Sharing our culture

By Steve Moyer

Nevada Daily Mail

A group of Thai business and civic leaders stopped in Nevada Wednesday as part of their tour of Missouri. The group started in St. Louis on their 12-day journey across the state and is finishing their stay in Kansas City.

The delegation of 15 was selected from a pool of applicants from all over the country's 76 provinces, through a program between the Committee of the Community Development Department under the Ministry of Interior of the Royal Thai government and the Community Development Global Leadership Education Program of the University of Missouri at Columbia.

The 20-year-old program between the University of Missouri and the Kingdom of Thailand is unique -- the university does not have this type of program with any other country.

The three goals for this year are to study conflict resolution, how to deal with different ethnic populations, and to take a look at the role of religion in a secular society. A group of Missourians will be going to Thailand later this year with the same goals.

The group spent time at the Nevada Crowder College site and at the Bowman Building which houses the Nevada TeleCenter and the Nevada Regional Technical Center. Several in the group spoke some English but most communication was conducted through simultaneous interpreters using wireless headsets.

At Crowder College, Carol MacArthur, Crowder Director, explained the type of courses offered to students in Nevada. The Thai delegation was especially interested in the SmartBoard technology which was demonstrated in the computer lab and the biology lab.

While at the Crowder building, the group visited the Children's Center and learned about the type of services provided relating to interviewing and helping children who have been abused. Amy Koopman, Director of the Center, answered many questions regarding the program and the impact it was having on children who had been victims of abuse.

At the Nevada TeleCenter, a videoconference with Thai students at the University of Missouri-Columbia allowed the visitors to speak with students from their home country. Mary Reinert explained the varied uses of the videoconferencing technology, and Janis Collins, Adult and Community Education Coordinator, explained the type of adult programs available at the Bowman Building.

Another interactive television connection was made to the Missouri Telehealth Network in Columbia, the providers of the telemedicine dermatology services for Nevada. Reinert explained that the cooperation between partners such as Crowder College, the Nevada R-5 School District, and the University of Missouri make such services possible for rural areas. While at the TeleCenter, the group was able to spent some time in the computer lab using e-mail services to communicate to family in Thailand.

A lunch was provided at the home of Jerry and Leslie Bartlett. Local county officials, extension representatives, and local business people joined the group for a dinner under the blue University of Missouri Extension tent.

The 15 Thai representatives are accompanied by four interpreters based in Washington D.C. Intorn Peun-Ngarm, one of the interpreters, translated as Carol Parmenter introduced Joseph Bowmaster, Rachel Prewitt, Ruth Prewitt and Rebecca Prewitt and explained the Civil War era costumes they wore. Parmenter also gave a brief overview of the border conflict between Missouri and Kansas.

"Joe Bowmaster here is dressed as a Bushwhacker. In this area we would have considered him one of the good guys," Parmenter said. "Just across the border in Kansas they would have been Jayhawkers and we would have considered them the bad guys."

The group was very engaged in the talk and asked several questions that showed their interest including one about carpetbaggers.

After Parmenter finished the diners were invited to join the Thai delegation in a traditional Thai dance accompanied by musicians using improvised instruments.

Charley, the horse owned by Brandi Beach, daughter of Roger and Tammi Beach, was another big hit with one visitor asking if it were possible to ride him. Unfortunately that wasn't possible because Charley had a prior engagement at the Nevada Public Library that he had to honor and left early.

Thailand is unique in Southeast Asia, being the only country in the region never taken over by a European power. Thailand has been a unified kingdom since the 14th century and is now a constitutional monarchy headed by King Phumpiphon Adunyadet.

Thailand has a free-enterprise economy and welcomes foreign investment.

Exports feature textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances.