[easypokergonj]

Well, I am not sure yet how many students will be in Newport next fall. This year there were three, so I would expect she will not be the only one. Thank you for all of the information. Also, there is a Thai Kitchen restaurant in town. I will meet that family before she gets here so maybe she will have a little taste of home. Got to figure out how to cook a little Thai. As far as English, she has had 10 years. Judging by her letter, she does pretty well. As far as religion, she is a Buddhist, but on the application she checked that she went to services once a month. But no, I would not have major objections. We do want to learn of the culture and obviously that is a large part of the culture.

Jim Hekel
Newport, Tennessee

[M4tHkBw2]

FiP I was refereing to the fact that the new poster jhekel may not know waht a farang is, I was not being judgmental or critical, just trying to help

[Knillagrarp]

Will you react strongly to this student practicing her religion in your home?

[elalmhicabalp]

A farang is what Thais call foreigners (FiP should know better)
Be prepared to keep the heater going until it reached 30 deg CDon't be upset if she seems quiet, Thais take a bit of time to adjust and speak openly, just keep talking amongst your family with the occasional "What do you think" or "would you like that"

This may not be to much of a problem. My wife just loves the cooler weather. Even over the winter she would be outdoors savouring the lower temperatures!

Some of my thoughts:

Lots of fruit, vegetables, chicken, pork, noodles, and rice. Obviously this will depend on the young lady herself but most of the Thai's I have met are not into red meat.

A phone card so that she can call home without wracking up the phone bill.

And, do you know if there are any other exchange students being hosted by others in Newport? And how proficient is she in English?

[DownloadMan]

Do not take to much stock in how many years that they have had English in schools, It is a required subject that starts very early on, my wife is an English teacher in Thai govt schools, her students can only say a few words in English and that is all said as a group together and most do not have the slightest idea what they are saying or what it means.
Our daughter has listened to me for 7 years and she understands some, can read and write it well and can not speak it so you could understand what she is saying, And I am around nothing but Thai every day and I can not understand what she is saying in English. But if they are coming to the states then they will have to understand it or they are not allowed to go by most sponsoring agency's.
No problems, it will be a good exp. for both of you. Enjoy.

[StampNews]

If you want to cook something simple for her then check out own cooking videos at www.enjoythaifood.com.

[StampNews]

Yes, I also suggest you take a look at the www.ThailandLife.com website as it tells the story of life in Thailand from the viewpoint of a Thai teenager.

[easypokergonj]

Greetings;

I am new to the site and know very little about Thailand. We will be hosting a young girl from Kampaheng Phet region of Thailand this fall in our home in Tennessee. As I know very little about the country and the customs, I would love to hear opinions of what we can do to make this young lady feel at home quickly in Tennessee.

Jim Hekel
Newport, Tennessee

[easypokergonj]

There is no Asian market in Newport and I have not tried eating at the Thai Kitchen yet. I hope to do that this week. A monthly trip to Knoxville or maybe Asheville, NC, would not be a problem. She will have her own bedroom. It's not a large room, but certainly adequate. Our home is a double-wide trailer in a nice residential neighborhood. Karen and I do not have children at home, so most of the time it will be just the three of us. We miss having teens in the house. During my previous marriage, about 12 years ago, I hosted a young lady from Berlin. We have a son who is 10 who will be here during the summer and at Christmas. Our other children are on their own, but will visit on occasion. So no, we will not be sending any children overseas in return. She currently attends a rather large school. I have looked at their website, but I can't read much of it as it is in Thai. The photos were neat to look at though.

Jim Hekel
Newport, Tennessee

[Knillagrarp]

Jim, I have to ask again how you will feel if she brings a Buddha image into your home and lights incense and candles, puts food and water out, and engages in other religious practices common to Thais. Unless she is a Christian or Muslim Thai, it will certainly happen. If she can't practice her relgion she will not be happy. Buddhism is woven into the fabric of Thai culture. If you attempt to convert her, she will smile and pretend to comply. However, she will feel extremely uncomfortable in such an environment.

[Jeaxatoem]

Hey VC - What makes you think he's trying to convert her? I see no indication of that in his posts.

[DownloadMan]

Nor do all Thai or even most Thai continually engage in any outward form of religious practice.
If not for the spirit house in our yard we might be LDS or none at all. This goes for the whole family and all of our friends.
Buddhism is more a state of mind than a religion as there is no GOD figure, only the teachings of Lord Buda.
Couple of times a year joss sticks and new garlands are placed on the spirit houses but never is incense ever burned inside any home I have ever been in.
And the family visits the WAT whenever they want.
So as far as religion goes Buddhism is not a real outward thing as is Catholicism. altho it is a form of idol worship.
So that should be the least worried about thing on the list.

But food is a worry but not a major issue either, but the teens do seem to love French Fries..And in the gourmet section of your local super market is a good place to look and see what they have and what you can use, but not a big deal either.

Jim, check out the fotki links in my sig as there are some nice pix of my FIL funeral,,straight Buda.

[Knillagrarp]

It was posed as a "what if" question to learn whether the family is prepared for the possibility. It is not the same as having a German exchange student. German culture is not all that different from U.S. culture, although it is different. Thai culture, on the other hand, is far removed from U.S. culture. In our home, my wife has about eight images on a shelf, along with water, some cotton flowers, candles, etc. She puts out food every week and sits and chants almost daily. Sure, that might be on the extreme side but that doesn't mean that others don't practice to some extent.

[Trercakaressy]

Visionchaser does have a valid question. Tennesse, is in the bible belt. Although ,I think the subject shouldn't be hashed out.
Hosting an exchange student is a good experience for all.
Just like in families ,there will be good times and not so good.
The original question is looking for information that will help the student's stay and will help in that fine southern hospitality.

[DownloadMan]

Pete, I think that they do pretty good in English generally, I know when we were thinking of sending our kid over she would have to have passed an English prof. test. and most schools there also require an ESL before they will allow admittance, at least the ones I checked do..
I have found that if a Thai is given beef that they can actually eat then they like it pretty well, coarse our kid is a teen but even my wife prefers beef to pork and chicken most of the time, [They really like Pork ribs and sour kraut tho,] but we do mix it in and they eat these Thai warm water fish, but I can't go em. I was brought up on PNW mountain trout and cold water north pac salmon and steelhead.

[reervieltnope]

Good luck to both parties, this should be a fun experience for you both.
I wouldn't worry to much about the religion aspect as she may be a Buddhist in the same regards some farangs are Christian, something they identify with in name only.

Lots of fresh fruit! My wife powers that stuff down like it's her last meal and now I'm more regular than I've ever been in my life! If possible a mortar and pestle with plenty of Thai chilies, red if you can, which can be put in the freezer in a freezer bag. If she's any thing like my wife she's going to miss spicy/hot food and then she can whip up a variety of tounge burners Not just rice, but Thai Jasmine rice, I recommend Three Ladies brand. As far as the restruant they will serve watered down Thai food suited for farang palates, but that's not what they eat in the kitchen and after a few attempts you should be able to get something closer to what she's used to.

Japanese food will probably work too.

Keep us posted on how events progress for you guys.

[indahouweres]

My family has hosted exchange students over the years in different capacities. I've also been an exchange student (to Thailand). One thing I would recommend is have your usual life. There can be so much pressure at the beginning to entertain or to have every moment a learning moment. Just relax and live you life like you normally would....that is what the student will want to see.

On the practical side... Thais shower/bathe much more frequently than Americans do. We had a lot of Thai students over the years come to our town in western North Carolina and knowing that I used to live in Thailand they would come over and ask me if I could talk to their parents about showering more...

[Drysnyaty]

Thai kids and teenagers are just as diverse in their tastes and preferences as other kids - she might be into junk food completely, for example. the junk food shop at our school must be the best business of the century as far as I see and fast food restaurants are packed out with teenagers. I would say you can expect anything.

if she is scheduled to attend classes at school, she is in for a few major shocks. unless she has been attending an international style school, she will be used to copying, repeating, and listening to the teacher's input. she won't be used to teamwork, projects, independent thinking, debating, putting forward her own suggestions, or making up her own timetable. she might be shocked at the outfits people wear at school. I would predict she will need considerable help fitting in and feeling comfortable.

I don't remember if you have mentioned this - is this the kind of exchange program involving your own daughter? (like, they will attend classes and do things together, and then she will come to Thailand as well?)

[DownloadMan]

Be cool, act normal and everything will turn out just fine, Farang are not an unknown thing here and she should be able to acclimate fairly easy to your home life if not made a nervous wreck by you being to jittery and worried about everything being just so so..
There is a new book just out about a Thai Teen and maybe you should buy it and it will makes things a little easier for you. Look in the left margin and they have a book store, the book was written by Gor. Or in the upper header of this page is listed BOOK STORE.
Good luck.

[easypokergonj]

Thanks guys;

We are very excited. Also thanks for the definition of a farang, I had no idea what that meant. Oh, and people in Tennessee do bathe. But I am from Iowa originally. Just a tranplant here.

Jim Hekel
Newport, Tennessee