April 10th YouthLINC Meeting Update

Two months and counting....Our Thailand departure is coming up a lot faster that I was anticipating! And it doesn't seem like I am the only one this has crept up on.  Now the intensive planning has started and the YouthLINC group is full steam ahead in the in planning process.  Besides planning our our projects and getting the trip organized we sill need to come up with fund-raising ideas and plan the fund-raising events.  A group of our students is working on putting together a high school dance, a 5K race and a yard sale.  We had our April meeting this past Saturday on April 10, 2010.  (I missed the last 2 because I was in California.)  My cultural exchange committee gave a presentation on the culture of Thailand and discussed some do's and don'ts to remember when we are in the country.  A lot if the information is pretty interesting so I thought I would share some of the facts.

Facts about Thailand: 

• The Kingdom of Thailand was established in the mid-14th century.  Know as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power.
• Population of Thailand: 65,998,436
• Life expectancy: 73.1 years
• Ethnic groups: Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11%
• Religion: Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, Other 0.1%
• Government: Constitutional Monarchy
• Monarch - King Bhumibol (Rama IX) has held the throne since 1946
• Prime Minister - Abhisit Vejjajiva is Thailand's 27th Prime Minister 
• Parliament - House of Representatives and Senate

• Time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washing, DC = 14 hours ahead of UTAH!)
• Exchange rate: 34.318 baht per 1 US dollare ($100.00 = 3,431.80 baht)
• Fun fact: The Guinness World's Record Book recognixes Bangkok as the longest cith name in the world.  The traditional name of Bangkok is...Krung Thep Maha Nakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Ayutthaya Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanu Kamprasit.  The lose translation: Great city of the Angles, Venue of the Divine Gems, Great Unconquerable Land, Royal and Enjoyable Capital City of the Nine Nible Gems, Royal Highest Dwelling and Great Palace, Divine Home and Living Place of the come-back-to-flesh Spirits. Try fitting that entire name on an envelope.

 Do's and Don'ts in Thailand

•  The head is sacred and the feet are taboo.  You must not ever touch a Thai person on their head because it is the highest and most scared part of their body.  At the dame time, you must never show the soles of your feet to anyone, or use your feet to point because the feet are the lowest and most filthy part of the body.  
• Before entering a house or building, it is important to take off your shoes.  This goes along with the idea that the feet are dirty.
• Public displays of affection are not encouraged.
• Teachers are revered in Thailand the way doctors are in the United States.  They are highly paid and respected.
• Instead of shaking hands, Thais "wai" to greet people.  The "wai" is a short bow done with hands held fingertipd together close to you chest or face.  The "wai" changes according to who you are greeting.  You never "wai" someone of lower status or age - even if it sounds like the egalitarian thing to do, you'll only embarrass the person you are "wai"-ing. 
• Buddhism is practiced by almost 95% of the Thai culture, so one must take extra special care not to offend the religious sensibilities of the culture.  It is important to wear appropriate dress when entering a temple and, of course, leave your shoe outside.  It is also against the law to be disrespectful toward a religious symbol.  Buddha images are sacred, whatever the size or condition.  Never climb on a Buddha image.
• Show upmost respect for the King and his family.  This goes along with respecting the religion since the Thai people believe the King to be semi-divine and a religious figure.  Respect for the King isn't just polite, it's the law.
• Buddhist monks are not allowed to touch or be touched by a woman or accept anything a woman might offer.  If a woman wants to give something to a monk it must first be given to a man, or put in a piece of cloth. 
• Only fools and people of poor upbringing lose their temper in public.  Loud voices and angry talk can be extremely counterproductive in Thailand.  Thais value "keeping face" for themselves and for others.  Smiling will get you much further than a raised voice.  

Now that our research is over our committee's next order of business is to plan the opening and closing ceremonies.  At the moment it will consist of a few people playing the guitar, playing some games and introductions.  We have two men who can speak the Thai language so that is extremely helpful.  I have a phrase book but it is pretty hard to figure out how things are pronounced on my own!  We are hoping to be allowed to paint a mural at the school and have our closing ceremony centered on presenting that to the students.  We also have a fun fair for the children to finalize and a cultural exchange panel to set up with the people in the community.

The rest of the committees' plans are starting to come together as well.  The construction committee is figuring our plans for the water system we want to build at the school.  Right now the school only has big barrels that collect water as it comes off the roof during the rain storms and a stream about 300 yards away.  The goal is to build sinks near the outhouses and a water filtration system for for the school and kitchen.  The micro-enterprise committee ran into some issues with their plans for starting up an in-country loan program due to certain legal restraints in Thailand so they are focusing more on vocational training and business start up with donations instead of loans.  The health committee gave everyone a break down of the shots we will need and a list of medications we should bring.  They are also planning the health fair for the adult in the community and parents of the school.  The educational committee informed everyone that they should begin developing an English language lesson plan as we will all be teaching at least one English lesson while we are there.  We will also be putting together a "yearbook" with some of the best pictures and video of the trip.  Hopefully I will be able to post some of those things.

It is starting to come together but there is still a lot more left to do.  The hard part is just beginning and we will have to put in some serious effort in order to make these plans happen. Hopefully the the students can come through and pull off some amazing fund-raising events.  It is getting close but I am sure we can make this happen!