CIEE Khon Kaen Newsletter--2015--FA--No. 1

CIEE Khon Kaen Study Center, Thailand Volume XXII, Issue 1, Fall 2015

Isaan Insider

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Letter from the Editors The last month has been a whirlwind of

busyness, hard work and fun. Our time in Thailand started with a jam-packed orientation: intense 4-hour Thai classes in the mornings, followed by discussions about adjusting (i.e. how to not make fools of ourselves) and making the most of our experience, and fun group dinners and get-to-know-you activities at night. After these three exciting, exhausting days, we settled into our new homes at Khon Kaen University (KKU) – dorm rooms a 15-second walk from our CIEE program center, complete with Thai roommates and an Asian-style bathroom. Despite repeated warnings of culture shock, all 25 of us have arrived at the four week mark remarkably well adjusted, learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable, expect the unexpected, and find small comforts in our daily lives. As classes started, students worked hard but continued to take time to explore Khon Kaen. From trips to night markets and 7/11s, a three-day homestay at local urban villages, and learning about life and Thai culture from our roommates, we grow more at home here every passing day. We’ve also been able to connect with the local community and past CIEE students through extracurriculars: covering a local protest for the Isaan Record, getting involved in ENGAGE and more. This isn’t even mentioning the international culinary experience we have three times a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner at cafes, cafeterias, restaurants and food-stands. From honey toast to authentic pad Thai to delicious (albeit sugar-packed) coffee drinks, we speak for all on the program when we say: THE FOOD IS SPECTACULAR. This isn’t to say our semester so far has been perfect. In addition to a few brief illnesses and a hospital trip, as many of us have found, tricky and sometimes awkward racial questions emerge from being such a diverse group in a

Elyssa Eull Kallin Zehren Natalie Amstutz

largely homogenous country. While the more fair-skinned of the group are bombarded with compliments about their light skin tone, Asian-American students continually deal with Thais who don’t understand that they are American. Although these experiences can be jarring at first, they ultimately serve as an opportunity for learning – both for us and the people we’re talking to. As the semester progresses, students continue to travel around Thailand and South-East Asia, both with the program and on their own or in groups. This past weekend, the majority of us took an overnight, 12-hour bus ride to Chiang Mai, a popular tourist destination in the northwest. There, we split into smaller groups; some of us exploring the beautiful, bike-friendly city and the gorgeous temples and delicious restaurants there, and others venturing into the jungle to hike, white-water raft and volunteer at an elephant sanctuary. Looking forwards, the Public Health class will be taking a group trip to Vietnam in addition to more homestays, while Development and Globalization will be embarking on four more community visits around Thailand. And as fall break creeps closer, students are starting to brainstorm places to spend their weeklong break: South Korea, Singapore, Bali, Cambodia, Indonesia and even Australia, to name a few. Although we miss our friends and family at home, many of us are already shocked at how quickly the semester is speeding by. In this first of three newsletters from CIEE Khon Kaen, please enjoy students’ musings on their experiences and observations from our first month in Thailand.

- Elyssa, Kallin and Natalie


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Table of Contents

2. Letter from the Editors 3. Table of Contents 4. Preparing for the Unexpected by Jaime

Webb

5. Kwan: A Traditional Isaan Welcome by

Nancy Chong Unexpected Familiarity by Billy Lee

6. Squattie Potties and Wet Bathrooms When Opportunity Knocks, Bring a Camera

by Kelsey Magill 7. KKU Night Market by Leah Riefberg

Save More, Dine Out by Ellie Boyd

8. Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable by

Sina Reinhard “Hello There Neighbor” by Bright Osajie

9. Home Away From Home

Thai Class Over Pad Thai by Elyssa Eull

10. The 8th Wonder of the World by Kallin

Zehren 11. Pictures 12. Pictures

13. Pictures 14. Asian Farang by Midori Yoshino

“Bug’s Life” by Maddie Gale-Laman

15. It Takes A Village by Esha Mehta

16. You Don’t Know You’re Beautiful by

Julia Kramer-Golinkoff A Tone of Embarrassment by Rachel

Frishberg

17. Cars, Motorcycles and Song Taos by

Taylor Karns 18. Buenos Días, Thailand by Megan

Brookens The Silent Truth by Genevieve Glatsky

19. Roommates with Benefits by Riley

Oshiro Small Comforts by Kaori Nagase

20. A Walking Aversion by Lindsay

Palmisano 21. Chue Len: Play Names by Jamie Rudd

Starting Fresh by Annie Sadler

22. English Text, a Fashion Fad by Joseph

Plvan-Franke 23. Pictures 24. Contact Information


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Preparing for the Unexpected

Unexpected Encounter 1: I

watched the mist rise from the

heart of the mountains as a

free-roaming elephant

scratched his back on the pillar

of the porch I was sitting on,

shaking the entire structure.

Unexpected Encounter 2: I had

reached a point in my home-

stay experience when I felt like

I was really home. I was sitting

outside with the elders and

neighbors in the community.

We were all facing the village

and simply watching it. Or at

least, that’s what I thought we

were doing. In actuality we

were watching the roosters

intently in order to catch our

evening meal. As a vegetarian,

I was not expecting this. I

watched my Pa patiently lure a

rooster under a trap. He calmly

grabbed the rooster and tied its

Jaime Webb, Luther College legs together. The rooster

resisted until it fell silent on the

grass. My Pa left in smug

satisfaction. After he left, the

rooster began to squawk, stand

up, and free himself. The

neighborhood watched and

laughed at the sudden new-life

of what we had predicted to be

our dinner.

Unexpected Encounter 3:

When walking through the

village, I saw a near-by school

and decided to roam the

building filled with smiling

children. Then, one child asked

me to “come here.” I followed

him, stunned. I did not expect

to be spoken to in English. An

English teacher who wanted to

meet me had asked for me. We

discussed education with our

limited common language and

then I continued touring the

school and playing with the

children. By the end of the day,

I was asked to return to the

village to teach English. I could

have never predicted I’d have

one of my life-long dreams of

teaching overseas to be

fulfilled by simply choosing to

take a walk through the village.

I don’t know how to prepare

myself for these seemingly

continual unexpected

encounters in Thailand, but I

have come to find reliability in

unpredictability, looking

forwards to the unique

adventures that each new day

brings.

Isaan Insider, Volume XXII, Issue I, Fall 2015


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In Isaan Thailand, Bai

Sri Su Khwan or Thai blessing

ceremonies are held to

welcome visitors, friends, and

other important events. CIEE

Community Public Health and

Development and

Globalization students had the

chance to participate in a few

Bai Sri Su Khwan ceremonies

during their first week in Khon

Kaen. These ceremonies were

held when we met each other,

our roommates, and our faculty

members.

Khwan means spirit or

soul and some Thais believe

that this spirit protects friends

and family wherever they are

in the world. This ceremony is

practiced to call individual

spirits so that the Khwans can

bring happiness from home to

Khon Kaen. The Bai Sri tree

(usually made of green banana

leaves and flowers) is the

center of focus during the

welcoming ceremony. The

white strings that adorn the tree

are tied around the wrists of the

guests. This is a way to ask the

Khwan to bring happiness,

goodness, and protection to the

guest. This ceremony not only

provided CIEE students with a

warm welcome, but also was a

chance to cross cultural

differences and barriers

between us and Khon Kaen

University students by

participating in a ritual

ceremony that has been passed

down through generations. By

wishing each other good luck

and happiness for the semester,

we were able to cherish this

experience as a memorable

cultural exchange.

Khwan: A Traditional Isaan

Nancy Chong, American U.

Welcome

Most seem to define the

first few weeks of study abroad

by “culture shocks” - a series of

unpredictable incidents and

revelations that make the

overseas experience stressful

but, ultimately, wonderful.

Perhaps equally striking,

however, is all that is familiar.

For a country that prides itself

on never being colonized by the

Unexpected Familiarity Billy Lee, Tulane U.

West, there’s no shortage of

Western corporate influence in

Thailand, even in Khon Kaen,

a hub of the more rural

northeast. Here, hundreds of

miles from Bangkok, 7-11’s

dot the street corners, and

American denim brands are in.

A short cab ride to the new

mall scores KFC and tickets to

Mission Impossible 5.

Of course, living in Khon Kaen

is in many ways an entirely

foreign experience. Before

enjoying a Hollywood

screening, one must stand in

respect to an extensive

dedication to the king; local

activists were recently jailed

for refusing to do so. From

relatively trivial distinctions

like sometimes

overwhelmingly spicy—and

rice-y—meals, to more

powerful ones like

fundamental disparities in

social structure, life in Isaan

is different. Still, the identity

of places like Khon Kaen

seem locked in an endless

battle with the forces of

globalization, a clash that

makes some aspects of life

here all too recognizable.

While the popcorn is a nice

touch, I wonder how much

Isaan charm has already been

lost to western-style

commoditization, and what

could be next on the

chopping block.



6

When I left home, I

figured I'd miss creature comforts

like my bed, favorite foods, and

my dog. But I never thought I'd

miss my bathroom. For the first

few weeks, and arguably still,

getting used to "squattie potties"

and "wet bathrooms" has been

the biggest culture shock and

hardest adjustment I’ve

experienced.

In Thailand, Western

toilets are not commonplace, and

many public restrooms still have

squat toilets. Instead of sitting

down, you're essentially squatting

over a hole in the ground, which

you flush manually by dumping

water in from a nearby bucket.

The sewage system in Thailand

isn't well equipped to handle

toilet paper either, and many Thai

Squattie Potties and Wet Bathrooms

Kelsey Magill, George

Washington U.

Lately, I've realized that

whenever an opportunity presents

itself, big or small, you should

seize it. Especially when that

opportunity involves getting

published in Isaan Record - a

local news agency dedicated to

telling the often underreported

stories of the Isaan region. Just

two weeks into our time in Khon

Kaen, Nancy Chong and I were

asked to cover a public meeting

between government

transportation officials and local

community leaders who, along

with their communities, are facing

eviction with the development of

a planned high speed rail system.

It was the first week of classes,

we were in the middle of our first

homestay, which happened to be

in one of the effected

When Opportunity Knocks,

Bring a Camera

communities, and the meeting

would be conducted in Thai, a

language we'd only had about five

classes in. So of course we said

yes.

The morning of the

meeting, we met Ajaan John and

Mariko Powers, one of the

program interns, notebooks and

camera in hand. As we conducted

interviews with villagers and

listened to the government

representatives, Ajaan John acted

as our translator. We'd prepared a

few important questions should

we have the chance to talk to a

government official, and as the

meeting moved forward, we got it

– the Deputy Director-General of

the Office of Transport and

Traffic Policy and Planning was

doing interviews. After a few

awkward minutes of

establishing our legitimacy and

waiting for him to answer other

questions, we got our turn, and

walked away with a story

defining quote.

The rest of the day, we

were ferried back and forth

between classes and the CIEE

office as we worked hard to

finish the piece before we had

to return to our homestay

community for the night. The

article was published the next

day on Isaan Record's website,

and we got our first byline as

student journalists in Thailand!

Moral of the story - if someone

comes up to you and says, "An

opportunity just came up, would

you be interested in..." the

answer is always yes. You won't

regret it.

people don't use it at all. In a

Thai bathroom, next to the toilet,

you'll almost always find a small

spray hose attached to the wall,

which, lieu of tissue, you use to

"take care of things." Many Thais

insist that it actually gets you

cleaner than toilet paper would,

though I'm still on the fence.

Another bathroom

feature commonly found across

Southeast Asia is a lack of

separation between the toilet/sink

area and the shower. Instead,

there's a showerhead and a hot

water heater attached to the wall.

As you'd imagine, things tend to

get very, very wet.

While I'm continually looking for

ways to immerse myself in the

local culture, I admittedly get

really excited whenever I find a

true Western toilet. Some old

habits die really hard.



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Whether it’s for a quick meal or snack, to buy

a gift, to do some shopping for yourself, or simply

just to walk around and catch up with friends, if you

go to Khon Kaen University’s night market, you’re

sure to leave with a smile on your face. Many of our

Thai roommates took us here on our first night, and it

was the perfect place to try out some new Thai foods.

Sure, I might have also gone a little overboard on the

shopping – thanks to some enabling and encouraging

from my new friends – but luckily, most of the stands

are pretty inexpensive.

Although there are many interesting markets

in Khon Kaen, this one wins the award for

convenience. It’s located only about 5 minutes

walking distance from our dorm building – plus, it’s

open every night of the week! This place is definitely

a highlight of Khon Kaen University, and I look

forward to going every time I get the opportunity.

KKU Night Market

Leah Riefberg, Tulane U.

In the United States, we

have a multitude of grocery stores,

ranging from Costco to

Wholefoods. Not only do these

stores offer different items for

purchase, they also appeal to

different socioeconomic groups

within the United States. Here in

Thailand, however, there is an

apparent lack of socioeconomic

divide in day-to-day life when it

comes to enjoying goods in

markets, cafes, and eateries. One

contributing factor to this is the

cost of food; here in the college

area of Khon Kaen, thirty-five baht

(less than $1.50) will get you a

Save More, Dine Out! Ellie Boyd, U. of

Washington large plate of stir-fry with an egg

and rice at your local university

cafeteria.

Food courts, restaurants

and markets are frequented by all

dimensions of Thai society.

During my homestay in the urban

community of Mittraparp, my

host mother took me to the

market to buy groceries for the

day. There, we came across numerous

KKU students in their school uniforms,

a few businessmen, a nurse, and a

monk. In Thailand, the price of your

food or the location you purchased it at

is not a sign of status, since it is less

expensive to buy every meal from a

street vendor than it is to prepare your

own food. This creates a mix of social

and economic classes in markets and

cafeterias that creates Thailand’s

diversity.

Purchasing every meal as you

go throughout the day is a new

experience for many of the CIEE

students, as the typical American

college student is trained to

save money by cooking

rather than dining out. The

lack of cooking here leaves

grocery stores acting more

like convenience stores,

where you buy yogurts, eggs,

candies, and snacks, but not

the ingredients for a home-

cooked meal. But rather than

isolating individuals, as

eating out and on the go does

in the US, the Thai style of

eating brings everyone

together. People aren’t

cooking inside, or rushing to

pack a lunch, but merely

purchasing food when

they’re hungry and

socializing with friends

while they dine. There is no

stocking of fridges here in

Khon Kaen; instead, we eat

when we’re hungry, for a

mere dollar. I’m learning to

appreciate my meals here,

since it is unlikely that I will

be able to purchase a one-

dollar meal at Whole Foods

in Seattle, or pass by a monk

in the vegan cookies section.



8

At home, my planner is

one of my best friends. I know

with a fair amount of certainty

what every day entails.

Surprises are few and far

between and life operates at a

rigorous but regular pace. Life

at home is predictable and

comfortable. Transitioning into

life abroad can be rather abrupt

and at times harsh for a ‘type

A’ personality. Beloved

schedules from home crumble

away into daily uncertainty and

discomfort. You get thrown

into situations where you have

no idea what is going on and

you just have to roll with it.

“Just be flexible” becomes the

slogan of every activity, which

can be enough to drive a person

who likes to know what is

happening in any given day

Comfortable with Being

By Sina Reinhard, Indiana U.

Uncomfortable

I had always

thought that for the

most part Americans

had a great level of hospitality,

friendliness, and openness. But

in coming to Thailand for my

study abroad experience, my

whole perception has been

turned upside down. After

staying in the humble village of

Theparak 5 for about 4 days, I

witnessed a whole new level of

human connection.

At 6:30 in the morning

when I would wake up, and find

that everyone else in the village

had been up for at least an hour

or two. After my morning

shower, I would proceed to

change into my school uniform

in the living room, a room that

can be seen and accessed by

anyone from the door wide open

leading to the main walkway of

“Hello There Neighbor!” Bright Osajie, U. of Massachusetts

the village. Putting on my pants,

members of the community rush in

to buy cigarettes, food, and other

items from my homestay mother,

one of two inhabitants of the

household. I stand in shock

wondering why there is not a

higher level of privacy, meanwhile

the hustle and bustle of another day

surrounds me, in my semi-clothed

state.

I have never experienced

such confusion, happiness and

disappointment in the fact that

the norm for this community is

to walk in and make themselves

comfortable in someone’s home

without warning. Everyone

knows each other, and from

what I observed treats each

other with immense respect and

constant friendliness. By the

end of my stay in the village, I

realized that the high value

Americans place on privacy

holds us back from an amazing

communal connection that

could exist if we broke down

our individualistic walls. For

this lesson I am truly grateful to

Thailand!

slightly crazy.

Before embarking on my

world adventures I was told I had

to learn to be comfortable with

being uncomfortable. This is a

piece of advice I want to pass on

to my peers as well as anyone

considering study abroad.

Learning this lesson has had a

miraculous impact on my sanity.

Situations that would have made

me frustrated beyond belief before

are now a welcome growing

experience. Staying in within

one’s comfort zone, while it may

be easy, is rather boring. Thus,

embrace the frustrations, embrace

the uncertainty, and embrace the

fact that you will be

uncomfortable. With that embrace

will come an experience of a

lifetime that will be truly life

changing.



9

Thai Class Over Pad Thai Elyssa Eull, Luther College

Home Away From Home As I’ve transitioned into life

in Khon Kaen, I haven’t come

across many things that remind me

of home. Countless aspects of

everyday life here – from navigating

unmarked streets laden with mopeds

to purchasing phone minutes at the

local 7-11 – are novel and require

getting used to, however interesting

and exotic they may be. To top it

off, last week, each individual on the

CIEE program lived with a host

family in a nearby village for three

nights.

In Nong Waeng, a town on

Learning Thai language in

its host country has been both a

challenging and rewarding

experience. The beauty of learning

in Thailand is that you are inclined

to use the language all the time;

when bonding with a roommate,

bartering for souvenirs at one of the

many local night markets, indicating

to a taxi driver where you’d like to

be dropped off, or ordering food in a

restaurant. This is especially the

case in Khon Kaen, where English is

a rarity due to the smaller size and

minute influence of tourism on the

city. Though I began learning Thai

just a few weeks ago, already I

depend heavily on what I know for

everyday tasks.

I’ve realized that my

food choices are not so much

dependent on what I’m hungry

for or what I should be eating

nutritionally; rather, they are

directly related to the food

vocabulary terms I’ve mastered

in Thai. It becomes quite a

challenge when I’d like to try

new foods or I can’t remember

the Thai word for curry. There

are a select few restaurants that

provide pictures, though from

experience, I’ve learned you

can’t be sure that you will be

served what you pointed

at. Thus, in order to increase

variety in my diet I’ve got to

keeping learning more Thai, as

well as become more comfortable

with uncertainty. It’s become very

convenient that I eat nearly

everything – thanks mom and dad!


the outskirts of Khon Kaen, I

stayed with a large extended

family: two older parents, their

daughter and son-in-law, and their

four young grandchildren. From

the start, I was plunged into the

dynamics and nuances of living in

a Thai household; my host ‘Ma’

and ‘Pa’ directing when I should

eat, bathe, and sleep, the toilet

requiring manual flush by bucket

of water, and my host brothers

making games out of squishing

giant caterpillars. To my surprise,

it was easy to find comforts and

warmth in a home that was starkly

different than my own.

I began to understand and

fall into the rhythm of my family’s

everyday schedule. The house

began to rustle around 5:00am,

either by way of the resident

rooster, music played on a

loudspeaker throughout the

village, or their own will to start

the day. Ma would wake up and

do dishes, cook breakfast for me,

and pester her grandsons to get

ready for school. Her daughter

would also fill the morning with

tasks, helping her mother or

tending to the children before she

took off for work. Even I was

given tasks, wordlessly, when

things got hectic. The kids and

their parents would go to work or

school on one of the two family

motorcycles, and the house

would fall, temporarily, quiet. As

I look back, I realize that

although it wasn’t my family that

I stayed with, or my routine I

briefly adopted, it was

comforting to be a part of a

family and a routine for a few

days, after the craziness of the

last few weeks.

In Thai culture, it is less

common for men and women to

touch – we were informed by

CIEE that our host fathers may

be alarmed if we tried to hug

them goodbye. However, I was

very pleased to experience warm

and purposeful hugs from both

my ‘Ma’ and my ‘Pa’. I look

forward to visiting my beloved

Nong Waeng family again.


10

Our world is a great

spinning kaleidoscope of

wonders, filled with fabulous

breathtaking sights. The

opportunity to study abroad in a

country on the other side of the

world allows us just a glimpse of

all the world has to offer us.

Although some students on the

program are experienced travelers,

nothing could prepare any of us

for what is sure to be the 8th

wonder of the world: the truly

amazing Thai 7/11. Located on

every block, and I do not

hyperbolize when I say every

block, these glimmering beacons

of convenience have everything

your little heart could possibly

desire.

I remember my first

experience at a Thai 7/11 like it

was yesterday. On our bus ride

from Khon Kaen we stopped at a

gas station, and there nestled

among fruit stands and local Thai

food restaurants was not one but

TWO 7/11s, only 15 meters from

each other. I felt comforted to see

them yet deeply perplexed by their

The 8th Wonder of the World Kallin Zehren, Tulane U.

proximity. Once I entered

however, I understood. These

little jewels of Thailand don’t just

have your average overpriced

Slurpee. Oh heavens no! From

Shampoo to school supplies to

packaged lunch meals, your friend

7/11 has it all. Need to add more

minutes to your phone? Head on

over to 7/11. Have to pay your

water bill? Your electricity bill?

7/11 has got your back. In fact it

has your back all 24 hours of the

day, which is amazing since most

places in Khon Kaen do not open

before 11:00am. I was in

awe.

After my first

personal encounter with a

Thai 7/11 I did some

research and found that

immersion into Thai culture

can actually be

scientifically quantified by

how quickly you realize

that the answer to any

problem you could ever

have is: 7/11. I was proud

my first epiphany occurred.

My online bus company

wouldn’t allow me to buy a

bus ticket to Chiang Mai for

the weekend and I had

already reserved a spot to

volunteer with elephants for

two days. I was devastated.

Then it hit me. The answer

is always 7/11. The answer

is always 7/11. And sure

enough, I was able to buy

my bus ticket. Once again,

7/11 saved the day.



11


12


13


14

The word farang means

Caucasian in Thai language. Given

Thailand’s homogenous demographics,

Thais directly refer to all white people as

farang. As an Asian student on a U.S.

study abroad program, this term farang

tends to separate me from the rest of

CIEE students who are predominantly

white. At times, I find myself treated differently from my

friends, and it is because I look Asian, not because I am

from Asia. Even when I am with a group of American

students, Thais will ask me where I am from, assuming that

I come from somewhere in Asia. I am in fact Japanese,

born and raised in Japan, but Asian American students

often have to explain themselves. When they say they are

from the U.S., Thais often look confused and say, “but no,

you look Asian.” They’ll sometimes even try to guess

(often incorrectly) what country you are from, saying

something along the lines of “you have a Japanese

look”. My Korean American friend shared her feelings:

“I’m not offended, but it can get invasive.”

Being Asian in Thailand can also be an advantage.

In fact, it can help you learn Thai language. At night

markets, I speak to vendors in Thai, and they answer in

Thai. Conversation continues in Thai language. Strangely,

when my Caucasian friend walks up to them and asks “Tao

rai? (How much?),” she gets the response “One hundred

Asian Farang

Within one week of living in

Thailand, I had acquired so many bug

bites that my entire leg resembled some

kind of rash in between chicken pox and

poison ivy. I’m convinced the bugs

single-handedly chose me to attack,

considering my track record of being

absolutely terrified of every insect ever.

After my bug bites faded and my leg

“Bug’s Life”

Maddie Gale-Laman, Curry College

started to look like a leg again, I

decided to make peace with the

bugs.

At my first homestay in

the Mittrapahp community I had

an encounter with two of my least

favorite insects of all time. As I

was taking my bucket shower and

intensely concentrating on making

sure I didn’t get any shampoo in

my family’s communal water, I

noticed, in my fairly vulnerable

state, that I had company. Not

only was a colossal cockroach less

than a foot away from me, but he

or she was also accompanied by

an equally large spider. And I was

somehow okay with it. This is

coming from someone who still

wakes up her brother in the middle

of the night at 20 years old to kill

a tiny spider. There is a point to

these stories and it is that while

abroad in Thailand, you will be

pushed out of your comfort zone

and conquer your fears first-hand.

Also: your perfume will be

permanently replaced with bug

spray.

baht,” in English. I can imagine how

upsetting that would be when you are

eager to learn and practice Thai.

The consequences of looking

Asian, whether they are positive or

negative, definitely stand out in my

study abroad experience in Thailand. I

consider myself part of CIEE and

therefore part of a "farang

community" so to say, but to Thais, I am Asian and

therefore not a farang. I am viewed through a different

lens. Such a mindset of Thais is by no means a

discriminative attitude. It is simply a mentality rooted in

their culture.

Thailand is a gorgeous place with beautiful

smiles and excellent cuisine. At the end of the day, all I

have in mind is anticipation for the new journey that

awaits. On top of

that, what can I

say when I blend

in so well in my

Khon Kaen

University

uniform that

people genuinely

cannot find me in

a crowd?

Midori Yoshino, Macalester College



15

It Takes A Village The Theparak 5

community is filled with lively,

loving children. They run

barefoot on the road on which

they spent the last five minutes

having a spitting competition.

This road is the only one that

leads into and out of the

community, so there are cars,

tuk-tuks and motorcycles

continuously driving in and

out. Theparak 5 is located

adjacent to an active railroad

with trains continuously rolling

through. There is no barrier

preventing community

members from roaming around

on the tracks, even my 2-year

old host sister wandered to the

tracks before being chased after

by her mother.

As outsiders, we fear

for the safety of these children.

What if they don’t realize a

Tuk-tuk is speeding down the

road or a train is approaching

quicker than they can react?

Esha Mehta, George

Washington U.

These are terrible thoughts are

some of the first few thoughts

that cross my mind upon

arriving.

Little did I know, the

people of Theparak 5 have an

unspoken agreement to look

after their own. I see it as sort

of a safety net that the children

can fall back on if need be.

Parents don’t only look out for

their children, they look out for

all fellow community

members. Kids don’t cry to

their parents every time they

fall off their bike, and parents

don’t come running when they

see it happen. The parents

closest by are ready to help and

the older kids look out for the

younger ones.

Maybe the children were more

energetic when we were there

to play with them, and the

parents saw them in good

hands. Maybe communities

such as Theparak 5 simply

have a less hands-on parenting

style. Regardless, I know what

I saw. These kids play until

they are called in for dinner,

they play until the sun goes

down. The railroad, the tuk-

tuk’s, and the cars can’t stop

them from roaming the

community and having a good

time.



16

Many Thais are very

direct when it comes to

physical appearance. During

orientation, our Ajaans warned us

about this cultural difference,

telling us to not be surprised – or

offended – if a host family member

points out how tan you have

become or if you’ve gained weight.

At the time, I found this funny and

slightly unimaginable, but only

took a few hours at my homestay

to experience the unabashedness of

Thai culture on my own, twice.

First, our host mother, or

Meh, as my roommate and I called

her, pointed to my roommates

tattoo and made a motion of

disgust. She shook her head, waved

her hand in the air, stuck out her

tongue, and squinted her eyes. She

then pointed to my inkless skin,

You Don’t Know You’re

Julia Kramer-Golinkoff. Tulane U.

Beautiful!

Thai is a tonal language,

meaning a single word can have

up to five different meanings,

depending on how it is

pronounced. Coming from the

US, it’s actually relatively

common to be tone-deaf - and

luckily, the worst that can

happen to someone who’s tone-

deaf, like me, is embarrassing

oneself trying to sing: just ask

my sister. But as you can

imagine, in Thailand, being

unable to differentiate pitch

brings about far more

embarrassing experiences than

bad karaoke.

One such example takes

place on a beautiful day at a

smoothie stand. I walked up to

the kind looking woman at the

counter, ready to order my

banana smoothie. After recently

A Tone of Embarrassment

Rachel Frishberg, U. of Wisconsin

learning Thai words for a variety

of fruits, I confidently told her I’d

like one banana smoothie—“nung

pan glue-ah ka”. The woman was

instantly confused. Flustered, I

tried switching my pronunciation

to “nung pan koo-ah ka” and

became shocked when the woman

started to laugh hysterically. I

whipped out my notebook and

realized that the correct

pronunciation for banana is “glue-

eh”. Finally, I correctly

pronounced my order and received

an exceptional banana smoothie.

You may wonder what

kinds of smoothies I had attempted

to order. My first attempt “glue-

ah” means salt - who doesn’t love

a salt smoothie? The next attempt

“koo-ah” translates to be male

genitalia; yum. Needless to say,

I’m happy that I didn’t receive

either of those orders. Speaking

Thai has proven to be extremely

easy to mess up - the key is to

laugh it off, learn from your

mistakes, and avoid the

smoothie stand.

held her thumb in the air and said

“S̄wy,” which means beautiful.

The following night, Meh

motioned for me to take the ring off

of my thumb. She then grabbed hold

of it and shoved it on a separate

finger. She proceeded to look up at

me, smile, and again told me “S̄wy.” I

attempted to discreetly remove the

ring and placed it back on its rightful

thumb. Without hesitation, Meh

declared this decision “Mai S̄wy!” not

beautiful. While it was definitely an

adjustment, our Meh’s blunt and

honest nature dictated many

conversations and quickly became an

expected and appreciated aspect of

our time in her home.



17

Walking down the streets of Khon Kaen,

the first lesson to be learned is how to avoid

being run over by the barrage of motorcycles

barreling down the street. Though laws exist to

regulate the roads of Thailand, very few are

actually followed. This is not unique to

motorcycles, or motorcies, as they are commonly

called here; cars, trucks, and song taos (open air

buses) appear to follow no rules at all as they

pack the Thai roads. Going down the highway,

cars weave in and out of traffic and speed by on

the shoulder, often with a small child (sans car

seat) in the front seat.

The best way to observe the chaos of Thai traffic

is to take part in it by riding on the back of a song

tao. Song taos are a sort of pickup truck with

railings and seats around the bed of the truck, and

are a commonly used form of transportation in

Thailand. Leaning off the back of a one (two

Cars, Motorcycles and Song Taos

Taylor Karns, U. of

Wisconsin

extra seats are created by connecting a horizontal

metal bar and footrest on the end of both sides of

the truck), speeding down the highway, enveloped

in the warm Thai breeze ignites a rush of

exhilaration and a sense of peace simultaneously.

Riding in the open air allows for the incredible

scenery of Thailand to

be fully experienced

and appreciated;

removing the glass

between one's self and

Thailand, be it on a

motorcycle or a song

tao, allows for one of

the simplest yet most

freeing experiences

I’ve ever found.



18

"It's a quizzical thing to

study human rights in a country

where they don't exist," ponders

Ajaan Dave, the director of the CIEE Khon Kaen Program.

Indeed, studying human rights violations under the

watchful eye of a military dictatorship comes with some

riveting aspects. For example, our plans to visit a

government-sponsored mine with detrimental effects on

agriculture and the environment could get derailed at any

point. We might even have to change one of our entire

units if it proves to be too much of a hot-button issue.

Realizing that we don't have the same freedom of

speech that we're all accustomed to is jarring. However, the

fact that we strive to study the truth anyway is one of the

most thrilling aspects of the program. It reminds us all that

we are looking at real issues with real impacts on the

livelihood of people in Thailand.

The Silent Truth Genevieve Glatsky.

U. of Pennsylvania

When I began learning

my first foreign language,

Spanish, in high school, I

remember feeling like a small

child again, striving to re-

imagine the world around me

in new ways. Even though I

studied Spanish for 5 years, I

never really felt comfortable

having a conversation since I

had so little practice speaking.

But here, I have never

been so excited to learn a new

language, largely because I’m

able to use Thai on a daily

basis – in fact, I have to, just to

be able to buy food or catch a

song tow. Our Ajaan’s

(instructors) teaching methods

are different than I am used to,

focusing on speaking and

memorization instead of

writing or reading, but the use

of repetition has been valuable

because Thai is a tonal

language. Someone told me

that Thai is a little like learning

music because you kind of

have to match the tone or pitch.

I’ve found this to be true –

every Thai class feels like a

work out for my voice box.

I can already tell that I

will learn more Thai in 4

months than I have in 5 years of

Spanish. One amusing thing I

have noticed is that my brain

will default to Spanish if I don’t

know the word in Thai. It’s as if

my brain panics and whips out

any foreign language phrases

that I have in storage whether it

is Spanish or Thai.

Although I have

struggled to order food, one

thing that has encouraged me is

the myriad of help available,

including the support of total

strangers. I enjoy the fact that

people get excited when I know

even a little bit of Thai. This does

remind me of the harshness of the

United States regarding foreigners

who have trouble speaking

English. Instead of trying to help

non-native English speakers, many

servers would get very annoyed in

the United States despite the fact

that English is a tough language to

learn. I myself have witnessed this

in the restaurant where I worked in

high school. In the past few

weeks, the little Thai language

victories have added up although I

still feel like I am a small child

with my little vocabulary. When I

find myself messing up a tone or

making grammar mistakes, it is

more fun than discouraging. The

opportunity to learn words and

phrases that can help us

understand Isaan culture is worth

the struggle.

Megan Brookens, U. of

Pennsylvania

Buenos Días, Thailand



19

Roommates with Benefits

Riley Oshiro, American U.

Bright diamond-shaped

lanterns float above. The hubbub of

people, the crackling of street food

hot off the coals, and the voices of

vendors weave together to create a

mélange of sounds. There are just

two lanes at this market, but

together they span a distance of a

mile. Isolated from all else, it’s a

world within itself. Flowing fabrics

with elaborate elephant patterns,

wooden carvings, jewelry so bright

my eye catches their glimmer far

before my footsteps catch up.

Noodles of every color in the

rainbow, skewers of whole fish

roasting, and crackling sweet rice

desserts – a feast for the eyes and

tongue.

In a split second, the

bubble of excitement pops, and

you’re engulfed by your senses.

Overwhelmed. But the crowd

keeps going, and so do you.

Shuffling your feet, you try to

block out all of the Thai you’ve

been straining to understand. Your

eyes begin to take wider sweeps,

giving up on taking in each detail

of every stall. Until they light upon

a little succulent plant.

Small Comforts

Kaori Nagase, Brown U.

The setup is simple. Five succulents the

size of a palm, lush in their evergreen and

forest green hues. A mellow light

illuminates the table from a white lamp.

Hints of Brooklyn. I pick the one with a

strong trunk and the smallest leaves. The

man nods at my choice, and places the

plant in a sturdy paper bag meant for coffee

beans. He ties it up carefully with a string

of rope, handing it to me with a kind smile.

And just like that, I ease back into comfort,

just a little more at home.

An essential part of our

CIEE study abroad experience is

living with a Thai roommate.

These students not only graciously

share their rooms with us, but also

work to make us feel at home here

at Khon Kaen University. They

incorporate us into their lives by

showing us favorite local

restaurants, markets and cat cafes,

taking us for thrilling rides on the

backs of their motorbikes, and

introducing us to ‘honey toast’. On

top of a heavy college course load,

these wonderful humans get to

play tour guide for the

semester. Though living with a roommate can be fun, it can

present challenges for both parties

involved, especially when there are

cultural barriers. While some of us

are able to communicate relatively

easily, thanks to our roommate’s well-

practiced English, others are discovering

just how useful hand gestures can be.

CIEE student, Ellie, and her

roommate, Praew, enjoy having “low-

key nights in” that involve listening to

music and studying. Praew is a 4th year

dental student and practices dental

procedures in the room, much to Ellie’s

amusement. The two also love going for

rides on Praew’s motorbike and

participating in CIEE sponsored

activities on weekends. As we all adjust

to life here in Thailand, our roommates

are a source of comfort and fun. We

can’t wait for more adventures as the

semester continues.



20

Do you ever want

that late night honey toast

but you are just too tired to

walk and get it? Or do you

ever have that early morning

coffee craving but you only

have five minutes before

school? In Khon Kaen,

anything is possible.

Anyplace you could ever

imagine, no matter how far

or near, is just a short motoci

ride away.

A Walking Aversion

Lindsay Palmisano,U. of

Richmond

My first morning here,

my lovely roommate and her

friend wanted to take me and

another exchange student out for

breakfast. They informed us

about a great nearby cafe called

Have a Break, but after walking

25 seconds down the street from

our apartment, hidden from the

sun under our umbrellas, we

found that Have a Break was

closed. Disheartened, our Thai

roommates turned around and

began to head back to our

rooms. I then suggested going to

another cafe two buildings

down. With this proposal, they

stared at the further café’s sign

for a couple of minutes and

insisted it was too far away. I

replied that I did not mind the

extra exercise, and it took a little

convincing, but in another ten

seconds, made it on foot to Cafe

Me 2 less than 100 yards from

our original departure point.

Before leaving for

Thailand, I envisioned the

people to be extremely active,

contrasting them to the

stereotypical "lazy Americans"

who use drive-thrus so they do

not have to get out of their cars

to get food. I was shocked to

find the existing aversion to

walking in Khon Kaen and their

reliance on motor vehicles. If

you see a Thai student, it is

likely that their motoci is just a

skip and a hop away.



21

"Ab nam!" My host mother looks at me confused and points at

the shower repeating "ab nam!” I have been in my host mother, Meh

Wan's house for under 10 minutes and I am being asked to "ab nam" or

shower in Thai. In general, most of Thailand showers in the morning, at

night, and few times in-between. Though the humidity and heat make

each shower a welcomed break from stickiness, this is a stark contrast to

my scheduled evening showers in the U.S.

Cleanliness is a value clearly seen through my days of living with Meh

Wan. All of our shoes were to be left outside the house, we swept our

living space several times a day, and of course took many showers. As

my Thai language skills are barely survivable, showers became a way for

Meh Wan and I to communicate. Meh Wan “ab nam” was how I was

welcomed back to the house, what signaled time to go to bed and was

how I was woken up each morning. While my hair did not ever fully dry

during my time with Meh Wan, I grew to love the ritual of starting each

activity with a clean slate.

Starting Fresh

One of the very first

words we learned on our

cardinal day of Thai class was

cheu len, meaning nickname.

Since then, this term has

become one of the staples of

our Thai vocabulary, and a

component of every first

meeting. While nicknames

certainly aren’t unique to Thai

society – many people use them

all over the world – in Thailand

they are notably more common

than in the U.S. They often

come with meaningful and

interesting backstories and are

used throughout an individual’s

life.

While you occasionally

meet someone whose nickname

came about in a predictable

fashion, such as the nickname

Min for Mina, it is often

difficult to guess nickname

origins without asking.

According to our Thai

instructors, Ajaan (Professor)

Nid Noi (little bit), Jeab (little

Chue Len: Play Names

Jamie Rudd, U. of Rochester

chicken), and Poi (tuft of hair),

most people in Thailand prefer to

use a nickname because their full

names are “too long and

complicated.”

My peer tutor, for instance,

goes by Cheese. When I asked her

about it, she explained that when

her mother was pregnant with her,

she constantly craved pizza, which

is hard to find in Thailand. So for

approximately nine months

Cheese’s father had to find the

ingredients and make his wife

pizza himself. Today, Cheese is

content with her name. Had she

been a born a boy she would

have been called Sausage – a

name she finds quite distasteful.

Other nicknames can

have multiple layers of

meaning. When I first met my

roommate, she told me that her

nickname, Krachao, means

basket. It wasn’t until we had

time to talk later that night that

I learned her name has

significant sentimental value as

well. Krachao’s grandfather

was a soap opera star in his day.

The lead actress in his show

was named Krachao and my

roommate was given the same

name in honor of her

grandfather’s legacy.

The nickname culture

here is one of many delightful

surprises that we have

encountered in our first weeks

in Thailand. They’ve been a

quick and easy medium for

getting to know new people –

the perfect way to learn a bit

more of someone’s story.

Annie Sadler, Davidson

College



22

Coming to Khon Kaen, I had heard a good deal about

Thailand’s infatuation with Western culture – the whitening

creams, the abundance of American movies on TV – but I

didn’t realize how powerfully that attitude prevailed until

we took a cramped car ride to the downtown night market.

Aside from a street entirely full of fantastic food

stalls, most of the vendors were selling clothing and jewelry, with a good helping of “funny” tourist shirts. What

was interesting, however, was that the products with Thai script on them numbered in the single digits, while

English was plastered on every fabric surface available, shouting

motivational quotes and confusing vulgar slogans to the shoppers.

We realized that it wasn’t the message of the English quotes that

people cared about, but just the mere inclusion of Western-looking text,

which meant that much of it was fascinatingly hilarious and nonsensical. We

walked by “GRER ASKETBALL,” “ANGLE IN CAR,” “Thailand of

Smile,” and much more that I probably shouldn’t reproduce here. My

personal favorite was the name “STAR TREK” accompanied by a Star of

David. Halfway through our trip, a girl stopped me and two friends, saying

she was “studying farang” and could we take a picture with her? We agreed,

and the student walked away with a photo of three taken-aback Americans

throwing up peace signs around her. I had been thinking that the obsession

with the west was pretty weird up until then, but after that I think I kind of

got it – the behavior isn’t a need to be more like us and less Thai, but a fad,

something cool you’d show your friends, the same way Americans have

their own subcultures for anime and K-Pop. And with that hopefully true but

still-unsure thought, we piled back into my roommate’s tiny Honda, and

drove off into the snarled downtown traffic.

English Text, a

Fashion Fad

Joseph Plvan-Franke, U. of

Rochester



23 Isaan Insider, Volume XXII, Issue I, Fall 2015

Website: http://study-abroad-blog-khon-kaen-dg.ciee.org/

Facebook CIEE Khon Kaen

Twitter CIEE Khon Kaen

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issue, date

CIEE Study Abroad Advisor in Portland, ME, Susan Pollis, [email protected]

Center Director, David Streckfuss, [email protected]

Assistant Resident Director, Arunee Sriruksa, [email protected] Community Public Health Program Academic Director, Dr. Anootnara T.

Kuster, [email protected]

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