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During Spring Break, instead of spending time on the beach or relaxing at home, 10 other students on Alternative Spring Break and I fanned out in Bangkok's notorious red-light district of Patpong and handed out condoms to pole dancers and bar girls. To some group members, it seemed awkward for these students from a tiny, frozen college in Maine to be promoting safe sex on the opposite side of the globe in the steamy city often referred to as the sex capital of the world.
"I felt unsure at first," said my trip mate Graham Quill '08, "thinking that it was silly and awkward for a foreigner to be handing out condoms and fliers."
This awkwardness passed within minutes, however, as the girls, lasciviously clad in skimpy tops, began filtering out of the bars and brothels, clamoring for as many condoms as possible, as did hundreds of passersby. Meanwhile, people filled the already crowded streets, weaving their way in and out of open air shops and street vendors. With music blaring from the bars, and the smell of food stalls and sweating bodies pervading the air, the muggy tropical evening felt oppressive. Even in the midst of this teeming street scene though, the distribution of condoms proved to be a leading attraction.
"We found out that everyone needed them and didn't really care who was handing them out," continued Quill. "I literally got jumped by one woman who must have been in desperate need of condoms."
Working alongside Thai colleagues from the Empower Foundation, a non-governmental organization (NGO), we also handed out pamphlets with information about Empower, a group based in the red-light district that provides various resources for women working in the sex industry. This was one of the various activities in a ten-day trip that began in the northern jungles of Thailand, and culminated in the capital city of Bangkok.
The 10 students and one staff member who traveled to Thailand over Spring Break spent their time exploring the sex trafficking industry, its causes and effects, how it can be curbed, and how to provide assistance to those already working in the industry. Our group worked with three different NGOs and one government-run organization in order to discuss their projects with them, to help them with their field work, such as the aforementioned distribution of contraceptives, and to teach English classes.
"Our work with the organizations was highly rewarding," said trip co-leader Michelle Chan '06. "It made individuals re-examine many of our ideas about poverty and sex trafficking."
"What we learned and observed while in Thailand supplemented much of what we learn academically at Bowdoin," she said.
Upon arriving in Thailand after nearly 30 hours of traveling, we flew to the far northern reaches of the country and trekked several miles through the jungle to the primitive village of Yafoo, home of the Lahoo hill tribe. Tucked into the mountains near the borders of Laos and Myanmar, the village was isolated and offered few physical comforts, but the Lahoo tribe welcomed us and opened their homes. During two days in the village, we slept in bamboo huts, ate with native families and participated in various activities designed by the Mirror Art Group, another NGO that works with various hill tribes to educate them about the dangers of trafficking. We worked with young school children, helping them draw and teaching them to take photographs, as well as performing short skits to promote simple values such as friendship and education.
"I was amazed at how shy the children were when we first started drawing with them," said Sarah Mountcastle '05, an AmeriCorps volunteer.
"The language and cultural barriers we faced with the kids forced us to be creative in our approach to get them to express themselves through art," Mountcastle added.
Spending several days among the Lahoo wrenched all of us out of our privileged comfort zones. The bamboo huts were built up on stilts in order to maintain the family livestock underneath. Everyday around 3 a.m., the hundreds of pigs, dogs and roosters in the village raised a ruckus that had us all tossing on mats until the village began stirring at dawn. Due to concerns about the risk of avian flu, we exercised extreme caution not to handle the livestock, including the chickens that ran underfoot throughout the village, or the mangy dogs that constantly sought our attention. We also avoided all forms of meat, eating vegetarian for the duration of our stay.
After five days in the north, we flew back to the capital of Bangkok, and stayed five days in the city, working with three other organizations. Daily activities brought us face to face with the realities of poverty and the trafficking industry that often exploits it.
The group also turned tourist occasionally, finding time for some leisure activities like shopping in the famous J.J. outdoor market, a massive collection of 8,000 shops and vendors selling nearly every product imaginable. We also visited Bangkok's Grand Palace of the Emerald Buddha, a huge complex of extravagantly decorated golden temples and pagodas. The group was lucky enough to be traveling with two Thai students, Bier Kraichak '08 and Prae Supcharoen '06 who both attended high school in Bangkok. Both proved invaluable to the trip's success, serving as willing translators, tour guides, and facilitators.
This expedition was the first Alternative Spring Break trip to Asia. Throughout the school year trip leaders Chan and Lee attended weekly leadership training classes, and then held weekly group meetings over a two-month period once the roster was set. They meticulously planned every detail of the trip's itinerary, and worked closely with Mountcastle, who works in the Community Service Resource Center.
They also succeeded in securing a Freeman Grant, which added over $2,000 to defray the trip's expenses.
Other participants on the trip included Kerry Twombly '08, Alana Wooley '06, Lindsey Buntman '06, and Kelly Orr '06.
The trip to Thailand was one of six service projects organized by Bowdoin's Community Service Resource Center, which oversees the college's Alternative Spring Break program, and is run by Sarah Seames, Bowdoin's coordinator of Community Service Programs. Other Bowdoin students traveled to Peru, Guatemala, New Mexico, Mississippi, and New York City.
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