I have always viewed Wats and Buddhist monasteries as mystic places that those of us not knowing about the Buddhist ways were restricted from visiting.  Nalinrat, my new friend from Mundo Exchange, helped me overcome that odd, farang (foreigner) thinking.  On my second day of volunteering at Mundo Exchange in Bueng Khan, North Eastern Thialand, Nalinrat and the Mundo team awoke early and announced we would visit the Wat for morning temple.  This is the time in the morning that the Buddhist monks and nuns join together with locals to meditate and learn about the Buddhist ways.

A five foot Buddhist friend at the Wat waiting for Temple

This Buddhist Wat is situated on a very large acreage of land that is bordered to the North by the Mekong River.  The open-air temple sits on a high bluff above the River, offering spectacular views of the muddy waters, river birds, river boats and barges, and other swift moving debris.  As per it’s name, the Temple is surrounded on land by huge old growth trees and diverse shrubbery.  Butterflies, ants, betels, lizards, iguanas, spiders, snakes, and other amazing insects and amphibians share the grounds with the monks and nuns.

On a hot day, this wat is a wonderful respite from the heat found elsewhere in the Bueng Khan province.  There are several small cabins where the nuns and monks live and where visitors can come to stay and practice meditation.  On many of the river banks, small alcoves have been built for the contemplators to sit and watch the river move along.  The Mekong looks as if it moves slow and gentle, but locals say it is swift and dangerous.  If one falls into the river, they will quickly be swept downstream in into torrential holes that can trap one until they can no longer survive.  The river banks have snakes who do not appreciate human visitors.  Their venom could be deadly.  One must walk with care!

We arrive at the Wat at 8:00 in the morning.  Already the area is bustling with the business of sweeping and readying the land for another day.  Nalinrat introduces me to all the nuns and monks, as well as to other visitors.  She seems to know everyone.  Even though I do not speak Thai, she does such a good job of helping me feel at home.  We first walk the grounds.  As women we can walk on all of the Forest paths, but it is forbidden for us to enter a Monk’s living space.  It is also true that men cannot enter a Nun’s living space, but it is OK for women to do so.  (I am learning many new rules with regard to proper etiquette in the Buddhist world.  I am lucky (chok dee) to have Nalinrat at my side guiding me.)

Mundo's ever wonderful host, Nalinrat, guiding volunteers through the Temple experience

After wandering through the old growth forest, we return to the center of activity where many nuns and laypeople and the head monk are sweeping sand across newly laid red bricks.  We each take brooms with handles made from bamboo and broom hairs made from coconut leaves. (It seems all the plants have a utilitarian purpose in North Eastern Thailand.  So many are good for eating and healing the body, while others make amazingly effective tools.)  We join the others in “sweeping meditation” of wisking the sand into the cracks between the bricks.  It is mesmerizing.  One feels very much at peace amongst a group of people working in harmony toward a common end.  When the bricks are swept and securely in place, the gong sounds and people come to Temple.  We take our shoes off at the edge of the tile before entering the temple.  We put our hands together high on our forehead, facing the monks in greeting, bending down a bit so as to be careful not to have our heads above the monks.  We kneel down on the tile, our feet folded under our bodies so that the souls NEVER face the monk.  We put our two hands together at the top of our forehead and bow three times to the monks in front.  The everyone chanted together – ever so beautiful alongside the river sounds.  The celebration went on for maybe 30 minutes.  Then food that had been brought by the local people and also collected by the monks on their early morning walk through town was blessed by the monk.  Slowly each plate was passed first to the monks, then to the nuns and then to those of us from town.  For the monks and nuns this is their only meal of the day.  They are allowed to drink throughout the day, but have committed to eating solid food only in the morning.

Volunteer meets new Thai Buddhist friends and enjoys a moment of mindlessness joy

It was an amazing plethora of (for this farang) exotic dishes, all vegetarian, many from ingredients found in the local forest  – mushrooms, various leaves and herbs all with unique flavors,.  Some were spicy hot, some were sweet, many were a combination of sweet, spicy, bitter, and salty.  Although I recognized only a few familiar foods, all was delicious.  We ate mostly in silence.  The monk is taught, according to Yoon, not to savor or crave certain foods, but to appreciate the food for its nutrition and caloric infusion for energy.  As a farang it was hard not to appreciate the food for the diverse and excellent taste, texture and smell.

Enjoying the only meal of the day

Each of us ate to our contented fullness (“Im Laoa.”  “I am full.”).  The monks and nuns went off to their various work sites and the visitors (the women visitors) began the “washing-the-dishes meditation”.  It was a joyous task enjoyed by all.

Volunteer Joan enjoys a moment with her new Buddhist friends

The cool water felt wonderful as the morning temperature was already climbing.  Amazingly, although I spoke only “Nit noy” (a little bit) of Thai, we all seemed to speak the same language of enjoyment and comeraderie of working together in such a beautiful, peaceful spot.  Stomachs and hearts full of happiness and the minds a bit less preoccupied by the daily worries that seem to follow us.  I will look forward to my next visit…maybe an overnight stay and helping with writing important Buddhist sayings into English to help Farangs become a bit more enlightened.  Thank you Mundo and Logatat!

Mundo Volunteer listening to an enlightened one

By Volunteer Joan Williams

My time in Thailand started with a short visit in Bangkok, followed by a grueling 10-hour overnight bus ride (for some reason I didn’t listen when Dalyn told me to take the train) to Nong Khai. When I finally arrived, my budding cold/jetlag hangover had fully sprouted. I was tired, stiff, feeling completely distraught with full-on culture shock. I sat waiting on the steps of the Thai-Laos hotel where I would meet my hosts, and though I was excited to finally start my volunteering journey I couldn’t help but focus on the current elements and miss home a bit. Then I saw Dalyn and Nalinrat (who I only knew from email, one phone call and some photos) round the corner and my mood immediately elevated. Dalyn yelled out an especially exuberant “Sawatdee ka!!” and I couldn’t help but smile as I went in to hug my gracious hosts. It truly was a sight for sore eyes. We then went to the Nong Khai volunteer home where I met another volunteer, Marta and my other Thai host, Yoon. We spent just a short time in Nong Khai which included a cultural outing to the amazingly weird sculpture park, Sala Keoku. Even though I was sick and out of sorts, I felt right at home with my volunteer family. They insisted that I sleep off the sickness, and Nalinrat made sure to feed me plenty of healing Thai herbs. I’m not quite sure what was in the medicines, but they really did work. By the time we travelled to the school placements in Bueng Kan, I was feeling much better and very ready to start my assignment.

Cultural learning at Salakaewku

I was delighted to wake up the following day with no cough (Dalyn’s requirement for me to able to start my first day of school), so I could meet the children and see what was in store for me.

Yoon stayed with me for the first day of class at a rural school while I got acquainted with the teachers, school directors and my surroundings. During free time between English classes, we quickly found a sweet spot to sit—under the gorgeous orange flowery vines in the courtyard. This also proved to be the ideal spot to gain many Thai children fans that seemed to thoroughly enjoy at the mere presence of a farang. Some were shy at first, but a few groups of kids quickly got adjusted to me, moving from the furthest table to sitting right at my own table. Yoon helped me practice a few phrases with them before going to our next English class. Most of my days at school consisted of helping with about three English classes, then spending the rest of my time just hanging out with the kids in the courtyard—sometimes practicing my Thai or their English, sometimes showing them photos or playing with my camera, but many times, they would just sit and stare at me and smile when I looked up. It felt a little awkward at first, but the children were so endearing, genuine and sweet that I couldn’t help but laugh. It turned out to be a great way to communicate with them and taught me more about just enjoying the presence of someone or something for what it is. We didn’t have to talk or try to impress each other; it was just nice to be there. Yoon told me this experience is good for the kids to become accustom with farang if they ever leave Bueng Kan to work in the hospitality industry.

Spending school's break time with kids.

During class, I helped the teacher call out English words and phrases and checked student writings for accuracy. Mostly, I was there to show the correct pronunciation and for the children to see how I write, talk and emphasize certain syllables. The students and teachers called me “Miss Candy” because it is hard for Thai people to pronounce “Candace.” I was perfectly fine with this nickname and it was humorous to tell my friends and family back home.

Everyday spent in the classroom was a joy, but I especially loved being able to bring my guitar and teach the kids a short song. Most kids had never learned an English song, so even just the few lines I gave them was a big task. They were eager to learn, though, and caught on quickly. By the end of class, we were all singing the song together. The next day I heard a girl humming the song to herself when I walked into class.

All the children were special to be around, but two girls really touched my heart. They always kept an eye on me and I on them. One was a kindergarten student, the only young one brave enough to sit right next to me at my table spot in the courtyard.

Another was a P.4 girl with a gorgeous smile and kind demeanor.

Students like Candace as their sister.

On the last day, they both made sure to get as much face time in as possible and one even passed me a note that said, “I love Candy.” My heart instantly turned to puddy and I felt so honored to have met these children. Just being with the kids, observing their morning ritual, eating lunch with the teachers and smiling in the courtyard made for an incredibly valuable and unforgettable experience. I miss it so dearly already and hope to be able to return one day. I hope after hours of giggling and posing for photos together that the children I met are a little more comfortable with farang. I know my own comfort level was broadened and I left the school with sore cheeks from smiling and laughing so much.

After feeling like a foreigner at school all day, it was so nice to come home to what felt like people I knew from ages ago. It really did feel as much like home as possible. We would check in and discuss our day, talk about what projects were coming up and have dinner together or walk to the beach. My whole intention in coming to Thailand was to have a challenge and adventure on my own, so having a home base while millions of miles from home was an immeasurable benefit.

Having fun in relaxing time.

My caring hosts also made sure to pack in as many cultural outings as possible during my short stay. I stayed overnight at a forest wat (read more here) and hiked to the top of the mountain Wat Phu Tok (with some needed encouragement from Yoon.) Both of those experiences really tested the limits of my character and helped me grow. I surely wasn’t 100% comfortable for the total time during these experiences, but those were the moments when I stopped and reflected on myself and got in the moment. Living in the woods like a nun was a bit of a challenge, but I know it was an experience few other tourists in Thailand get. By the time we reached level 5 at Wat Phu Tok, I was ready to stay there and not push myself to level 7. But Yoon, encouraged me to crawl up the somewhat scary last steps and I was so glad for it. These experiences were the kind I hoped to have while planning my trip but couldn’t possibly imagine until I actually did them.

At the top of Wat Phutok

I would like to thank my hosts for having me and helping to make my experience the best possible. Having Yoon (someone very close to my own age) around was incredibly valuable. He was tireless in his offers to practice Thai with me or show me hidden treasures at the beach. Playing guitar with Gyb was great and one of my favorite nights at the house. Dalyn and Nalinrat are so bright and full of energy. Volunteer Marta was so entertaining to be around and a true inspiration to keep learning despite our age. Intern Val was great to talk to and easy to connect with. Everyone, hosts and volunteers, worked no nicely together and made for a warm and pleasant experience. I wish them all the best!

Having dinner at volunteer's house

Mundo Exchange volunteer Annie with host sister

When I volunteered in Thailand I was able to experience the wonderful life with my home stay family.  Every day I would wake up and get ready for school, and the mother of the house would say, “Good morning!” – one of the few English phrases she learned during my stay.  I would respond, “Sawatdee don chao!” in terrible yet enthusiastic Thai.  We would laugh, and then I would sit down to have breakfast and coffee.  After that I would go off to school, returning at some point in the afternoon.  Our afternoons were never dull.  The mother of my Thai family not only cares for the son of her own son, who works in Bangkok and cannot care for his child during the work week, but she also takes care of some of the other children in the neighborhood in the afternoon while their parents are at work.  This is not an atypical family situation in Thai villages.

Tha Bo Director Khamdee, host mom and teacher and Annie

What made things forever entertaining in my home stay family life was that the members of the family have varying English speaking abilities.  The older sister in my family, Jan, speaks English pretty well and was very willing to help me communicate with everyone else in the family, who did not speak any English at all.  Even though Jan and I did not always understand each other easily, we had so much fun talking and joking together.  I now think of her as a close friend.  However, Jan was only home in the mornings and the evenings.  I would come home from school in the afternoon, and for several hours I would spend time with my home stay family just listening and smiling, unable to really communicate.  But this was a blessing.  Feeling mute in the afternoon spurred me to work hard and study Thai with Mae, the mother of my home stay family.  While I never became very good at the language, these lessons in the afternoon certainly made me closer with Mae.  Sometimes other people from the neighborhood would come to learn English too!  When we all felt we could not learn any more, we would play with Nick, Mae’s grandson, and his friends from the neighborhood.  We would play games, draw, hula hoop, watch cartoons, and eat, eat, eat!

Volunteer Annie and host family

Once Jan and her brother came home from work, we would all sit on the floor and eat a delicious Thai meal together.  The family was incredibly tolerant of my vegetarian diet, and went out of their way to make sure I had plenty of great food to eat.  My love of Mae’s food even drove me to promise to fly her to America if I become rich and help her start a Thai restaurant, so I am crossing my fingers that this promise is realized.  During dinner we would watch Thai soap operas and the news, and just enjoy each other’s company.  My family shared their lives with me so completely, and showed me kindness beyond anything I could have imagined.  Compared to my life in America they did not have much, but they were always so generous to me.  I have never met such good hearted people in my entire life.

Thai Bo Family preparing for Thai cultural ceremony

Everyone I met in Somhoung embraced my desire to learn about Thai culture.  Students came into the English classroom, armed with dictionaries and Thai-English textbooks, to ask about my family and share stories about theirs.  Faculty and staff talked with me at the lunch table and everyone readily explained things when I asked, which was often.  Every night, the older sister of my Thai family would teach me about Thai customs, translate the news for me, teach me about Thai history and the monarchy, and answer any questions I had from the day about Thai ways.  And everyone tolerated my feeble attempts to speak, and subsequent butchering of, the Thai language.  Everyone was always warm, patient, compassionate, and understanding.

In my regrettably brief study of the Thai language so far, I learned that to say “I understand” in Thai, directly translates as something along the lines of “It entered my heart.”  And while I am not sure I truly do understand the people of Somhoung as well as I would like, I understand some, and they all have certainly entered my heart in one way or another.  I now happily reminisce about all the memorable things I have done.  Over the course of a month I have seen three different local Thai schools and have been to four large assemblies, where I was expected to take part but could not understand what was being said or asked of me.  I would imagine I have met around thirty directors of local schools, many of whom, despite their education and professionalism, were giddy and eager to have their picture taken with a farang.  I have received an award that I cannot read and subsequently have no idea what it is for.

I have been to a Thai baby shower, a retirement party, and a funeral.  I have taken many showers from a bucket.  I have killed countless number of bugs, which will most definitely contribute to my being reborn as one – my home stay family is certain.  I have been to five local wats and prayed with my family, as well as helping them prepare for Isaan ceremonies.  I have been asked about my American family life in some unusual ways: whether my mother is fat, whether my brother is married and/or likes Thai women, and many somewhat offensive but certainly hilarious questions about the farang diet.  I have ridden to school on the back of a motorcycle several times, incredibly awkwardly – to the great amusement of the on looking students.  I have publicly spoken in a language I do not know to over three hundred and fifty students and teachers – three times.  I have sang alone to classes so many times that I no longer possess the ability to feel ashamed of my singing voice.  I have been left alone in the English classroom a few times, helpless to say anything but “Ow eeg mai?” – meaning “Again?” – and causing the poor children to have to sing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” five times in a row.

I cannot begin to touch on all of the wonderful, lovely, and hilarious memories I have from my experiences over the past month.  The culmination of it all was a beautiful Isaan traditional ceremony called a “bai sii su kwun” during which the entire school gathered to honor my departure.  Everyone from my school, as well as some other members from the local community, came together and tied strings around my wrists as they wished me good luck on my journey.  The palpable energy I could feel during that time is ineffable, but almost brought me to tears.  These caring, generous, and kind hearted people showed me so much love, and I struggle to articulate my feelings for them.  I treasure all of the time I have spent at Ruammitwitthaya School and living with my Thai family, and will never forget it.  I am now overcome with a painful feeling of homesickness, this time not for America, but for life with my Thai family and the wonderful people of Somhoung.

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.

During Hugh’s second volunteer exchange he volunteered to help many learn more English skills, including the Thai hosts.  He teamed well with our Western host, Eva, and Thai host Prayoon to make life much more fun and enjoyable  for the children at the Nong Khai Home for Boys, a local Isaan orphanage. Hugh has the ability to relax and enjoy life, adapt to new types of situations and people,  and act for the good of the children and adult Thais that he comes to help.

The next time Hugh returns to assist our projects he will be able to live with his Thai hosts and work on various community development projects but will not be asked to pay any volunteer donation or fee.  As our seasoned and cross culturally trained volunteers return the third time they work then as interns helping other volunteers to learn Thai ways that promote global understanding and peaceful coexistence.

Hugh says, “Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to spend time in your wonderful school and for the memories that will remain in my heart for ever.”

Khop Khun Maa Khrup

The Bai Sii Su Kawn band

I arrived to volunteer in Nong Khai on a Saturday evening to be greeted by two lovely smiling women from Mundo Exchange and the Thai Association Laekplian Lokgatat.

We walked to the volunteer house and they welcomed me with Bai sii Su Kwun traditional ceremony. This was then followed by a dinner in which we got to know each other a little better and discussed a plan for my stay.

The next morning began with Tak Baht, a wonderful way and ceremony to start the day, and it really did set the scene for the peaceful, kind and caring time I would have. Nalinrat and I then rode our bikes to visit Maechee Tunjaton to begin English lessons and meet more amazing caring people like Vanida, a Thai elder with an amazing story of her own.

Sandra with Elder Vanida at the Wat helping the children

During my stay I also had the pleasure of a road trip to Bueng Kan with Bobbi, Nalinrat and Mango the cat. This was only 130km but took 6 hours of fun, food and laughter. In Bueng Kan I had the pleasure of spending New Year’s Eve in a beautiful Wat on the Mekong and participated in meditation and chanting ceremonies under a divine full moon.

Sandra contemplates everything and nothing at the wat

The New Year began with a bleassing and breakfast with the monks, nuns and local lay people. After breakfast Pra Arjan Uen (Satit) and I began our English tutorials, followed by the monks helping Nalinrat with some hard labour lifting heavy logs into the back of the utillity truck. I wonder if they are still in the back of the truck :)

All in all, I had a wonderful time in Isaan and left feeling Jai dee or good hearted and inspired.

Sandra and Nalinrat make some 'aroi mahk' Thai food

This story was written by Sandra. She has also donated roofing for an Isaan project and hopes to return to learn and help more. She quickly integrated into our hearts, ways and Thai culture. Thank you Sandra for all you do and did for Thailand.

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…

Andrea and Boys during face painting activity

Volunteers Andrea and Terry Price, from Ireland, returned once again in 2009 to help the orphan boys in Isaan.  This time they not only volunteered at the orphanage for boys but also gave gifts from friends and family to young girl’s living at an orphanage found near Udon Thani.  Volunteers like Terry and Andrea spend part of their vacation holiday time providing enjoyment through the arts, games and other physical activities.  Their true commitment and caring for children, the world and our Thai hosts is what leads them back to Thailand.  We wish them well as they strive to find an orphan child to bring home to their home country. Below you can read how they began their volunteering with the orphans while also helping their Thai hosts, Prayoon and Nalinrat, and other Mundo Exchange volunteers to learn more about their Irish culture and ways.  Chock Dee Terry and Andrea

Terry returns to help Thai Children

We are in the process of adopting a young Thai child and we wanted to give something back to Thailand during the time we are waiting.  I was studying Thai, but had only started.  I soon discovered I didn’t have a large vocabulary to speak much with the boys. This year I hope to be able to chat with them more.  We hope to be better equipped this year. We have more of an idea of what the boys enjoy after spending time with them last year. We had great fun with the camera we brought. We could take photos of the boys and then, they printed their pictures. We soon discovered some boys were collecting lots of the photos, even ones they weren’t in!! We also learned not to bring all the craft supplies in one day, as they can disappear! We have found a great website to buy many craft materials, and plan to bring some of our own projects with us. Things like beads to make into necklaces and bracelets; with the beads spelling the boys names in English. But maybe best of all, we brought a face-painting kit. We had boys queuing quietly for an hour. What a result!!!!!! This year we plan to bring a very LARGE kit, together with some costumes that we can photograph the boys in. If we can find old tap shoes , we plan to bring these for the boys to play with too.

We spent most of our time with our Thai host Nalinrat. She was fantastic and looked after us, teaching us lots more about Thai culture. We had been to Thailand 3 times before, but felt we learned so much more this time. It’s very well run and you are made to feel so welcome.

We received helpful information before we went and learned a lot when we came. This cultural exchange programme is a great idea. I would encourage anyone to take part.

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.