I leave Thailand to head back to the US on Saturday, just a few days away and I am getting very sad to leave this amazing country. The past week has been so amazing because of our new Thai friends that we are taking class with, as well as some great field trips.
After returning from Koh Samet, we began our bioethics class on Monday with the new Thai students. It has been great to have their perspective on the bioethics issues that we are discussing. On Monday night, MUIC threw an elaborate welcome/farewell dinner as some students from the first session would be leaving and other students had arrived. The dinner was held in the 6th floor hotel that is part of the MUIC tourism training program and included delicious food and live music performed by students in the school of music. Many faculty members of MUIC thanked us for coming and welcomed the new students with very nice speeches. It left me feeling embarrassed by their gratitude for my presence in Thailand- I really felt like I should be thanking them for all their kindness and hospitality during my stay.
On Tuesday, we headed to the National Cancer Institute where we were spoken to by a researcher. It was incredibly interesting to hear the perspective of a doctor who works in the public sector where he receives very little pay in comparison to the private sector doctors. One student asked him why he didn't work in the private sector and he basically said that he had turned down an offer to do so because he thinks that there is more to life than money. The shortage of doctors in Thailand's public health sector demonstrates that most doctors do not share his charitable attitude..
On Friday, we had another field trip that offered a great contrast to this trip. We headed to Yanhee Hospital in Bangkok. Yanhee is a beauty hospital that specializes in elective procedures, specifically plastic surgery, sex changes, etc. The nurses who work there are all incredibly beautiful and most of them wear heels while working. I have never been in a building with more mirrors. As we toured the hospital, it reminded me of a shopping mall. Throughout the various departments, there were dozens of brochures advertising the services and prices of the various procedures that were offered. This private hospital offers top of the line care and is internationally certified. It caters to both foreigners and Thais. Our lecturers described the ways in which the hospital sold its services, focusing on health AND beauty. The hospital even hosts a beauty contest known as Miss Yanhee. One of the runners-up of the contest later went on to compete in the Miss Thailand competition. The prevalence and prominence of this hospital's sex change operations was clear as one of the winners of the beauty contest one year had formerly been a man. The prevalence of this procedure is something that we have all observed throughout our time here. Nearly every time we go into Bangkok, we see a few "lady-boys," whether it be in a restaurant as our waiter, in the hospital as our tour guide, or just walking around the mall. They are much more common here than they are in the US. Sometimes we don't even realize it until they speak or until we notice that their hands or feet don't quite match their other delicate features.
Friday afternoon, we headed to Golden Jubilee Medical Center where we learned about alternative medicine and even got to try some out. Several of us got to try acupuncture, cupping, Thai massage, and other alternative medical treatments. The doctor was leading a few of us in some stretches to help with back pain from poor posture and when she adjusted my hand position, she noticed my sweaty palms... and proceeded to tell me that they were caused by a misalignment in my spine and observed that my shoulders are not even. She told me that to cure my sweaty hand problem, I should go to a chiropractor to correct my spine issue. The alternative medicine experience was definitely one of my favorite trips because it was so interactive.
Saturday morning we headed to Chatuchak weekend market which is a huge outdoor market that is perhaps the most overwhelming shopping experience I've ever had. Chatuchak is an expansive flea market where bargaining is imperative and everything from cats in costume, bracelets, soccer jerseys, spices, and handbags are sold. After spending a few hours getting lost among the hundreds of stands, Erin, Carla and I left to meet Praew at Platinum fashion mall. Platinum is basically Chatuchak moved indoors and limited to women's clothing. The same bargaining is expected and the prices are dirt cheap but shopping was slightly difficult as they don't allow you to try the clothes on.. for non-size 0 Thai girls, this leaves a lot to chance and guess work. For the most part, the vendors were helpful in determining if something would fit but there was often only one size sold. Platinum was so overwhelmingly large- the directory is about half an inch thick with multiple tabs and fold out pages. We were so grateful that Praew was there to help us navigate the narrow aisles and speak Thai to the vendors on our behalf. We were also very grateful to finally collapse into the comfort of an air conditioned cab after a long day of Thai-style shopping, which, in my opinion, is much more tiring than shopping in America for several reasons: the narrow aisles, hundreds of people, bargaining, small sizes, and the language barrier.
Sunday morning, we continued our weekend of markets by heading to Rachaburi for a floating market. Since we first arrived in Thailand, we have wanted to see one of these markets and we finally made the trip. At around 9 am, me, Erin, Sarah, Roman, Tamar, and Larry piled into a cab. Now you might notice that 6 don't fit into the standard cab. Despite the fact that Rachaburi is about 80 km away from where we live, the cab driver had no problem with us squeezing 2 extra people in the cab as long as we paid him for his services. About an hour later, we finally emerged at the floating market which is a series of canals along which there are dozens of stands. In the canals are many boats selling food and other items. We paid for a 30 minute boat ride which took us up and down the canals. As we moved along, we waved over boats carrying food or items which we wanted to purchase. Larry and Sarah bought the typical pointy hats and we all got some delicious snacks including some egg rolls and mango (which I'm really going to miss back in the US). All the boating vendors help each other out and at one point, I watched one vendor throw some baht to another vendor in a plastic bag so they could provide the necessary change for a purchase. Just as the roads of Thailand are overwhelmed by traffic, the canals were as well. During our ride, we ran into several other boats and had to go through several tricky maneuvers to make it to our destination. After our boat ride, we walked around the edge of the canal and were surprised by a baby elephant who tapped me on the shoulder with his trunk. Roman bought some food for the elephant and we all got to watch it sit, lie down, and bow as it was fed. On our ride back to Salaya, we were pulled over which was a pretty exciting experience. Although we were blatantly violating traffic laws with 2 people in the front seat and 4 people in the back seat, the driver just paid the police officer 200 baht and he sent us on our way. Later we were telling one of our Thai friends this story and he was unsurprised. He knew someone who didn't have a driver's license and was pulled over for drinking and driving. The cop demanded 3,000 baht or threatened to take him to jail but the boy simply said, "I'll pay you 500 baht" ($15) and drove away without so much as a warning... only in Thailand (something that we've started to say every time something absurd happens).
With less than a week less, I'm getting very sad to leave. Thailand has been such an amazing experience for so many reasons. We have lots of plans for our last few days though, so I have many things to look forward to before I land in Dulles on Sunday.
I haven't uploaded the pictures that go along with this blog yet but I will add them once I do!
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