While on the Doi Suthep Hike, students stop to collect ecological data

The end of week five: a transition period for students at ISDSI.  After living with host families for a little over a month, students now move into their apartments, more centrally located in Chiang Mai.   After five weeks of 4-hour Thai lessons and afternoon courses on Thai culture, politics, and sustainable development, students now start seminar for their first field course, Sustainable Food Systems.   Now starts the period of the semester where experiential learning becomes all the more apparent and where Thai language and culture skills become indispensable for subject competency.

A student connects to a repel line while climbing at Crazy Horse Buttress

The past few weeks, students explored caves and climbed at Crazy Horse Buttress, hiked the mountain west of Chiang Mai, Doi Suthep, bonded with a weekend at Mok Fah waterfall national park, and learned about NGO dynamics at the Chiang Mai Development Farm.   They inquired about Buddhist practices during a monk chat at Wat Suan Dok, taught English lessons to Thai children at Wat Don Djan, and researched topics of their choice at Chiang Mai University.   All the while, twice a week, they learned techniques to improve their fitness and health at Cross Fit Chiang Mai.   These activities along with hours of lecture and discussion in class served to build strong and capable students for the courses to follow.

Zack and his host family dance and sing for the crowd

As with every transition period, a commemoration was in order.  As a result, on the night of Thursday, February 14th (Valentine’s day), students, their host families, and ISDSI staff gathered at Baan Singkam for a night of performances, northern Thai food, and goodbyes.  Students dined with their host families on their second to last night together, sharing their gratitude for gracious hospitality.  Several of the students had the opportunity to perform dances or songs prepared in cooperation with their host families.   Some were even adorned in full Lanna costumes!   In the end, all of the students joined together to perform “Mai Dong Mee Kam Ban Yai,” which translates to  “You Don’t Need to have an Explanation.”

Jaime sings with the accompaniment of her host brother

Grace, Lydia and Peri perform a Thai fan dance

Melissa, Colin and Destiny perform a Thai dance in costume

Jackie and her host family stand for pictures after receiving a certificate of appreciation from ISDSI

Destiny poses in her traditional Lanna attire