Post-trip Reflections

The week I spent in Chiang Mai had ups and downs, with some expectations met and some expectations unprecedentedly surpassed. One expectation that was met was that of being challenged to think in new ways, be more open minded to concepts and ideas that are foreign to me. For example, on Day 1, Dr Vithi Panichapan gave us an eye-opening lecture on Chiang Mai’s history. I was introduced to the olden day Chiang Mai’s construct of modesty. It was part of their culture to have women cover up their bodies only from waist down, leaving their breasts fully exposed, while men contrastingly left their buttocks and legs and largely exposed. This was the norm for decency and modesty of the Chiang Mai of that time period.

Another example would be from Day 2, when the visit to the Fulldome headquarters on the outskirts of Chiang Mai made me consider this new technology as a legitimate form of art deserving equal respect and appreciation as any other more traditional form.

A final main way my mindsets and habitual ways of thinking were challenged was on the second last day when we visited the one-of-a-kind White Temple. Till now I still find it hard to place – is it a temple, a tourist attraction, or simply a work of contemporary art? I love, however, that I can never quite figure it out. Although I didn’t like how touristy this “temple” had become, I feel its various possible identities adds to its attractiveness and keeps it a fascinating piece of architecture that will sustain people’s interest for a while yet. Even the golden toilet beside the temple challenged me, because I had never before thought to associate the colour gold with greed instead of goodness, grandeur and prestige.

The second expectation of mine that was met was that of thinking in critical and creative ways. On Day 1, after Dr Vithi Panichapan’s lecture at Chiang Mai University (CMU), my group had to have a long meeting at night to sort out which direction our research was going to take now. His lecture had opened our eyes to a wealth of Chiang Mai’s culture we had not even begun to conceptualize before, changing our understanding of it from something that be simply quantified and defined in terms of typical aspects like architecture and music to a far richer, more holistic concept of the term that cannot so easily be broken down. I think that was the first time I came to understand that rather than being fragmentary, the culture of the people of Chiang Mai lives in them as one cohesive entity, an indivisible construct.

A second way I was forced to think critically about issues was at Doi Suthep, at which I saw and pondered over the contention and possible conflict of upholding and maintaining a sacred religious ground for worship versus earning revenue from tourism. It can’t be easy managing these two; I could not and still cannot think of the best way a balance may be struck.

I had also expected to learn to release any inhibitions I might have and muster up the courage to conquer new challenges, or at least take the first steps to doing so. I used to be extremely shy and quiet and am still in the process of learning to step out of my comfort zone by, for example, speaking up when I feel I want and should be heard. I think this trip has helped me grow in this respect. Simply taking the initiative to ask some interview questions during the trip has helped me feel a bit more comfortable speaking with people I have only just met, something which I feel does take a degree of bravery and self-confidence. Another occasion I found slightly challenging was during the leadership section on the last day in Chiang Mai. Before the amazing race, I had already made it a point to go up to Prof Astrid and Sandra to introduce myself. I think their warm and friendly response boosted my confidence because during the race itself, I found myself taking the initiative to complete one of the tasks given. I began a conversation in Thai with a local while we stopped at our first location for a while to complete the location task. It wasn’t easy, and I certainly did not have an easy time communicating, but it felt good to challenge myself and emerge successful from the task.

Meeting expectations aside, there were also two main things about the trip which far exceeded my expectations. Firstly, I did not expect to bond so deeply with my team members. I didn’t know most of them well, and in fact for some of them didn’t even know their name until we were grouped together, but by the end of the trip I felt a familial comfortableness around their company. We travelled together, ate together, raced together, stayed up together, worked together and played together for almost a week. I think any group of people put through this sort of shared experience would emerge closer and more bonded. The team building I experienced during this trip was unlike any other I have experienced before, possibly because of the nature of this trip as being an overseas trip placing us in an unfamiliar, foreign country together as well as being a largely independent research for us to work on together too. The ties we developed aren’t superficial or impermanent – upon returning to Singapore, I felt a compelling affinity for my group when I saw everyone again at the first TOPS seminar in school. Sitting together felt like sitting with family. On another occasion very recently, one of my group members and I happened to be in a canteen at the same time one day, and although I was not terribly close to her during the trip, we waved and smiled widely at each other. I think there was an unsaid understanding that we were – are – friends now, no matter what, simply because of the experiences we shared together during the trip.

The second aspect about the trip which surpassed my expectations pertains to my major, Linguistics and Multilingual Studies. I knew that spending a week in a country where almost everyone did not speak English as their first language would hold a lot of points of linguistic interest for me. What I didn’t expect was how prevalent this was – everywhere I looked, everywhere I went and anytime of the day. For example, even on the bus from the airport to the hotel, the tour guide was already telling us about the subtle differences certain Thai words are spoken in different regions of the country, and from a linguistic perspective I instantly classified this as dialectal variation. I am immensely grateful for the patience of the CMU students and other locals who took the time and effort to answer my questions or clarify pronunciations for Thai lexicon. The former two, in fact, even consented to being recorded on my iPhone’s voice memo function for me to have some audio recordings that I could revisit anytime. Having said that, whether or not the locals were speaking Thai or not did not matter to my linguistic learning. This is because even when they were speaking slightly incorrect or broken English, I found noticing their pronunciation quirks and patterns of mistakes absorbing as well. It shows the imbalance that is inevitable in all bilingual speakers and the influence of their first language, Thai, on their second language acquired later in life, English.

There were two very impactful experiences I had during the trip I will not forget. They were relevant to both my linguistics studies and our research topic of heritage preservation. Firstly, during lunch on the second day, the fairly long wait for our food proved to be a great opportunity to get to know each other better. This culminated in a sharing session about our diverse linguistics backgrounds, from Prof Andrea from Italy, Prof Michael from Ireland, the Chiang Mai University students from Thailand and us USP students from Singapore. I found our discussion regarding slang words or unusual phrases that were present in each of our languages fascinating. Very often in linguistics I learn about such things, but so rarely do I get to experience and hear about them firsthand. I also found cultural ties, for example in Ireland there are certain words to describe a particular Irish food, or particular landscapes found only in the Irish countryside – language and heritage and culture truly are inescapably interwoven. It made me feel sadder to hear, from this same linguistically diverse group of people with the exception of the CMU students, of the loss of their native language in current generations of youths. After one realises how important language is to culture and vice versa, one can truly understand how impactful and devastating the loss or dilution of one’s mother tongue can be to heritage preservation. I am glad the Thais at least have managed to maintain their intergenerational transmission of language, because this is certainly not the case for the Chinese vernaculars in Singapore or Gaelic in Ireland.

The second hugely impactful experience I had was in the Wat Gate Khar Rnam Museum, when the 71 year old owner, Mr Som Vang Rittidaja, beckoned me closer to a particular artefact he wanted to tell me more about – the traditional cloth red flag with the white elephant on it. I use the word “tell” here in a loose, basic sense, that of communication, because hardly any words were spoken between us. He simply gently took my hand and placed my index finger on the elephant’s front leg, then motioned me to walk around to the other side of the flag. I saw then that the ink was thoroughly seeped through, and the same elephant leg I had my finger on was again the leg the elephant had in front. Suddenly, his words “in the flag” made so much sense and carried special meaning to me – the elephant and the strength it represents was truly a part of their rich culture, permeating every aspect of their heritage and not just something superficially added on. I think the episode I had with Mr Som Vang Rittidaja went beyond just communication. I felt like we truly connected. I think it was a turning point for me because I’ve never met anyone whose passion for his heritage runs so deep that I can sense it almost without any words, and it moved me almost to tears to feel and understand his deep love for his culture. I myself can’t say I understand and know that much about my own culture or heritage, be it my Chinese heritage or Peranakan one, but I think I felt a connection with him simply because I can understand how he feels and can find it within myself to feel so strongly about things I care about as well. I believe that somehow, he also understood this about me. The fact that this mutual understanding and “exchange” took place almost silently made the experience all the more magical for me, and showed me that “language” in its most basic communicative sense doesn’t always require words.

To conclude my post-trip reflections, although I have had many memorable experiences and expectations met or exceeded, I would have to say that the best part about the TOPS trip was the people. They made every experience all the more special and fulfilling. Son, our CMU student attached, was always quiet and gentle but at the same time proactive and full of enthusiasm. He took it upon himself to help my group find some of his English-speaking friends to interview, and at the Black Temple when he couldn’t answer some of our questions he went up to some locals who were strangers to him just to find out for us. He was kind and caring, always ordering food for us first and taking us around the night markets to orientate us for the first few days especially. On the last day when we said goodbye, Son gave us each a handwritten card and little elephant keychains as keepsakes, telling us to come visit him or call him anytime. Even May, Son’s good friend who was not even attached to our group, was always eager to help us as well. If Son was needed somewhere else and she was free, she would take it upon herself to show us around and take over some of his duties. She was so patient and never grew tired of helping me with my Linguistic related questions. Generally everyone in Thailand was fantastic, even the warm and friendly tour guides eager to share their knowledge. And of course, this trip wouldn’t have been the same without my wonderfully encouraging professors and group mates, who went through the same experiences as I did. They looked out for me as I looked out for them, and I’ve grown closer to each and every one of these fantastic people.

It may seem like I have discussed a lot about only all the good things about the trip, but the truth is there are not many low points to highlight. Of course there were minor problems and adversities, but nothing insurmountable, and nothing I learnt nothing from. I am glad and grateful to have had this amazing opportunity to learn as a USP scholar and to grow as an individual.