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(Exchange students wrue name... 'Life in Thailand, simpler and junmaterialistic Editor’l Note: Jason Thomson of Eldoralio Township to currently involved (in I Canada World Youth Exchange In (Thailand. The following Is a letter he (sent to The Enterprise. dated December 1. 1990 l Sewatdea - Hello from Thailand! Perhaps as you read this letter, therels . a blanket of early winter snow on the ground and a frosty bite to the air. >Well. that is definitely not the scenario ' here In sunny. hot equatorialAslaJ’he ( rare precipitation that we do receive Is W‘ a welcome respite from the constant . humidity and 30 degree Celsius Itemperatures. For me, it seems as lthough winter lust didn't arrive this ( year and Instead the following three 1 months will be one long. never-ending l Julyl i. It was November 51h when we flew out of Toronto to begin our three lmonth adventurer Refuelling stops in ESeattle and Tokyo Included, the flight Ihadstotal duration of 25 hours! A long time for those who find it virtually lrn possible to sleep on airplanes - like lmel To further complicate matters we “last” twelve hours In the air. which (meant that by leaving Monday mom- lng. we arrived In Bangkok at nearly midnight. Tuesday night. I Our first ten days in Asia were spent at a government camp situated on the Gulf of Thailand. Many high- ranklng officials came and delivered , lengthy and largely repetitive speeches, which mostly consisted of information that we already knew, or else facts that were Irrelevant anyway. Despite this, It would have been on- thinkable for anyone to be openly critical. or even to offer suggestions for topics. This was our first exposure _to the Thals‘ vastly different concept of authority - one never directly queer lions an older, or any "knowiedgabfe" government representative. While Canada World Youth is an indepen- dent. non-polltical organization. its l Thai equivalent is the Community Development Departmentt This translates into a seemingly endless ar- ray ol hierarchical official involvement. and many very formal functions to at- tend. The opening welcome was in Bangkok. and we spent three days in that city. It’s definitely the most polluted place I’ve ever been. ill remember it as a tumbled mass of poverty. Interspersed with new skyscrapers and polluting industries. We ate in outdoor sidewalk restaurants. for under $1.00 COM per meal, I wasn't sorry to leave this noisy. congested area. but I felt sad lor the many people who will spend their on tire life there. with no hope of escape or improvement. Although physically my village ls only six hours north of Bangkok by bus. In reality it's an entirely different world. From Petchaboon provincial capital. we were transported to our new homes In open trucks. decorated with banana leaves. The lead truck hold a flveman bandploudly proclaiming our arrival to all. As we bumped down the "road" through the rice fields. on Jestlc. forestcovered mountains loom- ed high in the distance, Almost sur- rounding our destination. I would guess that a substantial percentage of the two thousand population had lined the street in hopes of catching a glimpse of these strange “faran” (foreigners), Several hundred more crowded into the monastery We were guided inside and given flowers and whole coconuts to drink from. The village youth proceeded to perform traditional dances In our honour. With such a tremendous display of friend- ship. It was impossible for us not to feel welcome! lam new learning the routines and customs of family and village life. My host family‘s house is in a small clear- Ing surrounded by coconuts, bananas. and other exotic vegetation, and lust oil the "main drag". Our living area ls basically one large room, with walls on the ends and open sides. The television sits on a chair in the middle of an otherwise bare "living room" and we also possess the lux- uries ol a refrigerator and washing machine - the only one In the entire village! Furniture is mostly Lm- necessary. We simply sit on the floor for everything. meals included. This can be quite a challenge since poln» ting feet Is very rude. and for me. sit- ting cross-legged ceases to be comfor- table after approximately five minutes! The main work at present is harvesting the rice. which Is grown In small fields on all sides of the village. Cutting ls done completely by hand. and often in large communal-type groups. which makes it seem more akin to a social outing than a sub- sistence occupation. Fair-skinned Canadians are given frequent shade breaks, and plenty of boiled water. to counteract the draining effects oi manual labour in the tropical sun. Other crops In the area include beans. tamarinds. tobacco and corn. To some. this might seem like a ter- riDIe place. with no opportunity for ad- vancement, and few western “conva- niences". But to me, It‘s a simpler. un- materialistic lifestyle. with friendly. giving people who seem content, There's no unemployment. traffic iams, or office stress A Just familiar neighbours and an unhurried ex- istence that's far more In touch with the natural environment than our own i'm sure I'll gradually understand much more over the following two months It's amazing what one can observe when speaking much less - while attempting to decipher a little of what others are saying! For everyone In Chesley - Have a great Christmas and a super new year of 1991! Jason Thomson Canada World Youth Thailand EI- change Ban Pun. Tembon Pa Leo, Amn‘tor Muang Changwet Petchaboon 57000, Thailand L Herb McGilveary honored for 25 (years of service to Elderslie _ on The council of the Township of Elderslle met on December 17. with all I. bmarrrbers presenh‘r FWIO‘ , 'j d ‘ The Federated Woman’s Insti- ftules of Ontario will lookiafter the mummy craft section at the Royal; =W‘lptar Fair. The FWIO is also host- ] In; Women's Day at the fair. ' All W15 in Ontario have beenl ~ asked plant a tree. . The FWIO also set a goal to cro- . ate new WI branches. The goalie lo ‘ ' establish 14 new branches within Ilti. Bulrlce Wei-t Cumming passed I away suddenly at the Cheslay and District Memorial Hospital on Friday. ‘ November 30, 1990. The former Beatrice Mitchell, she was the wife of the late Rodger Cumin Inc and the late John Kennedy and was the dearslstar of Alice Ringle 0! Owen Sound. Fredaceased by four brothers Hugh. Sam. William and David and seven sisters. Margaret. Sarah. tensile. Mamls. Lillian and Susan. Mrs. Cumming once operated restaurants at Rockford and Spring- mourrt. In the past few years. she has lived In Owen Sound. Hanover and Chesley. The family of the late Beatrice Cum» mlng received friends at the James L Currie Funeral Home in Chatsworth where the lunaral service was held on Monday. December 3. 1990 at 2 pm. Reverend William Lonnips of Geneva Presbyterian Church in Chesley oi- flciated. Sewing as pallbearers were Alvin Webb. Ernie Whitehead. Ari Mid- dleton. Elmer Brown, Allan Mac- Dougalf and Jim Currie. Interment In Hlllcrest Cemetery, Tatar Bradshaw Y gave advice on gardening TORONTO [CPI â€" John BradA Shaw, a broadcaster and colum- nist who dispensed advice on gardening for more than 40 years. died Saturday. He was 75, Bradshaw had been ill for more than two weeks with heart trou- ble. Bradshaw. an air force ve began his broadcasting can an. air tor the Second World War. when be devised a simple gardening ‘ plan for the Veteran's Land Act. By 1950 be was the garden and term director of CFRB Radio in Toronto, Your Home and Garden Show drew audiences of up to 204,000 for 32 years until Erad- show retired in 1982. He was also garden editor of the defunct Toronto Telegram. the Toronto Star. the Chicago Ameri- ‘ can and the Toronto Sun. In 1960, be published the 16’ volume encyclopedia series lohn Bradshaw's Complete Guide to Better Gardening. Bradshaw is survived by his wife Marian and four children from an earlier marriage. A rivate funeral son'rce Will be be it Tuesday. McCULLOCHâ€"Mary Alice (Shark) oi Chesley passed away at her late resl» donce Thursday. November 22nd. 1990 In her 86th year. Dear daughter of Mrs I Hazel Sherk and the late Ben Sherk Beloved wife of Joseph B McCulloch Dear mother of M Calheflne and her husband Alan Blue of Calgary William H. and his wife Wyonna ol Chesley. Nancy Jean and her husband Paul Harl- ton ol Toronto. Josephine Anne at Cai- gary, Frances Hamel McCulloch and her husband Mark Winn of Florida. Dr. Janet Fiuth McCulloch and her husband Tony Legnini. James S and his Wife Carol ot Chastey. John Mark McCulloch of ‘Toronto. Predeceased by two Infant children Sadly missed by thirteen grandchildren and sisters Viola (Mrs Earl Winger) ol Flidgeway. Phyllis (Mrs Arthur Pye) ol Fonthill. Betty (Mrs Fraser McCulloch) of Paisley. srsters~ inelaw Helen Sheik and Jo Ann Shark bolh of Ridgeway. brothers Joseph and his Wife Edna of Flidgeway, Bill and his wrle Betty of Ridgeway. Claude and his wrle Louise ol Welland. Predaceased by Sisters Kathryn. Sldor and brother Lewrs,_Loved by many nieces. nephews and friends Visiting at the EmkerMc- Fadden Funeral Chapel. Gheslay. Sats urday from 700 to 9:00 pm. and Sun- day Irom 2:00 to 4 00 and 7:00 to 900 p m until noon Monday and thence to Immanuel Missionary Church. Paisley for service of Celebration at Lrle. Mon- day at 2:00 pm. Interment St Andrew's Cemetery. Elderslie Township Dona- tions to the Chesley Baptist Church or Immanuel Missionary Church Building Funds would be appreciated as expresâ€" sions of sympathy. /