24 February, 2011

Congrats to the International School of Bangkok for creating a fun and eye-opening Global Citizenship Week expedition.  Over the course of a week we traveled the full spectrum of tourism in Thailand, learning a new perspective on our home country.

The journey began with a day of orientation in Chiang Mai.  Traveling around town in a bright redsongtao, we practiced essential skills for living in the village, laid a framework for personal growth and development, and explored the first of many markets.  Master teacher / farmer Jeff gave a thoughtful introduction to the politics, ecology, and human history of the northern Thai highlands.  Ajaan Jeff’s insights sparked a discussion of expectations and stereotypes that would continue throughout the trip.

On the first full day in Huay Puling, we hiked to the summit of Doi Pui, the tallest mountain in Mae Hong Son province.  The visibly different air quality over Mae Hong Son gave us something to think about as we made our way back to Ban Huay Hee for a festive evening.  Laughing around a campfire with our host families, asking open-ended questions about their lives, and hearing about the role of tourism in the village was one of the highlights of the expedition.

The midpoint of the trip was marked by a 16 kilometer trek to Ban Huay Thong Goh, a village famous for their master blacksmith work.  We noticed a collage of similarities and differences: the food was spicier, and fewer people spoke Thai; but every house still kept two fires burning, and our host parents still woke up long before the sun to prepare rice or clear a field for cultivation.

Our final few days in Huay Puling District featured consisent, powerful experiences of cultural exchange.  Students studied traditional medicine, and tried out some of the cures on bug bites and stomach aches.  Our pa-ti and muh-ga (uncles and aunts) introduced us to an amazing array of crafts.  With expert coaching and no small amount of help, we created baskets from bamboo stalks, pounded graceful iron knives, and wove part of a shoulder bag using a backstrap loom.  Rowdy afternoon dagraw and football games made all of the kids in the village late for dinner.

Deeply impressed by our hosts’ hospitality and stewardship, as well as the complex politics surrounding their lives in the mountains, we returned to Mae Hong Son with a wide range of responses.  Some of us experienced a keen desire to rush into 7-11 and order all of the iced drinks that we could hold.  Others pondered the immense contrasts that can exist within one country — contrasts in cultures, markets, communities, environments, lifestyles, structures of tourism, points of view.  All of us finished the trip with the feeling that our education as global citizens had only just begun.

Da bleu to all… Enjoy the pictures!  Keep practicing for next year’s Bangkok-Ban Huay Thong Goh dagraw / football showdown.

Climb On!