I am just returning from my northern home stay in Mae Chaem, Thailand. My program group left from Chiang Mai last Monday and got back yesterday. My program has three academic excursions throughout Thailand over the course of the semester. These excursions essentially are trips to remote villages and historical cities or places. During our time on these excursions we are thrown into the given environment and expected to be able to handle ourselves in a respectful and professional manner. I personally think these academic excursions are very helpful because you learn about the Thai people, their culture and way of life.
Just to give you a brief history and understanding, Mae Chaem is a district of Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand; though Mae Chaem is southwest of my school in Chiang Mai. To add on, Mae Chaem is located in the mountains, which means it is surrounded by a lush and beautiful landscape. Considering its economic position, I would say its a developing town; majority of the people are poor however their attitudes are that of millionaires. Many of the houses in the village were shacks but there were some that were big and very nice. Usually the houses that were above the average were ones of wealthy and appointed officials. For instance, my friend Maggie's house was very nice and big. This was because her home stay father was the chief of the greater region of Mae Chaem.
Real quick, the group that went included everyone in my group here at Payap (23 college students). We also had our group leaders come and three professors.
We arrived monday and were immediately put in groups of three(my group consisted of two kids in my program) and introduced/given to our home stay parents. My family was amazing. They treated us like their own kids: feeding us everyday, doing our laundry, telling us to call the mom and dad and shedding tears when we left. Even though they didn't speak any English we connected with them in a very unique and understanding way.
The core family consisted of a father, mother and daughter. My father (Paa is the way to say father in Thai) is the village chief. He is 62 years old and full of energy. He honestly never stopped smile and shared drinks with me over every dinner. My mom (MAA is the way to say mother in Thai) also never stopped smile. She did my laundry, cooked and honestly was the quintessential mother. The daughter was our cook. She didn't really interact with us, but when she did she was very nice and gregarious.
Our week was like a typically school day. In the mornings we had our Thai language class and Thai history class from 9-12. Then in the afternoon, depending on the day, we went to local excursions. We learned how to cook northern Thai food, we visited a NGO (Non Government Agency) that works with Mae Chaem, watched how to weave and catch crabs in the rice fields. It was a unbelievable time, a great way to start Thailand out. Below are pictures and explanations.
-a typical dinner at my house. Rice, soup, spicy sauce chicken, frieds eggs, fish and crab were usually the dishes on the menu for dinner. And to cap it off, we had rice whisky (tasted exactly like scotch. Rice whisky can be found in any house in a village like Mae Chaem. They brew this whisky on their own by using the rice, mushrooms and tree leaves).
-during every dinner my house dad would begin passing out shots over and over again. It was a tradition by the third day to get a little bit tyspy at dinner.
-here is a picture of one of the local craftsmen. He makes gold hair clips for woman. Although he didn't speak english, our translator (all of our professors and group leaders speak both Thai and english) told us that he is one of the last craftsman of his art in all of Thailand.
-here we have a picture of the tallest mountain in Northern Thailand. Most of the days it was covered by clouds but I was lucky enough to take a quick picture before it disappeared.
-religion is the most important part of Thai culture. I have never seen people let along a whole country so dedicated to a religion. This is one of the biggest differences between the west and southeast asia. From a grandfather to a hip teenager, people in Thailand love Buddhism and treat it to the highest respect. Being here I can feel the presence of Buddhism anywhere I go; you cannot go down a street without seeing a temple, monk, or some sort of Buddhism ideology. This picture is of the inside of a local temple near the house I stayed in.
-as I stated before, we learned how to weave. Here is a local woman, who actually lived right next to me, weaving a scarf. Mae Chaem is famous for their weaving. The scarf that she is weaving was for a client all the way from Bangkok. A typical scarf costs about 1000 Thai Baht (about 30 USDs); somewhat sad because it takes two weeks to finish one.
-my villages temple. At night time woman come in and clean it. If you did not know, before entering a temple you must take off your shoes; in fact most places in Thailand make you take off your shoes before you enter. One night I went to the temple, a 15 second walk from my house, and just sat down and reflected. It was erie but amazing at the same time.
-my one roommate and family. I will miss them. Before we left my mother gave each of my roommates and me a pillow as a gift. The Thai culture is all about giving gifts. Whether its going to a friends house to stay for a week, or just for a day, gifts are usually encouraged.
-one of the days we went crabbing in the rice fields. The rice fields, which were outside of the town, we endless labyrinths of patties. Most of the men and woman wake up extremely early to work in the fields, coming back around 6 or 7 at night. This woman in particular, the one leading us, was a crabber. She goes into the rice patties and catches these small crabs that live in the mud. Once the crabs are caught they are brought back to a woman bowl and smashed into crab paste that is used for a spicy sauce for dinner.
-my house
-the sleeping quarters. My spot is the far right, inside the netting. Honestly, I slept well, other then being woken up at 5am every morning to the families roster
-a picture of one of the shrines that we visited during a village tour.
-here is a picture of the largest farmer area in all of Thailand. We were told to cover our mouths when we walked around because the farmers use pesticides to help grow the corn faster. Then the maze (corn in Thai) is shipped all over Thailand. The locals know better not to buy the corn grown here because it is deadly and extremely unhealthy.
Thank you for reading, I'll keep everyone updated. To see all my photos from this trip go onto my facebook page and check it out.
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