Day 0+1

DAY 0

I love taking airplane rides, being in the clouds and looking down at all creation. I reminds me of how amazing and intricate the world we live in is. The meticulous detail in how the mountains fold and how the rivers meander, keep me in constant awe and wonder. I look at the world and I see how precise and intricately it was created. We have such a great creator.

And then there was turbulence. It was terrifying. Images of plane crashes filled my mind as I experienced, first hand, the the work of the availability heuristic. (Availability Heuristic, in Psychology a mental framework that causes us to associate a certain experience with a certain concept because the concept is more accessible to us in our memory). Yet, despite my fear a memory came to mind and filled me with awe once again. A couple of days ago, my mum sent me a journal article about how changes of the speed and direction of the air flow leads to turbulence. It was so interesting to experience it and understand it. We are here in the middle of the air, surrounded by strong wind that may potentially tear us apart yet we remain intact. We are truly blessed.

After touching down, we travelled to the hotel and had a short meeting and took a group photo before checking into our rooms. We went for dinner at a Thai-Western restaurant that sold vegetarian meals (because there are three vegetarians in our group!) I ate the famous Northern Thai dish, Khao Soi. Simply put, it’s the Northern Thai version of a Laksa-like dish. The wait for the food was surprisingly long and Joash (the senior attached to my group) and Son (the CMU student attached to my group) were so anxious. They went to check with the staff countless times about the arrival of the food. On the other hand, the rest of the group were enjoying each other’s company and happily chatting away. It was roughly 9pm when dinner was over and we began our journey to the Sunday Market, right outside the wall of the Old Chiang Mai city.

The market was so different from the ones I have been to before. Along the street, there was a temple that opened up to allow the people use it to set up their stalls. How interesting and different! This very same temple that was used to host religious gathering was used as a market place. I wanted to enter and take more photos but I wasn’t able to do that as I didn’t want to have to separate myself from the rest of the group. A young girl stood in the middle of the road playing a violin. A man in a motorcycle-stall (similar to the ones the ice-cream uncles use in Singapore), was crafting violins in the middle of the street. I was feeling a little under the weather when we were at a elephant pants shop looking at the clothes. To my surprise, after telling Vanessa and Son that I was feeling unwell and asked if I could head back to the hotel first, I vomited on the floor.

So I am now lying in bed (back in Le Meridien after dinner and rushing back from the Sunday Market). I am currently feeling super upset with myself. My first encounter with the Thai culture and I vomit all over the place.

This unexpected event showed me how forgiving, kind and proactive the Thais are. The stall owner was more concerned with my wellbeing than the puke-filled floor. Son immediately rushed to my aid and helped to clear up my vomit and arrange for my transportation back to the hotel. I highly doubt I’ll forget this experience many years down the road. The kindness and compassion shown toward this little sick girl.

Such tragic incidents have happened to me here back home but, sadly, never has a friend helped me to clear up the mess. Most of the time, we depend on others (the cleaners, the aunties and uncles) to clear up the mess we have made. I’m here wondering whether I would be as proactive as Son was, to be willing to get my hands dirty, to clean up the mess that a stranger (at that time) has made. Will I be willing to humble myself and do such a simple task? Honestly speaking, I’m unsure. Unsure of how I’ll react and unsure of how I then will choose to act. Perhaps this is why we think of such hypothetical scenarios, to mentally prepare ourselves for moments like these that may take us by surprise. I want to be able to be like Son, to be humble and love those around me in every way I can, regardless of how disgusting it may seem to be.

This may just be the start of a lasting international friendship.

I feel God expanding my heart of this people, giving me a new found love and capacity to love them. I’m often called idealistic because I see what could be and what should be. I see how far we’ve fallen short of His glory and just how much He wants to let them know that He loves them. Yet He tells me that this is not the time, this is not the way and that I have to trust Him. Maybe its here.

DAY 1

It was such a privilege being about to go for to Chiang Mai University (CMU) for a special lecture by Professor Vithi Panichapan on the Northern Thai Cultural Background. The professor was specially called back to speak to us about the heritage in Chiang Mai and the Lanna people, even though he was retired and has stopped lecturing. (AND I CAN’T BELIEVE MY GROUP MATES FELL ASLEEP DURING THE LECTURE RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM!)

Wow, I would gladly type out every single detail of the lecture here, but that would make this post far to lengthy! But here are my top 3 takeaways and fun facts about the Northern Thai People:

1. Males TATTOO their buttocks to attract their future spouses.
2. The Lua people eat RAW water buffalo meat.
3. The pagoda architecture changes based on the influences by the people groups who enter the Northern Thai Culture.

We also had a lecture by our two NTU professors. Professor Andrea Nanetti and Professor Michael Walsh showed us heritage from the perspective of the international population.

Professor Nanetti explained how Heritage Science is a “New science of Heritage at he intersection of (Digital) Humanities and (Information) Technologies. I learnt about how artefacts on their own are merely data points, and how much effort and understanding is required for these artefacts to translate into wisdom.

Data is the symbols that we associate with the features of the outside world. This data becomes information when we are able to form relationships and links between the data. The information then becomes knowledge when we create procedures in which we translate such information into actions and solve our problems. And, finally, the knowledge is turned into wisdom when we use the knowledge to determine how to act in a given situation. He also explained the close link between art, culture, heritage and politics. What is kept, when it is kept and how long it is kept for is determined by policies and rules enforced by the authorities. As heritage and culture are such valuable parts of a country’s identity, the ability to decide what to keep and what not to keep is indeed a great power.

The day of lectures ended with a lecture by Professor Michael Walsh about Heritage Inventions. Something that really really struck me was his passion and desire to conserve and preserve the different heritage sites. “Heritage is the gold of Human experience.” The heritage of a people group not only belongs to that people group but, as he said so confidently, belongs to the human race, the ENTIRE human race. Each and every one of us can learn from the heritage of others. There is a vast wealth in gaining insight from human experiences and these human experiences are encoded in the culture and heritage of a people. His preservation works in Cyprus mobilised the international community to make a difference. His efforts there helped me to see so tangibly the impact of passion and a mission to make a difference.

Although I may not be so passionate about heritage as the professors who spoke today are, each of them have shown me how our little efforts can make an impact on the world. They’ve given me hope for tomorrow and have motivated me to do my part in making this world a better place. I personally am passionate about individuals with special needs. I enjoy helping them to adapt to society and hope to see society more welcoming towards them. I used to dream of starting a school with specialised education to aid children with special needs (I’m not too sure where, just yet). But along the way, I was discouraged by the thought that it was too ambitious for a simple, ordinary girl like me to do. What could I do with my average GPA (yes I know its been only a sem, but the pressure!!!)? I’m not some 5.0 student with spectacular networking abilities. What could I do with this little that I have? Yet, I’m reminded time and time again that all it takes is a spark, to get the fire going. That the gifts and talents that God has given me is sufficient to fulfil the plan that He has for me. “Dear child, have faith. Be strong and very courageous.” I don’t have to make a huge difference to instil change. All I have to do is create a ripple, and slowly but surely, it’ll become a wave in it’s time. Maybe I’ll start up a school in future, maybe I won’t. But for now I’ll do my best to get there, undaunted by the obstacles before me.

It’s the first day and I haven’t been touched by the Thai’s love for learning, at least not in the way I expected myself to. The professors, however, have motivated me to pursue my passions in life and to make a difference in the world. (As of now, I’m considering to drop my Second Major, Biology. I honestly am questioning the reason why I took the subject in the first place. Being a physics kid from the start – secondary 3 and beyond – I never expected myself to ever take bio. But here I am now, in the situation I thought was once impossible and in a surreal state, wondering if I’ll ever wake up and get back to the real world)

Research-wise, we had to change our research question because the responses that we received differ too drastically from what we expected to hear. We’re learning to adapt and respond quickly to the changes around. And with that, today ends.