I've heard from students that a few more parents have started reading the blog--excellent! Hope you're enjoy it. Thanks for trusting us with your loved ones :)
We left Chiang Mai yesterday en route to Omkoi, the southwesternmost district in the Chiang Mai province (Note: "Chiang Mai" refers to both a city and a province. Districts are smaller jurisdictions within a province). The district is divided into six sub-districts (tambon), which are further subdivided into 95 villages (muban) (Wikipedia). Wikipedia's page indicated that Omkoi had a population of over 50,000 as of 2005, but I'm seeing other figures that put the number at 18,000, but this may refer specifically to the Omkoi subdistrict. I'm still trying to wrap my head around Thai municipality structures.
Worth noting is that we're a little higher in elevation here (3,200 feet). The night time temps have been a frigid 72 degrees, so it's been really nice to sit outside at night and listen to the cicadas.
The drive yesterday was long (4ish hours?) but we broke it up by stopping for lunch in Op Luang National Park. The park was unfortunately closed to hiking due to high water levels and debris, but nonetheless it was interesting to examine park management structure and administration while we were there. From iucnorg:
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) is the primary agency supervising protected areas in Thailand, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The principal objective of DNP is biodiversity conservation for the well-being of the country.
(Similar to the National Park Service under the Department of the Interior in the US.)
Op Luang National Park Welcome Sign
Students eating during our Op Luang National Park lunch stop
We will likely have an opportunity to do a short hike in Op Luang NP on our way back to Chiang Mai, so I'll save the park info for a later post.
We arrived to our hotel, the Sarisa Place, mid-afternoon. After getting settled in, we went for a short walk/hike to Phra That Doi Kaew Omkoi, a smaller local Buddhist temple with some incredible views. I'm having a really tough time tracking down any information on this local temple, so I apologize for not being able to give more context or history about it.
The (very steep walk) to Phra That Kaew Omkoi
The (very steep walk) to Phra That Kaew Omkoi
The (very steep walk) to Phra That Kaew Omkoi
The main structure of Phra That Kaew Omkoi
Views overlooking Omkoi district
Buddha statues at Phra That Kaew Omkoi
Another view from the top
This was such a great picture of students and my camera lens was dirty! Blerg...
Day 16 - today marked our first day of service on this trip. Service abroad, or specifically, service learning abroad, is a complicated and complex topic. When I think about service learning or mission trips, I immediately think of folks posing for an Instagram selfie with young children (usually Black or Brown) and painting colorful murals on school walls. And I'm not trying to finger wag without owning my own hypocrisy--I have 100% been part of this population of service tourists!
That said, service learning can be a complicated issue because it brings up the question of "who is the service for?" (does it provide more benefit the tourist or the recipient?) and "what is the long term benefit? (does painting a mural on the side of a school provide the same long-term benefits as a financial donation?)" Truthfully, one of the best ways that folks with resources and a desire to help can actually help is by sending money directly to cities/schools/etc., in need, or funding specific projects. For example, there are lots of organizations that create water and sanitation infrastructure for communities that don't have safe drinking water.
Before I get any more sanctimonious, I bring all of this up because we did actually address some of these complications before starting our service today. My colleague, Han, facilitated a really thoughtful discussion on the complexities and nuances of service learning and explained that while financial donations are often the most directly impactful, there IS opportunity for folks, as service tourists, to experience personal growth in ways that encourage them to dig deeper into systemic issues, to find other ways to support causes they care about, and to form relationships with local people through service.
We can serve others because it makes us feel good AND we can provide help that is needed AND we can learn valuable things while also acting out of self-interest (consciously or subconsciously). One of my favorite sayings is "a thing can be two things." In this case, a thing can be like, 4,000 things. The important thing is to acknowledge and try and understand more deeply the motivations and impacts behind our desire to serve. Wow, that was quite the soap box, wasn't it?
So what did we actually do today?
We hopped aboard some AWD trucks and drove about a half hour down dirt roads to the Ban Yang Kaew School, located in a very rural part of Omkoi. Once there, we were greeted by the school faculty, who divided us into groups. The nursing students (6 total) worked on health assessments for the students (e.g. checking for lice, ringworm, treating issues when needed), another group of students painted a sign for the new language center, and the rest of us were split between sanding and staining the floor of the new language center or helping prep a new concrete walkway (which will be poured tomorrow). It was tough physical labor, but it was really great to see our entire group work together effectively. Our students that are on Team "We Like Kids" (Note: I'm...not on that team...but I really admire people that are! Kids scare me. And they're always sticky!) also had a great time dancing and singing with the students (age ~4-10 years old). They danced the Macarena, and Baby Shark, and there was something about peeling a banana that seemed to be a real hit.
Discussing the complexities of service learning abroad
Students painting the Language Center sign
Students sanding the floors of the new Language Center building
Students sanding the floors of the new Language Center building
Team "We Like Kids" teaching local Thai kids some songs and dances
Westminster students and Ban Yang Kaew School students doing a banana dance
We ended the night with a fantastic dinner back at Sarisa Place, where the students hung out and played games, and the Westminster faculty had an opportunity to meet, converse, and laugh a lot with the Principal of the Ban Yang Kaew School. These teachers know how to entertain!
Tomorrow, we'll be back at the school to complete the concrete and wood staining projects, along with a few other projects.
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