BHS student returns from year in Thailand
By HOLLY GASKILL
This time last year, a 16-year-old Leah Brown landed at an airport in Thailand, on her own and without knowing a word of the native language.
Though she had only just been given the responsibility of a driver’s license, the Bluffton High School sophomore was then trusted to live across the world for nearly an entire year. With endless optimism, Brown zealously rose to the opportunity for all she could learn and experience.
Over 10 months in a foreign country, Brown would grow to be conversational in the native language, travel to several other countries, teach English to children and collect cross-cultural experiences to last a lifetime.
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Brown traveled to Thailand through the Rotary International Youth Exchange program, a high school exchange program that partners with other Rotary clubs across the world. She was sponsored by Bluffton’s Rotary Club, which partnered with a host club in Phuket, Thailand. Brown attended a Thai school and stayed with three host families, an intentional part of the program to experience different family cultures.
Altogether, Brown’s cultural experience of Phuket is nearly the complete opposite of Bluffton — the coastal province is roughly two-thirds the size of Wells County but with a population of over 400,000. People speak Thai and other regional native dialects — although English isn’t uncommon — and practice Buddhism.
Brown also found that the area had quite a different relationship with food — most meals were street food eaten at markets, where Brown could buy a bowl of noodles for 45 cents. Breakfasts were also typically savory, sometimes including chicken, and most meals were fried and served with rice.
If meals were prepared at home, they were often done in an outdoor kitchen. Brown also learned that most dairy products weren’t culturally stored in the fridge. “So I didn’t eat cheese,” she laughed. She did eat, however, a variety of bugs, scorpions and chicken feet.
The country also celebrates numerous holidays, with Brown’s favorite being the Thai New Year. The April holiday is accompanied by a three-day country-wide water fight.
“It was probably one of the craziest experiences,” Brown shared. “There’s just people lining the roads with these water guns. It was just actually the most insane experience and everybody was soaking wet.”
Homesickness & Health
While culture shock could be considered an understatement, Brown found that the varying familial cultures were often the most jarring. Little questions, like how to turn on the shower or what was appropriate to wear for different parts of the day, were constantly popping into her mind.
All the while, Brown was careful about communication back home. Brown and her parents, Dustin and Rebecca, had been advised by RYE to be intentional about how often they spoke, to stay in touch but not worsen homesickness. She estimated she spoke with her parents about once a week — about 30 times across the 10 months.
“I was so overwhelmed the first week or so,” Brown said. “And then after the first week, I got into the swing of things. And then every switch (in host families) … there was a week where I was like, ‘Get me out of here’ … Talking to my mom, I always felt better.”
Brown feels lucky about her experience with homesickness, but it was at its worst when she wasn’t feeling well. Although she never encountered any serious illnesses, Brown ended up in the hospital twice in Thailand — once from a concussion while whitewater rafting and another time after getting a ring stuck on her finger. Both were handled relatively easily.
Back to School
As part of getting to know the culture, Brown attended a Thai school throughout her time in the country. In a school of 4,000 students in uniforms, she thought she would be able to blend in a bit.
“I very much was apart from the crowd,” she laughed, adding, “I had to learn real fast to be real confident in myself.”
Most of the classes were taught half in English and half in Thai, which helped to learn the language. While Brown was already bilingual in English and Spanish, Thai has its own alphabet and is entirely different from Germanic and Latin-based languages.
While it was difficult for Brown to say Thai names, many of her peers struggled to say “Leah” as well. Brown ended up getting a Thai nickname after a common Phuket flower. “It was cute,” she said. “They actually give that nickname to a lot of foreigners who stay for a while.”
Luckily, Brown clicked with friends who helped her practice her Thai speaking skills. Brown said she was largely fluent in speaking and understanding the language by the time she left, but recognized that it’s a skill that will probably fade with time.
Ambassadorship
Perhaps the most unexpected part of Brown’s study abroad experience was the extent to which she was asked to represent U.S. politics to those around her. Everyone Brown encountered wanted to know her takes on all kinds of U.S. issues.
“I think being an American in the current year and last years — everyone wanted to know my opinion on everything,” she said. “I was questioned about everything.”
In her Rotary Club alone, there were 16 different nationalities present, and more throughout the clubs she interacted with in the region.
Brown tried to handle subjects with care, often providing context to differing opinions. However, she also found the conversations challenging as she was actively exposed to different cultural experiences and perspectives that were broadening her own views.
“They would find out I was American and the first thing they would ask about is school shootings,” she shared. “Which is really sad, especially being a high schooler, like that’s something we think about. Often in Thailand, they just don’t have that problem because arms aren’t a problem there.”
It became even more difficult to consider as Brown learned that there had been a firearm found at BHS in April. “It was very difficult for me to grapple with it, honestly,” she said.
Although the subject matter was an unexpected burden, it was one Brown found herself grateful to have experienced. She had hoped to learn how to “live life not in a box,” she told The News-Banner in August 2023.
“I think that’s actually a common theme throughout my exchange year,” Brown said. “I think the big one was (learning that) your perspective is valid, but so is everybody else’s … I think traveling and meeting people all over the world has made me a better person in a lot of ways.”
In addition to her experiences in Phuket, Brown was able to travel to Bali, Thailand, and the country’s capital, Bangkok. She also went out of the country to Singapore and Laos.
A Bittersweet Goodbye
During the last few months in Thailand, Brown’s host parents were a retired couple who were primarily involved in humanitarian work. Because she was on break from school, she took the opportunity to be involved in this work, teaching English and music to children at a Burmese school.
While Brown is hesitant to place many ‘favorites’, she does credit the last three months as being the reason it was bittersweet to come home.
“Much of my exchange year was very — I want to say selfish — but it was very much about me and what I was learning,” Brown said. “And it was so cool to teach other kids.”
Brown spent those days teaching at the school, spending time with friends and Rotarians, and exploring parts of the city with her host parents.
“Oh, my host dad — I love him, he’s so funny,” Brown shared. “He plays the harmonica. And so I would go to the most random bars, like literally bars, and we’d walk in and sit down, and he’d play music. That was one of our favorite things to do together. We’d play music all the time.”
She added with a smile, “And then I’d wake up the next day and do it all again.”
Back Home Again in Indiana
In the months leading to her return to the U.S., Brown learned something about her flight plans had messed up and she had to change the dates. And thus, a plan was hatched.
Brown returned three weeks earlier than expected and surprised her close friends one by one. She even planned a series of social media posts to look like she was still in Thailand, all while boarding a plane to Chicago or sitting at home. “And I bamboozled everybody,” she smirked.
Of course, she was also ecstatic to be reunited with her family.
“The moment I landed in Chicago, I was bawling, like all the waterworks,” Brown laughed. “I was so excited to see my mom. I was so excited to go home. And drink Dr. Pepper.”
Readjusting home has not always been a seamless process, but she takes it one day at a time. Now 17-years-old, Brown finds herself realizing that her friends, BHS, and Bluffton aren’t the same as when she left. She’s not the same as when she left either.
“My best friend kept me grounded a lot because she would say things like, ‘It’s exciting to meet a new version of Leah,’” she shared. “I mean, I left a sophomore and came back as a senior — that’s bizarre.”
It’s also helpful that Brown is always looking forward. She started a mixed soda stand business with her dad and hosted her first event. She’s organizing an internship for her senior year. She wants to host a Bluffton fundraiser for the Burmese school she volunteered at. She’s planning a trip back to Thailand with her family for next year.
“I cannot sit still, I simply cannot,” she joked.
Before Brown’s year abroad, she was thinking about studying international relations after high school, but now she’s leaning toward the government policy side. Wherever she lands, the sky’s the limit — and she’ll always know where the best view is.
Brown smiled, “Now I’ve seen sunsets literally on the other side of the world. Indiana sunsets — nothing like them, nothing like them.”
holly@news-banner.com
