘reversal’ stage and can think of a range of emotions and sentiments I’ve held told fellow farang and ultimately my own culture which reflect Bennett’s reversal phase of cultural interface.

Thailand’s rich tourism industry has created a large influx of western visitors and sojourners. I have personally encountered a large number of college age students who seem to be here just to party and not to learn or embrace anything about Thai culture. This has created a staunch contrast in my mind between the cultures and social values of Thailand and western countries. I unfortunately now find myself bothered by the presence of other farang an often mutter the phrase ‘oh man, look at all these farang dudes’. I recognize that I should be embracing my fellow travelers but I cannot shed my newfound sight of western tourist. I now completely understand the regrettable stereotype of the loud obnoxious American.

I find this to be an amazing difference in my sentiments from last semester during my time abroad in Turkey. Although Istanbul has a consistent influx of tourists, it is not anything comparable to that of Chiang Mai. Last semester when I met another American I was beyond glad to be talking to them, and instantly engaged in conversation, interested in where they were from and what they were doing in Turkey. It felt good to speak English and to be comfortably conversing with someone who has a similar cultural background. In Chiang Mai, Americans are easy to come by. I have virtually no interest in hearing (for the millionth time) about someone’s travels in Laos or the crazy nights they had in Bangkok.

Overall my cross-cultural understanding has certainly evolved. I’ve learned to identify cultural differences and to embrace them for being cultural differences. I am now less frustrated by them and more interested in the little social differences that shape our cultures. I have also learned to identify what are distinctly American idiosyncrasies and I always wonder how I would react to them as a foreigner in the States.

ICU Koh Chang

I spent the latter half of my Songkran holiday in Koh Chang. We spent a night’s journey flying into Bangkok, taking an overnight bus to Traht and greeting the next morning on the ferry to Koh Chang. Upon arrival I immediately realized that the exhausting trip to the island was well worth it. As the sun rose, the water became bluer and bluer and I began to plot dropping my bags into the bungalow and running straight for the beach.

By the time we arrived at our hostel the day’s heat was well underway and we opted to find the beach as soon as we were done with breakfast. We quickly found the beach, dropped our things and dove into the warm water. I swam for upwards of three hours, in utter bliss, and even attracted the comment of an older British woman, “you crazy kids have been in here for hours!” By the time I emerged from the ocean I was so tired I hastily passed out in the sun for an hour or two.

And woke up with the worst sun burn of my life.

The consistently painful burn across my back and shoulders didn’t slow me down, and I enjoyed my vacation to the fullest extent. I swam, ate delicious food, met cool people, and even went snorkeling which was, in my opinion, the highlight of the trip.

We arranged a snorkeling tour which took us to four different islands and diving sights around Koh Chang. Our first sight they took us to a rock formation off of a small island. They handed out the gear and we eagerly jumped off the side of the boat and into the water. The sight was filled with amazing coral, colorful fish, and other ocean life. The excitement of our first sight was unfortunately dampened when Eva emerged with a series of sea urchin spikes stuck in her foot. We pulled out the large ones, but Eva, in an immense amount of pain from the points still logged in her foot, spent the rest of the day on the boat.

I spent the rest of the afternoon jumping off the side of the boat, gazing at fish, and being generally terrified of sea urchins.

Despite the sunburn and digestive issues we all suffered, Koh Chang was an amazing trip. At times I forgot I was even in Thailand, the signs were mostly in English, farang food was prevalent, and the population of the island seemed to consist of European tourist and dark Thai men with dreadlocks. It was definitely a vacation spot, and needless to say, I was sad to return home to my little dorm room and huge pile of homework.

ICU Songkran

Songkran in Chiang Mai was totally and completely ridiculous. I had an amazing time. I think the entire city had an amazing time. We woke up Monday morning, squirt guns ready and not quite sure what to expect. We got into the sungtow and it was no more that 10 minutes into our drive when we were completely soaked. Stepping out of the car and into the traffic packed streets by Tophae Gate was like stepping into an alternative universe. The entire city was out, soaking wet, drunk, and smiling. Walking up the street we were immediately met with playful buckets of water and eager farang with huge water guns that made me remember summers in my backyard as a kid.

There was zero evidence of the religious meaning to the holiday and was very apparent that the entire city of Chiang Mai had all but forgotten the reason behind the festivities. Songkran, the Thai New Year, is supposed to be a time of renewal and cleansing of the spirit (hence the inescapable city-wide soak). A traditional instance is the parading of the city’s Buddha images so that people make sprinkle water onto them and hence clean the Buddha, receiving merit. Water was originally used as a way to symbolically cleanse and respect elders and family members by dripping water onto them. This practice evolved into the all out water wars of modern Songkran.

A celebration of this magnitude and chaos could never happen in America. There are too many restrictions and the general population is too nervous and uptight to ever let go and have that much fun. When we arrived at the airport to depart for Thailand, I remember Evie’s father explaining that ‘in Thailand, everyone just seems to do whatever they want…’ and I feel that Songkran was the epitome of this statement.

I ended the festival exhausted, drenched, and down one cell phone. I thoroughly enjoyed the festivities and hope to participate again one day.