February 20, 2007

This blogl comes from Marta Johnson, senior English Major fromWestmont College. Marta comes from Litchfield, IL (near St. Louis, MO.).

On behalf of everyone here in Chiang Mai connected to you, dear familyand friends, I send the warmest greetings (and they are, indeed,getting warmer by the day as temperatures continue to rise),We have finally hit the 6 week point for SST 2007. This means a numberof things.

a.) The students of our program have blossomed from cluelessforeigners into street savvy locals (well, almost, anyway). We aremaking progress daily when it comes to crossing the street withconfidence in the face of oncoming traffic. We are no longer justsilly farang (white people,) uninformed Westerners--an accomplishment,to be sure.

b.) Our Thai Culture midterm was last Thursday. We were each requiredto answer one essay question on the topic of Buddhism, and one questionon the topic of Thai history.
Additionally, we were asked to locate anumber of South East Asian cities, rivers, and countries on a map.(Say, Ajarn Mike, where is Luang Prabang, anyway?) And while not allof us will get by without seeing red markings in our blue books, I can say with certainty that we all know more about the Eight Fold Path andKing Rama V than we ever had before.

c.) Our language skills have improved dramatically, particularly sincemoving in with our host families just 4 short weeks ago. (A fewphrases that have been essential: "Please speak slowly." "Is itspicy?" "No, thank you, I am very full already. Very, very full.").and so forth...

Last Tuesday afternoon we enjoyed a fantastic buffet lunch at a CMUcamps restaurant in celebration of Valentine's Day. We were each givena handcrafted valentine, dark chocolate mint Kit Kat bars, and flowers.The meal was good (spring rolls, pad see yu, etc.), but the real gem was dessert--mangoes and sticky rice. It was a welcomed reminder that we are nearing the dawn of Thailand's prime mango season. Good news,truly. (Special thanks go out to Aj. Mike, Aj. Ann, and Phii Christina for ensuring that it was such a fun, special event--even the single among us were feeling the love.)

As this past weekend was the first of the semester that we did not have a group activity planned, it served, for many of us, as an opportunity for much concentrated quality time and excitement with our host families. As the Chinese New Year was observed over the weekend, and because the percentage of Thai citizens of Chinese descent is relatively high (an exact figure, I do not know,) a number of SST students were able to join their host families in C.N.Y. holiday festivities. My own Thai family did not specifically celebrate theChinese New Year. However, we did enjoy a full weekend of activity, including a day long visit from Grandpa and Grandma (Khun Yaay and KhunDa) who came up from Lampang on Sunday (about an hour and a half drivefrom Chiang Mai.) I was able to witness the universality of the following principle: Grandchildren exist in order that they may be spoiled by their grandparents--to everyone's great delight, naturally.The host families we are staying with now are so kind and caring, generally speaking--more than generous. They have really adopted us as sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, extended family members. To illustrate: In the car one morning as we were driving to school, I told my host dad that I was thinking about the possibility of returning toThailand someday to teach English. His reply, "Yes, that is a good idea. And you know that you will always have your family here in Chiang Mai." And this weekend my Thai grandmother, whom I had just met that day, said during dinner, "You are all the same", as she gazed lovingly from across the table at her two 11 year old granddaughters and the blonde headed 21 year old farang (meaning "white person" inThai). Somehow in the course of that one day, I had become a part ofher family.

As we have learned from the monks, "The world is our classroom, everyperson in it, our teacher. Each moment is an opportunity to learn something new." Here in Thailand, this unfamiliar context, there are so many opportunities each day to see the world through a new set of eyes, to hear truth with a new set of ears. We are discovering what it means to be human from she, from he, who is often so different--yet no less worthy, no less good--than the human we know.

But enough philosophical musings for now...I think I see sliced pineapple on the kitchen table begging for an audience.We thank you for your prayers; we continue to witness God's goodnessand faithfulness daily here in Chiang Mai. We also give thanks for restoring health and good humor to our friend Shawn. Wishing you peace and, if it is possible, a bowl of mangoes and sticky rice from your nearest local Thai restaurant (if not for health, at least for the sake of cultural understanding),

Marta Johnson and SST 2007

For pictures go to: http://www.webshots.com/user/ajarnmike100