Andaman Discoveries Blog
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tung Dap Homestay
by Noelle Smithhart
After leaving the school, we spent two nights with a host family in Tung Dap, on Koh Phratong Island. This part of our voyage was filled with amazing beauty, gracious hospitality, and even more delicious food. I wrote this while I was there. Words won't do the experience justice, but they are the only way I can convey the two days we spent there:
I am listening to conversations in languages I do not understand. The wind talking to the trees. The clucks of chickens and roosters beneath the beams of the house I am sitting in. The scent of onion, sizzling as our hosts prepare dinner. Children's brief calls. The silence of cats and dogs sleeping. The rumble of man and machine. The dash of geckos on the roof. I may not understand them, but knowing them, in this moment, gives me peace.We are in paradise. Where a flicker of light could be a spark on a tractor or a firefly. Where little boys catch bugs and give shells as gifts on long beach walks. Where the crescent moon catches where the
sunset left us on the last horizon. We can get lost in stars and styrofoam signs. The water is warm. Did you feel the foxtails tickle your arm? Did you let the sand fill between your toes? Did you breathe in the salty air? Breathing in and out with the currents.
May I remind you again that we are in paradise. Where bright eyes meet ours with smiles. Where the baby sits behind his father's wheel.
What woke you this morning? The far off fisherman's boats? Scooters? Ducks? The booming, buzzing sirens of the cicadas? Or did you rise when our host tossed the dry grains of rice in her pot? Did the alpha wake you with his growl? Or the roosters echoing each other's calls?
Yes.
As my eyes closed to rest on our mats, the vision of a miracle played itself out on the backs of my eyelids. My toes still felt themselves being sucked into the muck near the newly planted mangrove seeds. I feel the layer of fine sand coating my skin. And now we rise to Nescafe. Rice and shrimp. Folded mosquito nets and textiles. Let us never finish this conversation. As the sea gypsy "Noi" tone loops in our memories.
Labels: community service, conservation, homestay, Southern Thailand Volunteering
Monday, August 31, 2009
UCLA Study Trip
Students Complete Month-Long Study Tour
The study tour was sponsored by the UCLA Institute of the Environment. Professor Michael Silverman was involved at each step of the development and implementation of the program. The dedication of Professor Silverman and the UCLA Institute of the Environment were crucial in the success of the program.
“The thing that I liked the best about this program and AD is that it allowed me to go to places and get involved in activities that I would not have known about otherwise. If I were to come to Thailand on my own, I doubt I’d have ventured too far from the major cities, so this definitely made for a worthwhile and more authentic experience with Thai culture,” said Michelle Honda, UCLA student.
For the final project, students had the opportunity to do their work in different places. Some students spent five days at Ban Lion Village on Koh Phratong Island. The group’s activities included two mangrove study visits, interviews with the locals regarding the opinions and impacts of community-based tourism at Ban Lion, homestay sign preparation, making certificates for the winners of a garden competition, as well as repairing the school-kitchen garden fence.
“University groups benefit from study tours because the students learn firsthand through work that helps ordinary people in their day-to-day lives. They can experience rural culture and practice ways to preserve local lifestyles. Our goal for study tours is to help students give back to the communities and gain knowledge about the importance of responsible tourism and voluntourism,” said Karen Spackman, AD client and community relations manager.
Mimi Cheung, AD program development manager, said, “The students were enthusiastic, collaborative, attentive, and flexible, which allowed all the activities to run smoothly. Having a group of energetic students in the village resulted in the locals’ attitudes being more expressive, appreciative, attentive and proud. For example, the interview allowed the villagers to express their views regarding the outsiders’ input to their village. The villagers had positive opinions towards the CBT-development program. Additionally, the locals learned many lessons from this visit, including improving some of the CBT services provided and on the visitors’ orientation regarding dress code.”
Students also spent three days at Koh Ra Ecolodge. Awe, Study Tour Project Coordinator said, “On Koh Ra, the students did a hornbill and strangler fig count. This type of information has not been recorded before and is essential if we are to know the impact of humans and ecotourism on the island. They also learned how the sea gypsies use medicinal plants and natural resources.”
Thank you to the students and staff of UCLA for completing your course in Thailand -- we hope to see you again next year!
Visit the UCLA blog and the UCLA Institute of the Environment Web site, to read more about the UCLA study tour. Also, please feel free to contact us if you’d like to know more about the program.
And special thanks to everyone who collaborated to make the UCLA study tour possible.
Labels: community service, community-based tourism, study tours, UCLA
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