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.
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.
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.
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.
.
