ISDSI and its programs are unaffected by the flooding in Bangkok and surrounding areas. While there was some brief flooding here in Chiang Mai last month (late September), it was localized to areas near the river and only lasted a few days.

The flooding in Bangkok and surrounding areas in the Central Plains is much more severe in both duration and extent. While the full extent of the flooding remains to be seen, it will have a long and significant impact on Thailand’s economy and people.

Our current course (Forests) takes place in Northern Thailand, far from the flooding in Bangkok. For our Oceans course in Southern Thailand, we can route around Bangkok if necessary as we travel to the southern villages and islands where the course takes place.

Our hearts go out to the thousands who are displaced from their homes in Bangkok. As people concerned with sustainability, we are not surprised to see flooding like this as the natural drainage systems and flood plains have been paved over and built on over the years.  Even knowing the ecological inevitability of a disaster like this, however, we are saddened to see the human suffering that results.

After traveling across the world, students had a night or two to recover before delving into orientation and host family life. Students had a brief crash course in Thai cultural skills and basic Thai greetings before meeting the Thai families that they will be a part of for the next five weeks. Anxious and excited smiles and greetings were exchanged as students and families met for the first time and headed home for a weekend of fun, rest, and cultural exchange.

Ajaan Wilasanee teaches students Thai greetings.

Nicki meets her new host mom.

Elaine practices her "wai" and greets the host families.

Hish greets his new host mom and sister.

With a couple of intensive Thai classes under their belts, students were off to orient themselves with Chiang Mai via a city-wide scavenger hunt. Not only did the scavenger hunt give students a chance to practice their Thai skills and learn about the city they will be living in for the next few months, but by going out and practicing on their own, they were engaging in the experiential, student-centered approach central to ISDSI’s educational philosophy (not to mention a few memorable photo opportunities).

Caroline gets a tasty Thai treat from a friendly songtaew passenger.

Abby, Erin, Hannah, and Andrew pose for a group photo at one of the stops.

Elaine, Katherine, Mark, and Roz take a look at Tha Phae Gate from a different angle.

Emily, Peter, Rebecca, and Alice pose with a hospital attendant to prove they found the hospital.

Zane, Alicia, Melanie, and Marguax try re-creating their own version of Abbey Road with a slightly different background.

The institute is busy with preparations for the arrival of a new semester’s cohort of students (30+)!  Lots of planning meetings, sorting and checking gear for the Expedition Field Courses, and the host family orientation.  Here are few photos of the host families at the orientation as they receive their packets with the name and photo of each student, along with their letter to their host family.  Lots of excitement from both new and experienced host families!

Student name tags

Family photos of the host students.

The students just got back last week from our Forests course (Political Ecology of Forests: Upland People and Natural Resources).

This is an amazing course, with students living with and learning from remote highland communities in Mae Hong Son province.  Students travel out to MHS by bus, and then spend the next three weeks backpacking to each village (using the traditional trails the communities are trying to preserve — some of which have been in use for over 100 years), living with Karen tribal families, working in their fields, studying how the manage and care for the forest, and immersing themselves in the lives of the villages.

The ecology is amazing (remote and dense forests and jungle, wild orchids in the trees), steep mountain trails, lots of river crossings, and sitting around the fires in the village at night drying out and drinking tea, listening to the sounds of village life, and talking with host moms and dads, brothers and sisters, about their lives in the village, their hopes for the future, and their struggles to live a sustainable live in the mountains.

Here are just a few photos to give you an idea of what the course is like:

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This week they are switching focus to the Oceans course, and the islands, reefs and mangroves of Southern Thailand.

The start of a study-abroad semester at ISDSI is full of intensive Thai language, academic seminars (sustainability, history, ecology, etc.), and lots of experiential learning opportunities to get out in the field and use the language, start to learn about ecology and sustainability, etc.

Here are a few photo sets of three fun — and important — parts of the first few weeks during our Foundations course:

Rock climbing — This is a great day climbing, learning about working together as a team, and starting to develop the leadership and teamwork skills that will be critical to success on the Expedition Field Courses.

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Retreat at Mok Fa waterfall — Each semester we do a retreat, which includes an open water swim assessment, getting to know each other (students and staff), learning about risk and responsibility, how to manage emergencies in the field, and lots of free time and games.

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Host family farewell — The Foundations course ends with a farewell “kantoke” dinner with our host families and students.  While there is some traditional dancing, in recent years there has been a lot of host families teaching the American students to do Thai dances — which is a lot of fun for all!

The first week at ISDSI students got an opportunity for a field study to a rural development project that raises fish — the Northern Thailand Foundation For Enablement.  The project is a great example of how an NGO can play a pivotal role in sustainable development — helping a large network of farmers be more self sufficient through aquaculture.

The students learned about the fish hatchery, and then go to work helping clear ponds, collect fish eggs (tilapia are mouth brooders), and harvest fish.  They also had a great lunch of VERY fresh fish!

Click through to the photos for more!

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Our approach to language learning for study abroad at ISDSI is based on functional competency — we want the students to be active learners and able to use Thai to function in everyday interactions as well as while learning in the villages where our Expedition Field Courses take place.

And it is active!

Here are a few photos from the first morning, with students learning some basic words (mostly “come here!”).

(click on the thumbnail to enlarge and scroll through the photos)

For each semester, the students arrive throughout the day on Friday.  To make it easier on our Thai host families, we have the families pick the students up the next day on Saturday.

Ajaan Wilasinee teaching the "wai" greeting to the students (with Pi Ben and Pi Pu helping)

We spend about an hour with the students talking about dress, behavior in the host family, and answering questions.  We stress the idea of “cultural competence” — knowing the culture makes you safer, and helps you to learn more and better enjoy your time in Thailand.

Students learning the Thai way of greeting...

After the orientation, the students are picked up by their families and we don’t see them until Monday — when the full orientation week starts with intensive Thai and other topics (health/safety/program policies, etc.)!

A weekend with a Thai host family does a lot to increase motivation for learning the language!

The final course of the spring semester study abroad program at ISDSI is our course on Coastal Ecology and Culture.  This is the capstone of the semester, and brings together leadership skills, cross cultural and language skills, as well as expedition skills so that the students can study the reefs, sea grass, mangroves and local communities in Trang, Southern Thailand.

Here are a few photos taken by our instructor, Pi Ben, to give you a bit of a feel of what the course is like.

The prow of a new longtail boat on Mook island.

Krissy and Nikki paddling in on a double seakayak.

Ben sea kaking, leaving the beach for the crossing to Mook island.

Ben and Karen, leaders of the day, explaining the day's route by sea kayak.

Ben landing on the beach and pulling up his kayak. The ISDSI support boat in the background.

Dinner with a view. Camping on the beach in Trang.

Karen padding into the beach.

A longtail crossing by after a storm.

Karen and Ben, leaders of the day, sorting out the kayaks after a day's paddle.

Riley identifying different types of seagrass during a study of seagrass ecology and dugong feeding behavior.

A real pirate cave -- a great location for a seminar by Bang Hed, a village elder, about mangroves and community. (The pirates have been gone for a long time... at least that's what Bang Hed says...)

Jack and his host family, Baan Iet, Ja Mai, Nong Chock, and Nong Lin.

Pi Noi, usually in the office, but also working the occasional field course, and Pi Toto, field instructor.

The host families of Jao Mai village with their students.

Mid-course seminar with Ajaan Mark. ISDSI field seminar rooms don't have WiFi, but we like them!

Ben watching the sunset over the Andaman Sea.

The last week of the Foundations course the students at ISDSI fan out over the city and study four sustainability indicators — walkability, traffic, the use/health of the Ping river, and the food systems of Chiang Mai (looking at organic food, the size of the foodshed, etc.).  The students split into four groups, and each group spends Monday planning, Tuesday and Wednesday gathering data, Thursday doing data analysis, and then Friday on a presentation.

Nikki and Jack talking about "som" (tangerines) in both supermarkets and fresh (wet) markets.

It is always fun to see what creative ways students work out to learn about sustainability in the city.  This semester the rivers group borrowed a couple of ISDSI’s sit-on-top kayaks and paddled down the Ping river, the food systems group decided to focus on oranges/tangerines as a proxy for broader food system dynamics, the traffic group looked a cars and “public” or at least “mass” transportation, and the walking group tried to figure out how difficult it was to walk in different places in the city.

Molly and Taylor discussing the challenges of walking in the city center.

The papers are here as pdf files:

• Walkability index for Chiang Mai city
• Traffic and mass transportation as a measure of sustainability for Chiang Mai
• Food systems, organics and the foodshed for tangerines (som) in Chiang Mai
• The Ping river and its connection to sustainability and the life of Chiang Mai

Krissy and her group did a great job working out the challenges of walking, and how even the idea of walking around the city is culturally mediated.

On Friday we were joined by Khun Pim Kemasingki, the editor of Chiang Mai CityLife magazine, a well known English language magazine published in Chiang Mai for almost 20 years. Khun Pim was great — having grown up in Chiang Mai she was able to add a lot of historical background, and with her position as editor, she understands the challenges of sustainability for Chiang Mai city. It was great for the students as well to get another perspective on the city, and the role of culture, language and politics in sustainability. (Also check out CityLife’s page on going carbon neutral.)

Ajaan Christina, Ajaan Mark and Khun Pim were the discussants for the presentations.

The students learned a lot about the city that is there home for this semester, got out into places tourists don’t often go, and were able to pull together research involving both social science and ecology. Well done all!

Matt explains the traffic and how it all fits together.