Each Expedition Field Course has a mid-course seminar — a chance to reflect on what is being learned, summarize, and prepare for the next phase of the expedition.  Ajaan Abram, teaching the rivers course, met the students in Nong Khai and traveled with them to the seminar site.

Students working on their posters in the guesthouse overlooking the Mekong river.

For the Rivers course, the seminar took place in the riverside town of Chiang Khan, in Loei province.  Chiang Khan used to be a sleepy town of wooden buildings built along the banks of the Mekong river, across from Laos.  Now, the old wooden buildings are being converted into guest houses, Internet cafes, and funky restaurants — as it is only a day’s drive from Bangkok. It is a great place for mid-course on Rivers, as it is half way between Issan (the Northeast of Thailand) and the Northern Thai province of Phrae, where the students paddle the Yom River (go to our maps page to see the course locations).

A street in Chiang Khan.

During the seminar the students ha a chance to talk through what they had learned from the communities of fisherfolk along the Mun river, the impact of the Pak Mun dam, as well as what they had observed on the transect of the Mekong river up from Ubonratchathani province.

Filling in the details before presenting.

Two of the key questions that were discussed were about connections and interactions taking place in and around rivers in SE Asia.

Taylor and Karen talking about the “Bangkok Monster” and its impact on the river, villagers, ecosystems and other players in resource management.

Students were asked to draw the spatial, environmental, economic and sociological connections of major players in and around the Mun River before and after the construction of the Pak Mun dam. They were also asked to reflect on transboundary interactions of players on the Mekong including the spatial, environmental, economic and sociological connections.

Jill, Emily and Kadilyn (with the Mekong river behind them).

Here are some photos of the day, along with their posters and explanatory text, to give you a feel for the course.

Exploring the connections between environmental, social and economic impacts of the Pak Mun dam.

Women in Chiang Khan selling “popia tot” (fried spring rolls).

Karen and Taylor discuss the Mekong as a chocolate river (more below).

Transboundary issues -- as water flows down the river, each user takes out some, leaving less for the downstream countries.

Vested interests of different actors in managing the Mekong river.

Motorcycle with rattan basket in front of the guesthouse. (You can see the Mekong River and Laos through the window out the back of the guesthouse.)

The Mekong represented as a giant catfish — with each group trying to take a share (eat the fish).

The Mekong river as the chocolate river in the Willy Wonka factory, with each user (country) drinking from the river, the ompa-loompas as the Mekong River Commission trying to get everyone to cooperate, and consumerism floating down the river.

The village and their livelihood before the dam and “development” — with villagers self-sufficient in fish, and earning money from a very rich fishery. After, they loose their self-sufficiency and are forced to migrate to the city to work.

Sunset over the Mekong river -- Thailand on the left, Laos on the right.

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.

Last week was the final week of the 5 week homestay. To thank the families and to gather as a community, we hosted a farewell dinner and party with the families, students, instructors and staff of ISDSI.  We ate out under the stars near the foot of Doi Suthep mountain, at the side of a lake (for those who know Chiang Mai, along the canal road near the 700 year stadium).  It was a traditional “kantoke” dinner, with everyone sitting on mats on the ground, eating off a small round “kantoke” table filled with sticky rice, curry, steamed vegetables, and other Northern Thai food.

In addition to the dinner, there was a local group of youth performing traditional songs and dances, and then the ISDSI students performed as well. Alone or in pairs, students and their families prepared songs (in Thai!) as well as traditional dances.  It was a great time, and we all enjoyed it immensely.  Here are some photos taken by Pi Ben of the event.

Lindsey's host family getting her ready.

Kristen and Jill doing a traditional Lanna Thai dance with their host sisters.

Nikki doing the nail dance with her host sisters.

Krissy singing in Thai "Sao Chiang Mai" (Chiang Mai Maiden), a well loved Northern Thai folk song.

Ajaan Wilasanee (pictured) and Pi Pu were the MCs for the event and did a terrific job jumping between Thai and English explaining the dances and songs.

Pi Pu introducing the students (some out of the frame), who sang in Thai "Bang khon kin khanom pang" (or "Some people eat bread") a folk song celebrating eating sticky rice, the Northern Thai staple. The song starts saying "Some people eat bread..." but goes on to say "but I eat sticky rice" -- which, since Westerners "all" eat bread, is especially fun when Western students sing it. It celebrates that the students have embraced Thai culture -- eating rice and singing in Thai. (Note too the families taking photos like it is a UN press conference.)

A "rot daeng" or "song taew" (two-bencher). A common mode of transportation for students.

This spring semester several of the students are blogging their experiences.  Check them out for some great insights into Thai culture, homestays, and their adventures in Thailand! Here are some excerpts (with spelling and grammar left as is…)

Jack:

I’ll wake up every morning at around 5:45 AM when it is still dark out, but two hours after the roosters have started keekaakaaing around my window. When I can finally drag myself out of bed (usually around 6) I’ll shower, brush my teeth, and get dressed in my school uniform (white collared short sleeve shirt and black pants) so as to look reep roy (proper/put together).

I’ll eat breakfast and then bike ten minutes down the road to highway 118, where I can park my bike for 5 baat (~15 cents) at a small cafe/restaurant for the day. From there, I catch a rot luuang downtown, where I switch the the rot dang (red bus) that will take me to ISDSI. The ‘buses’ I refer to are actually called song tow, which means two benches, and pretty much describes the nature of the vehicle. They can comfortably fit around 10 people inside, though when adding those who hang off the back (often me) and the occasional person who rides on top, I have seen song tows hold up to 23 people, though two of the passengers I am counting are infants.

Caroline:

“You have to be at school by 7:30am. What time do you usually get to school?”
“7:00am or 7:05am.”
“Okay. We’ll drive you so you won’t be late.”

That was part of last night’s dinner conversation. I got to school at 6:50am (a new record) today. Usually I take public transit and get to school pretty early, but my host parents wanted to be sure I was more than on time today.

Lindsey:

Farming in Mae Taa.

On this farm they began growing banana plants 20 years ago because they sprout up quickly giving shade to smaller plants. At the same time they planted mango trees as well as some smaller plant species like pineapple. After several years, the mango trees grew taller than the banana trees and began to choke them out. While at a “normal” farm this would be seen as a bad thing, the banana trees on this organic farm served their purpose, and the remains went back into the ground to fertilize the next wave of plant life.

The farm we visited was only on a couple of acres of land, but it had over 80 species of plants! It also included a small pond with tilapia. Chickens or other animals feed on vegetable/plant leftovers on the land, then the tilapia eat the chicken poop. Tilapia are very efficient, easily grown fish that provide an easy source of protein for the farmers.

Betsy:

Weekends are generally a good thing, but for some reason I had an absolutely spectacular weekend. It started with our group from ISDSI (17 students and 3 instructors) heading out to a site outside of Chiang Mai called “Crazy Horse”. Crazy Horse is a site for a series of caves and cliffs. We spent the morning exploring a couple different caves and learning about the different features of caves. We then zip-lined across one cave to a stalactite and repelled down 150 feet! It was pretty thrilling. We had lunch and then spent the afternoon rock-climbing the cliffs outside of the cave. I’m not the best climber, but I was surprised to find that I was very capable of climbing the different rock faces. I spent Friday night with my host family, and singing chereokee with Nong Yeem (my younger sister).

Saturday came and for the first time in about a week I got to sleep in! (til 9! haha…) I ate breakfast and did some homework, and then my Paw said that I needed to relax from my long day of climbing….so….our family went to the hot springs outside of the city! My afternoon was pretty harsh….taking a hot mineral bath (pretty much like a hot tub) and ending the day with a Thai massage. The hot springs are a popular picnic area, and when people eat at the hot springs, they boil eggs in the hot spring! haha it’s pretty sweet! My Paw asked me if I wanted an egg, and I said yes, so he popped an egg into the hot spring bath for about 3 minutes and bam! soft boiled egg!

Ben:

Fried crickets. Yum!

After three weeks of Thai class four hours a day and living in a Thai family my Thai has improved. This is something that is so rewarding as you begin to understand reading and writing more and more, and your speaking and comprehension of the language expands. This knowledge can be used immediately and enables you to communicate with your Thai family better and also understand the culture you are living in better. It is a great feeling to make progress especially against the challenges of the Tonal language with an alphabet that borrows from Sanskrit. I have a long way to go, but I am sure to get better with the 44 consonants, 32 vowels, and the 5 tones.

Riley:

The Thai dinner table is the perfect setting for asking questions. Is this an animal or vegetable? Can you eat this(said with perfect sincerity)?
To the undiscerning eye your best luck is to simply watch what the locals do with the items on their plate.
Things do not become that much clearer even if you prepare the food yourself. I went to a Thai buffet. They bring hot coals to your table while you pick from dozens of raw meats which you will fry yourself. Seeing the food both before and after cooking it brings only marginally more enlightenment.
Tonight for dinner my host mother taugh me to make sweet green curry with chicken. While this seems straight forward one of the main ingredients is coagulated chicken blood. The most disturbing part is that the blood doesnt dissipate but instead remains as chunks that resemble soft tofu as you eat them. The dish was delicious despite the blood.
There are a lot of things I eat that I cant decipher but most of these things taste good in the end.

Congratulations to Francesca Aguirre-Wong (Franchie) from our Fall 2009 Semester!  Franchie won an award at the the University of Denver Study Abroad photo contest, and the photo was displayed at the Global Gala.

The long awaited rice harvest, Huay Tong Kaw village, Mae Hong Son province.

Franchie is a senior, and an Ecology and Biodiversity major at the University of Denver.  Franchie writes about the photo:

The Karen people have been using shifting cultivation to grow rice for over 100 years to live in harmony with their forest. The students are helping harvest rice (a process that takes 2-3 weeks) while chatting in Thai to learn about farming techniques and the culture that exists around the rice harvest.

Here is the rest of her email:

————————–

Sawasdika!

I am sure you have heard this plenty of times, but America is so strange! I am constantly aware of feet and I always bow my head in humble respect. Ally and I were talking about this, and we feel so much more grown up and that everything just seems clearer. My time in Thailand truely made me into a better person, daughter, sister, friend, student, leader, and outdoor adventurer. My only regret is waiting till my last year in college to do all this growing!

Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to work with all the amazing people at ISDSI and in Thailand. It was difficult to see ISDSI’s rhyme and reason for some things while i was in the program, but now that I step back, it all makes so much more sense. Bravo for creating one of the most unique programs in the world that succeeds in challenging and changing their students.

PS- I have attached a photo taken in Huay Tong Kaw that won me $75 in the Study Abroad Photo Contest. A 24×36 print was displayed at the Global Gala this year (which i unfortunately didn’t attend due to poor-student syndrome). If it is possible, can you please tell Muga Nepal (the woman in the white hat) and her husband (the man addressing the camera) that a photo of them and their beautiful rai won a contest seen by many students, ajaans, and families. I think it would make them really proud and happy!

Please give everyone an elegant wai for me

Sincerely,
Francesca Aguirre-Wong
Ecology & Biodiversity
University of Denver

This week on Wednesday the students went out for a great hands-on lesson about Thai culture, markets and food.

It is one thing to learn a language in the classroom, and quite another to learn it while trying to buy the right ingredients while you’re haggling in the market!

The students did a great job, and returned with fresh produce and other ingredients in hand to start their cooking lessons.  As anyone who has been to Thailand knows, Thai food is a key part of the culture, as is cooking and eating together.  The students (directed by their fantastic Thai language instructors) did a terrific job.

As one student said during the day’s lesson, “You know, after learning like this we’re not going to be able to go back to learning in classrooms when we get back to America.”

Here are a few photos to give you an idea of why that is so true.

Vegetable prep.

Fresh lime

Ahaan Thai! ("Thai food")

Roasting peanuts

Garlic (crushed, and the skins only partially removed if you are frying them for added taste)

Jill roasting peanuts.

Tomatos, long bean, chilli peppers, and Thai eggplant

Today was gear check day at ISDSI. We don’t require students to purchase lots of books for the semester (we provide readers once they are here), but they do need to be properly equipped for the Expedition Field Courses. Before coming on the program, students are given a gear list to know what they need to bring.

Taylor's ready to go.

Why gear like this for an academic program?

A favorite piece of gear -- NRS watershoes (with a strap). Comfortable, and stay on even knee deep in mangrove mud.

The ISDSI program in Thailand is based around “Expedition Field Courses” which are intensely experiential and hands on. While EFCs start with one week at the Institute in town, the remaining three weeks are in the field—living, learning and working with villagers, tribal people, and others.

Betsy checking her gear with Pi Carrie.

The academic courses require students to live and travel in often remote and challenging environments while engaged in academically rigorous studies. Thus, the academic requirements of the program necessitate strong expedition skills. As with any expedition into difficult conditions, appropriate equipment and clothing is often critical to success.

We've got a lot of gear available if students need it -- widemouth stainless steel water bottles, sleeping bags, backpacks, etc.

The focus of our program is on the experiential study of people, the environment and development. If you are properly equipped for the expedition field courses, you will better be able to focus on your studies.

Pi Aaron fitting Jill's backpack.

We’ve found that spending time getting students (and staff) equipped well pays of in lots of ways.  If you’re sore from an ill-fitting backpack, it is even harder to sleep on a bamboo floor.  If you don’t have quick-dry clothes, for example, you might still be wet from a river crossing when trying to listen to a field seminar.

Five key pieces of gear -- sunglasses, a wiregate 'biner, a sunhat, a headlamp and quick-dry pants.

ISDSI Expedition Field Courses are not easy — the demands of academic coursework, cross-cultural living, and backcountry travel are significant.  We don’t want shoddy equipment to get in the way of a student’s learning!

Nikki ready to hit the trail (after she puts the top of the backpack on correctly...)

On Saturday the students met their host families after a short orientation and language lesson with Pi Pu, Ajaan Wilasanee and Pi Ben.  (Our full orientation week starts on Monday.)

The students AND the host families were very excited — for families hosting for the first time and for those returning as well!

Here are a few photos to give you an idea of what it was like.

Families waiting for the students.

Students lining up.

Pi Pu introducing the students to the host families.

Emily's first Thai in context! A "wai" greeting (hands together) and "Sawatdii Ka. Dichan chuu..."

As each student said their name, their host family came up to greet them.

Jack meets his family. Some families wai and then shake hands. Thai people don't greet by shaking hands, but they know that Americans do.

Emily and her host family.

Molly and Nikki with their host families.

After everyone met, students and families grabbed bags and backpacks and headed home. (Krissy in the background.)

Laurie explaining the role of the Ping river in urban sustainability

This past week ISDSI students fanned out across the city collecting and analyzing data to develop sustainability indicators for Chiang Mai city. This was a great exercise in experiential learning and they were able to apply their Thai language skills as well as knowledge of the city and sustainability issues in general.

Early in the week, we had two activists with the Rak Baan Rak Muang group come and talk with the students, sharing about their struggle to make Chiang Mai more sustainable. (Read more about them here.)

The 33 students were divided into 8 groups, with a group of 4 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon.  They focused on four key issues: traffic, walkability, the availability of organic vegetables and the Ping river.

Monday was spent planning their studies, with Tuesday and Wednesday focused on data collection.  Thursday was a frenzied day of data analysis and preparing posters for Friday’s presentation and poster session.  The Friday poster session was organized like those at a professional conference, with all eight posters up, time to browse and look at the posters. Each group then presented their methods, findings, and questions for further research.

The focus of the exercise was twofold.  First, to give the students a chance to apply what they have been studying for the last five weeks — from Thai language to knowledge about sustainability and Thai society. The second goal was to gather some useful data about what is going on in Chiang Mai. The research the students did will be given to the Rak Baan Rak Muang group so it can be used in helping make a more sustainable city.

Rapid surveys like this can be very valuable for getting a sense of what is going on in an area (a city, village or landscape), and the students did a terrific job figuring out indicators and collecting the data. The studies are exploratory, not definitive, and so provide a good starting point for further research and generating more questions for follow-up studies later on.

Each study is available below as a PDF file:

Organic Produce, Organic Markets

Walkability 1, Walkability 2

River Use and Access, Urban/Suburban River Health

Traffic Composition, Traffic Flow

Playing guitar and singing on the Fall Retreat

The students are here for our fall semester, and as is usual, a lot of them are blogging.  Great insights into a student’s take on their experience in the program, and what it is like.  We’ve just completed two weeks of the program (one week orientation, and one week of block 1, Foundations).  The students are doing great, diving into the language learning (with all of its challanges and rewards) and getting to know Chiang Mai and Thai culture, both on their own and with their host families.

The host families are great — they love the students and enjoy how hard the students are working to learn Thai. It can be a big adjustment for both sides — for the American students living in a strange family with a different culture and way of doing things; and for the host family, adapting to a new addition to the family who does all sorts of things in different ways.

Here are a few entries from Ellen’s reflections on the first couple of weeks:

Inspired by our jam session at the retreat, when I got home on Sunday I finally got up the courage to ask my host dad if I could play the guitar in our living room. He was so excited that I was playing, and we really bonded over the guitar. After I finished playing, he showed me a video of his band, which is really interesting. I guess it’s the Thai equivilent to American country, and it’s easily the best Thai music I’ve heard so far (I’ve discovered that I am not a big fan of Thai pop music). According to Ajaan Wilasannee, my Thai teacher and one of the host family coordinators, Paw Boi’s band immatates a pretty famous Thai band. If I can find this band on YouTube, I’ll post a link. Before last night, I was having a hard time getting to know my host dad, but music ended up being a really great way to bond a little bit.  (For more, read Ellen in Thailand)

Some great stuff from Gigi writing about the struggles of learning Thai:

The more I withdraw the harder it is to get back onboard the Thai Train. The more I just in, and fail, and jump in, the better things get. At lunch, Marcia’s notebook gave me just the right sound advice. It says: “Happiness is a how, not a what. A talent, not an object.” … Last night, the family watched a T.V. show that included magic vampires that tturned into smoke, tried to lure people into elevators, and were terrified of guinie pigs. in the middle of the show, a girl feel into a river as a boy was trying to seduce her (i think) and i looked up from my homework a shouted “Y-nom! Y-nom” swim swim! and the whole family laughed.

Do also read her entry about the waterfall at the retreat weekend (Mok Fa):

The best spot was just behind the right had falls. Although the two falls had pilled sand between them, so you could stand calf deep between the two, to get behind the right had fall you had to swim there. … The fall poured down in front of us, over us. It was a narrow space, I could reach out and touch the fall.– when you looked up, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The water lept out over the dark rock, the rocketing fairy droplets wizzed which and every which way. There was such a scale to it all, a grand scale and an intimacy. I want my whole life to be like that – grand and intimate. Breathing each moment, with a cool rush, powerful. … I liked to float away from the falls on my back and look up at them, the water jumping off the rocks high up, and the pounding mist. I can’t say it was more real than normal life, or as real, it wasn’t real. It was just wonderful. (Read more at Gigi’s Thailand blog.)

Julie captures well the joy of living with a host family:

My host family. They are AMAZING. My Mom and Dad are so tiny, adorable, and excited. My Dad is always walking around with the goofiest smile on his face, while my Mom tries so hard to speak with me in English. We are usually succesful, after about 5 tries. Then, I have two little sisters. Feun is 12 and Fai is 7. They are both learning English in school, so Feun is extremely helpful in facilatating conversations between me and the rest of the family. Fai can be summed up almost perfectly in one word: monkey. She is constantly running around, singing, dancing, and making mischief. They are always really excited to see me– especially Fai who runs up yelling “Pi Julie! Pi Julie!” It’s really fun for me, since I have never had a younger sibling or a sister. One Grandma also lives in the house. She is in a wheelchair because she has neither of her legs, though I am not sure why. And she is SO impressive. She cooks, cleans, and even gardens. She doesn’t know any English but is so joyful and always smiling at me. I’m so appreciative because I can tell that they are so excited to have me stay with them. They have never hosted a foreign student before, but are always trying to teach me things, show me things, and take me places. I am convinced that a homestay is the best way to really live in and know a different culture. When else would I get a first hand look at Thai dance lessons? Or eat authentic home cooked Thai food in a family setting? Or be the only foreigner in a sea of Thai people? (Read more at My Life in Thailand)

Here is a good picture of daily homestay life from Cody, and how Thai language is going:

My host family is so great and love helping me learn Thai. Last night we spent an hour working on reading and writing Thai. My host mother is so goofy and jokes around with me all of the time. Several nights ago we hung up my laundry in the dark and I wore my headlamp. She had never seen one before and she laughed and laughed.

Ahh! I’m euphoric! My host parents are so great! Tonight the Thai was flowing. I even understood my host mother without even trying–granted the context helped. We were at the dinner table and she said to my host father, “Cody likes mangoes more than she likes rice.” I laughed and she looked at me shocked and asked, “did you understand me?”

I shouldn’t have told my host mother that I’d be sad when mangoes go out of season because today she went out and bought 2 kilos of mangoes just for me. I had three tonight! (Read more at Cody in Thailand)

A few of Franchie’s observations on culture shock:

• Use fork in left hand to push food onto spoon in your right hand
• the “Wai” =thai way of saying hello by putting your hands in prayer position and bowing your head to them
• Take your shoes off before you enter any home (love this, but I still mess this up at least once a week)
• Thais dont say “bless you” after you sneeze
• Eat 3 rice meals a day with at least 2-3 snacks in between
• Wai your elder to say hello and goodbye
• Smelling someone’s cheek = “thai kiss” (this whole time I just thought that MaeToy was giving me the smell check)
• Women must walk like China dolls (no running)…even in the pouring rain
• Never sit higher than an elder. Example: if an elder sits on the floor, you must move to the floor. Or if you pass through a room where an elder is sitting, you must hunch by.
• Never touch someone’s head (the most sacred part of the body)
• Thais will talk good and bad about you (in Thai or English) infront of you.
• It is okay to call someone fat
• Parents dont encourage their children to diet or eat healthy (happy IS healthy)
• NEVER wash your underwear or socks with clothes (always handwash and hang in a concealed area)
• Stop eating before you are hungry to save room for that extra food parents will put on your plate
• Shower with toilet seat up
• Picking your nose in public is OK
• Wash feet before you go to bed
• My neighbors take showers and sing in the back yard (more at Toast in Thailand)

A couple more student blogs are Life in the Land of Smiles and Hannah’s Trip to Thailand.  I’m sure there are some others that I’ve missed. Enjoy!