A Wander Off The Tourist Path

So far in my adventures here I have mostly experienced what many would call the 'tourist' end of things, i.e. the markets, shopping, new food, thai dancing, hotels, temples. But the other day, I saw what I suppose I came to Thailand to discover and learn about. Reality. I didnt come here in search of temples or dancing, as good as they are. I came here to see another way of living, to experience a new world through the people who have grown up here. What I did on Monday belongs to that search for reality. I thought about whether to put it in the blog, but I realised that to leave it out would be choosing what parts of reality I want to see, and that's not what I came here for.

After school on Monday, one of the teachers rang us and asked us to join her as she went to a nearby village to run a few errands. Accompanied by her elderly mother (a lovely smiley little thai woman without a word of English but speaks to us even though she knows we dont understand anything) we headed into the remotest area of Thailand I have encountered. The teacher explained to us that this was a farming village, and most of the people here are very poor. She also explained that many of the younger working generation have moved to places like America and Ireland, and they send money back home to their families for food and also, in many cases, to build a proper house. Most of the old houses still stand. They are simply raised houses on stilts to avoid flooding which often occurs, and they are usually one room, about the size of two average sitting rooms. The family of maybe 4 or 5, sometimes more depending in whether grandparents are living there too, live in the one room. They usually all sit outside though, and only use inside for cooking or sleeping, as the weather is usually good.

After dropping off the teacher's mother at her friends house (where they all stuck their head into the car to see the westerners and our lack of tan) we headed off to talk to a family. The girls in the family, twins, are incredibly smart, but they lack the money to go to university. Their family has recently gotten a house, which consists of one main room with two small storage rooms, built for them by the government, as their previous one was unfit for habitation. The teacher was meeting them to discuss their options for the future and their education. As I sat and watched these girls, who are so polite and bright, I couldnt help but think of how I took for granted my entry into University. My parent's attitude was 'education is a must and will always be provided for'. I worked through college, and I started to realise how lucky I was to have that job to get through University. Part time jobs here are non existent. Most people either work full time with their career, in shops or food stalls, or on a farm. I started to really see how the west can be seen as the land of opportunity. I know now its gone to pot economically, but we still take for granted so much. Simple things like our own rooms and our own beds, privacy, nice clothes, nice food, and the opportunity to do so much compared to others in the world. Although I didn't understand what the girls were saying, I could see in their eyes the disappointment of the reality that the likelihood of them getting out of that village and to university is very slim. Sitting there, I felt privileged to have had the ease of the decision to leave Ireland and find another life for myself.

I am not going to suggest any solutions to what I saw the other day, this is not a political rant. This is simply reality, one which we all must face and understand. It had to be included in this blog, because without it, my telling of Thailand would not be real.