Thailand trip raises students' cultural awareness

Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Cottey students bathe an elephant at Elephant Nature Park in Thailand

Editor's note: Dr. Selena Kohel, assistant professor of psychology, and Professor Karen Polon from Cottey College led an alternative spring break trip to Thailand last month. Most years, Cottey offers an alternative trip to students for those who may want to go somewhere other than Europe. Dr. Kohel, who has family in Thailand, led this two-week trip for 17 Cottey students. This is the final installment of her story.

Our third project was made possible by Ms. Sangduen Chailert (Nickname: Lek) who founded the Elephant Nature Park.

Lek is from a village near where she established the park, and her purpose is to conserve both local and national culture.

Second year Cottey studentKayla inserts coral into pre0drilled holes in a rock. Divers will later take the rocks down to the ocean floor.

Specifically, the mission of the Elephant Nature Park includes using agricultural products that are locally sourced to feed the animals and staff; recruiting Park Managers from local communities; teaching volunteers and visitors about the issues surrounding endangered species; giving endangered species safe haven, to heal and grow; and replenishing trees in the surrounding rainforests.

Elephants have been central in Thailand for many years for the protection and development of Thai culture and economy. Elephants were used for transportation during war with outside forces, such as what was then Burma, and as ceremonial mounts for those held in high esteem. They were employed for commercial logging, until outlawed in 1989. As such, elephants literally have helped build the nation. Elephants also are important to Thai identity. Today, the elephant is the national animal. White elephants, in particular, are considered holy, symbols of good luck and symbols of honor. To reflect this, a white elephant is centered on a flag of the Royal Thai Navy. The "Order of the White Elephant" is given by the King for service to the nation.

Although elephants hold a prominent place in Thailand, they are not always treated in kind. The number of elephants is coming closer and closer to extinction.

To peruse the website of the Elephant Nature Park, one can learn that elephants are brought there for a variety of reasons. Most have to do with harsh working conditions, owners who no longer want them, or owners who can no longer care for them.

Some elephants were involved in illegal logging, other elephants with street begging (elephants are not made to endure hard concrete; even though this practice is now illegal, the laws could be better enforced), some elephants with performing tricks for tourists, and other elephants with giving rides to tourists. Some elephants had stepped on landmines. One was an orphan. Other elephants were blind.

Of special note, in order to get elephants to cooperate -- to log, to beg, to perform tricks -- when they are young, they are subjected to the Phajaan ritual. They are restrained in a small wooden "training crush" and beaten, poked, and jabbed to separate them from their mothers and crush their spirits.

To help the elephants heal and grow, our group members fed and bathed them. We lifted halves of small watermelons and bunches of small bananas near the ends of their trunks.

We waited for their grasps (elephants grasp by curling their trunks). We were told not to pick up fruit that fell in case the elephants perceived us as taking food away from them and not to use the flashes on our cameras lest we startle them. Later, in the river that borders the park, we tossed buckets of water at them and scrubbed them with rocks and specially made brushes.

Our fourth project was inspired by the second daughter of the king and queen of Thailand, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. During a visit to Koh Talu ("Koh" means island), she asked Mr. Preeda Charoenpak, who owned a coconut plot on Koh Talu, to inform her of the living conditions on the island. She was interested in developing it. Encouraged, Mr. Preeda decided to develop the island and took an interest in coral reef restoration, in particular. His work is now part of a larger project called "Vinythai cooperation to plant 80,000 branches of coral in honor of His Majesty the King." Ten private and public agencies participate in the project.

Coral serves many substantive purposes in Thailand toward the preservation of the environment and economy. Coral reefs provide homes, places of refuge and sources of food for other sealife.

They contribute to healthier and more plentiful sealife, which renders food and jobs more abundant, as well. As those in the seafood industry achieve economic well-being, they may direct their money to improve local and national economies.

In addition, tourists are drawn to colorful and vibrant coral communities, as evidenced by snorkeling and scuba diving expeditions, and through their spending, advance economic well-being, as well.

Coral is in danger for a variety of reasons. Like with wild orchids, climate changes can bring forth unfavorable growing conditions. Also, due to deforestation, topsoil sediment may more readily find its way into the waters and settle on top of coral stunting its growth, as coral needs sunlight to grow. In a similar vein, waters may become polluted as garbage left by tourists enters the waters and items catch on the coral. Where coral survives, tourists may step on it and fishermen and women may drag their nets over it, causing it to break.

To restore corals in the Gulf of Thailand, we secured small pieces of mostly live corals in holes in medium-sized rocks. We were instructed to only touch the bottom parts of the corals, the parts that would go into the rocks, as these parts were dead and the parts that were alive would be sensitive to any lotions on our hands. After we finished, a scuba diver lowered the rocks into the Gulf.

Through the short-term projects, we were able to pay forward some of what we had gained during our brief stay in Thailand. We tried to facilitate the good and hinder the bad. At the same time, we were able to learn about different issues that affect Thai people and Thailand and ways to engage in service. But, how did the students think we did?

After reading and reflecting upon the students' Personal Impact Statements, which included answers to questions such as, "What did you gain from our visit to (fill in the blank)?" and "What did the Thai people, Thai culture, or Thailand gain from our visit to (fill in the blank)?" Although some expressed motivation to seek similar projects in the future, it appeared many may not have had a clear sense of the issues we pursued and the possible outcomes of our service.

Regarding the possible outcomes, many students mentioned they felt their contributions were small, perhaps based on the short-term nature of the projects. They wrote that they thought they made mostly tangible contributions.

For example, the money garnered through admission fees, souvenir purchases, and monetary donations could go toward buying necessary resources. Though, some students wrote that they felt they made intangible contributions.

For example, they shared information and raised awareness about the various issues in hopes that others will be more mindful and constructive about where they contribute their time, energy, and resources. I would add another intangible, one that has to do with identity and mattering.

For some of the people we encountered, we may have brought "sunook (fun)" and "yim (smiles)," which are at the heart of Thai culture. For others, that we spent time, energy, and resources on projects they deemed important may have lent to their feeling supported and valued. In turn, this may have proven vitalizing.

This seeming lack of clarity brings me back to the original focus for the trip, the Platinum Rule - "Do unto others as they wish to have done unto them." In the brief amount of time we were in Thailand, we were able to garner a better understanding of Thai culture, unsustainable/ sustainable tourism, and service - and the interconnections among the three. There's a lot more for us to learn and a lot more for us to do in regard to the Platinum Rule, whether in reference to Thailand or our hometowns. However, I feel we've set a solid foundation on which to build.

To demonstrate the essence of our journey, I leave you with one last story. The night before we were to return to the United States, Karen and I joined my uncle and two of my cousins for dinner (my uncle is my mom's brother; my mom immigrated from Thailand to the United States in 1969). We chose to eat at a restaurant in a nearby mall - the Silom Complex. Afterward, as we were walking from the restaurant toward an elevator, we caught sight of three of our students. I asked my uncle to stop but he may not have heard or understood me or he may have been determined to reach the elevator. He has substantial hip injuries and walks with two canes. He doesn't like to use his wheelchair. So, I signaled to the students to head him off and to greet him with a wai (the Thai greeting, made with a prayer-like gesture held at chest level). Seamlessly, as without thought, it was done. My uncle stopped and returned the wai with a slight chuckle, a smile and the word "nak suksaa (college students)." He seemed tickled by what they had learned and could do.

It is one thing to study Thai culture, unsustainable/ sustainable tourism, and service as we did before the trip. It is another to experience these, to reflect upon them, and to be able to move forward -- sometimes seemingly naturally -- with purpose and meaning. The connections we made and the continuity for which we hope, including that of learning, earn the trip to Thailand the designation of "trip of a lifetime."

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