Day 2: A Warm Society

Wat Chedi Luang temple is the location for our monk chat today – the second interview scheduled for us on this fieldtrip. Prior to our departure from Singapore, Prof Natalie had kindly introduced us to one of her Thai PhD student – Chirabodee, who was once ordained a monk. Chirabodee shared with us his experiences and it had definitely deepened our understanding of monkhood in Thailand. Besides answering our queries, he even advised us on how to tweet our interview questions! We are truly grateful for his help.

At Wat Chedi Luang Temple. Photo Credit: Natalia Chioang

However, there was still a glaring issue that had yet to be resolved. Entertainment is a part of secular life. If monks are supposed to lead a life detached from that of laypeople, will they be comfortable in expressing their views on the influence and effects of foreign entertainment media?

Learning the different approaches to ask a question is definitely a useful skill that I had picked up from this occasion. By rephrasing our questions or changing our approach, we will not only be able to achieve the same intention but also allow our interviewees to feel more comfortable. For instance, instead of asking the monks how foreign entertainment media had influenced them personally, it was perhaps more sensible to seek their opinion on how they feel foreign entertainment media had influenced their peers. As a business student, I certainly feel that it is advantageous to possess this skill. Learning to phrase my words appropriately will not only give others a better impression of myself but also enables me to elicit the genuine concerns of my stakeholders through a more comfortable interaction. This could potentially lead to many successful business solutions in future!

When we concluded our monk chat with a photo taking session, we were chided by two middle-aged women for photographing one of our participants from the session. He was holding up an A4 paper that wrote “makeup” in Thai, an answer in response to one of our interview question. According to the ladies, the scene was inappropriate as the monks were not supposed to think about makeup during their spiritual journey. Initially, I was quite annoyed at the ladies for poking their nose into our interview with the monks. Why would they want to meddle with the affair of others? Dwelling on this incident made me realised why I had such thoughts.

Growing up in Singapore, we are pretty much in tune with the “mind your own business” culture. We are more apathetic to our environment and the people around us. It is a cultural norm for us to not interfere with the affair of others. In contrast, the Thai has a warm and caring society. They are generally more willing to offer their assistance and display more compassion for the people around them. This clearly explained the ladies’ action. I truly admire and envy this spirit of theirs and hope that one day, Singapore too will grow to be a more caring society. As Mahatma Gandhi once said “Be the change you wish to see in the world”, as such, I should start by doing my part and be more willing to offer my assistance to a stranger in need.

At Sode Café that afternoon, we managed to gather more favourable responses from the youth. Yay! Our improved interview questions worked! We had a fun time interviewing the friendly youths at the café. Besides taking a selfie with them, they even recorded a short clip on their own accord to say bye to us. Man, it was really a heart-warming moment!

Here is the video they recorded using our GoPro and I hope their hospitality warms your heart too.