Notes from the Field

(University of Minnesota public health students are writing about their experiences abroad this summer.)


By Allison Ishizaki
Writing from Thailand

I awoke on Monday morning, my first full day in the town where I am staying, to a sea of yellow. The entire country is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the King! In Thailand, each day of the week is represented by a color. The King was born on a Monday and the color that represents Monday is yellow. Therefore, almost everyone in the entire country will wear a yellow shirt every Monday (and many other days too) for the whole year! Most of the shirts have an emblem on it that represents the King. Otherwise, the shirts say things like "Long live the King" or "I love the King." It is fascinating to see how Thai people totally and completely revere the King and the rest of the royal family. I have never seen anything like it before. Even though I am not from this country, the first place that my host family took me to was a store so that I could buy my own yellow shirt!

My host family and everyone that I have met has gone out of their way to welcome me to Thailand. Thai hospitality is amazing. So many of the people have very little, yet they are willing to share it all. I am lucky because my host mother is an English teacher, so we are able to understand each other, for the most part. My host family and I are learning from each other. I have learned some basic Thai phrases. It is a difficult language, but I am trying my best to learn the basics so that I don't seem completely rude to the people I meet.

So far, I have spent most of my time at an elementary school. I am working wtih an English teacher who has excellent English. She is very flexible, so I am free to come up with any health education lesson plans that I want. The students are very eager to learn and are filled with so much energy. Of course, that could be attributed to the vast array of sugar filled snacks that are sold in the "cafeteria" everyday after lunch. Everything from kool-aid type drinks to ice cream. While the school lunch is healthy, many students only eat a little bit and save their appetites for the desserts. It is amazing that it seems even worse than the situation in American schools.

Speaking of lunch, it's time to go eat. By the way, this Friday the school is having a festival and the women are going to dress me up in traditional Thai clothing. Someone is even coming to do my hair and makeup. I guess the festival is a pretty big deal. I am very excited and will keep you posted!

Allison