Boy Scouts immerse Martin in new culture
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Martin, 16, got the opportunity of a lifetime to learn more about the symbolism of the flag and how it is interpreted after receiving a first-rate lesson in world politics, religion and culture.
He traveled to Thailand for the World Scout Jamboree from late December to Jan. 10 representing the Boy Scouts of America, bringing home with him youthful perspectives of America as asked of him by some of the 25,000 other male and female scouts attending from countries around the globe.
Martin and four other Tennesseans took a 26-hour flight to Bangkok and arrived in Sattahip, Thailand by bus. At opening ceremonies, he got his first lesson in Thai customs and respect for the Royal Thai government.
“We learn all this stuff in class, but seeing the way the royal government works – we always hear about how respected everyone is – but I really saw it there,” Martin said.
“At the opening ceremony, the prince came to give us a talk and instead of him going down front on the stage – we were in an arena-type area – he was in the back on a hill because he could not be below our level. He had to be above us to talk to us. So that really sent home how important their government and royalty were.”
From there, Martin and others threw themselves into the theme of the event, which was to share the world and its different cultures, exchanging food, religious philosophies and other cultural subtleties.
He was also asked a lot about American foreign policy, especially with regard to Iraq and President George Bush, he said.
“A lot of people from around the world, I found out, didn’t like Bush and didn’t like what he was doing. I had to tell them, ‘I think he’s doing a good job, given the circumstance,'” Martin said.
“I had to answer a lot of questions on our foreign policy and why we were doing some of the things we were doing,” he added of Iraq. “They were questions that I really didn’t know the answers to but I had to defend our points a little bit.”
Scouts performed a service project in the community and experienced how smaller villages in Thailand lived, took a boat ride in the ocean and explored the area with a navigational assignment. Scouts learned about the queen of Thailand’s program to help keep Thai customs alive and learned how fortunate Americans are.
“The average Thai person makes about $150 per year, so us coming in there was a big boost to their area. It was a huge population increase in the city of Sattahip at once because 25,000 people came in a matter of 15 days and just swamped the area,” he said.
Martin said there was a certain amount of pride in bonding under one front and personally took away a sense of respect for others.
“We’re all there and speak different languages and have different cultures and religions, but we’re all united under that bond of scouting,” he added.