tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145117592063944458.post675731546658718393..comments2023-11-02T03:40:09.064-07:00Comments on Human Perspective on Development and Environment: Moo-baan (village)CIEE - Thailandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00702040572805817922noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145117592063944458.post-73142485134781594452010-04-30T03:14:42.946-07:002010-04-30T03:14:42.946-07:00Emily,
Like yourself, I too had preconceived noti...Emily,<br /><br />Like yourself, I too had preconceived notions about what I thought a slum environment entailed and was pleasantly surprised and delighted by my experiences in Nong Waeng. I remember reading about slums in our lecture packets and thinking about the movie Slumdog Millionaire, trying to figure out how those movie images in my head would parallel my future experience in Nong Waeng. When I entered this community, I was immediately struck by the warm and welcoming atmosphere of my family and adjacent neighbors. I would be sitting in my home reading to my little sister when a group of her little friends would flock to my side and join in on our conversation. <br /><br />Throughout this program, we have experienced community in every sense of the word: community within our own CIEE group and community within the villages. I think the term solidarity really applies within the context of our experiences here and how no matter what kind of environments we may encounter, we cultivate a deeper sense of what we understand community to be. And for that reason, I am glad that Nong Waeng defied my original expectations of what I thought a slum would be, and instead I was delighted to find a strong community whose relationships with each other are built upon a mutual respect and interdependence on each other. <br /><br />MeganMegan Keaveneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03932462884433849908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7145117592063944458.post-5379820809354629142010-04-24T03:47:54.457-07:002010-04-24T03:47:54.457-07:00Emily,
I too walked into Non Waeng expecting some...Emily,<br /><br />I too walked into Non Waeng expecting something different based on the fact that we were having a home stay in a "slum". I found myself thinking that I would see a couple drug deals, rats would be scurrying across me in the middle of the night, and that the food that my family would feed me would probably upset my stomach. Instead I found the happiest people I have stayed with so far in Thailand. Yes, they seemed tight on money and I was woken up in the night multiple times by trains passing by, but overall the word moo bahn fits so much better than salum.<br /><br />It was in this home stay that my point of view of community was completely altered. These residents literally call everyone in their village family. Across the railroad tracks from my home, I could see a row of cookie cutter houses with a cement wall as a fence topped with barbed wire. I could only imagine the sense of community that these houses must feel and it immediately brought me back to neighborhoods in the United States. The whole idea of FENCES by themselves makes me laugh now after home stays in Thailand. I am so jealous of the family-like atmosphere among the majority of home stays we live in. <br /><br />Maggie M.Maggie McLaganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16907874911322588432noreply@blogger.com