CYCLING OUR DREAMS

Once again we are preparing ourselves for the upcoming chapters of this ongoing journey of inner and outer discovery. We are currently putting into boxes all the bits and pieces we have accumulated for the past year which we will mostly be donating to the school and orphanage, so we end up only with those little essentials, limited to what we can fit into our bicycle panniers. How liberating this feels. It’s back to us, our bikes and the world as our home. I love the simplicity of my life and I cannot deny that the deeper we go into this life of exploration, the more I realize that this insatiable yearning for growth, knowledge and experience will never cease. I am a confessed travelholic, a wanderlust addict, guilty as charged and with no intention of change.

A year of intense teaching, but most highly, a year of intense learning!

Welcome to Thailand…

Our lives called for a temporary step off the bikes and into the Asian way of life, from the perspective of the full time inhabitant and worker. The remote, colorful, vibrant and teeming with life town of Huai Yot in southern Thailand, far away from the streams of tourists and into the authentic ‘Land of the Free’ has become our new baan.

Tessaban 5 Rd, Huai Yot District, Trang 92130

Our home lies in a rural town. Few speak English but their friendly nature surpasses all language barriers. It is a five minute walk to our school.

One of the biggest pleasures I have found in Asia is the accessibility to fresh, local, organic food sold in various street markets. Every Monday and Wednesday we shop around for fruits and veggies for our delicious home made salads.

It is a norm for students to take off their shoes before entering buildings and classrooms. You will often find rows of shoes in the hallways and outside the buildings. The teachers from the English department would charge 5 Baht to any student found wearing their shoes inside school buildings. Seems somewhat opportunistic if you ask me. This money would then be used for cleaning detergents and filtered water for the department. I often wonder how much time their poor mothers spend washing their originally white socks that quickly turnweary filthy black. Teachers on the other hand only take off their shoes before going up the stairs towards the directors and administration offices.

Rice is Thailand’s staple food. It is a fundamental part of their daily diet and they are the second largest rice exporters in the world. I particularly have developed a mild addiction to sticky rice, of all sorts, colors and flavors. Our Thai mother, mama Khrukee likes to spoil us every morning with all kinds of Thai goodies.

Despite corporal punishment being outlawed in Thailand, much to our dismay it is nonetheless widely used as a disciplinary action in our school. Our hearts tremble with anguish and rage every time we witness such act of violence. It is truly shocking to still find in the 21st century such cruel and useless method of control after so many studies show time and again the negative psychological impacts it leads to and after having vast treasures of knowledge to our disposal on successful alternative methods to shape behavior.

In Huai Yot School there are canes of various sizes and thicknesses which the majority of the teachers use as their inseparable tool to evoke a fear-based compliance which I believe inhibits personal growth and teaches the child that aggression is an acceptable method to solve problems. In our school kids are being caned for the most miniscule and humane mistakes, such as forgetting to bring the appropriate shoes designated for a particular day of the week or for severely strict and absurd norms such as having their hair an inch too long as they are required to keep their hair short with a specific hairstyle for boys and a specific hairstyle for girls.

We have spoken in school meetings to the board of directors, head of our department and colleagues how opposed we are to physical punishment. We believe in teaching through praise, affection, by assisting in the understanding of the consequences of their actions and helping build students intrinsic motivations. Sadly, corporal punishment is so ingrained in their system that no change is yet apparent as they seem to be oblivious to the consequential damages of their actions.

Krabi is just a couple of hours away from Huai Yot. This mesmerizing tropical paradise with its various islands encircled by aqua blue Andaman water and stunning limestone cliffs has become our weekend retreat.

Some of the cultural contrasts you find in Asia are striking. Parallel realities.

It seems the worldly monks have not escaped the trends of modernization. Are they distancing themselves from the core Buddhist believes of material detachment?