Don’t Touch!

This NCEP started with several rules pertaining to student safety and cultural appropriateness.  The ones most repeated by the students is our current list of don’ts.  🙂  We started with 1.  Don’t touch monks (women) and 2.  Don’t touch childrens’ heads (everyone).  This is the current list:

Don’t touch:

• Monks
• Monkeys
• Live coral
• Sea urchins
• Bugs you find in the jungle
• Snakes
• James Bond*

*James Bond was a large white dog at the Elephant Reserve and the only one we were instructed not to touch

We’ve followed these rules well, but I suspect they’ll be of little use when we return.

Rebecca

“Jump in, Madame”

Today was our first and only full day on Koh Phi Phi.  Koh means island and we arrive about 45 km south of Phuket yesterday afternoon.  We are staying at a lovely little simple hotel that is a series of bungalows either on the beach or just steps from it.  The electricity is only on from 6 pm to 6 am and the water in the shower only runs cold.  As it never gets below 75 here, that doesn’t bother us too much. 

This morning, Marqee, Eileen, Dan, Greg and I went snorkeling.  We started at Bamboo Island–a beautiful elliptical shaped islands with soft white sand all around.  From the moment I put my face in the water, I was taken aback by the damage to the reef.  I knew the tsunami caused significant damage to these habitats, but it was startling to see it first hand.  However, I was also able to see how the reef is rebuilding and we had marvelous expereinces swimming among schools of fish.  We were mistaken for food more than once and can report that fish nibbles are  sharper than we would have guessed. 

Next, our long boat headed for Mosquito Island.  There was very little beach and, unlike Bamboo Island, it was not immediately obvious what we should do when the captain tied up to a buoy in deep water.  After a little round of charades, he finally gestured towards me and said “Jump in, Madame.”  And so Madame jumped.  The damage was less in deeper water and we saw an impressive number of sea urchins as well and numerous species of fish.  We finished the morning in even deeper water and all declared it a successful adventure (for the pricetag of $22 no less!). 

We leave Koh Phi Phi to travel back to Phuket tomorrow afternoon.  We adjusted to island life quickly and I don’t think I’m the only one who hasn’t  put on shoes at all in the last 36 hours.  As the Relax Resort is the only place on this beach, we mostly just move between our bungalows the restaurant and the beach/ocean.  Some of the students hiked up to the lookout point this morning and got some beautiful pictures of the bay and I hope to follow in their footsteps tomorrow morning.  I have had numerous requests to either hold semester long classes here or just start a Carroll sattellite campus nearby, so I think it is safe to say that everyone is enjoying themselves. 

Rebecca

Elephant Clip

Attention Parent(s) and Assorted Loved Ones…

I don’t know what level of cooking mastery your child/significant other/relative/friend had when we left for Thailand, but as the previous entries show–we are all returning with some new skills in Thai cooking.  While not all the dishes were equally loved, they were all competently prepared and edible (with one notable exception by the student who tried pushing the spice tolerance envelope by doubling the curry recommendation and chopping up the peppers rather than taking out the seeds.  Lesson learned, it appears.)

So, please move “wok” to the top of your Birthday/Christmas/Midsummer’s Eve potential gift list!  I’ve heard several comments that indicate the gift will be appreciated, and maybe even used.  🙂

Rebecca (aka Dr. Imes)

And now for something completely different…

This morning we said good-bye to Bangkok and Sawasdee to Chiang Mai. Bangkok was great, but we were ready to move from the concrete jungle to the real jungle (or atleast the edge of it). The change of scenery from a city of 10-12 million to a city of 180,000 is pretty dramatic. Some things remain the same–the streets are still treacherous (just narrower) and folks are still very pleased to hear us use the little Thai we know. Most have already proclaimed their love for the smaller city but agree that to know Thailand, you do have to experience Bangkok. We are all looking forward to a little more laid back town for the next week.

Tonight we went to a restaurant called Just Khao Soy. Khao soy is a regional dish and this restaurant serves it with small dishes of things to add and balance the four flavors of sweet, sour, salty and spicy. Several people also learned that the placemat was not exaggerating when it said to be cautious with the amount added to the soup. There were several episodes of choking/coughing while simultaneously proclaiming their love of the delicious dish. Marqee, Danny and I were thrilled to discover they had a few servings of mango and sticky rice left just for us. We have pledged to eat it at every opportunity over the next week.

Tomorrow we are touring the AIDS/STI research center at Chiang Mai University and attending a “Monk Chat” session at a local temple. After a week in Thailand, we have a long list of questions for the monk on duty tomorrow! Another day of new experiences, but I think one of the things people are most excited about is getting their laundry back from the little place across the soi (minor road). She charges 30 Baht ($1)/kg for washing and drying and we are looking forward to clean clothes!
Rebecca

Bangkok

We have arrived! We met at the Milwaukee airport at 8 am on Monday and landed in Bangkok at 6 am yesterday (12/29) morning. We had a nine hour layover in LA, so we went to Venice Beach for a sunset walk along the surf and learned a lot about the LA bus system (3 buses each way). Once we arrived in Bangkok, our first order of business was to wash up and change clothes in the airport restrooms. Then we figured out the new airport rail link, then the sky train, and then how to cross the Sukhumvit (a very busy road) with our luggage so we could walk to Bumrungrad Hospital. Whew! We were rewarded with a presentation on medical tourism from Mack Banner, CEO of Bumrungrad and treated to a tour of the facilities and he seemed either impressed or confused that we’d made it all the way from the airport with our luggage entirely on public transportation and a 15 minute walk. That afternoon, some of us napped while others explored and that evening we learned how to use the Chao Phryra Express (river taxis) for a delicious (for some) and entertaining (for all) dinner along the river and the first tuk-tuk experience for most for the return trip to the hotel. The theme of the day seemed to be adventures in transportation–1 plane, 2 trains, 1 van, 1 boat, and 1 tuk-tuk. I’m going to let the others comment on all of this and talk about today’s adventures visiting the Emerald Buddha at the Grand Palace and Jim Thompson’s house (and more tuk-tuks). 

One of the benefits of meeting all semester is that everyone knows one another to start with and with this group…that means fun. I don’t know if it is sleep deprivation or not, but I’ve laughed more in the last 48 hours than I have in months!

Rebecca



Sawadeeka!

Welcome to the blog for NCEP207:  Practicing Intercultural Communication in Thailand.  My name is Rebecca Imes and I am the instructor for the Thailand New Cultural Experiences Program at Carroll.  Over winter break, I will travel to Thailand for three weeks with 10 Carroll students with and Josie de Hartog, Assistant to the Provost.  Please check this space often during our trip for updates from the students about our experiences. 

We have been meeting for 2 hours a week during the semester to study Intercultural Communication and prepare for our travels.  After 15 weeks of meetings, it is hard to believe that tomorrow is our last time in a Carroll classroom and that in two weeks, we’ll be in Thailand!  As I look out on the typical snow-covered Wisconsin winter day, it is also hard for me to believe that in two weeks my luggage will contain nothing heavier than a light jacket. 

People ask me what I’m most looking forward to in Thailand.  First of all, I’m very excited about the activities and experiences we have on our itinerary.  In addition to visiting important historical sites in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket, we will:

• Visit a hospital in Bangkok known for excellence in medical tourism
• Attend a performance of scenes from the Ramakien
• Visit the home/art museum of Jim Thompson–he jump started the silk trade in Thailand then disappeared on while hiking in Malaysia in 1967.  He left his home and his art to the people of Bangkok
• Visit several of the major temples in Bangkok including the Grand Palace and Wat Po
• Take a cooking class in Chiang Mai
• Visit a national park in Northern Thailand and hike to visit one of the traditional hill tribe communities
• Witness sunrise from Doi Suthep, the moutain top temple and second holiest site in Thailand
• Spend two days on at the Elephant Nature Park Reserve
• Snorkel off Koh Phi Phi, an island in the southern region of Thailand

While I look forward to doing all of these things and many more, I can honestly say the part I look forward to the most is traveling with this particular group of students.  Over the past semester, they have demonstrated curiosity, compassion, humor, courage, and moments of insight that I hope for, but do not always see, in the classroom.  This is important as we experience a culture much different from our everyday lives and a language that none of us speak fluently.  {Which reminds me–please have patience with our transliteration of the Thai language during our trip!  I imagine some of the words will find their way to this page in a variety of spellings.}  We look forward to sharing our travels and experiences with you!