MUN musings

Model UN team around the UN Flag

(we actually met at the UN Offices in Asia)

About 20 Years ago (in January of 1990) I visited Bangkok Thailand on my way to Vietnam for a Calvin College interim study tour. Almost all of the members of my group were immersed into a developing country for the first time. Scooters and Tuk-tuks (dilapidated three wheel motorized vehicles) crowded the streets and pollution hung in the air. Ramshackle houses crowded along dirty rivers. We were quite amazed at the poverty of the place, until we landed in Vietnam a few days later, where dirt roads and an even greater absolute poverty were the norms.

SPH student presents Speech in Committee

About 10 years ago (1998), Bangkok and Thailand imploded during the Asian financial crises, which started here. What started as a real estate and currency bubble popping (sound familiar) led to chaos all over Asia including riots in Indonesia.

I just returned to Thailand this week and the change is quite amazing. Pollution seems much better, economic growth evident and prosperity obvious. While I am sure there is a side I am not seeing (including the inequality found between those in wealthy cities and the poor in the country side), nonetheless, the people of Thailand have more options for a strong education, good employment, quality housing and decent healthcare than ever before. Although environmental sustainability is still a huge question all of these formerly mentioned items indicate strong development.

Entire Delegation

The reason I am in Bangkok was to spend 4 days with 10 of my students at a Model United Nations (MUN) conference with kids from all over Asia (Japan, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Thailand) where we simulated the real United Nations and their mandate to stop war and foster cooperation and development between nations. In this way, Thailand was a fitting place for this conference, not to mention we held the event in a real United Nations building (The UN building in Southeast Asia).

Model U.N. ends with the writing of superlatives, which are fun descriptors of the events and delegates. Here are MY superlatives from the trip:

• Proudest moment: Despite being ESL and having no prior experience, watching my students engage in debate with refined, experienced and older International students (many of whom are the children of diplomats).


• Most embarrassing moment: realizing my attempt to taxi to dinner with 5 of my students has left us in a seedy neighborhood… in Bangkok (known as the sex capital of the world)!


• Most bothersome moments: watching wealthy but frugal (nice way of saying it) students haggle with poor street vendors over a few pennies.


• Most unnerving moment: watching wealthy but CHEAP students ARGUE with ME over how much they should pay following a meal!
  
• Longest moments: Sitting in an airport and an air plane, typing this blog and wishing to be home with Janet and the kids after 4 very long days!

A world in itself

My homeroom in costume

For the second straight year, I enjoyed Bulan Bahasa at SPH. Bulan Bahasa literally translated means "language month" and could be thought of as heritage month (or cultural awareness month) where the language (Bahasa), cultures, and histories of Indonesian peoples are celebrated in dance, song, poetry, drama and dress.

Tari Saman Dancers

To see this facinating dance, go to the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJqO8N3oX4c

It culminated on Friday, November 13 with everyone coming in the native dress of an area of Indonesia (My homeroom was Aceh). This was followed at the end of the day of with a two hour program.

Another performer in the Dance program

It's quite cliche to say something is "a world in itself", however the 16 months of living and traveling in Indonesia has proved to me that Indonesia truly is "a world in itself" with amazing differences in cultures, music, and traditions. This doesn't even begin to cover all the geographic diversity found here (coastal regions, mountains, rainforest, reefs).

Balinese Dancer

It's amazing what you can learn at school. Even as a teacher!

Jammed Jakarta

My fellow Economics teacher at SPH put together an assignment for his students about traffic in Jakarta for the students to consider government policies to alleviate traffic congestion. The assignment had some amazing statistics (gathered from the Jakarta Globe). Among them:

• 650 new cars and 3,400 new motorbikes are registered each day in Jakarta.
• There are 1.5 million vehicles (including scooters) on the road in Jakarta every day.
• Each year there is 9% more vehicles on the roads, but only 0.9% new roads.
• A vehicle traveling in Jakarta will spend 60% of its time stopped in traffic.
• The average speed of vehicles in the city is 13 MPH (20 KPH).
• If solutions are not found Jakarta will come to total gridlock by 2014.
  

Taking a break

Last Saturday, I went on my first long distance mountain bike ride on the outskirts of Jakarta (I was invited by a parent of one of Hope's classmates). We wandered through small villages, rice paddies to a small lake. As you can see below (from the GPS display), our average moving speed was similar to most motorized vehicles in Jakarta (without all the frustrations).


It was a great ride!