“ISB AWARDED A US$ 494 000 GRANT FROM THE U.S. EMBASSY.” INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL BANGKOK, 2023
Living away from family is a big sacrifice that many people in Thailand have had to make for their careers. Bangkok is the only city in Thailand that has over 10 million people, outstanding economics, and the first world’s highest standard hospitality industry. This explains why millions of Thai people who live in other rural areas of Thailand travel long distances from their hometown to acquire jobs in Bangkok. In some cases, they are required to send what they earn to their family back in their hometown. This is a part of the culture here in Thailand, where children are responsible for their parents, because they are taught by the Buddhist religion and society to provide care for parents when they are older.
ISB's Building and Grounds as well as the Epicure staff have some people who are living this experience. Being far away from home and working alone in a big city can be very challenging emotionally and physically. Thailand is regarded as one of the countries with high wealth distribution rates, with the poorest 50% holding 1.7% of the wealth while the richest 10% hold more than 85.7% of the country’s wealth. ISB embodies both. (Asean Today)
Khun Fa, one of the cleaning staff at ISB, has shared her opinion about her main struggle with living away from her family: “Back in my hometown, I do not need to rent a place to stay because I have my own home. I don’t shop for groceries because I grow my own vegetables. It is impossible to live in Bangkok and not spend money each day; it is common to spend as soon as a foot lands outside of the house, signifying that the cost of living in the city is crazy high." She added, “I am happy to work here at ISB due to its guaranteed monthly salary and retirement funds." Back at home, her family owns a rubber farm, and sometimes the rubber trees cannot produce as much rubber, which puts her family into stress. Therefore, ISB is filling the security gap. Khun Fa also shared her eventual dreams, which is owning a coffee shop because she enjoys playing around with drinks and enjoys the idea of being her own boss. However, she still find that the high cost of living can be a struggle at times.
Living in the city is not only more expensive, but doing so alone can separate family members, causing emotional distress. “Being a mother is very hard, especially when the child’s father left as soon as I got pregnant,” said Khun Lalita, a 25 year old cleaning staff at ISB who is from Sisaket, Thailand. Khun Lalita's newborn child lives with her parents back in Sisaket because it is almost impossible to raise a child alone while working a full time job. Nevertheless, Khun Lalita is planning to work at ISB long-term because the benefits improve so much after three years. She mentioned that her job itself isn’t a struggle and she enjoys working here very much, but the real struggle is rooted in her family and personal life. She wishes things could be better. Being away from her newly born five months old child is hard because that same child is her motivation to get through challenges. The distance between Sisaket and Nonthaburi is 433 kilometers, not a a distance where visits can occur often. “The challenge of living in the city is the route, because I live far away from my workplace,” she says.
Especially during the holidays, the roads in Thailand are filled up with cars. These people are the millions of determined souls who wish to see their family’s faces and celebrate. Working at ISB may be an award for many of Thais, but scarifying their lovely homes to work in the big city is costly as seen in the case of Khun Fa and Khun Lalita.
Works Cited
“Thailand’s Wealth Inequality Is the Highest in the World: What Will This Mean for the Upcoming Elections? | ASEAN Today.” ASEAN Today | Daily Commentaries Covering ASEAN Business, Fintech, Economics, and Politics, 15 Jan. 2019, www.aseantoday.com/2019/01/thailands-wealth-inequality-is-the-highest-in-the-world-what-does-this-mean-for-upcoming-elections/. Accessed 15 Mar. 2023.