We are all that we have met.

Since I’ve called my experience here a “study abroad” trip, I figure I’d finally share a bit about my university life in between the numerous weekend jaunts. What I love about Rangsit University International College is that it gives me the opportunity I thought I’d never have to share a classroom with other students from places (some of which I had never heard of before) like Nauru Island and Bhutan, but also Nepal, China, Burma, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and Thailand, of course. Most of the IC students I’ve met have an interest in gaining a more worldly perspective by meeting people from all over the globe. Rangsit also has a swimming pool, a can tine that’s surprisingly cheap, a weight room, a shrine, and a large gym with table tennis, volleyball, and basketball. The school sets up a market every Thursdays that vends clothing, costume jewelry, makeup, shoes, electronics, food, and even manicures. When I workout in the evenings, I share the track and field with student soccer players, cheerleaders (apparently Rangsit’s Cheerleading team is an infamous and spunky collection of cheerleading champions), random children, stray dogs, Thai drummers, and the track team. There’s always so much going on here.

I am taking five classes; three involving Thai culture and history, as well as two others specifically for my major (Social Sciences & Organizations); Cross Cultural Management and Organization Development. Although Rangsit offers programs of an “international standard,” the class difficulty level is much lower than at Cal Poly (I’m certainly not complaining, as most of the teachers understand that a top priority for most students is to travel and truly absorb more outside the classroom). Classes are relatively small, from 10 to 25 sundry students. I really enjoy Thai language because it’s challenging and we have an abundance of opportunity to practice even if we don’t want to. I also look forward to Organization Development because it’s an independent study and for an hour or two every Tuesday, I just converse with the professor, Dr. Paul, about current events and how it may tie into the class plus any questions I may have. I couldn’t help but ask him what the deal was with the Lady boys and how they are perceived by “Thai society” (the photo to the left is of a lady boy/potential-prostitute and I in Patong, Phuket Island). Like I said before, they are categorized as a completely separate gender from male and female but according to my one, straight-forward resource thus far, the Thai people sympathetically tolerate them more so than accept them. They believe that because of bad karma in a previous lifetime, they were reborn as such. Dr. Paul said there was “a really good one” here at Rangsit who got recruited by an American model agency…we shared a laugh or two because of it. He/she was lucky though because I’ve seen many Lady boys who end up as go-go dancers at overly-touristy beaches or even worse, prostitutes.

The three colors of the Thai flag, red-white-blue stand for nation-religion-king, an unofficial motto of Thailand. I witness evidence of all everyday, some more than others, but nevertheless it’s present in Thai routine, customs, and tradition. At 8am each morning and 6pm each evening, speakers scattered throughout the city blast the national anthem and everyone stops what they’re doing to stand and give respects. It seems that so many Thais have a united devotion and love for the King, whose symbol sits boldly at the center of the flag. However, from what I’ve learned about the current political situation in Thailand right now, its reputation of harmony through unity hasn’t been too well affirmed. The southern provinces of Thailand, bordering Malaysia (a predominantly Muslim country) has been the arena of pro-autonomy activity because of its distinctive religious, ethnic, cultural, and historical traits for more than a century. Thai authorities have attempted to suppress and assimilate those differences by changing administration over Islamic education and practices as well as indifference toward the local economy, standard of living, the rule of law and justice. This has resulted in an ambiance of resentment and alienation among the ethnic Malay Muslim population and has therefore provided the context for resistance and insurgency. The only two things the southern provinces are lacking to be an independent nation are a central government of its own and a standing army (small, seemingly insignificant things, really). It’s a 100-year battle between southern Muslim Thailand vs. the central government of Thailand in the fight to gain independence or fabricate a status of accord.

Everyone knows that the riots still continue to plague the news and keep tourists away from the land of the Thai, but not very many people understand why. There are issues with Cambodia, a former French colony because in 1962, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that Preah Vihear Temple, built in the 9^th century, belonged to Cambodia despite its location on Thai territory. Thai nationalists fear that the temple’s new title will weaken Thailand’s hand (UNESCO has claimed that its decision has no sway on overlapping land issues). In July, Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled that the government was wrong when it signed a joint communiqué with Cambodia on the issue without consulting parliament and therefore, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama resigned. It is alleged that Thaksin, the past Prime Minister who protesters forced into ostracism, cut business deals in Cambodia during this time. For decades, Preah Vihear was off the map but the rocketing tourism of Angkor Wat, the temple that symbolizes Cambodia’s ancient glories and which I hope to visit next week, has inspired the country to repeat the process with Preah Vihear. For now though, Thailand is doing what it can to prevent a “loss of face” to Cambodia.

Many people have asked me why I chose Thailand out of all places besides the fact that it’s real cheap living here. I had a mysterious obsession with Thailand since I learned about the statistics, politics, and development of Southeast Asian countries in my Sociology classes at Cal Poly. Thailand always struck me because not only is it copious in culture, art, and smiles, but it’s #1 in reducing poverty in relation to GDP as well as HIV/AIDs rates. Since I’ve been here, I’ve realized that those precise statistics are generally impressive on paper. Dr. Paul, an economist, explained to me how simply increasing the amount of government spending (investing in large projects like the brand new Suvanaphumi International Airport) and consumerism automatically boosts GDP. That growth steers the assumption of a poverty decline, however, the same amount of beggars, if not more, still meander the streets. Today, my adoration for Thailand has intensified but for different reasons than the ones I held before, reasons which I’ll attempt to further explain in my blog posts to come…

I started off my passed weekend on Friday at a Buddhist temple called Wat Phra Dhammakaya. I witnessed the casting of a renowned monk, Phramongkolthepmuni (Sodh Candasaro), who dedicated his life to rediscovering the wisdom of Dhammakaya, the practice of bringing the mind to a standstill at the centre of the body to attain Dhamrnakaya. One ton of solid gold was melted down to swathe a remarkable clay model sculpted by a master monk at Dhammakaya. The stadium was filled with thousands of people clad in white. Some were unexpectedly welcoming and appreciative of our presence and interest in such an event and it turned out to be an interesting religious experience.

I ran my first soft core 6km marathon in Bangkok on Saturday night. It was the 11th Annual Amari Watergate Hotel and BMW Thailand Charity Midnight Run. Proceeds and registration fees went to a school for children who’s parents have passed away from HIV/AIDs. People from all over the world were there, including the National Running team of Thailand. Bryan, a student and teacher at Rangsit who we went with, won 2nd place, which is immensely impressive considering there were almost 4,000 other people running behind him. Some people were dressed up in droll yet ridiculous costumes which appeared to be impossible to run in (yet each character held their own in the race and pulled passed the finish line eventually). It was a lot of fun and I hope to attend more of these marathons/runs like the Turkey Trot, especially when I return to the States.

I’ve been training Muay Thai boxing for the last four weeks and it helped considerably to outlast the Midnight 6km run. Thai Boxing is a form of hard martial art practiced in several Southeast Asian countries and it has a long history in Thailand, where it’s the national sport. Muay Thai is referred to as “The Art of the Eight Limbs”, as the hands, shins, elbows, and knees are all used extensively in this art; a practitioner of Muay Thai has the ability to execute strikes using eight “points of contact” (as opposed to “two points,” the fists, in Western boxing and “four points,” fists and feet, used in the primarily sport-oriented forms of martial arts). Today, the honor of Muay Thai fighting is somewhat tainted; people are sometimes paid off easily to lose and the sport itself has become quite commercialized. Eight other students and I are being trained by a Thai fighter with 12 years of experience in his punch. We train from 6-8am from Monday to Friday and sometimes from 5-7pm. It is an extreme but exhilarating workout and we get VIP seats to fights, which foreigners would pay USD$30+ per show. It’s a three month program which would eventually earn us certification in Thai Boxing for a monthly cost (of course). I figured it be more worth it to learn such an art in the country it originated in the most authentic way possible. We went to a fight this passed weekend with our trainer and it was thrilling! We were there for almost three hours watching a few fights; each fight is composed of five three-minute rounds and two-minute breaks in between. We saw kids fighting who looked 15 but were probably 20 or 21 years old (most Thais are blessed with a youthful appearance way below their actual age), to champions with 10 years of experience who could’ve been 30 years old. The fighters enter the ring and do a dance (called Wai Khru) for a few minutes to honor their trainers/masters; I found myself rooting for those who danced thoroughly and gracefully (fly like a butterfly and then later sting like a bee). The photo to the right shows a few of the younger fighters performing part of the ritualistic dance. After learning a few techniques, it was interesting to see it implemented in the ring (as well as the damage it could do). We also have the opportunity to fight in a match in December if our trainer agrees that any one of us is ready. I can’t imagine myself being at that level in two months since there’s so many basics left to learn but I look forward to seeing what happens all the same…

Peace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prasat_Preah_Vihear#Ancient_history
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0722/p06s02-wosc.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism_in_Thailand
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2007/thailand0807/3.htm

I figured I’d do it big for my 21st; bigger than a house party or an elaborate dinner, even bigger than Bangkok. A larger than expected group of us flew down to Phuket Island, a world famous Province known for James Bond Island (where one of the movies was filmed), its white-sand beaches, clear greenish water, it’s enormous Buddha overlooking the land below, and it’s bustling nightlife. Phuket is also Thailand’s largest island, about the size of Singapore!

We found a flight deal with a friend of a Thai friend’s who also goes to IC and he offered us a ticket priced at USD$90 instead of what were originally going to book, USD$125. We were a little weary because he didn’t give us a receipt or our tickets when we forked over USD$1800 (for all of us total). With a combination of desperation and faith in our friend who knows him, we went along with the plan nevertheless. We eventually got our tickets the morning of our one-and-half-hour flight and found ourselves on the island by evening time. Since we showed up with an entourage of 10, we were able to bargain down our hostel price at Pineapple Guest House from USD$5/night to USD$3/night and we had a dorm room all to ourselves. The British owner, Steve, and his Thai wife Lek, were incredibly welcoming and helpful. Some of us wasted no time taking a dip in the ocean water of Karon Beach, a nationally rated 4.5 star beach where we stayed. We threw on our swim suits after dinner and went for a night walk along the beach. The sand felt squeaky smooth under our soles and the ocean was as lukewarm as bath water. Apparently, Thai people never go to Phuket unless they work there because after the 2004 Tsunami, locals claimed to see ghost Farang dancing in the water (although more Thai people died than foreigners on the Island due to the Tsunami). Thai people believe very strongly in spirits and ghosts. I’ve seen trees wrapped in brightly-colored ribbon that are offerings to the spirits who reside in the area. Karma and spirits come in to play often, especially since 95% of Thailand’s population is Buddhist. Not only are Thailand’s architecture and customs heavily influenced by other cultures like that of India and China, but its religion is too. Three major forces have influenced the development of Buddhism in Thailand. Folk religion is the a major influence on Thai Buddhism; it attempts to propitiate and attract the favor of local spirits (known as phi). Thais also believe that tattoos are often religious passages or symbols which offer protection to the wearer. The more superstitious the person, the more tattoos they are apt to have. If any of you watch the program “Lost,” remember when Jack was in Thailand; he got a controversial tattoo from his Thai girlfriend, it could have been to protect him from the dangerous spirits (specifically her Thai male friends/family members who were after him at the time) and eventually the forthcoming spirits of the island! Anyway, I don’t believe in ghosts but that night, the light reflecting off the water tricked my eyes into seeing white figures dancing on the surface and then being washed away with the waves. I couldn’t help but get chills.

The Vegetarian Festival was also celebrated famously in Phuket and we hoped to have better luck there than we did in Chinatown. The next day, we arrived in Phuket Town, the center of the gala, and were pleased to discover ceremonies taking place at a brightly lit Buddhist temple, children decorating the streets with a variety of firecrackers, and yellow flags everywhere. Not only did I finally get to taste Mango and sticky rice (which, mind you, is delicious!), but I got to experience a cultural snippet of this 10-day festivity and I realized that it’s about more than just vegetarian spring rolls. We witnessed a ceremony where men shook their heads and rolled their eyes back while falling into a trance to the heavy beat of drums. After doing a bit of research, I learned that these men are named “Ma Song,” or entranced horses. They are devotees whom the gods enter during the fest. They manifest supernatural powers and perform self-tortures in order to shift evil from individuals onto themselves, and to bring the community good luck. Fireworks and drums are sounded loudly, especially during ceremonies so the noise drives away evil spirits. They even had 10 rules for the festival that reminded me of those which we must follow before entering the praying room in a Jain temple.

10 Rules for the Vegetarian Festival
1. Cleanliness of bodies during the festival
2. Clean kitchen utensils used separately from others who do not join the festival
3. Wear white during the festival
4. Behave physically and mentally
5. No meat eating
6. No sex
7. No alcoholic drinks
8. People at mourning period should not attend the festival
9. Pregnant ladies should not watch any ritual
10. Ladies with period should not attend the ritual

We ended up purchasing a diverse batch of fireworks for ourselves for about USD$10 and marveled at the glitz and sparks for a short and exciting time on the beach. The firecracker-bursting occasion made me reminiscent of Diwali (which is coming up really soon!) but I had a lot of fun. The following day, we took a tour to Phi Phi Island and went snorkeling. Although Phi Phi was incredibly touristy and therefore expensive, it was breathtakingly beautiful. It was a full-day tour and by the time we got back to our hostel, it was time for dinner. We went out with a friend named Gary, who lives in Phuket. He took us to a fabulous restaurant called Farang Restaurant (so creative) where I began my early birthday celebration with some quality red wine and delicious, dark chocolate cake. Post-dinner, we went to Patong, a town renowned for it’s collection of bars, clubs, and lounges. We met up with the rest of our friends from IC (who were staying on a different beach) and danced until night passed. For the rest of the vacation, two of my friends rented motorcycle scooters so they took us around the island. We spent the rest of our fleeting time lounging lazily on the beach and floating until wrinkly in the water. Also, thank you all so much for the calls, emails, and wishes; it was a magnificent 21^st birthday jamboree :]!

On Monday, the day we were to fly back to Rangsit, we realized that some of our Finnish friends who had an early flight had troubles getting on the plane because supposedly, their tickets were canceled. As more of us turned up at the airport, we learned that more of us were in the same predicament. After anxiety and confrontation, we discovered that fraudulent credit cards were used to purchase these tickets. Three of my friends and I were all on the same flight and our tickets were not canceled so we got back on time. However, the rest of our group not only had to wait at the airport for four+ more hours, but they had to eventually pay an extra USD$90 upfront to get their flights back. Although they were reimbursed upon arrival by the charlatan himself, we have reported it to the school and things are currently being taken care of. The assistant dean of IC, Gessy, who is helping us sort out the dilemma is as concerned about us as a good friend would be, so that’s at least comforting. In Thai culture, “losing face” is a vital affair to be in so I’m hoping, because of that, someone will come straight and justice will be served. As for us, we’ve learned our lesson about not trusting any “friend of a friend” despite how worthy the deal may seem.

C

Imagine 50 Farang (foreign) students in two Rangsit University buses traveling 8 hours north of Bangkok to a beautiful city named Chiang Mai…that was my classmates and I last weekend on a four-day trip organized by the International College (IC). Chiang Mai is the second largest province in Thailand, bordering Burma in the northern part of the country. It’s incredibly different from Bangkok; the hustle and bustle is toned down quite a bit, it’s lush, tropical and consequently, containing fresher air to breathe in. We left at around 10pm Thursday night and after a long a tiresome bus ride, we finally arrived at 6am the following morning. The hotel they put us in, Chiang Mai Flora, was quaint and in a quiet but close location to the happenings. We started the day early with a nap, breakfast, and a journey to Doi Suthep where we trekked up over 100 steps built between two elaborate model dragons to a beautiful Buddhist temple in the mountains. I also saw a statue of a decorated white elephant, which happens to be a royal symbol of Thailand. After a day of paying respects and awing at the intricacies of Thai architecture, we ate dinner at a restaurant that provided us with a special vegetarian buffet and entertainment entailing various forms of Thai dance and sword juggling. This was the first trip with most of the students in my program (USAC) and a lot of us decided to go out to experience the night life of Chiang Mai. We found ourselves at a club called Fashion listening to live music and sitting amongst young, local Thais. Almost every club or bar I’ve gone to has provided its audience with a fabulous live band or DJ, whether it’s them covering English songs or exposing us to famous Thai songs, I’ve always enjoyed it.

The next day we went to an Elephant camp. Upon entrance, we witnessed a show where the elephants looked awkward and unnatural playing soccer, sitting and lying down on the ground, and collecting food from its spectators. After the show, people had the opportunity to sit on the elephants’ trunks, backs, and legs for a photo. The most fascinating thing though was that they had trained the elephants to paint pictures of flowers, trees, and themselves, of course. It just proves how intelligent and obedient they are and we were amused with every stroke and spot painted. The camp, Maesa Elephant camp, boasts Ripley’s Believe it or Not! and Guinness World Book records for its unlikely group of artistic elephants. After talking to one of my friends who has been here for a few months now and experiencing being there myself, I learned that Maesa Elephant Camp is not only one of the most popular in Thailand, but also the most abusive to its elephants. The good thing about this camp as opposed to the one in Kanchanaburi was that it was in the midst of what looks like a forest in the mountains rather than a quasi-desert. However, I could see the evidence of mistreatment on their foreheads and I can’t help but believe, in their eyes as well. Four of us decided to boycott the planned elephant ride so they threw us on an ox cart instead and it somewhat defeated our purpose. We did get to see simple Thai natives going about their daily lives with no surrounding power lines or cars on a beautiful mountain landscape so that made it more worthwhile.

That night, we went to a place called Walking Street, which was a long road filled by stands decorated with art, gifts, and other souvenirs for cheap. We spent a good three of four hours there before we returned to the hotel. We arrived back at Rangsit at 2am Monday morning after a seemingly short bus ride. A few of us played games at the back of the bus for a couple ours and then sprawled ourselves across the seats in an attempt to sleep the rest of the ride away.

Since most don’t have class on Mondays, a few of us decided to take a trip to Bangkok for the day. I had to go the Immigration office to fix a mistake on my passport (my Visa was stamped to expire October 5 instead of December 5) and I was pleased to see that it was a simple cross-out and re-stamp to fix it. Then we went to Chinatown because it was the hub of celebration for a Vegetarian Festival that started that day, which lasts 10 days for the ending of Buddhist Lent. We were able to find yellow flags (that says “we are celebrating the festival with a variety of vegetarian/vegan curries and dishes!”) at most food stands on the street that sell spring rolls (yay!) and other deep-fried delicacies. The festival turned out to be short of what we imagined as a celebration due to it’s lack of parades and confetti and fireworks but at least we got an unlimited choice of veggie food. After that, we went to an International Movie Festival near a posh shopping mall called Siam Paragon. We saw a Swedish film titled “Let the Right One In” about a vampire trapped in a 12-year old girl’s body. It was twisted and therefore horribly entertaining but most times, it didn’t make sense. Somehow it got raving international reviews. We also saw another called “The Sky Below” about the India/Pakistan “mind-frontier” division in 1947. I thought it was too general and I left the theatre still confused about the event and all that’s followed. There was a question and answer session with the director, Sara Singh, preceding the movie and it was impressive because she filmed the whole movie herself, without a crew of any kind. We were trying to guess where she was from the whole time and most of us predicted correctly that she was from NYC…something about them New Yorkers, I don’t know if it’s the accent or the attitude but it always stands out. Despite its generality, the movie sparked some good conversation between my friends and I about refugees and what it must be like to go back “home” (whether it be to Pakistan or wherever else), the abductions and violence that has emerged from this separation, and British influence in this situation (it reminded me if the reckless border-drawing done in Africa).

Last week, the United States Ambassador to Thailand, Eric G. John spent a few short hours at Rangsit University for the first time in our school’s history. “His Excellency” (which our President awkwardly dubbed him) spent only half an hour with the students in a conference room to answer questions and establish his credibility. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough time for either. After three questions, mostly concerning his background, we quickly proceeded to tea time and a quick photo of the students with the ambassador, and soon he was ushered off. I did realize that Rangsit University International College takes great pride in offering an education to USAC students from countries like USA, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Burma, China, Korea, etc. and they are striving to improve its facilities and increase its international student body. I will definitely dedicate a post to my “typical” life around Rangsit University and close beyond! Stay tuned.

Peace