 Well, I’ve been here about two months now, and I guess it’s about
time that I let the other side of the world what’s going on with me. I’ve had to
put writing my first entry off a few times, but now it’s vacation and I have all
the time in the world. I guess I can start from the beginning. O.K.?
Before I
left the United States, I’d have to say the tension was a bit disappointing. No
sweaty palms, no butterflies in my stomach. I’d even say that my “goodbyes” to
my family and friends felt a little lukewarm. Now I can safely say this was only
because I had no idea was I was getting myself into. This became even more
apparent as I boarded the connection flight from Tokyo to Bangkok. Instead of
the usual three hour flight, the plane had to make a detour and I ended up on
that plane for about seven hours. I think it’s safe to say those seven hours
were among the most intense hours of my life. Although there were several other
exchange students with me, I kept envisioning different outcomes of my first
meeting with my host parents. Maybe they would speak English perfectly, and I’d
have no problems communicating with them, and it would be a marvelous first
night (even though I knew this was not true, since I had already spoken with them
previously. Maybe I was delirious?) Another scenario I envisioned was no one
would be there to greet me, and I would have to walk home in the rain or
something. Even though I knew Rotary wouldn’t let that happen. Well, out of the
twenty or so possible outcomes, I think I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of
just my host family, I was greeted by the entire Rotary Club that was hosting
me. They showered me with fruit necklaces (or whatever their called, lol) and
many welcomes. All the nervousness and the uneasiness passed instantly, because
Thai people are so darn friendly. Even though most of them didn’t understand a
word I said, and just smile and nod, and I smile and nod back, even though I
thought I heard a “farung ngong” in there somewhere. I arrived there very late,
so the predetermined tour of Bangkok never went through. Instead I went straight
home, playing charades with my local Rotary Club in our escort van.
When I
arrived to Sriracha, (or Khor Khao, which is where I REALLY live) which is about
a one and a half hour drive from Bangkok, I noticed many temples of the Buddhist
faith, which are very beautiful. I live in a nice house, close to anywhere that
I would need to go. The weather here is EXTREMELY humid now, because it is the
Rainy season here. The humidity is even more noticeable than the heat at times.
Well that said, I’m very happy with my host family. They are very nice, and I
could not have asked for a better host family. It saddens me that I have to move
soon, but I guess it is inevitable. I have a host mother and father, and a host
brother and sister. My host brother is 18 years old, and is also an exchange
student. He already left for the United States, where he will be staying in
Illinois for a year. My host sister is a student in a University in Bangkok,
called Chulalongkorn. So as you might have surmised, I am alone with my host
mother and father. My host father works in an oil refinery plant, for an oil
company called Thai Oil, and my host mother is a school teacher at a private
school.
When I first arrived almost two months ago, my fluency in Thai was
minimal at best, and unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) for me my host mother
did not speak any English at all, other than the ever so popular “Hello”,
“Sorry” and “Thank you”. My father could speak English fairly well, so a lot of
the communication difficulty was softened. However, when my father was not
around, it was a game of who had the better sign language abilities. It was
REALLY frustrating at times, but my persistence has paid off a bit. My Thai
language is much better, and most of the time I can get my meaning across
without too much wordplay. My first weekend in Thailand, my parents took me to
a famous temple about 20 minutes away from my house. It was simply huge, and the
design is very unique. I got my first glimpse of some Thai dancers there, and (as
I’m sure a certain Rotarian will be happy to hear) I saw some Gratoys, or lady
boys. The thing about Ladyboys is that sometimes they are obviously men, and
sometimes indistinguishable. And my school is full of them. Well, moving on...
One thing I noticed quickly about Thai culture is the respect people pay to each
other. Most of this in the form of a “Wai”, where you clasp your hands together
in front of your chest or neck, and bow your head down so your face touches your
fingertips. People who are younger generally Wai to older people. Also, people
of lower status Wai to people of higher status. It’s quite confusing sometimes,
and as a foreigner, I end up looking rather awkward when I wai. I have made some
big mistakes, like Wai’ing to the kitchen staff of a restaurant, and wai’ing to
our waitress. I think my culture skills are improving however, but not without
some difficulty, much to the pleasure of onlookers, as they love to laugh in
delight when they watch me stumble on the Thai language. Of course, this is not
scornful laughing. Thai people are very friendly for the most part, and I can
always practice my Thai with happy, willing strangers.
No more than two days
after I arrived in Thailand, I started school. This brought a whole new wave of
nervousness and anticipation. Instead of blending in with the Thai people, I
tend to do the exact opposite. I thought that maybe since my school was big, I
wouldn’t receive so much attention. Man was I wrong. Turns out my first day, I
had to give a speech for my entire school.... IN THAI. Haha, was that a circus
act if I’ve ever seen one. My Thai was pitiful, and I think I managed to pump
out three of four sentences in Thai before I gave up and ended my speech.
However, instead of being criticized, I was applauded for my efforts by teachers
and the school director. Well, as I know now, my Thai was actually very good for
a farang (foreigner). Well, all my hopes that I would blend in with students at
school were blown away the same day I gave my speech. It turns out, I was the
only exchange student that year, and Si Racha really doesn’t have a lot of
foreigners. Well, that said, you can imagine how my first few weeks of school
were. EVERYWHERE I walked, everyone wanted to shake my hand, or speak English
with me. I was constantly stared at. No matter where I walked, I was looked at with
curiosity. My school goes from the seventh grade to the 12th grade. The little
seventh graders followed me everywhere, even to the bathroom at times. For a
while, I’ll have to admit, this wasn’t a bad feeling. I felt like the President
or something. After a while though, it did get kind of irritating. I couldn’t
even sit down and eat because everyone would yell my name (in Thai, my name
is Saharat, meaning “United States”) and offer me snacks and food and comics.
Most students at my school spoke minimal English, even less than I spoke Thai.
Most of their English consisted of “Hey Yo” and “Sup Man” and “Shake it down”.
So, consequently I have learned some Thai slang. My Thai has improved
considerably as a result, however. I always find myself helping the English
teachers at my school conduct lessons, or read words for students to repeat. My
pronunciation of words sometimes sounds strange to them, because they are taught
British English.
My host Rotary Club is very nice. It has about 12 members in
it, and everyone is well acquainted with each other. I received a special
welcome from them in the form of a Welcome to Thailand party. I am one of two
exchange students hosted by this club, called the Rotary club of Lam Chabang.
The other exchange student is a boy from Germany.
For a while, it was
frustrating not knowing any Thai, and it still is. They speak very fast, and
even when I ask them to speak slowly, they seem to think by slowly I mean
LOUDER. For a while, a typical conversation went something like this.
(Translated for your convenience)
Friendly Thai
stranger: “Hey! Where are you from?”
Hugo: “Uh..
What?”
FTS: “Where are
you from? You don’t look Thai.”
Hugo: “Uh. Can
you repeat what you said?”
FTS: “Where are
you from?”
Hugo: “Uh...Can
you speak slower please?”
FTS: “WHERE ARE
YOU FROM!”
Hugo: “Eh..
Excuse me?”
FTS:
“Where...are...you...from...”
Hugo: “OH! No I
haven’t eaten yet, thank you.”
FTS: “Oy. Never
mind!” mutters to self: “Farang ngong (confused foreigner)”
Of course this isn’t every scenario, but it’s safe to
generalize my earlier conversations this way. At least now, I can get by in
the language in quite a few scenarios.
When I go to the shopping mall, or anywhere for that
matter, I am always stared at, even now. I thought since I have tan skin, I
could pass off for a Thai southerner, but I was wrong. While I’ve gotten
used to it, it sometimes brings a sense of uneasiness. This will pass with
time, I’m sure.
One last thing I’d like to point out is the food, and the
cost of living. Food is very cheap here, and very delicious at that. For the
equivalent of 50 cents, I can eat and fill up. Noodles, chicken fried rice,
beef with sauce, any kind of seafood. The variety is incredible. Some foods
are extremely spicy, and I’ve learned the hard way that it’s better to taste
something, before you try to eat it. “Gin Len”, or eating for fun is great.
They have many different kinds of snacks and foods, all readily available.
The snacks that students here eat my sound a bit strange to American
teenagers. Sometimes they eat eel skin with spices, or fried fish strings,
or squid crackers. I was also skeptical at first, but I’ve gotten quite used
to them and they are very good. Transportation is also relatively cheap. You
can get somewhere for prices ranging from 20 cents to one dollar.
Transportation is never a problem here, as their are always Red pickup
trucks (Rot Song Tao) and Tuk Tuk’s and buses to take you wherever you need.
Motorcycles are also available, but I’ve decided to steer clear of
motorcycle taxis after seeing a few accidents involving them. Motorcycles
are abundant here, sometimes ever more so than cars. Almost everyone has a
motorcycle here. It is not uncommon to see a thirteen year old or twelve
year old kid driving around on a motorcycle. It looks dangerous, but some of
these kids are pretty good at it.
Well I know I’ve rambled on and on, so I guess it’s time
to wrap this up. I am extremely happy with my host country, host family and
host Rotary club. I would definitely like to thank my sponsoring club in
Gainesville, Florida. I’m having a great time, and I’ve only been here about
two months. My language skills are improving, and I am beginning to really
understand Thai culture in depth. My only real complaint is the lack of
tissue paper in public restrooms. They make you pay for tissue paper, and
sometimes I’m short a Baht or two. Oh well, I guess it’s not THAT serious.
I’ll update the western world on my experiences in another month or two.
Thanks for reading.
3oD Rules
Antitrust
Tonic
TK = Dream Team
Kate
Oh... And I guess ET.
-Hugo Villanueva
Host Family and Rotarians; Don't look so happy ... |
I arrive in Thailand! |
I'm there!
Everyone is happy. |
My host family
at my house |
Me at club with
inbounds and outbounds |
Me with club president |
I am giving a speech to
my entire school. Can
you tell I'm nervous? |
Some teachers at my school. Do they look nice? |
Discussing my studies |
My host brother's friends at airport, before he
left for Illinois |
I can sleep while I
stand up. |
Me and host family |
Coming to an agreement with the locals |
Open zoo. Elephant fun. |
Me and host parents
at open zoo. |
Nice, eh? |
Waterfall. |
|
|
|
|
Hugo Villanueva
