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OCTOBER 14, 1982
THE BELLES
PAGE 3
Sawatdii, kha, nakrian
(phonetically speaking that’s
“Hello, students.’’) I am
delighted to share with you
some of my experiences as a
Peace Corps Volunteer to
Thailand, and I invite you to
examine my Thai display in
our library. In addition, I want
to call your attention to the
marvelous articles on
Thailand in the October 1982
issue of National Geographic.
new Thai friends and eagerly
anticipating the first meeting
with our Thai students.
The pictures of the royal
family are particularly
beautiful!
Our training site was Hilo,
Hawaii where I lived for three
months in a room of an
abandoned hospital. The
rigorous schedule included
classes in methods of teaching
English as a foreign language,
cultural studies, an intensive
language training. For an
hour and a half before
breakfast, we sat in small
groups of five repeating
pecular sounds spoken by the
Thai language instructors.
After vigorous morning
exercises and breakfast, the
other classes began; they
continued until eleven o’clock
every night. I soon started to
dream In Thai, “^abd I knew
then that the classes were
successful. The selection
process eliminated almost
half of our initial number of
candidates. Each week we sat
with a “shrink” who helped us
decide if we could adjust to the
Thai culture. Language
instructors, former
volunteers, and professors
from the East-West Center at
the University of Hawaii
spoke to us about some of the
difficult adjustments we must
make in the small villages
where we were to be living. In
most cases, the Peace Corps
Volunteer was the only
English-speaking person in
the province'. Frequently,
volunteers were sent to
villages where the Thais had
never seen anyone from the
Western world. Peace corps
insist^ that we speak and
write Thai, that we spend our
montly allowance of seventy
dollars in the village where we
taught, and that we become
sensitive to the Thai culture.
Frequently, I stood directly in
front of a student’s face and
repeated a word many tinies,
often with animation, until I
heard the sound I wanted from
her mouth. My students
eventually spoke English with
my midwestern accent. I shall
always be grateful for the
hours we spent together
laughing, learning, and
struggling to make our
mouths produce and our ears
hear the distinctive sounds of
English.
After only three months,
about seventy of us arrived in
Bangkok, the nation’s capital,
confidently conversing with
Thailand, an exotic and
fiercely independent
kingdom, strategically lies
between Laos, Cambodia,
Burma, and Malaysia in
Southeast Asia. Its 48 million
subjects are basically
Buddhists who love King
Bhumibol Adulyadej and
Queen Sirikit. The king is the
spiritual leader of the people,
defender of the Faith, and the
symbol of Thai culture, as
well as the temporal head of
the country. The Thais are
friendly, polite, and
particularly appreciative of
- in social contacts.
grace
These lovely people were
gracious and kind to me
Johnsons
jewelers
CERTIFIED ^ GEM0L(^T
AMERICAN GEM SOCIETY
309 Fayetteville St. Mall
2518 Fairview Road
‘*11 Fayetteville St. Mall
Center Plaza Bldg.
Phone 834-071't
Phone 787-4850
Phone 821-3401
Faculty visit to another school.
I was assigned to teach
Englsh in a provincial girls’
school, Stri Watplabpla,
Nonburi. The school provided
housing for me and several
other teachers on the school
compound where one of my
high school students lived with
me in a two-room house on
stilts. Though Thai students
are introduced to English in
the fifth p-ade, the language
program is weak. By the time
students entered my
classroom, they had learned
very little. However, the class
literally buzzed with eager
students who wanted to learn
from a native speaker of
English. We had such fun
speaking the dialogues I
devised between a Thai and an
American student, singing
“Head, shoulders, knees, and
toes,” and repeating pattern
practice drills - “This is a
pencil, -a pen, -a desk, -a
chair, ~a ruler, -a notebook.”
Some of their errors were
humorous; other errors were
difficult to correct.
Training in the Waipio Vaiiey
near Hilo, Hawaii.
during my two-year stay in
their country. I am certain I
learned much more from
them than they learned from
me. I am happy that John F.
Kennedy initiated the Peace
Corps by challenging us to
“ask not what your country
can do for you; ask what you
can do for your country.” As a
Peace Corps Volunteer I tried
to answer this challenge. I
loved my Thai students and
their lands, and 1 love
America for providing this
enlightening experience.
Charlotte Jones,
Department of English
- IT IHI I BLa A13
COLLEGE POETRY REVIEW
The NATIONAL POETRY PRESS
announces
The closing date for the submission of manuscripts by Coliege Students is
November 5
ANY STUDENT attending either junior or senior college is eligible to submit
his verse. There is no limitation as to form or theme. Shorter works are pre
ferred because of space limitations.
Each poem must be TYPED or PRINTED on a separate sheet, and must
bear the NAME and HOME ADDRESS of the student, and the COLLEGE
address as well.
manuscripts should be sent to the OFFICE OF THE PRESS.
NATIONAL POETRY PRESS
Box 218
Agoura, Ca. 91301