Life in the Kingdom

Saw bai dee mai kha? ( How are you?) I'm getting a bit more comfortable using my Thai. The Thais appreciate it even if I can use a few words... they're more than happy to help me. We are gearing up for the hot season to begin. Thailand has three seasons - the rainy season from August to November, the dry season from December to April and then the HOT season from April to August. We're told to expect temperatures of 40 degrees. I think it's more fitting to say the three seasons consist of hot, hotter and hottest!!

One of the things we continue to discover is Thailands deep felt practices and attitudes that define it, sometimes very different from our western values. For example Thai culture considers loud speech or speaking your mind to be rude. Where we sometimes value directness, indirectness is valued in Thailand. I'm discovering through my facilitation work at the Thai Burma Refugee Consortuim that my facilitation method although welcomed is new. While I tend to use a participatory and experimental style , the method predominately used here is rote learning - facts are presented and students generally are not allowed to question their validity. This has resulted in a skill gap costing Thailand because it has a tendency to stifle creativity and free thinking. Change is happening though however the transition slow. Both Michel and I in our work attempt to understand and integrate those differences . As we learn about Thai history and discover how this culture is defined it helps us adapt. In the Thai work environment they work as collectivists meaning they value harmony, face saving and a WE identity. They have a high sense of personal obligation to the work group and frequently do not disinquish their own priorities and opinions from others in the group. They will not challenge their boss or speak up when the boss is in the room. It is very much a hierachal society and they will ask questions to find where you fit in the hierachy. I've discovered upon meeting a Thai they will be interested in knowing more about me by immediately asking me these questions- Where are you from? What do you do? And....... How old are you? I've learned to respond happily by asking " How old do you think I am"?.. then proceed to tell them and ask them the same?

The death of the King's older sister Princess Galyani resulted in a scaled down Chinese New Year in February. The royal palace issued a 30 day mourning period and requested that entertainment establishments cease merry making for that time period. It was startling to see millions of Bangokians wearing only black and white for that time period. The shops did well as they responded by updating their clothing inventory to meet the demand. Her Buddhist funeral is not scheduled to take place until November. That's the amount of time it will take to refurbish the royal chariot. Thais are very superstitious and even though her death was expected it is considered bad luck to begin the work on the funeral chariot until after a royal dies. In the meantime she lies in state at a compound in the Grand Palace.

If God is to be found in 'small places' - the orphanage is one of the places where this spirit dwells for me. One of the joys of living in Bangkok is the opportunity to meet people from all over the world. Many who give their time to volunteer throughout Thailand. In the photo below are my friends Marion from France, Mio from Japan, and Barb from the UK and of course the children who live at the orphanage - Nutscha, Petmonie, Paul, Dennis and Nontha. This orphanage is located in the Bangkok District of Pakreed and is the only orphanage for disabled children in Thailand. Most of these children will live the rest of their lives here.

This little boy did not have much opportunity to spend time outside of his crib. He was so thrilled when my friend Rosalie took him outside for a walk and some cuddling last week. Thailand has many beautiful beaches. Hua Hin is a beach town about a 1 hour drive. It's very popular as a weekend getaway.

Throughout rural Thailand there are many rice farmers and family operated rice farms. Thailand is the world's leading exporter of rice. Rice farming has formed the basis of the Thai economy since the very earliest days and is still the main occupation of the country’s farmer. Every region depends upon this traditional grain for sustenance and it is easy to observe the various cycles of rice farming . Though many parts of the country produce two and sometime three crops a year, the beginning of the season is usually thought to commence in May with the annual Royal Ploughing Ceremony, an ancient Brahmin ritual held across from the Grand Palace in Bangkok. A symbolic ploughing takes place at this colourful event, seeds are scattered, and prediction are made regarding the forth coming rainfall and harvest. At this time the rice seedlings are planted by hand, another endeavor in which everyone participates. The rains begin in earnest shortly afterwards, and for about three months the farmers have relatively little to do except maintaining the level of water in the fields of ripening rice and protecting it against birds and insect pests; many younger men go into the monkhood during this period, thus taking one of the traditional steps toward becoming a mature adult. By late November or early December, rice in the fields of the north and central plains is ready for harvest. Once again villagers go out in large groups, working with sickles from early morning until dusk . The cut rice is spread in the fields to dry for several days, then arranged in sheaves and taken to the family compound for threshing and winnowing, a task usually completed by January—though it will be later in the far south, which has two rainy season.

Kelsey, Michel and I recently returned from Cambodia. Cambodia is one the world's poorest countries. The people are in a rebuilding stage after the horrific genocide and war of the 70's. There is startling poverty. Children can be found begging on the streets often with a pimp or their mother watching. I was impressed with the resiliency and tenacity of the Cambodian people. I spent some time talking with the children. They were very happy to practice their English and I enjoyed our conversation. We met a couple of high school children who wanted to show us around and we paid them in exchange for their guiding service. They were interested in getting some suggestions from Kelsey on how to get to know 'foreign girls' and also asked about tips on dating foreign girls. Below is a photo of a family in Phnom Penh. The children approached Michel for money. Their mother stood in the background observing. When Michel offered to buy them dinner she quickly came over and accepted his offer with gratitude. We visited the Killing Fields - the place where the Khumer Rouge slaughtered 1.7 million of Cambodian people without mercy and buried them in mass graves during the 70's. You might have seen the movie "The Killing Fields". There is a stupa at the site which contains some of the skulls recovered from the graves to serve as a tribute and reminder of such an evil era.

Our experience in Cambodia both unsettled and amazed us. I know I felt a stirring there - in the midst of all the sadness - the culture possesses a pride, heartening hope and an energy unimaginable.

Until next time- Go well

With love,

Dorothy, Michel and Kelsey

Life In The Kingdom

Sawwadee bii mai ( Happy New Year)

As we enter 2551 ( Thai lunar calender) we hope the year is filled with wonderful moments to savour.

The Thai New Year is actually celebrated on April 13th. There are three New Year celebrations in Thailand - the Western New Year on Jan 1st, the Chinese New Year on February 7th and the Thai New Year in April. Fireworks for all!! The Thais believe in "sanook" - fun and celebration in everything.

The past couple of months we have explored outside of Bangkok on the weekends. Bangkok with its frenzied pace and diversity of people. This multi faceted city contrasts with rural Thailand with it's old ways, breathtaking landscape and rudimentary way of living.

We spent part of the holiday break traveling in the north of Thailand. We visited Chiang Mai, a popular and beautiful city. During our stay we visited an elephant camp and saw elephants in their natural habitant. The Mahouts (elephant keepers) gave us a wonderful demonstration of elephants performing work of loading and stacking logs as well as other feats such as bowing royally and even painting with their trunks. We stayed at a unique...guest house which was staffed with Katoeys. Katoeys are lady boys. They are very visible in Thailand and very flamboyant. One of the quirks here is the ability to balance deep rooted conservatism with high levels of tolerance and integration. A case in point is the astonishing population of transvestites and transexuals. To get a sense of their wonderful sense of humor I've included a photo of Michel and Kelsey having morning coffee served by Katoeys at the guest house where we stayed.

A trip to a hillside tribe gave us a look at how some of the people of Thailand live. They welcomed us with their famous Thai smile and we were able to see some of the beautiful handicrafts made by the women in the village. Our trip was capped off with a raft ride down the Ping River and a visit to one of Thailand's famous temples called Doi Suthep. The temple overlooked the city of Chiang Mai and the view was breathtaking.

Michel is enjoying his work. The project he is working on is on schedule and he particularly enjoys working with the Thais. Fun at work is a part of their value system and Michel enjoys joining in ! Kelsey is back at school after a three week break. I continue my Thai language training and continue to try to get the tones down. It's quite hilarious at times since Thai is a tonal language and one word can have five meanings depending on the tone. My weekly orphanage visit continues to fill me with a sense of groundedness.

In February I will begin designing and facilitating leadership workshops for staff of the Thai Burma Border Consortium. The TBBC is a group of ten NGOs from eight countries working to provide shelter, food and capacity building support to Refugees from Burma. They work with 150,000 refugees who live along the Thailand Burma border. The Human Resource Manager is from Cape Breton and we realized that we actually met before at a meeting when I worked with the Hants/Kings Community Business Development Association- Talk about a small world ! I'm looking forward to this part time work and a trip to the border field offices and camps in March.

We have observed a number of Buddhist ceremonies and we have been touched with the reverence and attention to ritual displayed by the Thais. As I learn about other religions I am aware of the commonality we share in our humanity, coupled with a deep respect and admiration as well for my Christian heritage

Until next time.... Blessings and Go well.

Love, Kelsey, Dorothy and Michel

Life in the Kingdom

Sawadee Kha from Thailand,

I hope this finds you all well.

It's a little over three months since our arrival. We continue to settle in our new home. There are many challenges as we adapt to a new culture as well as many rewards. Like the Thai Massage we continue to be "stretched". It's the "cool" season now- temperatures at a cool 26 degrees :) The humidity has lifted though making it comfortable to be outside.

Now that Michel is back from 6 weeks in Europe we have taken the opportunity on the weekends to explore outside of Bangkok. We went to Singapore recently, visited a beach town in the south of Thailand and this past weekend we drove in a northerly direction to the mountains. This country is incredibly beautiful " savouy".

Kelsey has made friends here and enjoys the weekend Bangkok nightlife. Due to her enjoyment of dancing and the many dance clubs here - shoes that she is able to buy cheaply here in Bangkok require the services of the shoefixer ( many who can be found offering this service as a street vendor.) I think she's adjusted to the early morning wake up for school ( I mentioned in my first Blog posting that it is 5:45 am).

Michel's work is going well at Michelin. The project he is working on is proceeding as planned. He's experiencing a 'photographer's bliss' and he has taken incredible photos that depict the people and pulse of the city. We've been told that a visual record of our stay needs to happen in the first 6 months because after that we might start to overlook the sights which startled us in the beginning.

I've started Thai Language training and go to a school 3 afternoons a week for private tutoring. Thai language is a tonal language using 5 tones .. so the same word can have many different meanings. I have made many gaffes :) My weekly visit to the orphanage for disabled children is one of the highlights of the week. Recently I completed a lecture seris at the National Museum on Thai culture and religion. The People of Thailand interestingly integrate Buddhism, Hinduism and Animism in their daily life and evidence can be seen all throughout Bangkok. Thailand is an agricultural society that relies on nature. In Thailand the energy of the earth and the cosmos is understood as a living organism - everything happens according to the natural rhythms between earth and the heavens. One of the obvious reminders of the Thai's relationship to earth and heaven is the devoted use of the spirit house. These spirit houses are found at every building structure and is believed to offer protection from unwelcome 'forces'.

The King of Thailand's 80 th birthday is this week and the country has geared up to celebrate this milestone with much fanfare. There are pictures and lights everywhere and many stories are told about the King's care and love for the Thai people. Each Monday the city is filled with people wearing yellow shirts with the King's emblem. Yellow is the King's colour and Monday is the King's day ( the day of the week he was born). It's quite a site to witness a sea of thousands of people wearing these yellow shirts. The King is loved and respected and his influence is evident. The Royal Family is known for its work in poor areas with an emphasis that focuses on improving the lives of the Thai people. This is contrary to the upcoming Thai election on December 23rd where there is an 'air' of distrust and skepticism. Our first Christmas abroad will indeed be different. Although the Thais do not celebrate Christmas, they recognize other rituals during this time involving gift giving, good food and spending time with family. There is no shortage of festivals and celebrations here!

Hope you enjoy the photos. Wishing you all a wonderful and loving holiday season!

Go well

Dorothy, Michel and Kelsey

Bangkok

Sawwadee kai... Well I finally set up this blog! After 6 weeks in Bangkok I'm beginnning to adjust and cope with the culture shock not to mention the heat and humidity! The first few weeks were spent looking for a place to live and finding our way around the city. The traffic is incredible yet there are many modes of transporation. Our main mode is the sky train however the Tuk-tuk is great for short distances. Motor bike taxis are easily found for those brave souls who want to get to a destination quickly. They weave in and out of traffic- passengers in most cases are not wearing helmets. A couple of weeks ago we moved into our new 'digs' - on the 33rd floor of a condominium in the heart of Bangkok. Kelsey has settled into school and has a 40 minute drive on the bus. Wake up time is 5:45am. School begins at 7:20am here. Michel began work and after four weeks here left for a six week training stint in France and Spain. The language barrier challenges us however one can usually find someone who speaks English and the Thais can generally understand English better than speak it. They are very patient and tolerant. My Thai language guide book is helpful at times although we hope to enrol in some Thai language courses eventually. Primarily a Buddhist country ( temples can be found everywhere here) one rarely sees much expression of anger or impatience. The Thais generally do not like any outward expression of anger or impatience. Maipenrai is the Thai term for "no worries" and is used with harried foreigners!

The food is something else... every cultural cusine in the world is offered here. There are Thai street chefs everwhere ready to cook up a Thai delicacy for 30-40 baht ( $1 cdn).

There is much visible poverty and homelessness here. The slums are found tucked away amongst some of the more affluent areas of Bangkok. There are many orphanages here filled with homeless children with AIDS and wiht children who have been deserted. They are crying out for support and the children love to get visits from people who will spend time with them. The Anglican Church that I attend here is very involved in Mission work. I hope to make a three day trip in November to the Burma (Mynamar) border to take personal supplies and food to a refugee camp there. They are always in need of washing powder, soap, talcum powder and shampoo as well as games and books. The gap between the rich and poor is SO visible. Without a welfare system many young people from poor families leave school - many of those residing in the slum areas of Bangkok move into street work to support their families. There is good work going on though and many groups established who are trying to help. The injustice of it fills me and I still struggle to find a way to make a difference - even in some small way. This journey has really touched me- my limitations and perceptions are open - like an open wound. Yet I am thankful to be here and there is a sense of knowing that it is all necessary and a part of the journey.

I continue to discover and explore and we'll continue to share this experience for those who wish to follow it.

Go well

Dorothy