In the land of smile, you can visit Buddhist temples, sip tea in an outdoor cafe on the bustling streets of a metropolis, or even travel up country to the beauty of rural Thailand, half a world away from the commuter traffic of Highway 50.

By June 2006, four Sacramento State students who have been selected by the Chitralada School in Bangkok, Thailand, will be teaching Thai students the subtleties of the American tongue.

The students selected have been given royal approval by Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn to teach at the Chitralada Palace school as part of a program that hires native English speakers to teach students from primary to high school age.

The program, which in the past has chosen students exclusively from Baylor University, has just this year looked to Sac State for students willing to devote 10 months living and teaching in Bangkok.

Zachary Newton, a graduating English major, is one of the students chosen to teach at the Chitralada School. Newton said he will start the job at the end of May 2006 and remain in Thailand until the middle of March 2007 when he will travel around to neighboring south Asian countries, exploring the cultures.

“I think that it will obviously be a completely different experience than anything I’ve done or seen before, or possibly will ever do again,” he said. “It will be a totally new experience where we can step out of our comfort zone and immerse ourselves in something new and exciting.”

The experience of living and working in Thailand is a unique experience for many Americans. Thomas J. Knutson, a Sac State communications professor involved in promoting the program and recruiting interested students, has written on aspects of Thai culture. Knutson writes: “For the U.S. Americans, the rigid social hierarchy characteristic of Thai culture does not play a major role in relationships.”

This social hierarchy is important to Thais, and is best illustrated through reverence for their King, Rama IX, an American citizen by birth. The Thais hold a great deal of respect for him as the leader who brought Thailand up to date and in line with the Western world.

Those Sac State students teaching in Bangkok will have to subvert their individualism and self-assertiveness in a land where social harmony and deference is essential to the way of life.

Kyle Hardwick can be reached at [email protected]