LAURA
ARNOW (Thai 103)
I
was in the National Parks program, very small even by Thailand standards,
with about 5 volunteers per group. But the whole Thailand program closed
a few years ago, or so I understand. I feel very lucky to have been a
part of it. I worked in a Karen village in a national park in Petchaburi.
The experience has helped me a lot in my teaching career; there are no
Karen people that I know of here in Oakland where I teach, but a lot of
Mien hilltribe people from Laos are here, and I can communicate with the
parents in Thai. Having had the experience of life in a hilltribe village
has made it a lot easier for me to understand the particular culture shock
they go through coming to Oakland.
Plus I am still pretty good at ordering food in Thai restaurants.
choke dee, Laura
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