Life and School in a Foreign Country

A recent U Wisconsin graduate details her enriching, final senior semester spent studying in Thailand

By Pa Lee, FutureHmong Magazine

In the Hmong community, higher education is slowly becoming an important part of the Hmong culture. I feel that getting a college education is important. With today’s competitive workforce, advancing technologies, and in order for one to succeed and obtain a job, a higher education is a must.

As a recent graduate from UW Oshkosh, I spent my last senior semester studying overseas in Thailand. The funding for my study abroad was through my financial aid, Freeman Asia Scholarship (http://www.iie.org/programs/freeman-asia/) and other grants.

I studied at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. One unique difference I found from attending Payap was that we were required to wear a school uniform while on school premises. Payap’s school uniform consists of a white blouse/shirt and black skirt/slacks, with black leather shoes, a school pin, and school belt. Education in Thailand is taken more seriously by students then in America. They wear their school uniform with pride. During the lunch hours, students studied at the same time as they ate! Besides schooling, we were able to volunteer within the Thai community. We volunteered in orphanage organizations, taught English at the elementary schools and volunteered at camps to build much needed things for schools.

Some classes I took at Payap included: Thai Cultural Studies, Religion (Buddhism), Thai History, Traditional Thai dancing, and Thai Language. Besides regular school work, we went on week long excursions. For example we went on a three-day hiking and camping adventure out in Mae Hong Song. A pick-up truck dropped us off at the foot of the mountain, and we walked for the next three days. We stayed overnight at local Kharen villages and ate what they ate, played with the kids there and watched them sing and dance. One of the most memorable things about this excursion was the leeches that stuck on us as we walked through the hillside.

We also went to an elephant camp. We fed them, watched them do a show and rode them around in the jungle. Also, we went bamboo river rafting! Other places that we visited included: Bangkok, Khon Kaen, Phayao, Lampung, Lampang, and Isaan. We were able to visit many different groups of people in Thailand: Ahka, Kharen, Mon, Hmong, and many others. Traveling to other remote parts of Thailand gave me the opportunity to see the many beautiful parts of Thailand and the many unique cultures Thailand has.

We also stopped in a Hmong Village, Dui Poi. It was exciting to see what a Hmong village looked like. It was not at all like how the Hmong movies portray the villages to be. They live in houses like how we do. The houses may not be as nice, but they don’t live in bamboo/wooden shacks. I rarely saw houses that looked like the ones in the Hmong movies.

I also had the opportunity to live with a local Thai family. My Host sister, Fuang, attended Payap University. My host mother was a stay at home mom. My host father was a taxi driver. My host brother was a car mechanic. During my home stay, I learned the Thai way of window shopping and eating at local food stands on street corners, which I had never done prior to my home stay. Some of the things my host family did: took me sight seeing, to the movies, ice skating, to a snake farm and a monkey camp. I saw many beautiful places in Thailand that have not been seen by many foreigners. One of the things I liked was eating all the main meals with the entire family together.

We had a lot of fun celebrating Thai Holidays. For the Flower Festival, I was able to help decorate a float that was covered in pink and white roses! It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. There were parades that had many beautiful floats made with fresh flowers, an orchid contest, a beauty pageant in the evening, live music, and food.

My favorite Thai holiday was the Thai New Year, Songkran, which takes place around April 11th of every year. This is like the New Year in the U.S., but with a twist. During Songkran, Thai people use water (ice cold water) to pour on everyone to welcome the New Year. This celebration lasts about a whole week. Every shop shuts down, and people go crazy about getting other people wet. There were people driving around in the back of pick up trucks with tin cans full of ice water ready to throw at anyone that was near by, especially the motorcyclists.

I got my first dose of Songkran coming home from a graduation dinner on my friend’s, Pi Dao’s, motor bike. During Songkran week, we went to the moat with our Thai friends and professors. We listened to concerts, had water fights, ate delicious food, and did other activities throughout the day. It was just one of those times where we were able to have a lot of fun, as long as we played it safe. I enjoyed every moment of my time in Thailand.

Studying abroad allowed me to appreciate other cultures and my own as well. It changed how I view others, myself and the world. Being there, living in another culture and learning another language was one of the best experiences I have had. It helped shape me into a well rounded, open-minded independent individual.

Because I grew up in a cross-cultural background and having the recent experience of being immerged into another culture, I feel that this study abroad widened my educational learning curve and goals, improved my interpersonal skills, and made me a better person overall. Everything I experienced from college to preparing for my study abroad, the travel to and from Thailand, and my experiences while in Thailand were the greatest: a once in a lifetime experience for me. I hope other Hmong students will get the same opportunities and experiences that I have. I would not trade my education experience or my study abroad for any other experience in the world.