I think we can all agree that from the moment we stepped off the plane we felt very welcome and safe. Now that I have been here for 7 weeks, I feel that I have a true impression of Thai people in general. I personally feel that they are one of the most friendly, playful, down to earth, and generous groups of people in the world. We were always greeted with impeccable manners and the utmost respect. We, as 4 four young caucasian women, had really done our research about where we should travel and how to be safe. I must say that there was never a time that we ever felt unsafe due to the actions of local people. Local transit on the other hand is a totally different story (tuk-tuks, ferries, plastic lawn chairs for seats, and a total lack of seatbelts in the country)!!
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| Really not exaggerating about the lawn chairs - this was the luxury work van because we didn't have to climb in through the window... (crazily enough I miss this ride now!) |
At the start of our trip we were the typical Canadian newbie tourists. I had some idea of Thai customs based on a little bit of reading I had done pre-departure. One of the customs that we learned more about during our stay at ENP was the Wai. The Wai is a prayer-like gesture made from one person to another as a sign of respect and recognition (often accompanied by a bow and a smile). We learned that there were several different ways in which you position your hands in order to demonstrate different levels of respect. For example, when recognizing an equal, the thumbs are pressed to the chest. When acknowledging advice or orders given to you by an elder, thumbs are pressed to the chin. When recognizing your teacher, which is considered a very highly respected position in Thailand, you raise your thumbs to your lips. Your parents are considered in the highest regard, second only to Buddha and the King, and thumbs are raised to the nose. The King is considered to be the most highly loved and respected of all, and the hands are positioned over the head in the highest position.
Another interesting custom we quickly caught on to revolved around feet of all things. Thai people believe that the feet are the most dirty part of the body because in the past (and often the present) Thai people would go without shoes, and obviously would collect some undesireable grime. It is considered extremely rude to touch anything with your feet, point with your feet, or put your feet up on furniture. The feet are never to be raised to head level/be near the head. Many places we visited insisted that we remove our shoes before entering; roadside stalls and the surgical suite were no exceptions! It was definitely a shift in our thought process to be assisting in surgery wearing nothing but our dirty bare feet! It is a custom that quickly becomes a habit, but the more I think about it the more I find this one funny.
We did our best to visit as many of the buddhist temples as we could during our time off. The wats were extremely beautiful and artistic, and although I am not buddhist, I did feel a sense of calm and appreciation every time I entered a temple. We were able to learn a small amount about Buddhist culture during our trip, but I would like to focus primarily on how it affected our veterinary experience. I personally struggled quite a bit with the buddhist views on life, death and euthanasia. I want to say that it was easy for me to understand and accept, but I would be lying (although I did try my best not to outwardly judge any person for decisions made).
We saw several gruesome cases during our time at the dog and cat rescue centre, and each was handled delicately. The veterinary staff at the dog and cat rescue centre (DCRS) were amazing, and very proficient. The case that stands out most in my mind is a small dog that was hit by a car in the face approximately 4-5 days before the owner brought him to us. I will preface this by saying I have no idea why the owner waited so long, and I choose to give the benefit of the doubt and assume he did not notice or was not home (Thai dogs are very loosely owned, and perhaps this dog was missing for several days). I don't want to upset anyone's stomach, so if you are squeamish you should stop reading now! I will say that I definitely was sick to my stomach. This dog had a broken jaw that was hanging down. All of his teeth were broken, bloody and rotting. The roof of the mouth was cracked and bloody. To top it all off, because it was 4-5 days old, there were upwards of 100 fully developed maggots within the wounds around the teeth and in the nasal cavity. I know you're gagging right now, but honestly you can't imagine the smell, and the helpless feeling in our guts. We began to recognize the smell of a maggot infested wound before we could even get a look at it.. (I know, really gross, but it's reality there). We did the best we could under the circumstances, removing all the maggots and shards of teeth and bone. We sedated the dog and gave him pain medication. The owner decided to take him home, because he did not want to euthanize. It is the buddhist belief that if it is the animal's time to go, then it is their time, if not, they will choose to live. I have to say that this made me very upset. I wasn't angry with the owner, because he was a nice man following his religious belief. I was angry because I knew in my gut that we were sending this dog home to suffer until it died in pain several days later.
In the end I have to thank this man. He taught me the reality of veterinary medicine in Thailand, and what the veterinary staff must go through every day. This is the lesson I traveled across the world to learn. I am going home a lot more mature and a lot more grateful for the options available in western medicine. We had several cases like this, some more or less upsetting. It is common for local (and foreign) people on the island to place poison on the ground for the dogs and cats. They believe that if the dog chooses to eat the poison it isn't their fault that they die, it was their choice. Many dogs are shot and gravely wounded, but not killed, for the same reason. One dog brought to us was shot in the leg because she was a stray that had puppies on their porch. The dog is alive and is recovering for surgery to have the leg amputated. She will never be returned to her home area unless someone chooses to adopt her, and her puppies are likely all dead (put in a bag in the river, or left to starve at only 1 day old). I know that this post sounds very negative, but this was my biggest challenge with working here. I loved every day, good and bad, and I feel that I will be a better vet after experiencing these difficult cases.
Thai culture was fascinating, confusing, and fun for us to experience. The more time we spent there, the more I stopped questioning and starting enjoying! I stopped worrying about a lack of seatbelts, and instead noticed how the cars and motorcycles respect each other on the road (not immediately evident with all of the passing and honking!). We stopped worrying about eating street food and started eating whatever our Thai friends offered us to try (although you can never trust when they say, "only littllleeee spicy"... It is always more than a little spicy!!)
I am currently in the airport waiting on my last flight home to Canada!! I am very excited to be going home, but also sad to be leaving! I will be adding more pictures once I have a real computer, so stay tuned!
Fingers crossed for no delays!
Xoxo
Steph Pierre
