Namo Supanawan, our exchange student from Thailand

Namo is from Phrae, Thailand, in the country's northwest corner. His family just built a new house before he moved here for his exchange. The house is located in an agricultural area, and Namo hasn't stayed there yet. He lives with his parents and two brothers, whom he misses.

When Namo was 13, he went to a boarding high school in Chiang Mai, about a 3-hour drive. The school has about 3,000 students, and about 50 students are in each classroom. As is typical in much of the world, the teachers move from classroom to classroom, while the students stay in the same room all day. There are no school sports teams. Namo showed a picture of students presenting flowers wrapped in banana leaves to teachers for Teacher Appreciation Day.

One of the things Namo enjoys at home is hiking up to the top of mountains and staying in rented tents. The mountains are cooler than the cities. He also enjoys the martial art of Muay Thai, similar to kickboxing. Here, he has been on the football and wrestling teams. He feels the skills needed in wrestling are similar to those in martial arts.

Although there are many Thai restaurants in Holland, none of them serve Namo's favorite dessert, made from coconut milk, rice, and mango. He also misses the annual lantern festival in Phrae. Lanterns are released into the sky symbolizing letting go of bad things. There have been restrictions on the lanterns because of the fire danger that they pose.  One of the things that surprised him here is that a place setting usually has a fork and a knife. In Thailand, a fork and a spoon are always on a place setting. This is because rice is always served at a meal and is eaten with a spoon.