Thai exchange student hopes to play ice hockey

Thailand and hockey are not usually spoken of in the same breath. Jinjuta Boonchot, an exchange student from Thailand currently at Rhinelander High School (RHS), may change all that.

Boonchot is from Trang, Thailand. It is a city of 300,000 at the western shore of the Malay Peninsula to the Andaman Sea. Trang is also the name of the province, home to 46 beautiful islands, while the mountainous eastern region is home to dramatic waterfalls, caves and pristine jungles. Between the mountains and the coast are extensive rubber plantations. Trang is one of 12 satellite towns that came into existence 900 years ago, part of the ancient kingdom of Kedah Tua.

How does hockey fit in? “I want to participate in hockey this year,” said Boonchot. “We have places to ice skate, but I want a chance to do something I can’t at home.”

Boonchot said school in Rhinelander is much different from Thailand.

“I’m a senior at RHS. Rhinelander gives exchange students senior status so we can participate in all activities. I will have one more year of school at home, where I attend a private school. We wear uniforms at home and have strict rules about hair length, for example. When I go back I’ll have to cut my hair. And at my school, teachers move from classroom to classroom instead of the students.”

Boonchot’s father owns gas stations and her mother works for a government health agency. She has twin younger brothers.

“In order to become an exchange student I had to complete a number of tests, including an oral examination,” said Boonchot. “When I found out where I was coming, I Googled Rhinelander. It looked like a lot of forests and trees. My home has lots of buildings. I live one hour from the beach. That’s where the tsunami hit six years ago. I was on the beach earlier that morning.”

Jeanne Shruck is hosting Jinjuta Boonchot. The exchange program is not new to the Shrucks. Both of Shruck’s children studied abroad, Meghan in Latvia and Matthew in Belgium. This is the fifth time the Shrucks have hosted a student.

“It’s fun to learn about different cultures,” said Shruck. “We’re empty nesters now and having Jinjuta here, well, it’s not so quiet. Our kids got an appreciation of the United States. They learned new languages and made good friends. Meghan’s host Mom is coming to her college graduation. I’d recommend the program. For me, it was just fun watching Jinjuta come out of her shell. And she’s cooked for us.”

“I made pat-ka-prao-muu, spicy pork,” said Boonchot. But here she likes chicken tenders from McDonald’s and Mexican from Taco Bell. “I don’t like onions,” said Boonchot, laughing.

Jinjuta looks like any other teenager at RHS, but she worried before her trip. “I worried about the language, the schools and whether I would make friends,” she said. “I found it’s not hard to make friends here. My biggest culture shock was the holding of hands and the kissing in the hallways at school. Almost everyone holds hands. And everyday is cold here, that’s a shock.”

Boonchot is an exchange student under the AFS (formerly known as American Field Service) program. For over sixty years AFS has had as its mission “the promoting of peace and understanding between countries through youth.”

RHS has three students under the AFS program and the Rotary. David Ditzler, Associate Principal at RHS, helps the exchange students with scheduling and getting used to the building. “We think the two programs give foreign students an opportunity to see real small town America,” said Ditzler. “We’re then exposed to different cultures, different personalities from different countries. It’s good for the host families. So often we get an impression of a country from the media. It’s often not a true impression. All the kids go home richer, better people. Both Rotary and AFS are quality programs. We get quality kids.”

This year RHS has exchange students from Thailand, Mexico and Bolivia. Luis Enrique Vega Garcia is from Mexico and Ariada Garcia Aravz is from Bolivia.

Jinjuta Boonchot wasn’t sure if she was looking forward to winter. But she is looking forward. Boonchot would like to be a painter, a watercolor painter. She had one last lesson. “We always get a nickname at birth,” she said. “Our parents give us this name, usually a short name. My nickname in An Ant. It comes from a song my mom would sing to me while I danced.”

Mary Kusiak is the person to contact if you have questions or wish to host an AFS student in the future. She can be reached at (715) 693-6639 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (715) 693-6639 end_of_the_skype_highlighting. “It is truly amazing how much they add to your life,” said Kusiak. “They become members of your family. It opens your eyes to a different culture and gives you an opportunity to share your culture as well.”