When Danielle Perkey’s brother called from Thailand June 3’her 15th birthday’she wasn’t expecting an invitation to join him halfway across the world.
But that’s what she got.
‘I remember it so clearly,? said Danielle, a sophomore at Lake Orion High School. ‘I was excited, so I just ran with it.?
It was a long summer of decision-making’Danielle’s mom wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea’planning, and a last minute scramble to find a missing visa.
But on Monday, Danielle and her brother boarded a 13-hour flight to Tokyo, the first leg of their long journey to the rice paddies of rural Thailand, where Danielle will spend four months attending school.
Her brother, Kevin Allen, is a teacher at Na Kae Sammakki Wittiya in Thailand’s Nakorn Phanom Province’that’s the rough translation to English’the county’s poorest region.
Danielle won’t lose any high school credit while she’s away’the experience will likely transfer back as electives, but all her instruction will be in Thai.
She’s excited to read, write in two new journals she bought just for the trip, and hopefully learn a Thai handicraft.
‘I want to learn the language. School isn’t really the worry’I want to immerse myself in the culture.?
She’ll have plenty of opportunity in a land where bathing involves buckets and dishes are washed out back at the spigot. No microwaves no ovens’cooking is done in a more traditional way. Washing machines? Some people have them some people don’t, said Kevin. He doesn’t.
There’s electricity, but no hot water. Most buy their food from the open-air market’although there is a 7-Eleven in town. A Thai version, anyway.
Daunting? Nope.
‘I’m not nervous,? Danielle said. ‘I’m sad to leave my friends, but I’m coming back. It’s not like good-bye forever.?
But it is pretty far away.
‘It’s about 10,000 miles,? she said. ‘I did the math.?
During the family’s decision process, they said, Danielle’s counselor, and the school in general was ‘very supportive.?
Alicia Conner, district department counseling chairperson and Danielle’s assigned counselor, said that support was based on her knowledge of Danielle.
‘I don’t think there’s a right answer for everyone,? she said. ‘But most kids couldn’t handle a trip like this; it takes someone who’s very mature, responsible and self motivated. If they have all those things line up, what a wonderful opportunity.?
Although Kevin didn’t speak any Thai when he arrived in Thailand, he’s become fairly fluent in the language’although learning to understand literal meaning was one thing, while understanding intentions, or what people actually meant, was something else.
For example, he said, people will often stop him on the street and inquire about what he’s just bought at the market for dinner, or why he’s not in school teaching his students.
While Americans might be suspicious or defensive toward such behavior, he explained, the rural Thai society is more open and friendly.
‘Thai people have a different way of relating,? he said. ‘They’re just making chit-chat.?
Now that he’s acclimated, Kevin thinks a semester immersed in the culture, and with same-age peers in the school where he teaches, will be an invaluable experience for Danielle.
Likewise, Danielle’s dad supported the trip from the get go.
‘I’ve been for it from the beginning,? said Greg Perkey. ‘I interact with foreigners on a weekly basis, and they were all very positive when I talked about the opportunity for Danielle.?
And, all Danielle’s instruction will be in Thai.
‘Somehow we missed that the first time around,? said Greg with a chuckle. ‘I guess we were under the impression Danielle would be in English speaking classes.
But he’s not worried about her missing the coursework in any of her AP classes while she’s away.
‘The world experience she’ll gain far outweighs missing school,? he said. ‘And seeing a different culture really opens your eyes to the pros of living in the United States, and the cons of living in the United States.?
And, being the pragmatic and protective dad he is’it’s just his nature, Greg said’he built a safety net of sorts.
‘We developed an emergency network of people we know, or people who know other people who could get to her,? he said. ‘If something should occur it would take time for us to get there.?
Danielle’s mom, however, was a tougher sell, and admitted she felt a sense of relief when Danielle’s visa still hadn’t arrived just days before she was supposed to leave.
It’s not that she didn’t want Danielle to have the experience, she explained, it’s just that her daughter is only 15 years old and, well, Thailand is literally halfway across the world.
‘The thought of her not being here for five months is overwhelming,? Vicky said. ‘When the visa didn’t come, I thought the whole thing was going to fall through, and she didn’t have to go.?
But when the visa didn’t come Vicky also remembered how hard Danielle had worked at camp over the summer, putting every single paycheck in the bank after her parents decided telling Danielle she’d have to pay for the flight was a good way to see how committed she was.
And then there was school.
Danielle took a heavy course load of core classes this fall, and will take another when she returns. Her education in Thailand will essentially transfer back as elective credits.
She’s been under a pile of books all semester.
‘I have a lot of homework,? Danielle said. ‘I mean a lot. My grades are still good, but it’s been hard getting time with my friends, and family. I’d rather hang out with my friends than do homework.?
With Danielle moping and worried over the missing visa, Vicky decided it was time to get behind her daughter.
‘I realized how disappointed she was and how bad she wanted it,? Vicky said.
And when that visa finally came’it took some doing, but Greg got on the phone with some people he knows at the Lake Orion post office, and someone, somewhere created a miracle.
‘She was like a little kid on Christmas,? Vicky said. ‘And we trust Kevin. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t have even considered letting her go.?
‘I hope she’ll get an understanding that there are other ways to live than the way we consider normal,? said Kevin, who settled in Thailand to live and teach about two-and-a-half years ago, after traveling to many parts of the world. ‘People in Thailand have a different idea of normal, and it’s completely valid.?
From Detroit to Tokyo, Kevin and Danielle will fly 13 hours. Tokyo to Bangkok, another seven hours. But the trip doesn’t end there. It takes an 11-hour bus ride to get from Bangkok to the village.