Host Family Farewell Dinner

Tonight was our host family farewell dinner, put on by ISDSI, as a way to say thank you to our host families for everything they have done for us over the last month. It was held at a fancy hotel in Chiang Mai and the dress was required Lanna clothing. I am accustomed to seeing my classmates in either our school uniform or hiking clothes, so it was fun to see the various outfits and costumes in which their families had dressed them up!

After a dinner of Northern Thai food, there was a talent show put on by the students.  It is called a talent show, but I think it is really a venue for all the host families to show off their students…..many of us, including myself, were volunteered for our roles in the show! Nevertheless, it was a fun time! The acts were mainly Thai dancing and singing, with some of the students performing together in groups and some dancing and/or singing with their host siblings. I ended up singing a song (yes, I really did!) about Northern Thai food with two of my friends who share our carpool and my host dad singing/accompanying on guitar. I don’t think it was on tune at all, but hey, why not share in the embarrassment?!? And considering all of this, the entertainment value is very high! All the Ajaans and Pi’s have been saying that the farewell dinner is their favorite night of Foundations, mostly likely because they get to watch all of us get dressed up by our families and embarrass ourselves in front of the entire group!

For those of you who might not know….our four week Foundations course ends this week. We’re moving out of our host families’ homes and into apartments this week, and Monday marks the beginning of Agroecology. After a week of lectures in the city, we’ll be heading out into the field for three weeks of hands-on learning….

It is really hard to believe that this is the end of my first homestay. The time has gone by so quickly, and I know that once the expeditions begin the rest of the semester is just going to fly! It is bittersweet though. On one hand, I am really looking forward to being in the apartments. I am looking forward to having freedom and the ability to make decisions; to be able to run more than just laps around my house; to go bouldering or to the market or to get coffee after school if I want; to decide what, when, and how much I eat. Though it is only a week, it will be nice to experience some autonomy and to have a bit of a cleanse, per say, from fried food and rice before heading out into the field (but I really cannot even complain, because my host family was probably the best situation I could have asked for). I am also very much looking forward to living with my classmates and getting to know my way around the city better.

On the other hand, I feel so thankful to have experienced the normal life and routine of a Thai family. My host family has done so much for me that I almost feel indebted to them (and even slightly guilty for looking forward to leaving). They have welcomed me into their home; introduced me to their friends and extended family; shared their food and taught me how to cook; showed me their city; put up with my attempts at Thai and exponentially improved their English; and most of all, made me a part of their family for the past month. As we would say when talking about Thai culture, I am now part of their “circle of family.” I am forever connected to them and to their network of colleagues, family, and friends merely by association, an association that brings with it an expectation of social obligations and favors that are constantly being given and received.

Though I am leaving, I am glad to know that the relationship does not end here. Really, this connection is for life. Our Pi’s have told us, for example, that when they came back to Thailand several years after participating in ISDSI themselves, it was their Chiang Mai host families who picked them up at the airport. And so I know I will see my family again on the weeks in between field expeditions, as well as at the end of my program before I leave for the states, which really doesn’t even make it a goodbye.