Category Archives: 2015 Thailand Learning Abroad Blog

2015 Thailand Learning Abroad Blog

Thoughts in Thailand: Human Trafficking

Leave a comment

I remember about a few years ago when I was still in high school, I sold Girls Scout cookies at the U of M campus in Coffman Union during International Women’s Day. I had never been present at such an event and did not really know what it was about. All I knew was that I wanted to raise as much money as I could selling Girls Scout cookies for my Hmong Women’s group at my high school. Although I had went to the event having only one goal, I think that I came back being exposed to more things than I expected. That was the very first time I learned about human trafficking, specifically the trafficking of young girls in the United States into the sex industry. 

Since it was so long ago, I cannot remember much, but I remember something about the human receipt the size of a human being. I think it might have been a symbol used during the event to illustrate the stories of the women survivors of sex trafficking. I remember seeing one story of a young girl who was 16 or 17 years old that was sold by her boyfriend into the industry but later escaped or rescued. Her story was displayed powerfully on one tall human receipt among many human receipts containing similar stories from other girls. While I did not know much or participated in the actual event, I remember feeling fearful, taken aback and aware. I wish that then I would have known better and paid more attention to the issue of sex trafficking because right now, I am having the same feelings I once had all over again.
While human trafficking occurs in all parts of the world and in the community that I live in back home, it seems as if it does not even exist. We, society, don’t talk about it much and it’s not a topic that people like to bring up it seems. In fact, the news do not even talk about it because we barely hear any headline story focusing on the issue of human trafficking. I also think that sometimes we do not even bother to listen or to educate ourselves with this issue because we are too busy focusing on our own lives. However,  in Thailand it seems like it is almost a norm or something. The topic of human trafficking seems so apparent and so close to the local communities that it is not unnormal for people to be trafficked. Just the thought of parents selling their children into the industry due to financial or other issues is mind boggling and brings me back to how I first felt reading the human receipt of the girl whose boyfriend sold her. 
On Thursday after we visited the school in Chiang Dao I was on the van that Eve, one of our tour guides, was on. She shared a story about where she was from and how her village has a lot of trafficking. In her class, there were 6 students who were all girls. Three of them went into the trade because their parents sold them. Eve’s friend in her class died from HIV because she went into the trade too. I do not remember about the fifth person, but Eve’s mother did not sell her into the trade. Hearing Eve’s story and thinking about all the young girls in the school that we visited caused me to struggle with understanding a parent’s desperation and willingness to sell their daughter(s). Knowing that most of the students in the school were from poor families, a part of me fears so much for them.  I know I should be optimistic and think the best for them, but I feel so worried that they can potentially be stripped away of their dignity and innocence one day due to factors in their life that are out of their control. There was so much innocence that I saw in the girls and to imagine that young girls are constantly being sold and robbed of their innocence and self-worth is devastating. I try to put myself in the shoes of the many young girls who are sold and I cannot. It is an experience that is beyond anything I could imagine and I can only ponder on questions that I struggle to understand. 
I can only ask myself, why is it that we as humans have to resort to trafficking other human beings? There are so many factors that go into this issue and there is the whole supply and demand concept, but what can we do to stop this? How can I as a privileged young Hmong American women even try to understand this idea of human trafficking without feeling so fearful and sadden for those who are trafficked? Are these even right feelings to feel?
2015 Thailand Learning Abroad Blog

Time is of the Essence

Leave a comment
The concept of time is constantly changing. When we (Americans) think of time we think of deadlines, punctuality, following a schedule, creating appointments and so much more. As someone who is familiar with other cultures, I think acknowledging the idea of time is important. Past, present, and future, physical and symbolic ideas of time are different for everyone. 

As someone who is traveling to Thailand for the first time, it is intersting to be in an environment where time is precious but not strict or stressful. Though, we are following a schedule as part of a school curriculum, our sense of time has changed. Physically we are in a different time zone and are slowly adjusting to abnormal sleep patterns; symbolically we are living in the present and enjoying the days as the come (hopefully).

About a week ago, I was preparing myself mentally, physically, and emotionally for the trip. As I have been privileged to travel around the world before, something about this trip was different. I felt like I needed to get away and the trip couldn’t come soon enough (rushing). I hadn’t packed or really thought about what I was going to bring; yet,
I knew when it was time to get everything together, I would be fine. (procrastination). Now, when I arrived in Thailand, it was one of the most surreal feelings. I couldn’t actually believe I was across the world. I was officially 8,300 miles away from home. There was no turning back now (reality).

Over the past week, my peers and I have enjoyed a number of amazing experiences but the one experience that resonates with me the most was visiting the Monk Chat. Listening to Monk Jo-Lee was absolutely life changing. Not only did he share his experiences of becoming a monk but he also shared his knowledge about Buddhism, as monks practice Buddhism. “A way of living,” “action vs reaction,” “forgive and forget,” lastly, “we are the same family of human being.” 


Relating everything back to time, time is of the essence. Here in Thailand, time is easy, time is special, time is experiences, and time is learning. Valuing every moment as it comes is a treasure. We live in a society where success, independence, wealth, good health, and so much more is measured by time and how much we “have.” Being able to take a step back and really enjoy the experiences had is so different. My reality for the next three weeks will be experienced by being present here and now. I will take what I learn and leave what I want. 
2015 Thailand Learning Abroad Blog

Kids, kids, kids

1 Comment

Day 7th of this trip and it’s still amazing that I’m even here in Thailand. Since I got off the plane in Bangkok, many of my expectations for this country have definitely been changed in a good way. I love the old buildings juxtaposed with newer ones, I love the flowers and the preservation of the wildlife and nature, I love the adventures I’ve been having. I feel like there are a lot of things that I can and want to connect with, such as our interactions with the people here in Thailand, meeting the Buddhist monk and visiting the Hmong village up in the mountains and learning how different the Hmong people here in Thailand are compared to us Hmong people in the United States. I think that the one thing that I always notice though is the young people.

Grade schoolers, babies, students, workers – they seem to be everywhere whenever we’re out and about. The first time I saw a teenager (at least I assume they were a teenager) they were on a motorcycle/scooter in their school uniform with another student on the back. They weren’t wearing helmets and they didn’t seem phased by all the (crazy) driving that was giving me mini heart attacks. At first I thought, “Wow, these are little kids. How can they be riding motorcycles and not even be wearing helmets?” A couple hours later, I reflected a lot on this thought of mine: why is this so surprising to me? Why CAN’T they ride if they know how or if they navigated perfectly fine? Why do I refer to them as “little kids”? I also reflected on other thoughts I’ve had around the area, on the road, at the schools and in the village: “Wow, these kids take care of their schools. Wow, these kids are so smart! Wow, these kids clean up after themselves! Wow, these kids take care of their siblings.” When we visited the school, I found myself treating them and thinking of them as if they were little kids even though they were only one or two years younger than me.

As a Youth Studies major, I’ve learned a lot about the way society sees young people and how the social construction of youth really affects me and how I see the world. Seeing the young people that I’ve seen so far I realize how differently people are shaped by their surroundings/locations, social mores/norms, their social context, etc. Even though this is a concept that I’ve thought about and agreed with beforehand, this trip has shown me first hand what that really means. The United States and Thailand are both very different, and neither country’s way of life and doing things are right or wrong. The way these young people “do youth” are not wrong here just because it is different from those in the U.S. From what I’ve seen, heard and learned so far, young people here in Thailand work hard in the markets, on the streets and in schools in order to better the lives of their family.

This also serves as a reminder to me that teenagers and kids are not human beings that should only be seen as perpetually developing and as “not really there yet” just because they are under the age of twenty. Though it will probably always worry me that there are young people who carry themselves with a lot of independence, like riding motorcycles without hanging onto each other, because of safety issues, I’ll remember that the idea of young people needing all the things that I probably needed growing up is not a reality to everyone. I know that I see a lot of things from my own perspectives because of my major and my field, but I find it really interesting how all of us take on different situations and reflect on different situations that we’ve seen so far.

Some questions that I’ve been wondering about are: do I think/see them as “little” because I see my surroundings as being associated with being third-world, whereas in the United States there is a lot of excessive luxury that I associate with being first-world? Is it a mixture of this and because I also have judgments about young people and how I see and stereotype them in my mind?

2015 Thailand Learning Abroad Blog

It’s THe Other Way Around

1 Comment

It’s crazy to think that I’ve been in Thailand for a couple of days now. Though I am across the world, it seems like the home I know is only a drive away. Perhaps it is because I have a wonderful group of instructors and friends that fill my days with laughter and learning. Perhaps it is because I am always greeted with a smile, followed by a funny joke from the local Thai people. Somehow, my heart feels as ease. Hmong people call it kaj siab. It means that regardless of your troubles or worries, you feel happy with your present state. While I have had so many great experiences thus far in Thailand, something about seeing the Hmong village made a profound impact on me.
What I heard in stories and saw in movies came to life when we reached the Hmong village. For so long, my parents told me about their lives in Laos and Thailand. I never imagined that I would be able to see a Hmong village. I felt like I was home. Speaking the Hmong language made my spirit brighter. It made me feel more like me. Back in the US, my mother loves to garden. We own a small garden patch past Eagan, MN where we grow anything and everything. When we drove up to the garden patches in the Hmong village, it was like driving up to Eagan to my mother’s garden. A small part of me wanted to search for my mom amongst the fields. Whether in Thailand or in Eagan, MN, the smell of nature made me understand the importance of agriculture in the Hmong community. It’s a way of life for us. Growing and tending to crops is rooted in the Hmong culture. To rid of it would be to rid of the Hmong culture. I didn’t see that until now.
A lot of Hmong people who live in Thailand dream of coming to America. More opportunities.. a better education.. a life to live for. But what they don’t know is that it’s really the other way around. Many Hmong Americans wish to find a piece of their past, their roots, in Thailand. While Hmong Thai wish to move to America to find a piece of their future. We are not so different after all. No matter where we live, we strive to learn about the other. After our short meeting this morning, my understanding of the Hmong culture is being redefined. I’m questioning my identity and culture in so many ways now. All Hmong really are one, but what does it really mean to be Hmong anymore?

2015 Thailand Learning Abroad Blog

Hmong cloth

1 Comment

Hmong cloth

I noticed that every time I saw a group of Hmong people at least more than two or three would wear Hmong cloth. I thought that for Hmong Thai Hmong traditional clothes were a part of their daily life. They wore the cloth without worry that other will point at them that they are from the mountain. I was very happy to see that they are very value the cloth. Especially many young generation, they are not ashamed to wear without a ceremony. They did not care that the cloth they wore old or new. They were young but they still wear their traditional cloth. I knew that Hmong Thai were not the only group that still wore Hmong cloth. However Hmong Thai had a very unique style of their own. It was just like a country that a had unique style of cloth to tell who they were. 
Compare to the US, I do not see any Hmong people wear Hmong cloth as their daily life anymore. I totally understand that because of the  modern cloth. Hmong cloth become a symbol of old and traditions. This is just my opinion. It becomes a custom for some people not a cloth to wear anymore. 
I think that Hmong Thai tries to maintain the tradition way. I have notice that many of the clothe that they wear are still the same as 10 years ago. I might be wrong. I will not wear Hmong cloth Hmong cloth unless there is a Hmong new year. I don’t wear Hmong cloth, doesn’t mean I don’t value Hmong culture. I do value and still want Hmong cloth to maintain the old style. Each clans have their own unigue cloth. Now many Hmong designers tried to change the style of Hmong to be more modern. It’s not a big deal to me because I do understand that the fashion has to change to target younger generations. However, I feel that the more they change the cloth the harder to maintain the original style. 
Down below is Hmong Thai style. 

 More modern

2015 Thailand Learning Abroad Blog

Gender roles… A continuum

Leave a comment

While in Thailand, I have heard the term “lady boys” more times than I can count. And as a surprise to me, it is very accepted here. Before arriving here, I assumed and expected most people in Thailand to follow very traditional gender roles but I quickly found out women are the only gender to truly be held to those gender roles. At our group orientation the topic of the gender continuum in Thailand came up and Acharn Cathy explained that men are allowed to fall on the feminine side of the continuum and be transgender, but women are not generally accepted when they move into the masculine side of the continuum. This was a moment of intense curiosity for me. Why is that so? Why are women held to a double standard? I understand different cultures have different values and accept different things, but I really want to be able to dig deeper into this specific occurrence because it is incredibly interesting to me.

As soon as my interest was sparked during the conversation about gender, I began to think about gender roles and the gender continuum in America. I am a woman and cannot speak for men, but from my understanding a lot of men get incredible amounts of pressure to “be a man” and the amount of scrutiny and harassment a transgender person often receives is heartbreaking and must feel unbearable at times. Of course many people are accepting, but these types of expectations are still very much present in America. I find the connection between the differences of the continuums here in Thailand and at home to be fascinating. And of course, women in America still receive so much pressure to fit into the desired gender role, but it’s the different gender roles expectations in Thailand that really stick out to me. 
2015 Thailand Learning Abroad Blog

Gender roles… A continuum

Leave a comment

While in Thailand, I have heard the term “lady boys” more times than I can count. And as a surprise to me, it is very accepted here. Before arriving here, I assumed and expected most people in Thailand to follow very traditional gender roles but I quickly found out women are the only gender to truly be held to those gender roles. At our group orientation the topic of the gender continuum in Thailand came up and Acharn Cathy explained that men are allowed to fall on the feminine side of the continuum and be transgender, but women are not generally accepted when they move into the masculine side of the continuum. This was a moment of intense curiosity for me. Why is that so? Why are women held to a double standard? I understand different cultures have different values and accept different things, but I really want to be able to dig deeper into this specific occurrence because it is incredibly interesting to me.

As soon as my interest was sparked during the conversation about gender, I began to think about gender roles and the gender continuum in America. I am a woman and cannot speak for men, but from my understanding a lot of men get incredible amounts of pressure to “be a man” and the amount of scrutiny and harassment a transgender person often receives is heartbreaking and must feel unbearable at times. Of course many people are accepting, but these types of expectations are still very much present in America. I find the connection between the differences of the continuums here in Thailand and at home to be fascinating. And of course, women in America still receive so much pressure to fit into the desired gender role, but it’s the different gender roles expectations in Thailand that really stick out to me. 
2015 Thailand Learning Abroad Blog

Buddhism & Catholicism

Leave a comment
I’ve been in the Catholic religion my whole life. In fact, every single person in my immediate and extended family is catholic. Because of this, I am very familiar with catholicism and very unfamiliar with pretty much every other religion out there. This was just one reason why I was interested in learning more about Buddhism from our monk chat a few days ago.
The thing that I found most interesting was the fact that a lot of men become monks for a period of time. This period of time may be a short one or a long one. There is no mandatory time commitment for them. I was under the impression that becoming a monk was a lifetime commitment. This probably came from my background in the Catholic church. The priests in the Catholic religion often commit their whole life to God. They are unable to marry and very few of them ever decide to leave priesthood. In contrast, a man can decide to become a monk for a few months to study the Buddhist ways. In fact, as we learned from the monk chat, men are often encouraged to become a monk for a period of time before marriage. It’s also possible for a man to become a monk after he is married as long as he gets permission from his wife. I’m wondering if becoming a priest in the Catholic church was less of a commitment time wise, or if there was more flexibility, then maybe there wouldn’t be such a shortage of priests. Just looking around it was very apparent to me that there were a lot of monks around. I’ve only seen 5 priests maximum at a time at church and that was for confession. I know that the Catholic Church really struggles getting enough men to take the vow and I just wonder if there is a way to improve that. I’m not saying adopting the exact rules as the monks is the answer, I just think it’s interesting to think about.
I also find the variable of gender interesting in religion. In one way, Buddhists are ahead of Catholics. The monk explained that now women are being allowed to become monks. In the past, women were only allowed to become nuns. I found this ground breaking because in the Catholic faith women are only allowed to be nuns. While their commitment is just as serious as a priests, they are not allowed the same privileges and there is no way for them to gain those privileges. I wonder if women who do decide to become monks are awarded the same treatment as male monks. I also have a hard time grasping the fact that women can become monks and yet there are signs to keep women out of temples. Something just seems wrong about that. How can they move forward in one aspect and not move forward in another?  The monk said that in some instances it is the abbot monks decision whether or not to allow women into the temple. I would be interested to see if in 10 years or more this will be change as the monks studying now become the abbot monks. Maybe there will be more acceptance? It’s hard to say.
Finally, one of my favorite things the monk said about Buddhism was about treating everyone the same because everyone feels hunger the same way, regardless of religion. I would like to find out if this is really the case. I’m not saying I’m completely skeptical, but I am in the dark and I don’t want to assume anything. I hope it’s true. I think many religions may preach this, but it’s very hard to carry out. I think in some instances, some catholics can be intolerant of other beliefs. I don’t think any priest would admit to that happening in the Catholic church, but in my opinion it does happen. Hopefully I can learn more about this in the scope of Buddhism.
2015 Thailand Learning Abroad Blog

“All of these efforts are one effort.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

Leave a comment
A few days ago my daughter and I went to a concert at Bedlam Theater in Minneapolis. A friend of mine worked with the Women’s Foundation to put it on; all of the money raised goes to the MN Girls Are Not For Sale campaign, which is working to fight human trafficking in Minnesota.  We loved the local bands and have been listening to the CD “Voice” in the car. Hip-hop, folk, gospel–each song is voice only and shot through with hope.  The musicians donated their time and effort and all of the proceeds go to fighting trafficking of young men and women in our backyard.  My daughter is the age of many of the adolescents who are trafficked.
The other evening my husband, our two daughters and I attended a senior Dance Show at the UM, where Magnolia Yang Sao Yia performed a dance she choreographed, “20 Years Strong.” With the use of audio, wearing a traditional skirt over jeans and t-shirt, and through precise movements of her hands, her hair, and the rest of her body, Yang expressed the history of the Hmong people fleeing from the Viet Cong, living in refugee camps, migrating to the United States, and navigating the obstacles to thriving in the U.S. Magnolia wrote that “20 Years Strong” is “dedicated to all of the strong, beautiful, and inspirational Hmong women in my life who have gifted me with love, resilience and courage. We will not be silenced.”  In our Learning Abroad seminar, half of our 20 students are Hmong, and most are women.
The night before I flew out I ate pizza and watched Selma with my family, because my daughters really wanted us to watch it, and I see why.  It is a potent movie at any time in history, but especially so as the ripple effect of Black Lives Matter continues to build in momentum and reveal our institutional racism throughout our country.
And in between these events, I walked through the meadows on our land to the Rum River, and into the woods, marveling at the wildflowers and the riot of green. As I stood on the banks of the river and watched the light glint off of the water, I pictured the mighty Mekong River that I will be fortunate to see again in a few days.
Human Trafficking, cultural resilience of Hill Tribe members and African Americans, and the ecological integrity of rivers and other natural places. To borrow a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. in one of his speeches in Selma, “All of these efforts are one effort.”  And stories—through music, dance, and film–are used to not only express struggles, beauty, and hope, but to take part in creating our understanding of and engagement with these issues.
This learning abroad that my colleague Cathy Solheim and I created springs out of our mutual interest in the power of stories to reveal culture and family, and the intricate relationship between people and the land: the Mississippi, the Mekong, and all other natural places.  Cathy had wanted to further explore the connection between families, communities and the natural environment from the family social science lens, and I am researching the role of the arts to both reveal and shape the ways communities are navigating the impacts of climate change and globalization. I want to better understand how communities nurture their cultural traditions and the integrity of their collective in the face of decreasing access to natural resources along with the impact of commerce conducted by large transnational corporations.  Our students are asking similar questions, and understand that they will shoulder the responsibilities of dealing with the impact of globalization and complex natural resource issues as they move into their futures.
I know “these efforts are one effort,” but I need Cathy, with her cultural understanding of and experience in Thailand as well as her Family Social Science framework, and these 20 students we’re fortunate to be traveling with, and especially our Thai friends, villagers, and educators, to help me better understand the issues and to articulate how these efforts are one effort. Within the collective we will learn and share our visions and hopes for our communities, our students, and the communities we are engaging with in northern Thailand.

2015 Thailand Learning Abroad Blog

My “Mediator’s Initiation”

3 Comments

Wat Thai of Minnesota– “the religious purpose of the establishment” is:

  1. To continue the teachings of the Buddha as a World Heritage Site.
  2. To be center of spiritual followers, for Buddhists from Thailand in Minnesota or anyone else from any background who are interested in Buddhism.
  3. To be a center of cultural heritage for Thais in Minnesota, including those who are of newer generations of Thai descendants in Minnesota.

I glanced away from my phone and looked up at the structure to which their website was referring. It was a two-story brown dwelling with a long shelter near by. It was far from the traditional Thai architecture in photos I had marveled at. As we approached the door, I slipped off my shoes and felt a little smug. I had thoroughly read our article, “A Mediator’s Initiation” and felt reassured in how to carry myself in front of the Abbot, or head monk. I made my way up the stairs and as soon as we eyes met, I became transparent and felt very out of place. My head was higher than his? Aren’t our knees supposed to be touching the ground? I shouldn’t stare too long… DO NOT TOUCH HIM! My mind flooded with questions and reminders and I soon became overwhelmed. I sat on the floor and my knee length skirt came to my thighs. I grew hot. I clandestinely looked around me and noticed that everyone else wore leggings or pants and I felt embarrassed and even somewhat ashamed. I positioned myself behind another classmate.

(Picture by Acharn Cathy)

We listened as he spoke about his journey to becoming a monk and the practice of Buddhism and I found myself becoming at ease. He shared how to properly greet someone and how your hands should be partly rounded like a lotus flower. The position of your hands also showed a great deal of respect and differed depending on the age and respect of the individual being greeted. I was also intrigued about the role of women in Buddhism and how most forms did not allow women to become monks and that we were not to come close or touch the Abbot. Because the Buddhism way of life is so engrained in the Thai culture, I want to know more about how gender roles weaves its way into other aspects of Thai life.

After the session of chanting and overview of the five precepts, I urged my deeply sleeping legs awake and proceeded to eat the delicious cuisine followed by participating in the look-over of the study abroad itinerary. I left feeling both enlightened but slightly nervous for my impending first trip to another country.

One of my goals of study abroad is that I become more culturally responsive through global engagement. I want to grow as a person by exposing myself to knowledge, concepts, and/or experiences that reflect a different cultural frame of reference. I hope to increase my self-awareness, understanding, confidence, and self-reliance during this experience in such a way that it continues into my later experiences, both as a student at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities and post-graduation. To do this, I need to not be afraid of asking questions and actively participating in my surroundings– to remind myself that it is okay not to fully understand everything and know that my initiation will be a journey supported by the people I travel with and those I meet along the way.