The warm rains, lush green forests and my personal favourite; animals, bugs and everything in between. These critters have given me a very loving welcome into my new home. The first week adjusting in the province of Phang Nga was nothing short of amazing – yet the most terrifying thing I have ever done. The best way I can describe the first tastes of what will be an incredible 6 months is through pictures and stories of my first few weeks here. My way of coming to terms with many of the new challenges I face is by taking a photo of it, sharing it with family and friends and then moving on! I am so fortunate to be where I am and that is why I am so happy to share the roses and thorns of living in the jungle!
When I did my research for this internship I kept looking for “Khao Lak” but that title actually describes a greater area not necessarily a place. Maybe it was the geography major in me or just the pure confusion, but I looked into the structure of how place names are given in Thailand, and its actually quite interesting and simplistic. On a large scale, I am in the Province of Phang Nga. Phang Nga is a province in southern Thailand, bordering the Andaman Sea on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula (thank-you google). The capital of Phang Nga is Phang Nga town, and this naming pattern applies for ALL Thai provinces. Getting a bit smaller, I live in Takua Pa/Takuapa district, and you guessed it, the administrative capital of Takua Pa is also Takua Pa town. There are also a variety of names used for the same area generally due to translation difficulties from the Khmer (Thai) to the Roman (English) language. For example the sub-district Khuk Khak is also spelled Khuk Khek or Khukkhek.
Khao Lak (the area) is made up of several villages, including Bang Niang and Khuk Khak. These villages are located mainly in the Takua Pa District and partly in the Thai Mueang District of Phang Nga Province. Beyond the main villages, there are also smaller, more secluded areas like Ban Nam Khem that was severely impacted by the 2004 Tsunami and home to the hospital site of the movie “The Impossible”.
Ants
Ah the ants. Jordyn, Hanna and I arrived in Khuk Khak after a long 24+ hour travel journey from Vancouver to Hong Kong then to Phuket and finally finished with a coastal drive up to Khuk Khak. I opened my bathroom and found this “delightful” surprise. I had been welcomed by one of the largest clusters of ants I have ever seen outside of a nest. For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by ants. How is it possible that such a small body has so much strength? Well, that strength also carries over as they crawl up your legs to bite you when you are trying to make dinner.
Still to this day, that same cluster of ants is in my bathroom, watching me every time I brush my teeth. I now enjoy the company, and look forward to what orientation they will be in each day. Their presence reminds me that there is no growing in comfortability. Just because this bathroom is temporarily “mine” doesn’t mean I have ownership, and the sooner I come to terms with that the easier my transition will be.
Along with our first week was the beginning of many incredible friendships. We live alongside other families and individuals. To my knowledge, most of whom are from Myanmar. Though for some there is a language barrier, they have shown us an incredible amount of hospitality. Many of our friends have shared their food and allowed us to try traditional Burmese and/or Thai cooking.
Toads
After a heavy rain, the harmonious croaking sound of the toads travels throughout the neighbourhood. This photo was taken the morning after I stayed awake for hours listening to them. The toads remind me that although there are unfamiliar things, you can find commonality between your past world and the one you are currently in. Every summer back home on my farm the bullfrogs sing at night, and by listening to the toads here, I am reminded of the bittersweet realization of being away from home. Toads also were a large part of my previous job in Canada and are connected to the work I am doing currently, here in the south of Thailand as a intern at FED.
The Foundation for Education and Development (FED) has three/four main sectors; Education, Health Care, Environment and Migrant Development (in the process of restructuring). My job as an intern is currently based around the programs already in place. The FED environment team has just released a environmental curriculum for teachers in Migrant Learning Centres (MLCs). Often teachers at MLCs have not received formal education or many have inadequate resources. I have been assisting with the distribution of knowledge through workshops. FED has hosted three workshops across three provinces (Ranong, Phang Nga, and Phuket), called ToT or Teaching of Teachers workshops in which knowledge is shared to individuals on how to use the textbook in their classrooms or communities.
In these workshops, we focus on 5 primary focus areas; Biodiversity, Climate Change, Waste Management, Marine Conservation, and the intersection with Gender Empowerment/Equality. They are two day workshops in which teachers, CBO personnel, community members, and youth come to learn about the environment. We primarily give lectures but also play an assortment of games, which is my favourite part. As a farang (foreigner), people love to take pictures with you. At any point, a picture is being taken of you, but it is almost always out of kindness and you should receive it that way too!
This past workshop, I was invited to talk about biodiversity, and was able to co-create a PowerPoint in which I shared information from what I have learned as a student. It was a really fun experience!
(Spider Warning below)
Stella the Spider
Stella (and Stella 2.0, 3.0 etc.) is a Pantropical huntsman spider also known as a Banana spider because of their association with banana plantations. I see Stella without a doubt everyday. It is a part of living in a rainforest. I have watched too many nature documentaries, and because of that I was so scared when I first saw her, especially when she appeared in my toilet not once, but twice (fyi close your toilet lids in the jungle, a lesson I learned too late). Turns out this type of spider is basically harmless. She reminds me to not take things at face value. We too often judge something based on its appearance or what we have been told is correct instead of asking for an explanation or simply listening more intently. Its a skill I struggle with, but this placement has shown me the importance of doing so.
This reminds me of when we started to go down to our local stream to sit in the water when the weather was nice at the beginning of our placement. The stream is really refreshing and if we time it right, we get it all to ourselves. At first I was scared because of the possibility of it being dirty water (the downfall of being in science). I watched others go in and realized what a blessing it is to have a source of freshwater to cool yourself down with on a hot day. Sometimes knowing too much about the world is a curse as you limit yourself on the opportunities in front of you. There are some small fish in the area and they nibble at us and give us free foot treatments. I stare at the fish and pretend to be interested but in reality its just an excuse for me to play mermaids.
Steel-Blue Cricket-Hunter?
This critter appeared when Jordyn and I were taking out money from the ATM and noticed an iridescent bug moving. I took a picture of it, and still to this day have no idea what it is. This bug reminds me of the beauty of Thailand and the wonders I still have to explore.
I have been fortunate enough to do a few trips in the short time I have been here, including the Similain Islands, Ranong, and visiting Bangkok. There are so many incredible sights to see and my journey has just begun! All for now, talk to you soon!
xoxo, Amina!
