Transcontinental Transfers:
Students Go the Distance for Cultural Education
By Jennifer Jackson
Courtesy Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND -- Natalie Norvell, 16, had never been on an airplane before when she boarded a jet at Sea-Tac Airport on January 15. She was in for a long introduction -- an 11-hour flight to Tokyo, followed by a seven-hour flight to Thailand. After a brief rest in Bangkok, she and other students from Jefferson Community School boarded a van and traveled seven hours through tropical landscape to a village in northwest Thailand. Three weeks later, they made the
7,700-mile trip in reverse.
On Friday, Norvel welcomed a group of students to Port Townsend who had also come a long way.
"We've been on three flights and been traveling for 30 hours," says Kate Bessey. "The students kept asking, "Where are you taking us, the North Pole?"
Bessey, a 1996 Quilcene High School graduate, teaches school in Cordoba, Argentina, approximately 6,550 miles from her former home. She brought with her 13 students from Cordoba, who, like Natalie, have gone a long way to see the world from a different angle.
"It's a slight shift in the compass," says Kathie Norvell, Natalie's mother. "What they think is the way things are supposed to be is not necessarily the way things are everywhere."
Natalie is one of dozens of Port Townsend students who have lived for up to a month in the Thai village of Pha Pang through a 4-H Expedition Club program established by Robbie Roberts. Now a teacher at Jefferson Community School, Roberts takes groups of local students to Pha Phong in both summer and winter, although in Thailand, winter is a relative term.
"It was hot, but cold in the morning," Norvell said of the three weeks she spent there.
Life in the village was also much simpler. Students are not allowed to take electronic devices except cameras -- no cell phones, no I-pods -- and walk everywhere, including the village school, where they help the students practice English. Limited to carry-on luggage, they learn that they can get along without things teenagers normally take for granted.
"You definitely don't need as much as you think you need," Natalie said. "We each had two pairs of pants and a few shirts. We slept on the floor. We did laundry by hand."
They also learn to respect Thai standards for behavior and dress -- no halter tops, no shorts. In Thailand, neither men nor women expose their shoulders or knees. They learned that touching a person's head or sitting with the sole of the foot pointed towards someone is disrepectful. And before they go, boys get short haircuts, as Thai people associate long hair with hippy backpackers.
In contrast, the Argentinian students exchanged summer for winter, and a big city for a small town. Named for Cordoba, Spain, Cordoba is the second largest city in Argentina with population with more 1.3 million people. It's also much older -- it was founded in 1573 -- and retains historical buildings from the Spanish colonial period. Bessey has lived there for six years, and is head of the drama department at St. John's School.
"The students are not all from my school, but from several language academies in Cordoba," Bessey said.
Bessey set up the two-week visit, the first in a cultural exchange program with Jefferson Community School when she was visiting her parents, Anne and Bruce Bessey, in Quilcene last year. Along with teacher Dolores Corderio, Bessey and 13 students, ages 12 to 18, first flew by airplane from central Argentina to Chile, then to Dallas and from there to Seattle. Taking a van from Sea-Tac Airport, they arrived on Friday aftternoon, tired but excited, at the school, across from Memorial Field downtown, where they were met by their host families.
Communication was not a problem -- all the visitors are English language students who had passed intermediate-level classes, Bessey said. Most said they had been away from home before, but never as far as the United States.
"I was nervous about coming," said Carolina Avila, 16, "and it's cold."
While in Port Townsend, the students will explore the history, culture, economy and environment throught expeditions to the boat haven, the historical museum and local businesses. JCS teacher Crystie Kisler and Bessey created a guide, "Digging Port Townsend," with assignments for the students, accompanied by JCS counterparts, to look at how the community was shaped by the setting and history, and compare it to aspects of their hometown. They'll also practice their English language skills and get a taste of the American home life and food at the home of their host families.
"I came because I want to know the culture and the lifestyle," said Peter Moreno, 14, as he waited to meet his host family.
In Thailand, the students live in guest houses, and eat food prepared by a village cook and served cafeteria-style. When she got back a week ago, Natalie said she didn't want rice, fish and vegetables -- the typical Thai diet-- but didn't find American food appetizing either. And she felt more culture shock, she said, when she arrived back in the United States.
'I could read everything, and people were not happy," Natalie said. "In Thailand, everybody is happy."
Natalie's mother said that the trip was an awakening for her daughter of how other people live.
"I think she has gotten a glimpse of how big the world is," Kathie Norvell says. "She can see the difference between how much we have and how much we don't need what we do have. She wants to change that in her own life.
"I've also heard "thank you" more in these first days back -- I think she realized how much we do for her."
Natalie said flying was frightening, especially the landings, but everybody helped her get used to it, and even held her hand. And the long hours of travel were well worth the experience.
"I'm ready to go back," Norvell said. "I miss it already." #
