Thailand: First Week

Dean~

I joined the Pangaea project to get a global perspective and have gained so much more. Our trip has been based on a few topics. The topics are fair trade and labor and social justice. I was in the group that had the privilege to travel to Thailand. I wasn’t too sure of the program at first, because it sounded crazy. I was told I would be traveling to Thailand to live with fair trade rice farmers in Surin. To be honest I didn’t know what to expect from the whole thing, I thought it couldn’t be too hard and it wouldn’t change anything about me. This couldn’t have been further from the truth. I know everyone is probably wondering what I have done the last couple of weeks so here it is.

Thailand: Ayuthaya

Jo Jo & Nemo

Nemo~

We’re actually here…i cant believe it…we are in Thailand as I write this…We’ve been here for almost a week and it has been completely awesome. And I have Pangaea to thank for it. I mean if I hadnt signed up for and stayed a part of Pangaea I would just still be in Portland doing the same old same old. But im not and believe me, im happy about that.

Thailand: Impressions

Trevor~

A letter to home,

I am told that i am your eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and fingers in Thailand. If i am, then i feel sorry for you. You’d be amazed at the color here. Everything is so vibrant. Not in the sense of gaudy neon signs and huge poster boards, but in the sense that this place lacks uniformity. In one block you can see a blue shower curtain with ducks, a red and yellow striped awning, a pink awning with green polka dots, five taxis: red, green, yellow, pink, and a two-tone green and yellow, and the clothes on the people show just as much variability. And the sound is just as confuddling. Over low hum drum of traffic, which is constant, you can hear people talking in a luanguage you barely understand, the sound of street vendors calling for attention to their wares, the sound of food hitting friers from the numerous food vendors, and the occasional horn of cars passing by, directed either at another car or at pedestrians. The smell is not so dissimilar from home, though there are definitely more layers of it here.

Thailand Team Departs!

On July 3rd, the Thailand group arrived at the aiport feeling excited and jittery. Many of the students had never flown on a plane! They looked forward to a 24 hour trip through Seattle, Taipei and finally to Bangkok.

On July 5th, Pangaea staff in Portland received word that the group arrived safely and fought off jetlag as they spent their first day exploring the temples and markets of Bangkok.

Thailand Team at Portland International Airport

Bon voyage to Savanah, Dean, Tabitha, Trevor, Laurel, Jo Jo and Nemo, and their leaders, Cash and Eric!