EIL Intercultural Learning

The first time I met the girls at Buddhakasetra I was terrified! I hesitated to enter the classroom with 26 teenagers anxiously waiting for me. I pleaded with Wad, the amazing volunteer in-country coordinator, to not leave as I nervously held his hand. As I hesitantly let go of his hand and entered the room, I was greeted with a very warm, "Good morning, teacher!" It took me les than 5 minutes to calm my nerves down. Every morning for the next 8 weeks, I would be greeted with these words in unison, and sent off with a polite, "Thank you, teacher, see you again tomorrow."

The 4 hours I spent every day at Buddhakastera was always enjoyable. The 3-hour lessons were never boring because we had different activities every day. We did art, yoga, singing, and dancing. I was very impressed with the artistry and dance moves of some of the girls! We played games such as Simon Says and Musical Chairs...very suspenseful! The girls are very keen to learn English and even more enthusiastic about learning about the world outside Chiang Mai. All of our activities incorporated lessons in English, Geography, and Culture. For example, we learned (and even performed) the Hawaiian 70s classic Tiny Bubbles by Don Ho. We learned the choreography, the tune, the meaning of the lyrics (word-by-word), and that Hawaii is a state of the United States. We even made our own costumes out of paper and straw. We also learned how to dance the Cha-Cha and even count in Spanish...uno, dos, tres! It was so much fun and entertaining! By popular demand, we learned the words to My Heart Will Go On from the movie Titanic. All of the girls knew the song and had heard of the movie but only three had seen it. So we rented the DVD and had a "movie day." They reacted as any western teenage girl would: they all thought "Jack" was cute and teased each other about who cried at the ending. We had the best time!

The girls, aged 13 to 19, are all very eager to learn. They are from the various hill tribes of northern Thailand. Some are shy and some are outspoken. They are as diverse as any group of teenagers in any part of the world. They live together in 4 modest wooden homes, grow their own vegetables, and cook their own meals. After the each lesson, I was graciously invited to join them for lunch. I alternated from "House 1" to "House 4" and was served delicious vegetarian food every day. The organically grown fruits and vegetables were always fresh and tasteful. Since there were only 7 girls per house, I took the golden opportunity to get to know each girl personally, and engage those who were very quiet in the classroom.

The girls are not orphans, but they came to Buddhakasetra with a disadvantage. They come from single-parent or extremely poor homes. I learned that the staff at Buddhakasetra reach out to girls who are about to drop out of school due to circumstances mentioned above. They are offered housing, food, non-formal education (following the standard Thai high school curriculum), and vocational training, such as massage therapy and sewing. In exchange, they are required to help in maintaining the Foundation. They plant, cook, clean, and clear the woods to prevent frequent forest fires during summertime. The girls' parents visit them every now and then and take them out to town or go back home. Not all girls were present during the lessons. Once or twice, I've shown up for morning lessons and was asked to come back in the afternoon because the "manager" (i.e., the Foundation's director) made last minute changes to their schedule. It was very frustrating in the beginning, but the more I learned about the way NGOs in Chiang Mai are run, the more everything made sense to me. They are relaxed and require flexibility from the staff. One day I came in and there was no one in sight. Seconds later, I noticed smoke coming from the forest and a girl running towards me screaming, "Fire! Fire!" (in Thai, of course). I discovered the rest of the girls deep into the woods attempting to put out fire with only buckets of water and "giant fans" made of leaves. I joined the fire brigade working side-by-side with the girls for what seemed to be an eternity. When our job was done, the official fire brigade - young men in a red pickup truck - finally showed up. It was only after that incident that I completely understood the importance of clearing the woods in the morning when the temperature is rising - and it can get REALLY HOT in Chiang Mai in March. In Buddhakasetra, prevention of forest fires is a higher priority than 3-hour lesson.

If I had left Chiang Mai halfway into my program, I would have been content because it was that easy to make a strong bond with the girls and to see that I had made a small difference in their lives. I was not sad to leave Buddhakasetra because I already knew that I would be back to see the girls again. They are already a big part of my life. Towards the end, I realized that they had given me so much more than I had given them. That is how important this experience was for me. Seven of the girls graduated in March and all of them are going to university. Just knowing that one day they will fulfil their dreams of becoming a teacher, nurse, doctor, writer, news reporter, singer, accountant, tour guide, flight attendant, and police, makes my experience so much sweeter.

Constance