Daily Archives: March 9, 2009

Tales from Thailand

March 9, 2009 – 11:36 pm
By Kendall Kadatz | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

We have been in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for over a week, but it seems much longer than that.  Currently we are embracing yet another culture, distinct in many ways from that of the Philippines and Malaysia.  There are new people to met, new foods to savour, new ideas to ponder, a new city to explore, a new language to learn and new living arrangements to sort out.  All in all, this term abroad in Southeast Asia confronts our students with diverse and demanding cross-cultural experiences — heightened living and heightened learning.  For more on Chiang Mai visit http://www.roughguides.com/website/travel/destination/content/?titleid=72&xid=idh272227328_0334

Home-stay adventures

As in the Philippines and Malaysia, here in Thailand our students are with local families for part of their time here.  The home-stays are arranged through CMU and are designed to give students a rare opportunity to learn about the customs of Thai family life and the nuances of society and culture in northern Thailand. They learn by living out the down-to-earth realities of daily life.  The families are responsible for providing students with breakfast and supper as well as transportation between the Thai family residence and CMU.  Not surprisingly, SSU students report a wide range of experiences living with their Thai families. In some cases this means trying to communicate with people who understand little English.  Some students stay with well-to-do families in large and luxurious houses.  Other students are placed with families in more modest surroundings. Read more detail from the words of the students themselves on the SSU SEAsia Blog http://www.ssu.ca/traveltheworld/

SSU and CMU working together

SSU has been in partnership with CMU for the last five Asia study-abroad programs.  With 40,000 students, CMU is — shall we say — a little larger than SSU.  We have arranged a program of classes anchored by the Humanities Faculty at CMU.  A typical day sees SSU students arrive from their home-stays for class before 9:00 a.m.  They are required to dress as most Thai university students dress–white shirts or blouses, dark pants or skirts and proper shoes, (i.e. no sandals or flip flops).  Fortunately our classroom is air conditioned, because the outside temperature often reaches close to 35C. SSU has full access to much of CMU’s sprawling campus, including a computer lab for internet, as well as various libraries and cafeterias, etc.  Most days see morning and afternoon lectures (two hours/lecture) usually with lots of questions posed to the Thai professors by the students.  We hear lectures on Thai history, literature, politics, Buddhism and its impact on Thai culture, the Thai language, etc.  As well, the program at CMU includes tours to local historic sites, e.g. Buddhist temples, museums and archaeological sites.

Prayer requests:

So the journey continues.  Today as we gathered for Sunday worship, one of the readings was from Colossians 3,

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts … and be thankful. …And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus…”

-may the students’ personal devotions and our group worship be filled with the peace of Christ, with thankfulness and with God’s favour.  In all things, may we be faithful to the wisdom of Jesus;

-may students’ experiences with their home-stay families be rewarding with rich learning that is consistent with the aims of the SSU curriculum;

-may we continue to travel and study in good health, safety, unity, and as we near the final weeks of this (ad)venture, may we maintain good health and finish well.

(Gregg Finley, for the leaders team)

Those Rasenberg boys…

March 9, 2009 – 9:50 am
By Matt Frise | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (1)

SSU students and brothers Jonathan and Aaron Rasenberg are often found exploring and adventuring whether at home or abroad. Here’s a gallery of some of their latest adventures in South East Asia with friends Laura Copping and Nicola Gladwell.

(Photos courtesy of Jonathan Rasenberg)

Experiential Learning

March 9, 2009 – 1:55 am
By Kyle Jaster | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

I had a good talk with Gregg Finley at one point during our time in the Philippines about the importance of experiential learning and the idea that experiencing something has a much bigger impact on a person than just reading about it or receiving a lecture on a specific topic. Especially when it comes to 3rd world poverty/injustice issues for a first world person. Though the media is filled with propaganda, news, and pleas for help from around the world, it is still surprisingly easy to ignore. It seems to be only the people who are already interested in the issues and those somewhat informed who pay any attention to foreign activities. However, it is a lot harder to ignore an international crisis if one has experienced it first hand. When you meet someone who is in a terrible situation and take the chance to talk with them, bond with them, and hear their story, a personal connection is made between you and that person/issue. The situation becomes much more real and personal. So what am I suggesting? I am suggesting that in order to get people motivated to make a difference in this world and to become concerned with the issues of this world, the most productive way to accomplish this is for some kind of personal experience to take place. If that isn’t enough to motivate people to do something about this world we live in then we truly live in a cold world. I’m also going to suggest that when this takes place I wouldn’t recommend going into the place thinking that you are the solution to all of their problems and that you are going to be some kind of saving grace because you will probably take more from them than you will give (I know this from personal experience). An idea that I’ve been focusing on a lot since being in SEA is that of the attitude of the people I meet here who are living in conditions much worse than my own. These people have an indescribable joy despite their circumstances. Where does this joy come from?

One final note that I want to point out is this: ‘westerners’ have a very skewed idea of the Islam world and the Muslim religion. Most of our information is surfaced and biased coming primarily from the media. And I just want to point out that out of the two countries and four villages that we have been to, consisting primarily of Christian people with only a small part of our stay being with Muslim’s, I have seen Jesus’ example most in the Muslim people.

People and their influence

March 9, 2009 – 1:08 am
By Geoff MacNeill | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

We leave for Thailand today. We have visited the Philippines and are now about to say good bye to Malaysia. Time is going by so fast, there is so much to take in -it’s cultural overload. The focus of this blog will be about the people I have encountered and what I am learning from them.

Filipinos are very warm and happy people. As soon as we landed in Manila and got on the bus to Laoag, everyone was constantly staring,waving and smiling at us. They have lots of joy, and it’s contagious. Yet, as a people group, they have had their challenges. For one, they don’t really have a sense of national identity – the effects of Spanish and American colonization- Their government is the 2nd most corrupt in South East Asia.  And many of them live in extreme poverty (70-75%). Yet joy is something that remains a part of their lives. One Filipino teacher mentioned that it’s because of their faith in God (Christian) and their willingness to choose to be joyful. I find myself very attracted to joy and hope to have more of it in my own life.

In Malaysia, we landed in Kota Kinabalu on the Island of Borneo.  The day after arrival, we were off for a 2 night stay in a Kampung (Muslim village-approx 1,400 people). I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Though I have spent time with Muslims before, it wasn’t in SE Asia and I had never lived with them. Yet I was excited to see what the outcome would be . Upon arrival, they had a welcoming banner ready for us as well as a band of drummers playing away on their instruments. I think we all felt very welcomed.  Our first meal was eating inside of a fan cooled room, as the locals and hosts ate outside in the hot, mid-day’s air. They’re very hospitable and humble people.

Ali was our homestay dad’s name (Lucas, Alex, Dan and myself). We got to spend a lot of time with him.  He was a very humble man, even though he spoke fairly good English he constantly apologized for bad pronunciation, and wouldn’t accept our assurances that he spoke our language quite well. Ali was also very tender hearted, when we asked him questions about his culture he would just sit there and answer them to the best of his ability; wow, he was a great listener.

He also showed us around the city of Keningau (5 minute drive, approx 30 thousand people) and pointed out the churches that we passed by. In Malaysia, Muslims and Christians get along well together. It’s encouraging to know that the two faiths can exist in peace here in Malaysia. In Kampung I saw the hospitality and humility apparent in the village and in my home stay dad and mom. I admire them for these qualities and hope that they become more evident in my life as well.