What is included in the price?

The fee includes just about everything for the trip. It includes the following:

• Coach airfare from Salt Lake City to Bangkok and Bangkok to Salt Lake City, including meals and beverages on the international portion of the flight
• All meals in Thailand (breakfast, lunch and dinner, and also drinking water)
• All lodging in Thailand
• All ground transportation in Thailand
• All fees/tickets/registration/admission in Thailand
• Travel/health insurance in Thailand
• Use of a personal mobile phone with a local Thai phone number with some initial minutes
• Four credit hours for Honors, Education or Public Health upper division level coursework (or if you work it out with your advisor, the credits can count towards your major)

What it doesn’t include:

• Gifts, souvenirs, etc.
• Snacks, beverages, or other foods outside of meals
• Personal supplies
• Fees or admission to activities outside of set coursework/schedule
• Beach activities (such as scuba diving, snorkeling, parasailing, sailing, etc.)
• Additional phone minutes (although you can always receive calls for free, even if you don’t have minutes)
• Meals in airports during transit and on the domestic leg of the flight (meals and beverages on the international portion of the flights are included)

How much spending money will I need?

Because just about everything is included in the fee, and because items in Thailand are less expensive, sometimes considerably so, than in the US, very little spending money is really needed. Some have spent as little as $100-$200 during the trip. It is ultimately up to you how much you have available. Remember, you will want to do some shopping (it is a shopping paradise in Thailand, and there are many items you will not be able to purchase anywhere else, or as cheaply), and you may want to go snorkeling or sailing while on the island. And you may want to purchase additional phone minutes (these are cheap) and snacks and beverages during the trip.

It is advisable to have some leeway in how much money you have; there may be items that you really would like to buy, or an activity that you would really like to do, that is not included in the fee. Or there may be some emergency purchases needed (personal supplies, clothing, etc.) So make sure you have some cushion so that you can deal with minor little emergencies.

I’m not a public health/honors/education major. Can I have them count towards my major?

Yes! You will need to discuss it with your advisor, but we can arrange to have the May Term course count as a upper division 300-level course in your major. Sometimes, this requires a major-specific project or paper. In the past, this trip has counted as history, environmental studies, social science and business credits. If you would like to do this, discuss it with your advisor; have them contact either Peter Ingle or Han Kim for more information.

Is this trip safe?

Like any trip abroad, we cannot guarantee safety. There are inherent risks to any trip anywhere, whether it’s to Provo or to Nepal. However, we have worked to minimize the risks during the trip while still creating an experience of a lifetime:

• This is our fourth May Term Thailand trip, which means all of us involved with the trip are very experienced in traveling in Thailand. This has also given us time to work out the kinks in the trip, and each trip has been safer and better than the previous trips. This trip will be no different.
• Peter Ingle has now traveled to Thailand three times, and Han Kim has been to Thailand more than 15 times. Han has spent almost a year and a half total in Thailand. We are both very experienced with Thailand and comfortable there.
• We have several local Thai guides along for the duration of the trip, including our coordinator, Noi. We have known everyone involved on the trip for years, and they are trusted and respected for their knowledge and attention to the students and their safety.
• Our guides for the trip are local Thais, and the villages we go to are their home villages. We have personally vetted everyone we will be working with, and have known many of them for years.
• The medical system in Thailand is superb. In fact, Thailand is a major destination for “medical tourism”, which caters to East Asians, Europeans and North Americans with health and medical needs. These “medical tourists” come to Bangkok for everything from cosmetic procedures to major surgery, at a fraction of the cost compared to their home countries, while getting top quality care comparable to anywhere in the world.
• We prepare the students thoroughly for travel to the developing world. We have extensive orientation with students during the Spring Semester to assure that they are prepared.

While we can’t guarantee complete safety, we can assure you that everything possible is done to keep students safe while still creating an adventure of a lifetime.

What do we do there?

One of the highlights of this trip is how diverse it is. We explore the concept of “global citizenship”, which not only encompasses service but also cultural immersion and competence, communication, global development and diplomacy. So we never spend too much time doing one thing or in one place.

The main part of this trip is focused on two villages. In the first village, where we spend 5 days, we will focus on cultural immersion. We will be staying in local village homes for homestays, and spending time learning about rural Thai culture. We will be planting rice, fishing, cooking, farming, weaving and observing everyday Thai life. We conduct public health assessments on kids in the village. We do some service projects as well, at some local schools. We will also be participating in a major cultural event, a ceremony welcoming the rainy season and the new growing season. Without spoiling it, we will be a major part of this ceremony.

The experience in the second village differs from that of the first. We will travel about two hours in the back of 4×4 pickups over the steep mountains of Western Thailand, close to the Burmese borders. We will travel to a very remote village deep in the hills and forests, to a poor boarding school for Karen children. The Karen are an ethnic minority in Thailand. The Karen in Burma are being persecuted, and many refugees have fled into Thailand, and are being relocated to Utah. Here, we will stay at the school and work on several service projects, including public health projects and health assessments. The conditions here are “rougher”, since there is no electricity (there is some solar power, but it’s unreliable) and no running water.

Another amazing dimension to our trip is that we travel with a group of undergraduate Thai nursing students and faculty. They will be going to the villages with us. This is an amazing opportunity to interact with college students from Thailand. Our students from past trips still stay in touch with their Thai friends. Remember, traveling abroad is really about meeting people, and what better way to do this!

In between, we will be visiting a refugee school, a world-famous refugee clinic, an AIDS hospice, and we will have a talk by Mechai Viravaidya at his restaurant, Cabbages & Condoms. We will visit ancient cultural sites, including Phimai, a city from the glory days of the Angkor civilization, Sukhothai, the first Thai capital and a UN World Heritage site, and Ayutthaya, another UN World Heritage site. We will also go sightseeing shopping in Bangkok, visiting the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew. Finally, we will have some fun as well, spending the last few days on Ko Samet, an island paradise 3 hours from Bangkok, at a wonderful beach resort.

Can alumni go?

Absolutely.

How is the food?

Amazing! It seems like every meal is a gourmet feast. But be prepared for spicy foods! And if you THINK you’ve had good Thai food in Utah, just wait until we get to Thailand. In fact, the worst part of this trip is that you can never go back to Thai restaurants in Utah again.

It is also varied. The different regions of Thailand have different cuisines, so we will be getting a variety of dishes. And we will have some more “difficult” dishes for the more adventurous eaters.

This is one of those trips to the developing world where you’ll GAIN weight, not lose weight.

I’m a picky eater/vegetarian/vegan. Can you accommodate me?

Yes we can. We’ve had all three types of eaters on this trip, and we’ve been able to accommodate everyone. We won’t lie; it is more difficult for vegans to travel in rural Thailand. If you are a strict vegan, it is very difficult, because fish sauce (derived from, you guessed it, fish) is used as commonly as salt in Thai cuisine. However, we’ve had many vegetarians and even some vegans on the trip, and we were able to find many interesting foods for them. If you are a picky eater, we can accommodate for you. But we encourage you to branch out and be adventurous. You never know, you may like it!

Do I have to eat insects?

Only if you want to. But if you do, they are pretty tasty.

If you want to register, please see Sara Demko in the International Center in the basement of Shaw for the registration forms, or download them from here. Complete the form and have either Peter Ingle or Han Kim sign it. Then go to the cashier’s at Bamberger, pay the $300 deposit, and attach the receipt to the form. Finally, drop off the completed registration form and the receipt to Sara Demko, and you’re ready to go! If you have any questions on this process, check out the registration page here.

If you have any other questions on the trip, please contact Peter Ingle or Han Kim. If you have any other questions on May Term in general, please go to the Westminster May Term Page for more information. And make sure you “like” us on Facebook!

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The past 4 days we’ve been staying in a small remote village in northern Thailand. So remote we piled in the back of pickup trucks, with all the gear, then an hour drive trough the bumpy mountain terrain, finally ending at Ban Nam Hom school. The school itself was composed of about 6 medium sized, one floor houses where the kids would study and more often then not sleep. The majority of the children are poor, and live there year round due to the fact that their family house is anywhere from 1-15 miles away. Last year from the fundraising efforts we were able to build a dormitory to house the 100 plus boys. Keeping in mind there are over 200 kids schooling and living there. This year we finished painting it, and helped restore a few other run down houses / fences to improve their quality of life.

My mission was simple: bring ad much joy, laughter, and happiness to as many kids possible through education, fun and music. My goal was to give back and change a life with something as small as a sing-along song or a hacky sack. I think the picture sums it up All the boys Loved this small new toy, and I was their new best friend. That plus the combined efforts of playing a few songs, and sharing some candy I feel as though I’ve made a lasting impression on the children of Ban Nam Hom. Haha plus, the principal offered me a music teaching gig. Overall, I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity and feel incredibly blessed that I was fortunate enough to experience that remote village of northern Thailand and to shed some light and love with all the beautiful children of Ban Nam Hom.

Blogging… definitely a first for me.  Back home I go by Spencer Luczak but on our excursion I am occasionally referred to as ‘Stallion’.  Usually my reflections of life are posted in a personal journal or fluffed up for an assignment given out at school.  However, there is something about being in a foreign environment where nobody is in their comfort zone that causes me to be open with my thoughts without reservation.  My entry for today, although simple in essence, I hope will give others a feeling for the innate love that children posses.

During our time spent painting and playing with the village children at their school in Kalasin I was caught off guard by the tenderness of a young boy and the tenured love of his on-looking mother.  While the time we spent collectively designing  t-shirts for each student strengthened our bond between the children, I found the actual giving of the gifts to be most enlightening.  My intellect told me that the young boy who I would give my shirt to would not fully appreciate what was being done for him, but that is exactly where I learned my lesson.  My mind was fully at work internalizing and analyzing our interaction with the village kids, but my heart and emotions were not fully engaged yet.  As I went about offering my shirt and a respectful two-handed bow motion I felt the presence of an elderly woman observing my actions.  After the young boy and I exchanged gifts his anxiously gave me a gentle kiss on my right cheek.  Speechless, I gave him a great big hug and thanked him through my smile.  Following this I slowly turned to express my happenings to other students when my eyes caught those of the on-looking mother.  Her leathered face and calm smile told me infinitely more than a translation of words from Thai to English ever could.  My simple act and care for her son somehow instilled in me a new sense of belonging to this woman with whom I have never met nor might ever see again.  At that moment I remembered the power of personal influence.  Once my heart was involved I was able to give more of myself. At the same time I was receiving love and knowledge of simple humility that steadily began to increase my soul’s capacity to harmonize with everyone around me.

It’s funny how life gets so busy or complex that tender moments such as this become lost or missed altogether.  I hope that in the future I will be more aware of these opportunities and take the time to write them down.  Some details I may forget, but the feeling and image of that boy and his mom will never leave me.

After Volunteering at the Hser Ner Moo Center and going on the Mayterm Thailand trip, I have realized that an individual does not have to go out of the country to understand that we also have problems in our own backyard. I think that a lot of people think that it’s only the third world countries that experience poverty, poor health, and lack of accessibility to health care. Volunteering at a place such as Hser Ner Moo doesn’t just open your eyes to new ideas of how to help, or where to help, but it really makes you wonder why we don’t address these problems at a higher volume. And these problems don’t just exist in the refugee camps here in the United States, but everywhere. This is where I tend to get stuck on where to start or how to even go about helping.

In the United States we tend to focus on the issues of other countries rather than on our own soil, which only makes problems worse. For some reason, “us Americans” feel liberated by going to other countries, spending thousands of dollars just to get there, and “helping” others. We are all guilty of it, even myself. Sometimes I don’t think we realize the impact we can make here. Instead of spending $5,000 to get to one specific place, (which isn’t really helping anybody but ourselves) maybe finding somewhere in your local community that is truly struggling.

However, I do think everyone should experience what it is like in another country or culture at least once in their lives. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a place where there is poverty per say, but somewhere where you can learn from the people and grow as a human being. I know for myself, before even leaving for Thailand, I was planning on returning and spending time at the Hser Ner Moo Center. I believe that it takes just one of us to start the movement, in regards to helping the community. In the end, we are all here to love each other, embrace each other, and help each other.

I think we generally tend to be numb to the way we live life here in the US until we’ve truly experienced another culture. It only takes a brief moment to realize the differences and the similarities between two cultures and to realize the opportunities we have to change for the better. Being in Thailand this past month has really opened up my eyes to so many different ideas, cultural differences, and ways of life. A trip like this doesn’t just change your way of thinking, it makes a deep impact on the person you truly are and, more importantly, what kind of person you aspire to be.

One of the most contrasting differences that Ellie and I noticed was the Katoey (Thai Ladyboys) here in Thailand. We have realized how culturally significant and normal this is throughout all of Thailand. We have discussed the fact that in the US it is a completely different story and attitude when it comes to gender differences. Passing Katoy on the street in Thailand is nothing but normal and accepted by the Thai people-the concept is honored and celebrated, rather than viewed as odd or taboo. This kind of difference forces a person to step back and contemplate how we accept people, and don’t accept people, in our culture.

In Mae Sot, we visited the Mae Tao Clinic, which was an absolutely incredible experience. The clinic, just over the Burmese border, provides medical treatment for displaced Burmese people. Some patients are living in Thailand and have no other healthcare options while others traveled from Burma into Thailand just to receive medical attention from the clinic.

I enjoyed visiting the maternity ward of the clinic and seeing so many new mothers holding or resting next to their newborn babies. The newborns I saw all looked like premies, but they may be smaller than children in the U.S. because of maternal malnutrition or lack of pre natal care. Also, abortions are illegal in Thailand so a lot of the babies or patients were results if failed abortions or abortion attempts, which was extremely shocking and sad to see.

In the trauma unit, or emergency room, most patients were victims of land mine explosions. There was one woman who had two prosthetic legs and a man who had just recently had one of his legs amputated. The man was asleep when we arrived but his wife said that they, the young son included, had traveled for 10 days to get to the clinic. I realized that although they traveled for 10 days and the man had lost his leg, he was extremely lucky just to be alive and receiving the medical attention necessary to save his life. I think that this is why so many patients, with far worse ailments than patients in American hospitals, seemed so much more pleasant and even happy to be there.

Also, most likely, the man would soon receive a prosthetic leg from the clinic. We visited the woodshop where they constructed prosthetic limbs for the amputees and surprisingly it looked identical to the shop class room at my high school. The one notable difference was the prosthetic limbs, predominately legs, scattered across the tables. There was one man working at the shop who had a prosthetic leg himself, which made me wonder if his own experiences had prompted him to help and serve others by providing them with prosthetic legs also. It’s amazing how much I noticed the people in the hospital, whether it was healthier patients or people who had obviously once been patients themselves, helping each other, especially the new and sickest patients.

We also went to the pediatric ward, which was the most difficult for me. There were two small children in the room when we got there. The first was an adorable young boy, maybe 7 or 8, who smiled and waved back to me, gladly showed me his chart, and eagerly took a picture with me. He was so cute and just melted my heart. The second boy was much younger, only 1 or 2 years old, and most likely had malaria. Seeing this young boy covered with cool washcloths but still shaking uncontrollably with a catheter and IV’s in his body really shook me up. I have seen malaria patients in the past, but the severity of the illness in such a small child really caught me off guard.

As sad as it was to see the amputees, malnourished babies, and sick children, I realized how amazing this clinic was and how lucky and grateful they all were to have a place to go and receive medical attention that many of them would have died without. This clinic is truly an amazing establishment.

Donations-

100% of donations are used directly for relief costs. For only $5.75 you could provide an individual with anti malarial medication, $15 would cover the cost of measuring and producing one prosthetic leg for a landmine victim, and $430 would pay for essential medicines for one day at the Mae Tao Clinic, serving at least 200 patients. If anybody is interested in donating to the clinic, please visit this website: http://maetaoclinic.org/donate.html

I recently took up running and on June 25th I’ll run my first half marathon.  I was pretty stressed out about whether or not I would be able to train in Thailand and was pleasantly surprised to see a red dirt road upon our arrival to Kalasin.  In our five days there I was able to run three times, but it wasn’t easy.  I had to wake up at 5 a.m. and the air was thick and humid.

One morning Lindsay and I went for a jog.  Neither of us were feeling very well so we took it easy and ran at a slow pace.  As I was running I thought about what my dad used to say to me, “A mile is a mile.”  Meaning, no matter what pace I’m running at I’m still accomplishing the task at hand.

After our run Lindsay and I discussed how that saying relates to our experience with higher education.  We’re both 24 and graduating from Westminster this year with our Bachelor’s degrees.  I took two years off of school to work and Lindsay switched majors twice.  We are graduating about two years later than the average undergraduate but in our opinion taking time off to work/make sure that the degree was the right fit didn’t set us back, we believe that we’re better off for it.  I can’t tell you  how much I learned and accomplished in those two years.  And, the fact is that once we’re finished we’ll be in the same position as most of our peers – jobless or with a job that doesn’t apply to our degrees.  We’re O.K. with that as long as we continue to learn and grow.  A mile is a mile, at any pace.

We all came to the consensus that it would be enjoyable for Janie, Rob, and Alexa to give you all a taste of the night life in Bangkok and Ko Samet Island and its significance to the people. The dance clubs, and partying it entails, is truly part of our learning experience of the Thai culture and rewarding ourselves after our hard work in Ban Nam Hom and Kalasin. Rob is going to depict the night life in one of the biggest cities, Bangkok, since Alexa and Janie were literally considered party poopers that evening; while Alexa and Janie will describe a different type of night life and entertainment our group was able to experience on Ko Samet Island.

When thinking about the night scene that Bangkok is so famous about, the first thing that came to my mind had to deal was the night clubs. From everything I had heard about Bangkok’s club were that they are something that from a different world. Night clubs are something for a large portion of the population that allows for them to get out and have good time. These clubs are a large part of their culture and have incorporated it into their everyday lives. Even on a Thursday night, which was the night myself and some of the other students went, the club was packed with a large amount of people inside and out. This scene was something completely different that other clubs that I have been to. Usually when people think of clubs the first thing that comes to mind is dancing, but this one was different in a sense that it was more geared toward talking and communicating with other people. In the main room where all the music was playing instead of a large dance floor there were tables. This was a bit different than what everyone had expected, but we all adjusted to a different environment and had a great time. It allowed for all of us that went to let loose for awhile after the hard work in the previous town. This night was the start of our relaxation for the trip and I personally feel we started it off on the right foot.

Our first night on Paradise Island our May Term group was treated to a wonderful dinner on the shore line and a new form of entertainment, which may be considered foreign to us Americans, FIRE DANCING! This show preformed on the island was beautiful to watch as they waved their tortes and threw them to great heights. It was a fascinating way to see the lifestyles of some of the locals and the wide age range that started at just 17 years old. It is a very dangerous choice of career and takes great amounts of skill, practice, and repeated burns, yet they seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves night after night. We traveled to different night clubs throughout the island and our favorite one in particular had the same local fire dancers who were very inclusive of us Americans in their show. They kept us entertained and allowed us to observe their culture on Ko Samet Island.

Not only is fire dancing a big part of the night club, but the dancing is also a great hit. When traveling to these night clubs the music and dancing was always a hit. Everyone, especially the bar tenders knew us as the Americans. We would go out and dance on the dance floor every night; always the first ones to start the dancing. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this great experience as we bonded with many of the other students. It was nice to see everyone relax and have some fun, it really opened up a lot of people and everyone was able to get to know each other and have a great time. One reason we go to this specific place is because it is the safest. Some of the people we know, know the bar tenders and every time they take a group of people there, they are always watching out for them. It was really nice to see how much the Thai’s enjoyed us and how much they are willing to do to protect us from the others.

As we reflect on the past month and all of our experiences in Thailand, two inspirational men stuck out to us. Mechai and Michael taught us the importance of thinking outside of the box and taking action.

The center we visited in Mae Sot is a non-profit organization that trains backpack medics. The goal of the backpack medic is to administer healthcare services to villages in Burma who have no access to medical care. The medics must travel long distances across strenuous terrain and courageously sneak into high risk conflict areas to help serve the people in these remote villages. They bring crucial medical supplies and educate the people on sustainable health care.

We thought it was interesting that the backpack medics don’t carry weapons in hopes that if they are discovered or captured their lives will be spared because they pose no threat of violence. It is extremely important for them to blend in with the villagers to avoid creating more conflict so the medics are all native Burmese people who have volunteered themselves to go back into Burma to serve and help their suffering country. We think that it is amazing that these medics practice medical neutrality, meaning they will treat anyone regardless of political affiliation, including the rebel forces.

Michael, who has been volunteering in the organization for the past 13 months, is currently the only western volunteer. He was a very passionate speaker with innovative ideas about the problems facing Burma. He believes the only way to solve a problem is to be proactive and be part of the solution. He talked to us about the importance of thinking critically and constantly questioning what we are told and think we know.

At the Cabbages and Condoms restaurant, we had the incredible opportunity to meet one of the most influential revolutionaries in Thailand’s history, Mechai Viravaidya. Mechai’s plan for his country was to reduce births and deaths, eradicate poverty, and reduce greed, avarice and ignorance. He successfully achieved all of these things using 3 self proclaimed principles: Think outside of the box, always take no as a question, and remember that it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Through a system of hierarchy from doctors to nurses to midwives to trained village residents, the program made the birth control pill accessible to all Thai women. He also educated teachers and school children about condoms and safe sex as well as encouraged men to get vasectomies by offering incentives and having vasectomy festivals. Over a 26 year time period, the average number of children per household in Thailand decreased from 7 in 1974 to only 1.5 in 2000 and the average population growth during this time period dropped from 3.3% to 0.5%.

We think one of the most important things that Mechai did was use humor to make people more comfortable with uncomfortable topics. A great example of this is the condom blowing up competitions. He also distributed condoms everywhere from taxi’s to brothels to cars on the streets. He actually started a program which involved traffic police handing condoms out in traffic, which he called “cops and rubbers.”

Through education and community empowerment, he has managed to decrease the extreme levels of poverty in Thailand and promote his philanthropic ideals. It was such an amazing honor to actually meet somebody who has made such a monumental impact on his country and the public health community. Neither of these men or the things that they taught us will soon be forgotten.