My Last Night in Bangkok

This trip is flying by, I can't believe it's already my last night in Thailand! Yesterday I got back to Bangkok after spending about 5 days in the south (Hat Yai and Pattani). The students I met in Pattani stated that the local insurgent/separatist groups often use the province's historical status as an independent sultanate in order to justify the current use of violence against the government.

Many of the people I interviewed believed that in order to move the peace process forward, the collective memory/history of the southern provinces needs to be rewritten. It will be interesting to see how this situation compares with some of the post-conflict societies that I'm visiting later in the trip.

Finally, as promised....pictures!!

Me and the two Thai students who helped me with my research. A HUGE thank you to Nu (left) and Joon (right)!!

Portrait of the current King of Thailand (framed portraits of Thai royalty can be found all over the country)

Part of the Grand Palace (where the royal family used to live)

Another shot of the Grand Palace


View of Hat Yai from inside a "tuk-tuk" (really affordable public transportation)




Landscape in Pattani

Next stop: India!

Running in the Rain

So I normally don't run unless I'm being chased (shout out to Ms. Amena Ali who does daily laps in the fitting rooms at the Columbia Mall Gap), but this afternoon I finished my meetings relatively early and when I got home, the air had this "just about to rain" coolness to it. I decided that the break from the heat was too good to pass up and pulled on my sneakers to go for a quick run. Turns out its monsoon season in Thailand and what started as a light, refreshing drizzle soon transformed into a torrential downpour...luckily the apartment complex where I'm staying is pretty small so I made it back only slightly drenched.

Other than my adventure in the rain, these past couple days have been pretty successful. Yesterday I met with Dr. Imron Maluleem, a former Member of Parliament who is now the head of the Thai Islamic Center. He provided some great insight into the government's policy towards the south. I also had some time to visit the Grand Palace (one of Bangkok's main tourist attractions), which was absolutely gorgeous :) I promise I'll load some pics soon!

Today morning I met with 3 reporters from the Thai Journalists Association who knew a lot about the current situation in the south. After grabbing lunch with the journalists, I met with a local grade-school teacher who had some interesting ideas about how education can shape the way a minority group feels about itself and its place in society.

I'm flying down to Hat Yai in a few hours so I should probably get to bed, but I'll write again soon!

Day One!

Hey everyone! Sawatdeekaa (hello in Thai)! I officially survived my first day in Bangkok :-D I got to see a bit of the city today with two local students, Nu and Joon, who are helping me with my research. For lunch we went to a huge shopping center/mall in the center of the city called Lotus. In addition to great deals (the Baht/Dollar exchange rate is ridiculous) the mall also had a McDonalds with a huge statue of Ronald with his hands folded in prayer (a standard Thai greeting). I was actually pretty surprised at how many western brands are here, it seems like there is a Dunkin Donuts or Pizza Hut on every corner.

After interviewing one of Nu's Buddhist friends we headed to the Thai Islamic Center and talked to some gentlemen there about the current tension/conflict between Buddhists and Muslims in southern Thailand. One of the men, Mr. Niti Hasan, actually visited Georgetown last month where I met him at an event called "Islam in Southeast Asia." At the end of the visit he brought out his photo album from his trip to DC and I found myself in the background of a couple of the pics! Haha it was like Where is Waldo except I didn't have a sweet red and white striped shirt/hat.

K I'm gonna turn in a little early tonight (I thought I could trick jetlag by staying awake on the plane and sleeping last night but it's catching up with me...), will write more soon!

T minus 9 hours!

In about 9 hours I'll be getting on my first flight for the summer! I've got some last-minute packing to do but everything else is pretty much set. This past week has been a whirlwind of making arrangements and saying bye to family/friends . As excited as I am for this trip, I'm also really going to miss everyone back home. I probably won't have regular access to internet but I will try to send updates as often as possible. Also, if you send me your address I'll do my best to send a postcard :)

My first stop is Thailand and I'll be staying with one of my dad's best friends from college who works for the UN's regional disaster relief center. I'm really looking forward to hearing some stories about what my dad was like in school :-P That's all for now but I'll post again when I get to Bangkok!

7 Days...

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since my last post, finals kind of got in the way...but now I'm home and all is well :) I'm leaving for my trip in a week and I'm super excited but there is a TON to do before then. It's mostly sending out a bagillion emails a day to set up my interviews in each country and figuring out logistics like where I'll be staying etc.

I also have to decide what all I can take with me. Given the number of connecting flights I'll be taking, I've decided to not check any baggage which means I need to fit everything I need into one carry-on...Those of you who have seen me pack (aka Tina and Kathleen) probably think there's no chance I can live out of one backpack for 3 months but I promise I'm up for the challenge! As long as there is room for my straightner I think I'll be okay :-P Luckily my dad is meeting up with me in Johannesburg so he's going to bring some stuff that I won't need until then (i.e. winter clothes because apparently South Africa gets chilly in June).

Regarding my itinerary, I found out a couple weeks ago that while I'm in India my eldest cousin Sunny will be getting married! I'm so excited that I'll be in town for the wedding because since most of my family is still in India, I've missed a lot of weddings over the years. In order to be there for the whole ceremony (Indian weddings can last for days...) I might have to bump my flight to Jo'burg by a day.

K I should probably get back to planning for now but I'll send updates as I get them!