by Sandy Chapman

When eating in Isaan, theNortheast region in Thailand,forget everything your mothertaught you about tablemanners. Drop the fork, knife,spoon, squat down, and dig inwith both hands into a unique

and communal style of eating.Isaan is known throughout

Thailand as having thespiciest dishes in the country,ranging in ingredients fromrice, fish, pork, chicken, andfor the large number ofvegetarians in the group,

Finger food for thought: eating in IsaanFinger food for thought: eating in IsaanFinger food for thought: eating in IsaanFinger food for thought: eating in IsaanFinger food for thought: eating in Isaanwell, vegetables.

When a family sits downto eat, they place all of thedishes in the center of thefloor and a bamboo basket ofsticky rice is passed aroundthe circle. The first step is tograb a handful of sticky riceand roll it into a ball. Then,you flatten it like a pancake,and with rice in hand, yougrab a piece of chicken orvegetable from the commu-nal plates and enjoy! Thaifamilies are very generous inoffering more and more foodto their guests, so you usuallyend up feeling very full. “I’venever eaten so much food inmy life, every meal is like

Thanksgiving dinner,” saidMichael Guitar after eating ahuge bite.

Back in the US, these kindsof table manners would belooked down upon, but inIsaan it is very proper to eatwith your hands. Isaanfamilies even share water,

by: Tabitha Sprigler,

Elisabeth Lucas, Jenney

Stinger

The orientation for CIEEThailand 2006 was structuredto immerse us immediatelyinto Thai culture. We spenttwo five-day periods livingwith local Thai families for agrassroots introduction to Thaiculture.

For our first communityvisit, we split up into twogroups and headed off to theSrithan and Nonchai villages

in Khon Kaen city .The home stays included

going to school and attendingclasses as well as playinggames, singing songs, anddoing chores. We dined ontraditional foods, andparticipated in a localwelcoming ceremony in ourhonor. During this time, weeach adapted differently to ourcultural immersion.

Upon walking into our newhomes we knew about fiveminutes of spoken Thai and a

smattering of nonverbalcommunication includingwai-ing and proper sitting.Our language limitations werecomplicated by the fact thatmost families in NortheastThailand speak the Isaandialect at home, not Thai.

Sitting with our English-Thai dictionaries, the first fewhours with our familiesconsisted of awkward silencesand miscommunications.However, by the second orthird evening, our families

figured out the extent of ourThai vocabulary and begancommunicating with us in acombination of descriptivecharades and “Thai-glish.” Asthe week continued weamassed such vital phrases as“No thank you, I’m full” and“Where is the bathroom?”

Culture shock took manyforms among the students.However, despite therollercoaster of emotions thatsome experienced during thesefew days, most felt they had

Part of the family: finding a home in ThailandPart of the family: finding a home in ThailandPart of the family: finding a home in ThailandPart of the family: finding a home in ThailandPart of the family: finding a home in Thailand

Salutations from Khon Kaen University in Khon Kaen, Thailand! Our group ofthirty one just finished our long orientation and we are excited about starting theFood Unit, the first of five units designed to help us understand and explore thecomplex issues affecting the Isaan region and its people. Orientation was long andintense, but we feel we are better prepared for life and learning in NortheastThailand. Because of our alarming good looks, mind-blowing intelligence, andinternal diversity, we have nicknamed ourselves the Supergroup. We have alreadystarted living up to the name, and taking charge of the first newsletter is one of thefirst steps in establishing a long-lasting legacy. We are the epitome of study abroadgroup perfection. The staff is dedicated to guiding us with a unique alternativeeducation model, creating a program that is truly student directed. For most of us,this is our first experience with taking charge of our own curriculum. We areexcited about this opportunity and the many adventures ahead! No conditions!

-the editors

passing one glass around thecircle. So, as a forewarningto parents of studentscurrently abroad, don’t be atall surprised if upon returnwe reach across the table,grab some pasta with ourhands, and pop it in ourmouths!

made profound connectionswith their new families. As

Whitney Rhodes explained,“Whenever I miss my family athome, I [know that I] have afamily here that I can call myown.”

For some of us, cultureshock was instigated by usingjust a basin and a bucket forshowering, which, at thesuggestion of our hosts, wedid many times a day.... see “A homestay away fromhome” on page 2

Privileged Americans in their first month in Thailand*

Uncommon ExchangeUncommon ExchangeUncommon ExchangeUncommon ExchangeUncommon Exchange

The newsletter of CIEE Thailand Fall 2006 — the Supergroup

Volume IV Issue 1

September 4, 2006

*There’s something to be said for being honest, even when it doesn’t sound nice. And while we’re not tourists here, we’re not here to “help” either. We’re a bunch of American collegestudents in Thailand, who at the end of the semester will go back to the trusty shelter of academia. It will be up to us whether the little information we learn about living in a developingnation will be meaningful, and how we choose to recognize our place within international economic structures. One month down and three to go, here are some of our thoughts.

by Roman Kichorowsky

Sorry, what was that again? This is a question we havefound ourselves asking (or trying to ask) in the past fewweeks of intensive Thai language instruction and homestays.

What are we speaking here in Thailand? Thai, strangelyenough, even though the majority of Thais in this regionspeak a dialect called Isaan. The dominance of the centralThai dialect reflects that region’s historical and continuingdominance over other ethnic groups in what we think of as“Thai-Land.” It is even illegal to instruct NortheastThais intheir native tongue of Isaan in public schools, according toProfessor David Streckfuss, resident director of CIEEThailand.

It is amazing how much we can communicate now, giventhat most students had no previous experience in Thai,especially since the language presents special difficulties forwesterners given its particular tonal structure.

The five different tones and variation in the lengths ofvowel sounds allow the word mai to create the sentence:Mai mai mai mai mai?, which translates into: “New wooddoesn’t burn, does it?” In Thai script, however, the differentmai sounds are more distinguishable.

Similarly, kao and kaao mean “enter” and “rice” despitehaving the same tone. Other difficulties encountered havebeen the pronunciation of the bp, td, eau, and euhh sounds,just as the v and z sounds are difficult for Thais.

Thai does give English speakers some welcome breaks inits lack of verb conjugation and dislike for articles andconjunctions. To ensure politeness, a simple khrap (male)and khaa (female) is sufficient, and can be found at the endof almost every sentence. As an example, to say “The car isbroken,” one literally says “car broken khrap”—no article orverb needed.

Borrowing English words is a surprisingly commonpractice, everything from TV – theewee, to coffee – gahfaay.Of course the Thai version has tonal inflections revealedwhen written in Thai script.

In terms of writing, Thai has 44 consonants and 28vowels, but offers a beautiful, flowing script as consolationfor those hours of memorization.

Language reveals cultural roots and characteristics. TheThai greeting, sawat dee, is derived from the Sanskrit“swastika”, roughly meaning “well-being”. Pali and Sanskritroots are common for Thai words, and Thai culture canoften be traced to ancient roots in India. It turns out theending khrap is actually derived from khorrapgraphom—anoffer of the top of one’s head to carry any burden, as aservant would.

Thai cultural norms are revealed and reflected in ourfamiliarity with the questions: “Have you showered/eatenyet?”, “Is it delicious?”, or “Having fun?” Aside from the factthat we may actually need a shower or seem to be avoidingthe chicken foot soup, our gracious hosts always look afterour comfort, as we continually smile back, either in utterconfusion, sincere thanks, or both.

...continued from page 1Other firsts included using

squat toilets, eating cricketsand other unidentifiable foods,unintentionally offendingfamily members, or simplyhaving no alone time.

After their home staysstudents shared stories offlooded houses, rain dances inwet streets, and generaldampness due to the onset ofmonsoon season. Whateverthe cause, such experiencesultimately heightened ourappreciation and understand-ing of life in Thailand.

We were surprised by thebombardment of emotions feltthroughout the week.Students described feelings ofheartbreak, pride, terror, andexcitement. As MallikaRaghavan said, “It wasphenomenal that we couldadjust and adapt to life inKhon Kaen.”

Perhaps one of the mostunexpected emotions felt byboth students and families atthe end of the week was oneof loss.

Tabitha Sprigler wassurprised by the intense

emotion expressed by herlittle sister who had taken tocalling her “mom.” Upondeparture, Tabitha’s shirt wasdamp with her sister’s tears.She, like many of us, felt adeep connection with hernew family.

Although we seemed tohave plunged into the homestay component of thealternative education modelembraced by CIEE Thailand,many of us were morenervous about the secondcommunity stay in the slums.The experience of living in theslum, an area where residentshave no true ownership of theland, was one that furtheredour understanding of thehardships faced by impover-

ished communities.This home stay was unique

in that our mission was notonly to get a first hand look atThai culture, but to learnabout the issues specific tothis particular community.During our last evening there,we hosted exchanges withcommunity members andheard accounts of flooding,poverty, and health issues, aswell as the realities of livingwithout land rights.

During our orientationhome stays we formed lastingrelationships with the peoplewho generously opened theircommunities to us. Empow-ered by these experiences, weare ready to dive into thecoming semester.

by Long Thao

At first I thought I’d be atan advantage learning Thaibecause as a first generationHmong-American I speak alanguage similar to Thai in itspronunciation.

While I did catch on toThai pronunciation and toneuse, I don’t believe that myknowledge of Hmong wasany great help.

It was CIEE’s teachingmethod, not my previousknowledge or experience,that has allowed me toprogress as quickly as I havein learning Thai.

As it turns out, no one in

our class has been able toperfectly grasp all thenuances of the Thai language,regardless of previouslanguage experience orexposure to Asian culture.We each have our ownstruggles, and while studentsprogress at different rates,the majority of studentsbelieve that the innovativeteaching method has allowedthem to learn a very rapidpace.

As Gabriel Anderson says,“I think most of us agree thatthe extensive use ofrepetition and the banning ofEnglish from the classroom

setting have helped us tolearn Thai much faster thanwe expected.”

Living with a host familyforced us to use the wordsand phrases we knew, and tolearn new words as quicklyas possible in order tocommunicate in daily life.

Ultimately, regardless ofpast experience with Thai orAsian culture, every studenthas been able to learn attheir own pace, practicingtheir skills both in theclassroom with ourprofessors and at homewhere our host families havebecome our teachers.

Look, listen, don’t speakLook, listen, don’t speakLook, listen, don’t speakLook, listen, don’t speakLook, listen, don’t speak (English) (English) (English) (English) (English)

A homestay away from homA homestay away from homA homestay away from homA homestay away from homA homestay away from homeeeee

Thai, in and out of classThai, in and out of classThai, in and out of classThai, in and out of classThai, in and out of class

Elephant eats beetlesPage 2 4 September 2549 BE

At the core: group processAt the core: group processAt the core: group processAt the core: group processAt the core: group process

by Darren Legge

During the first community homestay, the studentsand teachers from the Nonchai and Srithan communityschools hosted elaborate welcoming ceremonies forCIEE students and their Thai families.

The ritual began with the songs and blessings of localBrahman priests, while students passed a stringbetween their hands to form a circle. This was followedby a memorable succession of families and communitymembers tying string bracelets around the wrists ofeach student.

“During the ceremony,”reflected Mariela Rich, “I feltlike my host mom reallycared about me.”

Girls from the primaryschools, dressed intraditional Isaan clothingand makeup, performeddances while the boys played music. Before long,everyone in the room was dancing together until late inthe evening.

“After the ceremony, I felt more welcome in thecommunity,” explained May Vang, “not just amongschool officials, but among families.” Many studentscommented that the atmosphere in their homestaysbecame more comfortable.

Students still wear their bracelets and are oftenreminded of the love and generosity of the Srithan andNonchai communities that took them in. The tying ofsacred strings allowed students to take the blessings oftheir host families with them on their journey.

Elizabeth Lucas said, “The string ceremony did morethan welcome me. It tied me to their village.”

SSSSStrings that bindtrings that bindtrings that bindtrings that bindtrings that bind

David Streckfuss ::: Resident Director ::: dstreckfuss@yahoo.com ::: (66) 817-081-852Adisak Kaewrakmuk ::: Logistics and Field Study Coordinator ::: numerosak@gmail.com ::: (66) 819-740-290Arunee Chupkhunthod ::: Program Assistant ::: aruneee@yahoo.com ::: (66) 819-653-400Jintana Rattanakhemakorn ::: Language Coordinator ::: jeabjin@yahoo.com ::: (66) 816-623-324John Mark Belardo ::: Office Manager ::: jm_belardo@hotmail.com ::: (66) 866-397-723

CIEE ThailandP.O. Box 91

Khon Kaen UniversityKhon Kaen 40002

(66) 43 342913

contact

by Andy Wishka and

Bennett Haynes

Group process, a term oftenthrown around by students andstaff of CIEE Thailand, takes onmany meanings.

One member might see groupprocess as a term simplydescribing the natural socialfunctions of a group.

Another might understand itas a framework of definitivegoals, providing concretedirection for the group. Iforientation has taught the groupone thing, it is that there aremany interpretations of groupprocess.

Nevertheless, all 31 studentsrecognize its importance and areready for the challenges it holds.

The CIEE Thailand programpromotes an alternativeeducation model. Peopleactively involved in environmen-tal and social issues becometeachers, and rice paddies andurban slums become classrooms.The program culminates in agroup project in which studentsuse the knowledge they haveaccumulated throughout thesemester to complete a finalproject. A group that works welltogether, and is organized inachieving its goals, is vital for asuccessful program.

The process is ongoing anddesigned to improve communi-cation and facilitate unity.However, the exact form thegroup process takes is flexible

and depends on the studentsthemselves. Thus, a majorchallenge facing students is thevariety of interpretations of whatgroup process is and what itshould be.

Rachel Salata provided somethoughts on her own interpreta-tion, “It’s been tough because mynormal life is always independentand it’s hard to switch that. Myattitudes and actions have animpact on the group. With theprocess you can’t really think onyour own. It’s challenging. But Ithink it’s a good challenge.”

Darren Legge sees the value instructured group process, as wellas its challenges. “It’s a slowprocess. I’ve never had theopportunity to do this on my ownbefore…I think defining concretestrategies is important. It clarifieswhat we’re doing, why we’redoing it and how we’re gonna doit...Our backgrounds are differentbut a common goal can unite us.”

Others feel that addingstructural components to group

process limits a natural dynamic.Much “process” has alreadyhappened naturally, independentof any formal structures. It isevident that everyone has things tooffer, but unfortunately there ispotential for those things to getlost within the more rigidcomponents of the group process.

Eric Jamieson expressed similarfrustration. “I think the aim isright. We’re all gonna have to findways to work together, getalong...But I think there are somekinks… the structures arecontrived.”

Regardless of the presentinterpretations of group process,there is a shared desire for unity infunction within the alternativeeducation model. Some feel unityis possible without the use ofconcrete structures, while otherssee the positive group dynamic as aproduct of those structures thusfar. However, the open-mindedness and willingness ofstudents has shown the potentialfor continued success as a group.

Terri BennettMichael Guitar

Sandy ChapmanBennett Haynes

Roman Kichorowsky

Darren LeggeElisabeth LucasKatherine LydonTabitha Sprigler

Jenney StringerLong Thao

Andy Wishka

editors: contibutors:

Beetles resist!Page 3 4 September 2549 BE

Layout: David Ferris Whitney RhodesGabriel AndersonMallika Raghavan