Christopher "Chris" Foley

2008-09 Outbound to Thailand

Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida

School: Bartram Trail High School, St. Johns, Florida

Sponsor: St. Augustine Sunrise Rotary Club, District 6970, Florida

Host: Ban Chang Rotary Club, District 3340, Thailand

Bio

Chris' Bio

Hello! I’m Chris Foley and I live in Jacksonville, Florida. I am 16 years old, but I will be graduating a year early from Bartram Trail High School this semester. I was born in a suburb of New York City called Goshen, New York, and moved to Jacksonville in 2005. Although I left behind my dad, my little brother, and many other relatives, Florida has finally become a place that I can truthfully call home.

I live here in Jacksonville with my mom, step-dad, and our dog Finny (the favorite child). My sister, Brianna, lives a few minutes away at the beach. A normal day in my house consists of my mom doing yoga and my step-dad working on a new painting, while Finny chews all of our shoes.

I love to travel, meet new people, play many instruments, and collect records. Among my favorite types of music are jazz, soul, folk, and hip-hop. I am very excited to go overseas and discover new types of music and new cultures. I also enjoy biking, skateboarding, soccer, and anything else outdoors.

After seeing a few friends of mine experience an exchange I am very excited to embark upon my own. Thanks to everyone who worked hard to make this happen!

August 19 Journal

Today is the two-week point of my life here in Thailand. The last two weeks have been very exciting, eventful, and confusing. I landed in Bangkok, a day later than expected, and I didn’t know what to expect. I went to get my bags and Alina (Outbound to Thailand) came along because her connecting flight to Phuket was not until the next morning. We soon found out that our baggage was still in Tokyo, but we couldn’t be mad because the Thai Airways man we spoke with was just too nice to us. We went to search for my second host family, who had offered to come and pick me up. When we found them, they put a flower necklace around my neck (I don’t know the name of this yet, but I’ve seen so many of them) and gave both Alina and me a rose. It was impossible for us to explain Alina’s situation to them in Thai. Eventually, they understood what the situation was, except for Alina’s problem. I said goodbye to her and left with my second host family, without any bags. On the ride from Bangkok to Ban Chang, we had confusing conversations. We went to eat somewhere (at 1 AM) and then went to their home. As much as I wanted to see everything and chat, I was tired and I went to sleep.

In the morning, we ate rice and meat (breakfast here is usually leftovers from dinner the night before). My first host dad came to pick me up and we went down the road to my new home. Later on, I met my host mom and host brother, Pon. I have another host brother who I haven’t met yet because he is in Canada for summer camp until next week. We went out to eat quite often when I first arrived. I ate some of the most delicious food I’ve ever had. My host mom and dad were surprised that a “farang” can like so many Thai foods and fruits. They told me I must have been a Thai person in another lifetime. So on my first day in my new home, my host dad took me sightseeing around Ban Chang and to the beaches nearby. Everything was very beautiful. At night we went out to a restaurant on the beach, literally. After we ate, I was taken back to my second host family because O was leaving for Orlando the next morning. At their house, I met many of O’s friends and we played ping-pong and “poking” (a type of poker that I’ve never played). I made many friends on this night. We stayed up all night because O’s flight didn’t leave until 6 AM. I’m sure this didn’t help my jet lag situation too much, but I got my bags back from the airport! We said goodbye to O, took some pictures, and then left. On the way back, around 7, we all woke up in the van because we stopped to eat some heavy food for breakfast. Soon I was back at my first host house and I slept for a long time.

The next few days were spent adapting to my new life. I got to know my host family and I really like them! Anytime I have a problem, they are always there to help. My host dad speaks English, which is good because I can ask him how to say anything in Thai and he tells me what is in all the food we eat. My host mom and host brother, Pon, are both learning English (they’re pretty good!) so sometimes we speak English and sometimes Thai. In the end, we both get better at the language we are trying to learn. Pon always likes to play games and ride bikes, which is fine with me because that reminds me of my little brother back in the U.S.

Two days after my arrival it was my birthday. My host parents knew this and they planned for us to go to Pattaya for dinner. My family does not make a big deal out of birthdays, which made me feel better because my host mom’s birthday was three days after mine and I was worried about what to do. We ate dinner, saw some sights in Pattaya, then went home. It was a very nice night.

Before I knew it, I was in school. Thai high schools started about 2 or 3 months ago so I had to start right away. I was delighted to find that the same friends I made at O’s house were in my classroom. When I walked in, the room exploded with noise. Everyone was excited and wanted to talk to me. Everyone came up to me and tried to speak English. They told me their names, but I forgot them just as soon as they told me. It was not stressful or overwhelming, just fun. My classroom here is very different from the classes in the U.S.A. There are hardly any dull moments. We joke around, sing and play songs with a guitar, and play football in the back of the class. Of course, these are all when the teachers are not in the room. Teachers switch from classroom to classroom here, rather than the students. Many teachers in my school teach in English because they are foreigners who came here to do so. I talked to all of these teachers, but it makes me bored because I want to be able to speak to the Thai teachers. All in all, I love my school. Now I know almost everyone’s nickname and my friends speak to me in Thai. I play basketball after school, and everyone asks me to dunk. My school is for kids of all ages. Everyday a little boy will come up to me and wave to me or shake my hand, or I will hear someone yell out “Kiss-toh-fer.” Everyone knows me, but I don’t know them, so I just smile and wave.

After my first day, a group of girls asked me if I wanted to go to some temples in Rayong over the weekend. So I got to go to many beautiful temples and we had a great time. My new friends told me that they are happy when I smile and they hoped I had a good time. Many times they would ask me, “Are you boring?” I haven’t been bored since I arrived here!

I’ve been to so many places in the past two weeks. I went to Pattaya one more time (for my host-mom’s birthday), Bang Na on Thai Mother’s Day/ The Queen’s Birthday (a quiet town north of here), the beach near Koh Samet (very beautiful!), and Bangkok (a very fun weekend!). I can’t wait to see more!

November 17 Journal

Well it’s been almost three months since my last journal. My life has changed so much in those last three months. I wasn’t looking forward to writing this journal, but I want to let everyone know what’s been going on.

First, the bad news. Everything about my exchange seemed to be working out perfectly. My first host family was awesome and I was glad to be in Thailand. On September 17, 2008, my father passed away. The morning that I found out was the worst, weirdest day of my exchange. I felt like I was still asleep and I just needed to wake up for real this time. I realized it was all true and I wanted to instantly transport home. My mom set up a flight for the next day. The day that I had to spend in Thailand before I left felt like an eternity. My host family was very supportive, and whatever they could think of doing for me, they did. I asked to go buy presents for my mom, my brother, and my sister because I didn’t know what else to do. The next night I left for the airport at 2 AM and flew out of Bangkok at 6 AM. Then I was alone. For 30 hours I thought. I tried to make sense of everything, but then it would become overwhelming and I had to stop. I cried so much when I found out in Thailand. The strange thing is, I hardly cried, or felt any emotion, on the way back to the U.S.A. I was numb to everything, and the jetlag made my mind even fuzzier when I arrived in NY. I was met by my sister, my aunt, and her kids. I expected to cry a lot when I saw my sister, but we were excited to see each other, so it was blocked out for the moment.

I am not going to explain how my father died or what happened within the time that I was in NY. All I will say is that there was a wake, a funeral, and all my family came together to support each other. If I didn’t have such a big family, I might have decided to stay in NY to be with my brother. So I decided that I would come back to Thailand. On the same day, my sister flew back down to Florida and I flew out to Thailand. At a time like that, you are never sure what the right thing to do is or how to act. It is the most difficult thing that anyone can ever go through. My dad was my best friend and I will never stop missing him. With that said, know that in every day in Thailand since then, I think of him.

Life here is very busy. When I got back I hung out with some friends in my town and played basketball with my friend Atom at the local park almost every night. In October, I went to Chantaburi for the inbound camp at Jaolao Beach Resort. I went three days early to stay with some of my inbound friends there because my host family was going away that week. At Jaolao, I got to meet everyone. It was instantly a good time, as it mostly is with exchange students. The camp was 5 days long and was a mix of volunteer work (beach clean-up, paint a fence, etc.) and relaxation.

After the camp, I went to Pattaya twice to travel with my friend Adrian from Mexico and his host family. The first time we went to Apmpawah, a place famous for its floating market in the canal. We went to four temples by boat, which would’ve been more fun if it wasn’t raining the whole time. Regardless of the rain, it was good to see this aspect of Thailand. A few days after this trip, I was invited to travel with them again. This time we went to Koh Laan, a nice island off the coast of Pattaya. It was a more relaxing trip; we were either on the beach or eating the whole time. We stayed for two days then took the ferry back to Pattaya and I went home.

I changed host families shortly after I got home from Pattaya. I liked my first host family a lot and they had done so much for me. I was sad to say goodbye to them, although I knew I would see them again. My new family is great. I now live about 5 km from where I used to live. My host father is a doctor and my host mother used to be a nurse, but now she stays home to take care of the boys. I have three younger host brothers here. Their names are Bink (14), Boom (11), and Book (9). My host parents can both speak English, but I asked my host mom to speak to me in Thai. She asked me to speak English with Bink because he wants to practice. My two other brothers don’t understand when I speak English, so I speak Thai. Weekdays with this family are usually filled with school and either tennis (for Bink) or swimming (for Boom and Book). It works out well because I play basketball in the same place where Boom and Book swim, so we can go together. On the weekends, Bink and my host mom always go to Bangkok so Bink can practice tennis. Last weekend I went with them. I got to see the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace in Bangkok. We stayed at my host grandmother’s house. It is always filled with people, so I never really know who is related to my host family and who actually lives there. The next day I went to Jatujak market (a huge market in Bangkok) with my new host cousin, Poom. He was an exchange student in Kentucky two years ago.

This week was a busy one. On Monday and Tuesday I played on the school basketball team for the first time. After school on Monday, the coach taught me all the plays, which is difficult to remember in itself, let alone in Thai. We played at a park in Rayong, which I’d never seen before, called “Suan see muang” (purple garden). They had an announcer and every time I went for a lay-up or took a shot, he would say “Kiss-Toh-Fer!” We lost both games, but I was just happy to play and that I could understand the coach in Thai.

Wednesday was a holiday in Thailand called Loy Gratong. It is a celebration on the full moon day in November where everyone makes a “gratong” out of banana tree, banana leaf, flowers, a candle, and incense. At night, people gather at a body of water, light their candles and incense, and float their “gratong.” Some people fly paper or plastic lamps, by lighting a wick on fire under it. It works like a hot air balloon, just without people in it. It’s a very beautiful celebration, with lots of people, music, lights, and food. During the day on Wednesday I was in a competition at school for Mr. and Mrs. Loy Gratong. I had to dress up in traditional Thai costume and wear make up on my face. The costume was shiny gold and I felt like Prince. In the U.S., I would’ve definitely been laughed at, but at my school a lot of people told me I looked handsome. When me and my partner Janny came out, we got the loudest cheers. Janny and I made it into the final 3, which meant that we would have to show some kind of talent. Janny did a Thai dance routine and I played guitar and sang the Loy Gratong song in Thai. I won the prize for “Kwan Jai,” which means something like popular vote, and “Nai Napamahs,” which meant that Janny and I won the contest! It was a good feeling to win and an even better feeling to change out of that costume (it was too hot!). Before I went home, a few of my friends asked me to play and sing the Loy Gratong song for them one more time. Later I went to a “Ngaan Wat” or festival at the temple, for Loy Gratong. It was held near a temple at the beach. There were lights from hundreds of gratongs in the water and lights from the flying lamps above the water. There was a stage with singers and Thai dancers and many food stands. It was a good time; I even saw a few of my friends there.

I am starting to feel more at home in Thailand and less like a tourist. My Thai is coming along well. Now I can read and write, which makes it easier to study. I speak to most of my friends in Thai now, although a lot of them can speak English. Many Thai people are very surprised that I can speak to them in Thai. I can remember when my friends used to tell other people “poot tai mai dai” or “He can’t speak Thai.” Then it changed to “poot tai nit noy” or “he speaks some Thai.” Recently people have told me “poot tai geng!” or “You speak Thai well!” It’s nice to be reminded that you are making progress. Of course, there are still times when I’m completely lost, but I’m confident that I can fill in those gaps by the end of this year. I have a lot of awesome friends here and that’s the main reason I want to keep learning every day.

I have to say thanks to Rotary, not just for making this experience possible, but also for taking care of me during one of the saddest times of my life. The Rotarians I know back at home and the travel agency made it possible for me to go home and be with my family. I want all exchange students to be sure that if anything happens, that support will be there. This exchange has helped me to live with losing my father; I have no doubt about that.

คริส

Chris