An equal exchange

Daeng didn’t grow up around snow, but he seemed pretty used to it as his bus mates lobbed snowballs at one another while they waited for the school bus.

While they are all headed to the same school, what set Daeng apart at the bus stop is his calm, relaxed demeanor, his 49 years of age, and his role as a teacher and not a student.

Daeng, pronounced “dang,” is a nickname for Somboon Uthayotha. He is an exchange teacher from Thailand and started teaching last week at Windham Primary School. He is staying in the home of Stephen and Valerie Johnston in Windham and takes the bus to school each morning. He said he hopes to spend some time teaching at the middle school as well before he goes back to Thailand in June.

“I can’t teach English there because they are too good at it,” said Daeng of middle school students.

In the class

Daeng is teaching first-, second- and third-graders about Thai culture, customs and history, from the floating markets to the beautiful Loi Krathong Festival each November.

Daeng is not only here to teach, he’s also here to learn. He is improving his English-speaking skills by being immersed in the language.

“I came here to learn English and practice with you,” Daeng told Matthew Halpern’s second-grade class. He can carry on a conversation, but will occasionally puts up his hand up and ask with a big friendly smile to slow down, he is still learning.

“When I go back to Thailand I’ll speak English better,” he said.

In the classroom, Daeng gives the students a presentation with of pictures from Thailand and introduces them to the kome loy, a lantern that fills a lightweight pouch with hot air and flies under its own power. He also shows them photographs of a river filled with loy krathongs, floating coconut halves that house candles.

He also lead students in an activity to make mock kome loys and loy krathongs out of colored paper.

“At this age they really enjoy that craft touch,” said Karen Hamilton, one of three mentor teachers at Windham Primary School who are overseeing Daeng and helping set his schedule.

“The children seem to be very excited, he’s done some really nice lessons,” said Hamilton, a second-grade teacher, said students respond well to Daeng. He eats with the kids in the cafeteria and goes on the playground with them; two things teachers rarely do.

“They’re learning about a different culture and differences among people and beliefs,” she said.

“It was really cool to see that the natural teacher is a universal thing. He knew which students needed more attention right from day one,” said Jaynee Brooks-Robinson, a second-grade teacher and another of Daeng’s mentors. She said the students love working with him.

“At first they were calling him Mr. Daeng,” said Brooks-Robinson. She said when asked, Daeng said he prefers to be called Anjan Daeng, which means teacher and it’s what students at home call him.

Daeng said he’s noticed differences in American students from those in Thailand.

“They like to talk talk talk in Thailand,” said Daeng. He said the American students are quieter, but ask more questions.

“Are Thailand and China almost the same place?” a girl asked him.

No, China is further north.

“Is the king still alive?” a boy asked.

Yes, King Bhumibol Adulyadej turns 81 in December.

“Why do you have different clothes and hats?” a third student asked.

Daeng explains that the clothes they saw in the presentation were traditional outfits to celebrate some of their holidays.

A long road to America

Daeng came to Maine through AFS Intercultural Programs, an international charity that organizes exchange student swaps and since 1976 has been exchanging teachers as well. The group started as the American Field Service, an ambulance service that participated in both world wars.

Larry Ralph, the AFS visiting teacher coordinator for Maine, said the ambulance drivers noticed that interacting with people from nations they had just been at war with curbed their animosity. After World War II the group started an exchange student program with the intention of preventing future wars.

Ralph said Daeng is one of seven exchange teachers currently in Maine. Five are from Thailand and two are from China.

“Maine has a greater involvement with the AFS than any other state,” said Ralph. He said there are only about 50 of them in the country right now, and most of them are English teachers.

“The reason is that we want teachers who have a good command of English,” said Ralph. In Thailand, Daeng teaches English, computer skills and physical education to middle school students.

Ralph said middle and high schools don’t host exchange teachers as often because federal standards require older students to absorb very specific lessons, so their lesson plans aren’t as flexible as elementary schools.

Ralph said it’s a common practice to give Thai children a nickname at birth and wait a few years before choosing a formal name, which is where the nickname “Daeng” came from. Most exchange teachers adopt an American nickname, but Daeng already had one that’s easy to pronounce.

After being approved for the program back home, Daeng arrived in New York on Aug. 5 for a three-day training session.

“I like the people here very much. Maine people are friendlier than New York people,” said Daeng.

Since then, he has taught in Maine at Erskine Academy in South China, and in Vassalboro. Ralph said he normally sends teachers through two to five school districts in Maine so they get a broader exposure.

“This is our sixth year to have an exchange teacher and it’s a wonderful program,” said Donna Stephen, the principal of Windham Primary School.

“I like the weather here because it’s beautiful in four seasons,” said Daeng. He said back home its warm most of the time. About two days each year people can head to the tops of the mountains to see frost form, but there is no snow.

Daeng said before he goes back home he would like to give a demonstration on muay Thai, also known as Thai boxing where combatants strike each other with fists, elbows, knees and feet.

“I just want to teach a little for a sample,” said Daeng. Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand and Daeng said everyone back home follows it.

In the meantime, Daeng said he wants to visit New York City again and see Washington DC and Niagara Falls. He is making plans to go to Colorado and stay with one of his friends from Thailand at a condominium.

Living in Maine

Wearing a winter coat donated by an AFS volunteer, Daeng is accompanied at the bus stop by Annika and Chandler Johnston from his host family. They ride the same bus and their parents, Stephen and his wife Valerie Johnston of Hawthorne Drive in Windham, have been hosting exchange students for about 20 years.

Daeng is their first exchange teacher.

“It’s a little bit different, he’s more independent,” said Allison Johnston, 18, one five Johnston children who live in the house. She has two older siblings who live on their own.

“He just cleans all the time, he said he likes to clean,” said Allison Johnston, who is the student council president at Windham High School.

“I let him drive the snow blower last week,” said Stephen Johnston. Daeng has also gone cross country skiing with the family and built his first snowman, decorated with a Thai flag.

“I like how he just jumps right in to things,” said Valerie Johnston. Daeng has played basketball at the community gym at the high school and shows up to watch when Stephen coaches the fifth and sixth grade girls.

“He’s trying to soak up everything,” said Stephen Johnston. Daeng said he wants to go fishing when the weather warms up.

Other spare time activities for Daeng include making lesson plans for school and talking to his wife Pannee, who teaches high school social studies in Thailand, and their two daughters in college by using a laptop computer and a microphone headset.

AFS volunteer Jacki McCallum of Windham hosted Daisy, an exchange teacher from Hong Kong, last year for the Windham School Department. She said she and her family enjoyed having a teacher stay with them for a few months.

“I think it’s an attitude thing. You can either look at it as disrupting your family or adding to it,” said McCallum. She said AFS paid them for room and board.

“I never felt that I had to take care of her,” said McCallum. “We rarely had to drive her anyplace, she was always able to find her own ride.”

She said Daisy was a fencing champion back home and made friends who were in a fencing club in Westbrook. She said Daisy was outgoing and athletic, and made a lot of friends in the area. She also helped with cooking and some of the chores.

Back in Windham, Stephen Johnston said Daeng made pad thai for his family last week and they loved it. Since then he’s gotten calls from people who want to borrow Daeng, and his cooking skills, for a night.

For more information about the Visiting Teacher Program with AFS Intercultural Programs, contact Larry Ralph, the visiting teacher coordinator for Maine, at 626-0779 or Lralphafs@aol.com. You can also try the AFS info Center at (800) AFS-INFO or info.center@afs.org.

As Deang, the nickname is known by, teaches Windham Primary School students as part of a teacher exchange program, he also introduces them to Thai customs such as this kome, a lantern that also rises through the air like a balloon.Immersion in American life for Daeng includes riding the bus each day from the home of Stephen and Valerie Johnston, his host family, to Windham Primary School.