There is little doubt that ISB’s location presents both opportunities and challenges. Having fantastic space and facilities in a quiet neighborhood makes ISB wonderfully desirable, and at the same time, it brings lengthy daily commutes into many people’s lives. Who really bears the burdens of these commutes the most? Yes, we frequently hear from students about how much their days are affected, but have we considered how difficult the days have become for the very people who make those trips possible - the Montri drivers and monitors? How long do their days become safely transporting ISB students to and from campus, and what must it be like to know how much others complain about the commute when they work so hard to make it as pleasant as possible?
“I have actually never heard my friends complaining about having to get up early to catch the bus. I’m pretty sure it’s because they get to sleep on the bus.”
At ISB, complaints about living far from their friends in Nichada are often heard in the hallways as people walk through them, often coming from students who live downtown. Sanghwi Bae, a former ISB student, in Grade 10, has admitted to complaining about not being able to meet up with his friends as much due to living far away–in Bangkok rather than Nichada Thani. “My friends don’t really complain, I was the one who always complained about it because most of my friends live in Nichada,” Bae began, “We could only meet up for a bit after school or when there’s a big event in Nichada such as Halloween or Songkran.” A current ISB student, also in Grade 10, Nanaka Fujimura, explained, “I have actually never heard my friends complaining about having to get up early to catch the bus. I’m pretty sure it’s because they get to sleep on the bus.” Though students may not explicitly complain about their bus journey, they are technically privileged to be able to take the bus to school and just sleep on the way to school. For Thai students who do not go to an international school, their mode of transportation is walking, biking, taking the public bus, or riding their motorcycle because their schools do not offer these kinds of benefits because these kinds of services themselves are costly. According to the ISB Official website, transportation fees range from 95,400-152,700 THB per year.
Fortunately, at least some students are aware of how lucky they are to be attending ISB and taking the bus. Both Sanghwi and Nanaka state that they truly believe they are lucky to be able to take the bus for similar reasons: Sanghwi explains that he used to be able to take the bus when he attended ISB, but now in his current school in Canada, their school did not offer transportation and his mother is the one sending him to school every morning. Nanaka, likewise says she is aware of being privileged as she is waking up every day knowing she is going to one of the best schools in Thailand which motivated her to work harder in her studies.
While it is undeniably understandable coming from students’ point of view, they are not yet completely acknowledging the perspectives of other people who are not as fortunate in our community. Take the Montri bus drivers and monitors’ perspective for example. Every morning, they get out of bed before dawn to get ready to go to their work and drive ISB students to school. Every single day, whether students realize it or not, they are the ones who pick up wealthy teens from the front of their doorsteps and drop them off at the Panther before school starts.
“I usually wake up at 3:30 aM” - Khun Kwansittichai Kaewklai, ISB Montri bus driver,
“I usually wake up at 3:30 am, it’s quite early so I just have a quick shower and get ready which only takes around 15 minutes. And forget about breakfast because I don’t have enough time, we need to be at our workplace by 4:30 in the morning,” says Khun Kwansittichai Kaewklai, an ISB Montri bus driver, “I get to eat my first meal at around 9 or 10 am. Many of the bus drivers have extremely early schedules. He explains that his colleagues often go to Bangkok to pick up students at 5:50 am. Without a doubt, they are all tired and exhausted, but regardless “it is simply our job, and even though we have to wake up early, I like this job because I love doing service and doing work for the community,” adds Khun Sawittri Pengsalae, ISB bus monitor.
Although these people do their job out of passion, bus drivers and monitors often feel exhausted from the lack of sleep. Despite having to go through this routine daily, they still work around a positive mindset, “When you wake up, you wake up. You can’t really do anything about it and just accept it and move forward on your day,” Khun Sawittri chuckles. Outside of working hours, they don’t really have anything else much interesting in their lives except for doing chores at home. Khun Kwansittichai claims that he uses 80% of his time to sleep in order to compensate for the sleep he misses out on days he has to send kids to school.
Khun Kwansittichai Kaewklai (Left), Khun Sawittri Pengsalae (Right)
“WHEN I WAS LITTLE, I ALSO COMPLAINED A LOT, SO I TOTALLY GET THAT” - KHUN KWANSITTICHAI Kaewklai
Despite having some students who tend to complain about waking up early every day and forget that they are, in reality, very privileged, many ISB students who take the bus are kind-hearted, and Wai Khun Kwansittichai every morning when they get on and off the bus which makes him feel appreciated. When Khun Kwansittichai and Khun Sawittri hear the kids whining and complaining, instead of feeling angry, they most likely understand the struggles of living far away, and often offer them encouragement to carry on their day ahead of them. “When I was little, I also complained a lot, so I totally get that,” Khun Kwansittichai explains. He feels that the complaints are made out of childishness and understands as they are still young and do not know much about having high responsibility yet.
As many people know, ISB’s tuition fee is not inexpensive. In fact, it is one of the most expensive international schools in Thailand with a starting tuition fee of 569,000 THB, eventually reaching 1,034,000 THB per year for high school students (SRiiYU). Add in one year of Montri fees, and a year in ISB’s high school costs over 1.1 million baht. At Thailand’s minimum wage, a person would need to work seven days a week, 365 days a year, for more than 10 years to earn that much money.
Now it becomes clearer that, despite the inconveniences students face when taking the bus, the sacrifices made by the Montri bus drivers and monitors are even greater. All students at ISB are luckier than they know; discovering how fortunate they truly are is the key to expressing the right kinds of gratitude and attitude toward others.
Sources:
PropertyScout Blog. “Top International Schools in Bangkok: Academic Year 2022/2023 | PropertyScout Blog.” PropertyScout Blog, 21 Nov. 2022, propertyscout.co.th/en/guides/top-international-schools-in-bangkok-academic-year-2022-2023/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2023.
SRiiYU. “Fees 2022-2023.” International School Bangkok, 30 Apr. 2021, yhwww.isb.ac.th/admissions/apply/fees/fees-2022-2023/#:~:text=The%20Annual%20fee%20for%20the,grades%20Kindergarten%20through%20Grade%2012. Accessed 24 Feb. 2023.