Thailand’s culture

Pictures for those of you who don't like reading.

We’ve spent 2 full days in Chiang Mai now - reportedly the coldest days Chiang Mai has had in quite some time, so of course we we’ve been wearing shorts and short sleeve shirts. We’ve seen some wats (Buddist temples), bathed with elephants, walked through markets, enjoyed local cuisine and Thai-ized American cuisine, caught up with old friends, and made some new ones. Something I’ve noticed in our short time here is the strictness of rule following and how it varies and differs from similar rules in the states. Seeing some of the local happenings, I’m reminded of this scene from Pirates of the Caribbean: The curse of the Black Pearl where Barbosa clarifies the “[Pirates] code is more what you'd call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.” And in a pretty stark contrast to this, it seems that many social customs tend to be fairly rigid, or at least formal, in their systems.

Laws? Well, it’s more of a suggestion.
I would not call myself well studied in Thailand’s legal system, nor am I well versed in that of America’s for that matter. However, I do have a propensity for remembering and following rules. I loved studying for and taking the exam for my watercraft license, just the same with the driver’s permit assessment. It seems that country rules and regulations aren’t enforced or even really acknowledged. Jon Alter has a theory related to this. He calls it “Don’t search for logic.”

Even on the busiest of roads, cars rarely exceed 40 mph (~65 kph) and casually walking across them is common. As a pedestrian, it’s really convenient to not have to wait at crosswalks for the light to turn to white-light-walking-figure. If you need to get to the other side of the road, simply wait for a small opening in traffic and commit. Cars, motorbikes, and tuk-tuks will slow to allow you to pass. The few times we’ve been in a motorized vehicle, it hasn’t been noticeable. Soothing sounds of Thai talk radio or hard-core American rap play from car stereos as the car fluxuates between 10 and 30 mph a couple times a block.

Telephone lines across nearly every street, road, and dirt path number in the hundreds. We’ve seen a what I assume are phone-line technicians, but for all we know may be just regular citizens looking to fix their DSL, climbing up to “fix” (presumably) the lines. From what we can tell, if a line breaks, it’s left in place and a new one is strung along its original path. It seem the only things you need to fix the wiring here is a large spool of cable, a ladder, and some bravery.

Scaffolding is handmade on the spot out of bamboo shoots. They cut and tie the giant natural PVC pipe to the right lengths and tie them together to climb up. I think this is really neat. In order to repair or paint something high up, workers build a structure to which they entrust their lives from essentially raw materials. I can’t even imagine American construction workers building scaffolding out of anything other than pre-made kits.

The sidewalk along roads can be as much as 1 foot higher than the road it runs alongside. To accommodate for this height difference, there is usually a smooth steep slope of concrete connecting the two. This is the perfect slide to slip on and fall head-first into traffic (something we have thankfully yet to experience). Sidewalks range from 2 inches wide to 3 feet and often have trees, signs, or street vendors on them. Like Minnesota in the winter, lane-lines are barely a suggestion as cars and motorbikes often zig-zag through traffic, around parked cars and trucks, pedestrians, and ambulances.

Social norms? Slowly learning.
The first term I tried to learn in Thai was “Thank you.” It took a while to feel confident saying, but “Kob Khun” is the term for thank you. In Thai, from what I can glean so far, phrases and greetings end with a status indicator. As a male, speaking politely to a peer or someone of higher status, I would say thank you with “Kob Khun Krab,” though it seems “Kob Khun kab” is a more casual way. Females would say “Kob Khun Kha.” Unlike many other languages, the words you use depend primarily on the person speaking, not the person being spoken to or about. Sorry = Kor Tod Kab, Hello = Sa Wad Dee Kab, How are you = Sa Bai Dee Mai Kab

Slight bows are common signs of farewell and pressing both hands together is a way to show gratitude, respect, or as a greeting.

Tipping isn’t common, though for exceedingly wonderful service, a small tip of 10% may be added. Some of the tourist heavy areas take advantage of Americans being used to tipping. Generally, we’ve been not haggling which is our way of including a tip.

I’ve noticed a few American customs creeping into the touristy parts - tuk-tuk (2 wheeled open air taxis) drivers give an American head nod to white people on the street as a way to inquire if they’d like a ride, I’m seen some Thai girls pose with the duck-face for pictures, and I’m sure there are more that I haven’t even realized are the melding of cultures. I hope in picking up Western customs, Thai’s own are not lost, but in the metropolitan areas, it does seem to have very western aspects.

People are incredibly friendly here, both locals and tourists we’ve run into. It seems everyone is enjoying the calm atmosphere and is happy to help out their fellow human.

Here are some relevant pictures to what I wrote about and other things I didn’t that we’ve done over the past few days.

Day 1: Bangkok

Quick update:

For our first day in Bangkok, Michael and I explored the 5 Star hotel we stayed at for one night. Awesome pool with view of the river - great sunny day (sorry Minnesota)

From the hotel we walked with our full bags through some local streets on the way to Chua Phat Vang, a tall golden temple we had seen from the pool area.

We took a crowded river boat West along the river towards Wat Arun.

We wandered into a really nice community park (Saranrom Park) which had an outdoor public gym in it. There was also a Chinese ancestral house inside the park.

We soon found ourselves at a local event called Thai rice - basically a huge farmers market / art fair that was based on rice. Some local Thai people around our age mocked us walking through their market in our full backpacking gear. The odd feeling of embarrassment was subdued when a nice Thai lady helped us order some food and we ate pot stickers and pad Thai.

We found a local hostel / bar and took a load off for a couple hours before heading to the airport to travel to our home for 3 nights in Chiang Mai.

Travel Overload

Got to the airport Saturday morning at 5:20. I passed a sniffer dog checking on everyone in the security line, and right after I passed him, he got a playbreak! Squeaky-ball fetch time meant a delay and some entertainment for patient travelers behind me in line.

The 3 hour flight to Dallas Texas would have been significantly less awful if I hadn't been sitting directly behind a screaming child, upwards of 130 decibels. This lasted the first 2 hours straight. So much for reading or napping - I took advantage of the in-flight entertainment and watched (but barely heard) The Dark Tower. (It's bad).

One and a half hours in Texas and two and a half shots of Whiskey later and we were on our way to South Korea. I made the decision to change my watch to Thailand time and try to keep to that schedule moving forward in an effort to prevent jet-lag. 

15 hours seems like a long time on a plane, so let's just put things into perspective. I watched 4 movies (Logan Lucky, Birth of the Dragon, The Big Sick, and most of Transformers: Last Knight) and if I hadn't spent the other 8 hours eating, pacing down the aisle, trying to read, or staring blankly at the digital map; I could have easily seen 5 more. I was very lucky to have an exit row, aisle seat for this long flight, making up for the screaming child on the previous one. (I think I'd prefer an airline that allowed passengers to assist in flight-attendant duties for a portion of the flight.)
After taking off my shoes and replacing them with the complimentary plane slippers, I was able to stretch my feet out as far as I could - a rarity for someone my height. We had 2 meals on that flight, I got bibimbap which was surprisingly good for plane food, and Chinese style rice with fish, which was fine.

In the Korean airport, Michael and I took some of the few minutes we had before transferring planes to explore some of the stores in the international section of the airport - turned out to be pretty lame, common international stores including an Auntie Annie's. Noticing from my watch that it was mid-afternoon in Thailand, I proudly proclaimed to Michael how, since we'd arrive late at night, I would not sleep on this last plane ride.

Cut Scene -Avi's passed out on the plane before it's left the gate. After a casual 20 minute nap, I awake to find that we're still at the gate. Drowsily listening to the delay announcements, I pass out for another 20+ minutes to find we still haven't left.

Something was wrong with the engine, but after 2 hours just sitting in our seats; we eventually take off. A relatively short flight (6 hours) later. We arrived in Bangkok, Thailand. Figuring out customs, getting passports stamped, getting a cab, exchanging currency, and making sure Michael's phone service worked were some of the highlights from our first few hours. 

It's 4:00AM now, so I haven't succeeded in preventing Jet-lag. Sleeping soon, getting psyched for a fun day exploring Bangkok tomorrow!

Shabbat and Camp

Sermon at Beth El Synagogue, Mpls MN 08/20/2016

This week’s parsha, Va’etchanan (as was so beautifully read by Izzy and Zach), has Moses preparing the Jewish people to enter the land of Israel, the Promised Land – the land past Jordan. They had been traveling in the desert for 40 years, so this was a new generation already, a new group of people that had not experienced the slavery in Egypt – like this new generation of Star Trek fans that haven’t even seen the original series, any of the other 4 series, or any of the 10 previous films! Anyway, he’s kind of hyping them up – getting them stoked for the big game. But this isn’t just Coach Bolton pumping the Wildcats to beat the West High Knights for the end of a classic Disney Channel Original Movie. Instead, Moses takes this time to recall the events of the Exodus, the awesome power of God that lead them out of Egypt and freed them as a people. Moses reminds them of Mount Sinai and receiving the words of God from an amorphous fire. These were the events that molded the Jewish people and Moses wanted to ensure it was remembered.

Alright, so some of you may know that I’m a camp guy (thus the tie dye tallis and tie). I’m currently the director of Camp TEKO – where we just finished an incredible summer! I’ve worked at other community Jewish camps for the past 12 years, in fact, some people here may just know me as ‘the guy on the mic’ from Herzl Camp. So of course I see everything through camp glasses. The Torah here is no exception.

Before Moses even begins recounting the story of Mount Sinai, he explains how he pleaded with God. “I pray you,” he asks, “let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan.” But God became angry and replies “Enough! Do not speak to me any more about this!” God is having to reprimand Moses asking for something for which an answer was already given. Like a camper asking if their group can lead flag… after a different group has already been called up to lead. Look, Moses, I know you really want to go to the land of Israel and all, but I totally already said you weren’t allowed to, and I’m sticking to my guns on this one. God was angry and stubborn, but God still made a bit of a compromise. Moses was allowed to view the Promised Land - view, but not enter – and instead instruct Joshua to go with his people there.

Moses plays the part of a camper in this part of the story. He whines a bit about something he wants, but is ultimately shut down by a higher power. Throughout the journey of this parsha, we see Moses transform from camper, to staff, and finally as the parent of a camper. The cyclical system of a summer camp is a great metaphor for Moses’ growth in his final weeks of life in this chapter.

The lifecycle of an individual at a camp – at a Jewish camp – is unmatched. Young campers bravely enter into unknown spaces, exploring their Judaism and self; and expanding their skills and friends. Over time, campers age out and become counselors, caring for the generation only a few years younger than themselves. The counselors grow, professional and socially, learning skills they wouldn’t learn at summer internships. Finally, years later, the individual gets to send their own child to camp. At this point, they have lifelong friends that they’ve made as campers and on staff, and are there to calmly remind their child of the rules while seeing the growth in their child from summer to summer, from each daily bus pickup, or each letter home.

After working in the field of Jewish camping for even just a dozen years, it is incredible watching campers and staff alike grow throughout the summer and throughout their time at the camp. In response to the prompt, “What was your favorite part of this summer?” a staff member wrote in his evaluation of this past summer at TEKO “finally getting my camper into the lake – and he loved it!”

Years ago, a young girl asked a camper of mine with autism to go with her to the final party on the last night. Throughout that 3 week session, she had learned a new form of compassion and love that was not in her skillset from home. Now, eight summers later, she just finished her summer as a first-year counselor at Herzl, no doubt implementing many of those traits that were formed at her earlier years as a camper.

Former camp counselors, who are now married with children attending camp, shared with me advice on how they decided on parenting methods. “Remember that camper Johnny of yours?” One would ask the other, “Let’s make sure our children turn out like Johnny.” “Oh, and remember how Jane was always afraid of the dark? That was because her parents didn’t have a bedtime ritual.” Or something to that effect.

This is why I love camp. It is inherent and ingrained in one’s self from the first overwhelming day to the last tearful hug. Though each section of camp may seem short, the lessons learned through each session stay with us for a lifetime. The generations at camp may seem small - four to eight years or so - but Moses turned from camper to counselor in almost just one breath. Moses continues, after recalling losing his plea with God, to the Jews that they should remember the Torah and its teachings, the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai. He went from I didn’t get what I wanted, aw shucks to listen to what God has to say without skipping a beat. Moses turns into the counselor, reading the Ten Commandments and the Shema as the cabin rules and mission statement to the campers – And what a great premise for cabin rules, right? I mean, “ask before borrowing a hairbrush” just doesn’t seem to hold up against “Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad.” Moses further emphasizes the importance of one specific cabin rule: do not worship false gods.

Right? Because the big important lesson from Sinai wasn’t just the text that was received, it was the experience. It’s that God transcends form. “You saw no manner of form on the day that G‑d spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire.” If God is formless, we must not worship anything physical, else we should stray from the path. Idolatry is the beginning of the end, so to say, and it prevents us from accomplishing our goals, from being a productive part of that cyclical system of Judaism, of camps.

Moses is now the parent, looking back with fond memories and nostalgia, but also hoping the mistakes he made won’t be repeated by the new generation, that his people will learn from his faults. He warns not to worship idols, that God and God alone is the righteous way. Moses learned this the hard way by disobeying God and was punished. He hopes the lesson he learned will not have to be learned the hard way by the next generation.

We, today worship a sort of idol, especially as adults, though it’s creeping younger. You may have heard this lecture before, but technology rules over us all. We check our phones almost hourly – unless in a movie or at synagogue. We’re tethered to these devices and train our young to worship them as well. I’m not one to speak for an all-out ban on electronics. As an avid lover of computers, the internet, and all things coding, I could go on for hours about how our technology is benefiting our society and each individual within it. I believe that – although my mother still prefers VHS tapes to streaming Netflix – technological advancements in automotive, healthcare, offices, and in our homes has made life better and longer for many of us. And with our support, advancements will continue to improve society and better the lives of us all.

Having said all of that – it is worth taking a break from it, not just technology, but productivity in general. Allowing children to play – in a setting where people are not shackled to their phones, their work, their stress. We work towards upholding this each week – it’s part of the Ten Commandments that Moses recalls, to “remember/observe the Shabbat and make it holy.” Now, I don’t want to guilt-trip anyone in here, but I’m certainly going to drive home, and when I’m home, I may just type up a few spreadsheets, search google, etc.

So, while Shabbat has a beautiful purpose, the enforcement isn’t there – we can’t just go around stoning everyone posts to Facebook on Friday night. There is a place; however, where enforcement is natural and giving up our devices is voluntary. At summer camp, we joyfully give up our restraints to the stress of the world and experience its bliss. Replacing tasks and duties with games and programs that allow us to grow – that develop us in ways no iPad can. Camp allows us this pleasure and break from the constant barrage of the world. Camp is our Shabbat.

But “camp,” that’s an interesting word. “Camp.” The definition of the word camp has changed quite a bit over the millennia. In the bible, the Israelites often set up a machaneh – a camp – for the night. It was a temporary dwelling that served a purpose and was for function only. Now, camp is so much more, yes we have tents and bunks. We have floors and roofs, food and water, friends and family. And maybe it’s still sometimes seen as a short term place, but now that short term in our lives lingers for our future – impacting our lives for the better as we age. Our camp today is different than the camp of Moses. Camp is a place of spirituality, camp is home. Camp is our Promised Land.

Shabbat Shalom

Robot Dog

Hand drawn and shaded, dog picture from Molly Galinson. Creation posted.

BRING HER TREATS

 

Should have done this with a lighter colored dog.

In space, no one can hear you bark

Particularly proud of the red lighting reflecting on the bottom of the dog's face.