Project Week Report The Leadership Program and Elephant Hospital Service Chiang Mai, Thailand Acknowledgements Without kindly affords from these people and institutions, the project will not have been satisfactory done. We would like to give our deeply appreciation to -Mrs. Hayley Goldburg, Project Supervisor -Ms. Itsaraporn Daoram, Project Coordinator -Mrs. Michelle Forbes-Harper, Leadership Program Coordinator -Mr. Simon Greenslade, Leadership Program Coordinator -The Prem Tinsulanonda Center for International Education (Prem Center) -Chiang Mai University Demonstration School -Maepundin-Porthamsuan Homestay -Our best Thai buddies Project Members 1. Mr. Photchara Vichalai, Project Leader 2. Mr. Ng Siu Lung 3. Mr. Wong Tsz Hin 4. Ms. Law Yin Yu 5. Ms. Mari Tanaka 6. Mr. Mpho Michael Brown 7. Ms. Wu Quinncy 8. Ms. Yuen Wing Ching Travel Itinerary Sat 4th, March 2006 08:00am Leave LPC 11:40am Leave Hong Kong by China Airlines CI641 01:25pm Arrive Bangkok 02:30pm Traveling by ordinary-class train to downtown Bangkok 04:00pm Shopping at Siam Paragon, Siam Center and MBK 07:00pm Arrive at Bangkok Train Station (Hua Lampong) 07:25pm Leave Bangkok by Special Express Train no. 11 Travel Itinerary (continue) Sun 5th, March 2006 07:20am Arrive Chiang Mai Train Station 07:30am Traveling to Prem Center by provided van 09:00am The Leadership program at Prem Center Evening Visiting the Sunday Walking Street market. First meeting to Thai buddies from Chiang Mai University Demonstration School Night Rest at Prem Center Mon 6th, March 2006 Whole day 2nd day of The Leadership program at Prem Center 06:00pm Arrive at “Meapundin-Porthumsuan” homestay 07:00pm Dining at Khum-khantok (Traditional food with performances) with buddies Tue 7th, March 2006 07:30 am Buying Elephant foods with buddies and other volunteers Whole day Volunteered working at Measa Elephant Hospital include washing elephant foods, feeding elephants, washing elephants, having a video section about the effect of tourism to Thai elephants and observing elephants’ nature behavior. Evening Dining at the Buffet House, shopping at Chiang Mai Night Bazaar market and rest at the homestay. Wend 8th, March 2006 Whole day 2nd day of working at the Measa Elephant Hospital Evening Dining at the homestay Thu 9th, March 2006 Morning Activities at the homestay start from going to local market in early morning, shopping foods, visiting local temple to offer food for monk as traditional Thai culture, cooking lesson at the homestay and having a funny scrupling lesson. Afternoon Visiting old temples in Chiang Mai and Shopping at Central Airport Plaza Fri 10th, March 2006 Morning Visit Chiang Mai University Demonstration School and Doi Suthep temple Afternoon Gathering with buddies and taking studio-picture for memories 08:30pm Leave Chiang Mai by train Sat 11th, March 2006 08:25am Arrive Bangkok 02:45pm Leave Bangkok by China Airlines CI642 06:30pm Arrive Hong Kong Evaluation These are evaluations on each topic written by members of the project Lessons from The Leadership Program at Prem Center by Mpho Michael Brown Besides the whole trip to Thailand being an amazing and very eye-opening journey, personally, my highlight of the trip was what we first arrived to in Thailand, which was the leadership course at the Prem Centre. Being in an environment not very different from that in my own school with regards to cultural diversity, surely, a lot was bound to be learned. The Course itself was very enlightening as it dealt with things that we encounter in our everyday lives, all the leadership roles that we play in our daily lives without even noticing, and how that fact of not noticing can affect adversely the quality of leaders we end up being. Watching ourselves on video after every activity, “leader practice session” so to put it, made us very aware of the mistakes we make and brought us in touch with reality in a way as many people believe only when they have seen, that they made a mistake. I, and I am sure all the other people who were in the group would agree, feel that after that course, I can make a very good leader, and even my willingness to take up leadership positions has improved as my confidence as a leader has been very much boosted by this course. Interaction with the students from an international school in Bangladesh also played a vital role in the effectiveness of the course as we were exposed to people that are not very different from us in their school environment, but who definitely saw things from a perspective different from ours. Moreover, the success of the course was primarily due to the very proficient instructor that ran the course. she was undoubtedly one of the most inspiring and powerful female figures I have ever met, and this aura about her made it easy for us to absorb the material she taught and try as hard we could to apply it. In conclusion, this was definitely an unsurpassed experience for me, and I am sure it is the same fro all those who were in the trip. Reflection from the Elephant Hospital by Julia Law Originally, our group arrived the elephant hospital to see some very cute and friendly elephants; we even expected to ride on them as one of the highlights of the trip. However, when we reached the hospital, the lady there immediately explained the background of these poor elephants to us. All of them had been abused in order to train their obedience; one of them is even blind because her master hit her with a burning rot. We were shown a DVD which told us that all of the elephants in the street which earn money from tourists were abused, they were four-leg-tied, hit by very think metal sticks, poked by burning rods, and put in a cage which just fit their entire body at the age of four, when they first left their parent. We even saw elephants crying during the abuse process. The elephants in Thailand have become an endangered species because the number is declining drastically. In order to stop this from happening, we should not support the tourist industry concerning with elephants because these elephants had all gone through an abuse process. The hope of the elephant hospital is that all elephants in Thailand can live a free and happy life just in the nature. After this visit to the elephant hospital, we understand more about the life of the elephants and would not pay the Thai just for a ride on the back of the elephants. We had a very great time with the elephants there though; we fed them with bananas, pineapples and cucumbers. Most of the elephants were friendly and they allow us to pat their trunks. In the afternoon, we helped the elephants to take a bath in the river and we had a very good time there, playing with the elephants. Transportation by Rachel Yuen Early in the morning, we took the fight CI 641 to Bang Kok. It took about 3 hours but the entertaining programs were really sufficient that we didn’t feel bored at all! When we arrived at Bang Kok, we got onto a train (a 3rd class one!) which, unfortunately, had no air-con system. It was really really hot and humid. But since it was the 1st time we get on such train, we thought it was a rather interesting experience. In the evening, we started our 12-hours journey, on a train. This one was better than the 1st one we took, but still, it was that kind that we can no longer find in HK. It “rocked” non-stop and roared with a rhythmic sound. Not surprisingly, it was hard to eat and sleep on this train. There is a special form of transportation called “duk-duk” and there are more interesting vehicles. We found that the transportation regulation in Thailand is not as strict as those in HK. For example, 8 of us once squeezed into a cab and the other drivers just smile and waved at us! Also people may cross the railway whenever they like as long as there was no train coming. They did this as naturally as crossing the road! Thai Buddies by Benedict Ng ‘Serang hae yo!’ These few Korean words broke the silence in the departing train. I yelled out through the window as I was wavering good-bye at the Thai Buddies in the train station. ‘Yes,’ I told myself, ‘we are leaving Chiang Mai. We are leaving them.’ Five minutes afterwards, I was stupefied in my seat, by the surmounting nostalgia towards these kindest foreigners I have ever encountered in my life. A group of Thai students, once former schoolmates of our student leader, generously accompanied we 8 LPC students throughout the Chiang Mai trip. As a convention in LPC, these zealous helpers are entitled as ‘Thai Buddies’. They did much more than just a guiding job, in fact, they walked me through part of the exotic Thai culture. Their detailed explanations of everything I questioned have given me a crystal clear contour on not only the prestigious shopping venues, but also aspects like the patriarchal society and its relation to different traditions, the spread of Buddhism in Thailand, etc. With their accompaniment, our goal of cultural understanding is then achieved. Reading a book may provide you with historical facts of a place. But to understand a culture best, I think it is only through talking with a person living that culture. I still recall the moment when the Buddies tell me of their addiction towards the Korean romance TV drama ‘Full House’, which has once been broadcasted in Hong Kong, then I found Thai teenagers are influenced even more by television than teenagers in Hong Kong. I sometimes also repaid them by telling them things about Hong Kong. This invaluable chance of sharing allowed students from both place to demonstrate a cultural exchange, sublimes the meaning of this trip to Thailand. My buddy, whose name is ‘Om’, is a girl with fairly dark complexion. She is one year older than me. During the week, she tirelessly catered for my curious mind, never ducking my ceaseless questions flow. She even accompanied me to anywhere I requested when we were doing shopping. From bargaining to advising me on alternate places to buy the same but cheaper thing, she is truly a universal buddy. There was an occasion when I feel so touched: I had suffered from diarrhea, possibly due to some unclean sushi in a buffet restaurant on the night before, all those caring I received is unable to be returned with every way of compliment I can think of. I believe that the other Buddies were also doing an equally well job. Without them, this Thailand trip would definitely be a lot more monotonous; without them, this Thailand trip would appear to be superficial. But now, this trip not only fed us with information about the place, it also proved there is no border to friendship. Shopping by Quinncy Wu When shopping in Chiang Mai, one must consider, along with the everyday necessities, the many handicrafts that are part of the city’s history. They are made with workmanship skills that have been passed down from generation to generation and are beautiful representations of the city. For instance, fabrics of countless types, hand-made accessories, woodcarvings, etc, are some of the crafts that make Chiang Mai special. One should not only focus on grand shopping malls but rather night markets as these are the places where you can find these handicrafts. Do not miss the night markets as owning one of the Chiang Mai traditional crafts is a sure way to take back tangible memories of your visit. Thai Culture (focusing on religious) by Mari Tanaka Thailand is one of the religious Buddhism countries in the world. There were temples all over the city of Chiang Mai. We visited some of them. It was interesting to see the temples of Tarawa Buddhism. There was a beautiful golden Pagoda in one of the temple we visited. I and one of the Thai buddies went around the Pagoda three rounds with flower and incense. Afterwards, we went in front of massive Buddha statue and prayed. When we play to Buddha, we use three incense and we bow three times. One is for Buddha, one is for monks, and one is for spirit. That is the same reason why we went around the Pagoda three times. Also, the number three is odd number, odd number represent something can not be divided. I found it very interesting that number can represent things like this. One morning, we made offerings to some monks in the temple just near to the guest house we stayed. It was an interesting experience as well. Because we got to see the morning market local people go. Also, it was nice to see the custom or Tarawa Buddhism.