The Phi Ta Khon festival held in the astoundingly beautiful mountainous areas of Dan Sai in the province of Loei. It is a sacred festival similar, in a fashion, to the Day of the Dead in Mexico which has many strong spiritual connections and also a lot of fun too. In 2011 the festival will begin on July first and run until, and including, July 3rd – the date was decided by the local spiritual leaders and can vary for reasons only known to them. It has been confirmed that July 1st – July 3rd 2011 is the correct date for this year (Thanks Terry!)

The full name of this festival is Bun Luang (or Boon Phra Wate)  however the most memorable day for visitors (and the most fun for locals) is Phi Ta Khon, the 1st day of the 3 day festival due to the busy and flamboyant party atmosphere brought on by customed ghosts parading the streets. One of the origins of this day is that an incarnation of the Buddha, known as Prince Vessandorn, reappeared to the local people and they were so excited to see him that their calls woke the dead. This should be indicative of the fun and frivolity of the first days celebration.

The 2nd day has some worship at the temple followed by dancing and prizes for masks, dancing and music.

The third, and final, day is respectful and focusses on the spiritual aspects of harmony and the wisdom of Buddha. The fun of the previous days forgotten as thanks is paid for guidance in life.

For a very paced and informative video of the event please watch this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0rJqlCYDKc

For a nice upbeat tempo overview of this festival, made locally, check out this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcyJiHK0KJE

For more information about this wonderful Thai experience read up on the Wikipedia page or visit the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s website.

On each side of the Mekong river a shared, centuries old, tradition from Isaan and Laos comes to life in a grand way for three days of the year. The Rocket Festival  (Bun Bang Fai) of North Eastern Thailand and Laos predates the discovery of gunpowder and baffles scholars as to it’s origins. The festival generally commemorates the first rains of the year.

Rockets are launched in hopes that the rain god, Vassakan will bring rain and in return good crops and weather for farmers in Isan and elsewhere in Thailand. The two most notable towns famous for their floats, processions, musicians and fireworks are Yasothon and Nong Khai, where Mundo Exchange does much of its work. However even the smallest of villages will put on a great party if you are lucky enough to be invited.

In 2011 the Yasothon festival begins on May 11th and goes until May 15th, throughout Isaan other occasions will take revellers through until mid-to-late June.

Whilst fireworks which explode into a beautiful site in the sky are common enough all over Thailand this particular festival celebrates rockets – that is a long rocket shot up as far as possible into the sky with no explosion at it’s peak.

There are many different stories, all full of magical wonder, about how the festival came about and how to perform it perfectly and the warmth and fun that is had by those within, and visiting, this community is abundant.

Here is a locally made advert for the 2010 festival in Yasothon:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrX7K5X8oSE

For more information about this brilliant 3 day event have a read on the Wikipedia page or check out the Thailand Authority on Tourisms page.

Mundo Exchange volunteer, Sandra , from Australia returned to help us once again with our Thai Buddhist projects in Isan, Thailand. Sandra brought with her the joy of helping Thai people. She went to a forest wat and helped the monks learn a bit more English. Sandra finds this particular Buddhist temple a wonderful place to be. Like many Thai wats it is located along the Mekong River separating Lao from Thailand. Unlike many Buddhist wats throughout the world this one is composed of both nuns and monks that teach their vegetarian and eco friendly ways to anyone that wants to learn, including people and monks from India, Nepal, Lao, and Tibet. This is a place where one can find tranquility, learn to accept the challenges of life, learn tolerance and forgiveness, learn more about Buddhism too, laugh a lot and share cultural ways with one another.

Sophie shares her experience and gifts with Thai children

 

 

 

 

Exchanging ideas means we all learn something

Songkran at night

Volunteers Evan and Sophie with host Nalinrat

We miss and communicate as much as possible with Sophie. The boys at the orphanage still ask about her and the other volunteers who came to help them during their holiday from school.

Haddie gained the respect and admiration from village and town leaders to the farm workers that she learned from and with during her stay in Thailand.  Her sincerity and ability to work with all types of people from different backgrounds and cultures was amazing.

Haddie helping out at a farm

Despite language barriers and cross cultural strains she was able to work together with her Thai cohorts as a team member.  She organized projects with others and accepted ideas while leading the process of beginning our centre.  She offered assistance in English regarding the cultural centre’s mission that matched what had been created by Thai staff prior to her arrival.

The Thai leaders enjoyed working with someone with ideas that often matched their own.  If her ideas and ways did not match her Thai cohorts she was able to blend the two ways without conflict or any problems.

Haddie’s ability to understand and adapt to Thai Isaan ways proved her to be a culturally sensitive volunteer intern, enjoyed by both Thai and western volunteer staff, and volunteers from other countries.  Our charity promotes social justice and peaceful coexistence between people from all countries.  Haddie embraced this belief and soon became part of the Thai volunteer cultural group.

Haddie collaborated on many projects during her time with Mundo Exchange. In order to prepare her for volunteering and developing our Thai centre she was taken to Thai homes in small towns, to Buddhist temples where she met and worked, to ceremonies based on animist and Buddhist thought so as to improve her understanding of the life and ways of the people of this area. In all areas she excelled when meeting, communicating and showing respect to all despite income, ethnicity or age.

Haddie enjoying the warm and curiousity of the Thai community.

Haddie also helped global exchange volunteers that came to assist in other areas.  Other volunteers were impressed by her ability to organize the group and give written and spoken instructions clearly and ideas about the projects concerned while still laughing and enjoying what she was doing.

To improve the centre’s learning program she organized hundreds of photographs that are used as a means of learning English and cross cultural ways.  She taught our staff how to improve our visual component of learning as well.  The exchange of knowledge was equally important to her and the Thais she worked with at the Centre.

Haddie continues to assist with our Thailand projects by communicating with volunteers and interns about cultural visions, cultural ideas and projects.

Haddie is able to be a team member with all ethnicities, ages and backgrounds.  She taught our Asian and Western team members to document the cultural ways of the past and present in such a way that her work continues through others helping and organizing at the centre today.  Her strength in teaching about the importance of using visuals, short documentaries and artistic work depicting the ways of the Isaan past are now part of the Thai process in developing the centre.

Haddie using informal education techniques in rural Thailand

Haddie was and continues to be valued by our volunteer and global cross cultural exchange organizations.  Her creativity, flexibility, respect for different ways and people, and ability to organize and complete both academic and creative projects is totally amazing. We wish you well with your academic pursuits and will miss you greatly. Chock Dee Haddie!

From the Lokgatat and Mundo Volunteer Team

We purchased tickets to the film Yam Yosothon 2 and decided to waste half an hour by going on a 4D-cinema experience which was pretty awesome by anyone’s standards (The haunted mine film if you ever get to try it). Grabbed some popcorn and a large cola and entered the hall proper.

Before the film began everyone stood up and gave respect to the King by watching a really heart-moving short showing all the different people of Thailand going about their business over the ages with the occasional footage of the King involving himself with every aspect of local life. I really should have done my homework because I was left astounded and humbled by just how breathtakingly loved this man is by all the people of Thailand from every generation for doing such great works. I’d go to the cinema again just to see this short ( and feel the love from the Thai audience) alone.

The film set off after a funny warning about turning off your mobile phone from the Happy network. It was in Thai and didn’t have subtitles but I think the gist of it was Pandas are cute and deadly so turn off your phone! Yam Yosothon 2 started up and within seconds I was howling with laughter. I hadn’t seen a Thai comedy before and didn’t realise the humour could be so accessible. Petchtai “Mum Jokmok” Wongkamlao directs this hilarious hit as well as starring as the main role of Yam. It seems that the first Yam film sees two young lovers get together against comical exploits of their own and this movie is about them being older with children of their own and the pressures of dealing with that whilst maintaining respect in the community. It is set in the rural Issan town of Yosothon and really brings a lot of the culture from Issan across on the silver screen. The differences in language from Bangkok to Issan is used as canon fodder for a few jokes but thankfully the excellent subtitles translated this into English well and still retained comedy.

The film itself was a cultural experience. Some of the jokes may not find their way into a family film from Hollywood and some of the content may leave a farang like me scratching my head trying to see its relevance. But the goods well outweighed the unknowns and I’d highly recommend seeing it to anyone who just needs a little bit of cheering up.

The trailer (No subtitles sorry) is below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc5xp9pGms4

In the morning around 6 of the wedding day, Nalin, Dalyn and Yoon took Scott and Effie to give food to the monks who take the arms-bowl around the village to collect some food every morning. To make sure that they do in the right way, Nalinrat taught them how to give food to the monks as taking shoes off and wishing before giving food to them. When the monks came both of them did a great job.

In is traditional to feed the monks of Thailand every morning.

While the groom and bride were dressing and making up by Nalin. Eva, Dalyn, Takaya, Pafan and Yoon helped taking care of the guests.

When the time of marry the old people came and told the groom and bride to sit down on the beautiful seat and sit in the nice way. The old lady who never got divorced put the garland on the neck and put Mongkol, the connecting rope, on the head of the groom and bride, and also painted the white powder on the forehead of them

.

Hon, the Buddhist spiritual man, started chanting in the local language to the groom and bride. This chanting is the teaching of how to live, to act and to speak to each other, and to wish the groom and bride to be healthy, happy, long live and rich and have the nice kids. After the chanting, the people came Pukkaen, to tight the bans around the arm, the groom and bride and give them blessing at the same time.  This part we call Baisri Sukwan.

After that the people came and used the conch watered hands the groom and bride and blessing again. Then the groom and bride will take the Mongkol out of head. They would be noticed by the guests. If the groom takes it out first that would mean the groom has more power than the bride. If the bride starts first that would mean opposite thing. Then the groom and bride gave the gifts to the guests and say thank you for coming.

Then it’s the time for the parent of both sides to send the groom and bride in to their bedroom. The parent would teach the groom and bride more how to live, to speak and to act to each other. In the normal way the parent will teach a lot of things, but I remember only one thing that is about the trouble. There are two kinds of trouble those are inside and outside trouble.  We compare trouble as a fire or ‘fai’ in Thai.

What is inside trouble? Inside trouble or Fai nai means the trouble that happened from your family and should not tell anybody else, because they will tell others too. They would say badly about and minimized your family. Also your trouble could become theirs too if they still take or think about it. We compare the trouble as the fire which it’s burning your family, if someone from your family tells other people it could be like you burn that family too.

What is outside trouble? The outside trouble or Fai nok is the opposite thing of Fai nai. ‘Fai nai ya nam ok, Fai nok ya nam kao’ is known well by most of old Thai people which means: Inside trouble don’t take and tell any outside people. Outside trouble don’t take and tell anyone in your family.

After the parent took the groom and bride to the bedroom, it’s the time to eat. So every one brought food out and the guests started eating. Dalyn invited the local singer, Mr. Kiet, to sing while the guests were eating. He has beautiful voice and every one loved his song. Every one kept singing after eating also dancing. It’s really beautiful cerebration. We wish Scott and Effie has lovely family and happy…

Currently, MundoExchange teams with Laekplian Lokgatat members to work on projects including teaching in public schools, working in local temples, developing community outreach projects, setting up community funds and preparedness for natural or man-made disaster, environmental awareness projects, and many more. Through the exchange of knowledge and cultural ways with international volunteers, Thais will learn more about community development, English language skills, business development, computer and technological skills, arts and educational training.

Mundo Exchange is helping to finance Laekplian Lokgatat upstart costs, members’ skill building, governmental fees and more, while funding local projects.

Laekplian Lokgatat – our Thai partner association

Founded 2006, the association is gaining more and more Thai members. The association got a huge piece of land donated and one of the tasks at the moment, beside the work with volunteers is the developmnt of this land into a garden and teaching center. Members are in the process of learning the skills necessary to work with and manage international volunteers.

Here is Nolinrat & Dalyn to give you a brief update on what we’re up to.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewfsSpsU36s

As you can see we are still having sanuk and working mahk mahk up in Issan getting our culture centre up and running.

We’ll be updating more often and wanting you guys to share your thoughts (good + bad) with the world.

Lots to say – but had best get it organised and put into snippets that are easily digestible.

Feel free to join our Facebook group. follow us on Twitter and a medley of other web avenues once we figure out how to connect the pipes of the interwebs.

Any and all comments are welcome, from friends past and friends yet to be made.

Jai Dee!