Observation Exercise--Youth Hostel/Orphanage
We left Payap around 8 in the morning. Although there were several cute little dogs running around, just like most places we have visited, I think the first main difference I noticed when we arrived at the building was that instead of pictures of the King, which are prominently displayed all over the city, or pictures of Buddha, which we have seen very regularly at temples, there was a large picture of Jesus above our heads. This was a bit of a shock to me, but what was more of a shock was when we then were lead to sing a song about how Jesus loves us. I don't have a problem with people praising who they worship, but since I am Jewish, it would have been nice to know that religion would be strongly involved in our activities before I arrived. I thought the difference in religion also seemed obvious by the fact that the man who ran the hostel had both a "Christian" name and a Thai name. First, we sat in circles of about 8. On the count of one, everyone touched his or her own ear. On two, everyone touched the ear of the person to the right of him or herself. On three, everyone threw his or her hand into the middle of the circle. The person whose hand ended up on top lost. He or she had to move to a different circle. Every time people moved, we all introduced ourselves to each other. We also played duck duck goose. Although it seemed rather dangerous to be playing on a concrete floor in a gigantic circle with several geese rather than just one, it was a fun experience. I couldn't help but wonder, though, if the Thai students were bothered at all when some of the geese would tap their heads rather than their shoulders. Back in the states, I would never question messing someone's hair or tapping a friend on the head, but on one of the first days here, we were warned that touching the head was considered disrespectful, so I couldn't help but wonder if it was upsetting people during the game. Before we ate lunch, we each gave one kid a gift (somewhat in the spirit of Valentines)....
