Kiwi journalist's OE to Asia revealed a world of cultural pride and determination

Ayla Miller who is a young New Zealand journalist took some time off to do an overseas experience – on her own – to some of Asia’s amazing cultures and environments.

She found some of these nations' sense of national respect, pride and human determination, refreshing and heartening.

Here’s her story, from some questions we put to her about her travels:

Q: What area/s of the world have you travelled to and where exactly did you reside in?

A: I began in Delhi, India and spent two weeks exploring the 'golden triangle' in the north. I then travelled to Nepal where I spent seven weeks in total and five of them volunteering at a Women's School in Kathmandu. After that I got a job in Thailand teaching English. Lastly, resided in Ubon Ratchathani province in NE Thailand near where the Thai - Cambodia - Laos borders meet.

Q: What part of that country did you settle in (like urban or rural areas) and what kind of work were you doing there?

A: I lived in Phibun Mangsahan which is considered rural by Thai standards but there is still a small shopping mall, a KFC and a donut shop close by so after living in Dargaville, I felt like I was in the big smoke! There was farmland and rice paddy fields surrounding the town though, which were quite pretty.

I taught three to eight-year-olds conversational English.

 

STUDY TIME: Ayla with some of her young charges at school in Thailand.

 

Q: What are the main lifestyle, cultures, food, customs, differences or comparisons to what you are used to here in New Zealand?

A: Thai culture is very polite and saving face is very important. If you do something wrong it's very unlikely that anyone will tell you because it is considered rude. It's also very rude to show any anger in public which means generally speaking, Thai people are a very smiley bunch. There is a great deal of respect for the elderly, public servants, government officials and teachers.

I noticed uniformity, personal presentation and appearance was highly regarded. Group mentality is also something very different to New Zealand culture. It's rare to see a Thai person on their own and I'd never seen anyone eat alone in public. Routine and patriotism is also a big part of school life. Every morning the whole school has an assembly to sing the national anthem and raise the Thai flag. They also sing a song about the King and recite Buddhist prayers.

When in national mourning, everyone must wear black for one year following the King's passing.

Food is as important as family there and meal times are very social. At school the teachers all eat together and share a few dishes of noodles or rice and meat. In the evening street vendors appear selling anything you want on a stick along with steamed buns and cold drinks. It's also much cheaper and more convenient to eat out than to cook at home even for the locals.

There are many similarities which go beyond culture and reveal human nature in its purest form. One such example is how much love I saw at the school gates as the parents said good bye to their children. There are hugs and kisses and occasionally tears from the littlest students and plenty of proud smiles from the parents and grandparents as they watched their children run off to play with their friends.

Then there's the all-important phrase 'mai pen rai', which means either 'you're welcome', or 'no problem', depending on the context. It's the equivalent of New Zealand's 'she'll be right' and is more of an attitude than a phrase.

I'm of two minds as to whether Thailand is a struggling country. The roads and general infrastructure aren't the best but by Nepali standards they are amazing and by New Zealand standards they are about the same if not better than some parts of rural Northland!

I hadn't seen any homeless people in the town where I lived and no beggars. On some of my scooter adventures down the farm roads, there were some houses that looked quite modest and ramshackle but most of them were large, comfortable and modern. The children never go hungry as they are fed a good meal of rice, meat and fruit or a sweet coconut or jelly dessert every day at school.

To be honest I think they eat better than a lot of New Zealand children.

Q: What made you decide to go there initially?

A: The main reason I ended up in Thailand, was because I wanted to save money to continue my travels around South East Asia. After India and Nepal, it was either get a job or go home and I wasn't ready to go home at that stage.

I completed a Teaching English as a Foreign Language course before I left NZ as a backup plan, in case I needed to work, as I knew it was fairly quick and easy to get a job as a teacher. I chose Thailand, because it was quite central to other places I wanted to visit and like most tourists who come to Thailand, I was lured in by images of lush green rainforests and stunning tropical beaches.

Q: What do you see as the main challenges people there face every day?

A: There is quite a good standard of living in Thailand, at least in the town I was based in.

India and Nepal were a different story. There, it is quite an obvious divide between the rich and the poor. If you are born poor it's almost impossible to escape that cycle.

For women, it's even more difficult because they are expected to get married young and are often taken out of school to care for siblings and the household. At the women's school in Nepal, I met women aged from 14-60 who could hardly read or write in Nepali, let alone in English.

At the same school I met an 18-year-old girl who had lost her father a few years ago.

My host mum told me that one day he just didn't come home and no one knew why. The girl had been pulled out of school to care for her siblings. She turned up to the women's school every day immaculately groomed and worked so hard whilst juggling everything else that is expected of a Nepali woman.

 

DETERMINED: Women are determined to complete their education at the women's school in Kathmandu, Nepal.

There was another girl of 14 who had been sick for a few years and consequently, missed out on a lot of school. She travelled for one and a half hours, one way, every day to attend the women's school. Having been on the public transport in Nepal, I can tell you this is no easy feat and her dedication to education is astounding.

Q: What kept you there or what did you really like about being there?

A: I really liked Thai people and the natural environment there.

Q: Was it a culture shock when you first arrived? If so, how did you move past that, or manage to get through that?

A: There was a little bit of a culture shock when I arrived in Bangkok but it was mainly because I had just come from Kathmandu and they are two very different worlds.

Bangkok was so clean and orderly in comparison. I'm sure that's the only time anyone will describe Bangkok as clean and orderly but by comparison it really is!

Delhi and Kathmandu were chaotic but thrilling.

Q: How long did it take you to feel at home and were the locals helpful in making you feel at home?

A: It took about a month to feel at home in Phibun Mangsahan.

The locals were really lovely and our landlady took great care of us teachers. I lived in the same block of flats as six other foreign teachers from Canada, England, South Africa, Philippines and Australia, so that also helped me feel a bit more at home.

Just having people who understood was so valuable. 

Q: Do you think you will return there?

A: It's unlikely that I'll go back to this part of Thailand but never say never. 

Q: What have you learned most from the experience?

A: I feel like there's an expectation from people at home for me to say 'oh we don't know how lucky we are in New Zealand'.

That's the usual narrative behind the typical Kiwi OE.

It's widely believed that young New Zealanders must leave New Zealand to fully appreciate what we have. I guess in some respects I agree with that and it certainly has made me grateful to have New Zealand to go home to but it's also made me want to hold our government to higher standards.

It is unacceptable that in New Zealand, children are sent to school hungry and that some families still struggle to make ends meet.

This experience has made me care even more about protecting what we have in New Zealand and making sure we don't slip backwards.

Ayla left her job teaching English at the school to continue her backpacking travels to explore the rest of Thailand.

She is now back in New Zealand working in media.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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