Congratulations to Francesca Aguirre-Wong (Franchie) from our Fall 2009 Semester!  Franchie won an award at the the University of Denver Study Abroad photo contest, and the photo was displayed at the Global Gala.

The long awaited rice harvest, Huay Tong Kaw village, Mae Hong Son province.

Franchie is a senior, and an Ecology and Biodiversity major at the University of Denver.  Franchie writes about the photo:

The Karen people have been using shifting cultivation to grow rice for over 100 years to live in harmony with their forest. The students are helping harvest rice (a process that takes 2-3 weeks) while chatting in Thai to learn about farming techniques and the culture that exists around the rice harvest.

Here is the rest of her email:

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Sawasdika!

I am sure you have heard this plenty of times, but America is so strange! I am constantly aware of feet and I always bow my head in humble respect. Ally and I were talking about this, and we feel so much more grown up and that everything just seems clearer. My time in Thailand truely made me into a better person, daughter, sister, friend, student, leader, and outdoor adventurer. My only regret is waiting till my last year in college to do all this growing!

Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to work with all the amazing people at ISDSI and in Thailand. It was difficult to see ISDSI’s rhyme and reason for some things while i was in the program, but now that I step back, it all makes so much more sense. Bravo for creating one of the most unique programs in the world that succeeds in challenging and changing their students.

PS- I have attached a photo taken in Huay Tong Kaw that won me $75 in the Study Abroad Photo Contest. A 24×36 print was displayed at the Global Gala this year (which i unfortunately didn’t attend due to poor-student syndrome). If it is possible, can you please tell Muga Nepal (the woman in the white hat) and her husband (the man addressing the camera) that a photo of them and their beautiful rai won a contest seen by many students, ajaans, and families. I think it would make them really proud and happy!

Please give everyone an elegant wai for me 🙂

Sincerely,
Francesca Aguirre-Wong
Ecology & Biodiversity
University of Denver