Editor's note

When I was preparing this issue of Student Weekly from our new office on the fourth floor of the Bangkok Post Building (well, we couldn't stay on the top floor for too long in case we started to feel too important), I was saddened to read a letter from a foreign reader. This girl felt so badly treated by her Thai school friends that she needed to write a letter to the country's biggest-selling English-language publication for teens. By coincidence, in this issue, we are also running a special education feature on how Thai students can cope with studying at university in the UK.

Well, it's no secret that I am not Thai, but I have had no problems at all fitting into Thai culture and I have been here on an extended "working vacation" (don't tell my bosses I mentioned "vacation") for more than three years now. I have just about learned to speak Thai enough to get by and my reading skills are getting better. However, I can really sympathise with this girl as I changed school quite a few times when I was a kid in the UK. It's hard enough to try to fit in with groups when you are a "new face" so imagine how hard it is if you are a foreigner and perhaps struggle to speak the language and understand the culture.

For me, it wasn't so much of a problem. First of all, I had a good friend who was working here at the time and secondly, I am an adult, which means I get treated differently. Why? Because kids and teens have a way of treating people they meet for the first time and maybe don't even like. Through experience, adults learn the value of friendliness and cooperation, all of which are essential tools to get on in the world. If we all insulted each other all the time and ended up fighting, nothing would ever get done. On the other hand, teens are finding their way through the most difficult years of their lives. You get stuck with a crowd of friends with whom you are comfortable and if anybody new comes along, they get shut out. This is normal behaviour, but it doesn't mean you can't try. Imagine yourself in the situation of going to the UK on your own and studying there. Scary isn't it?

So next time you see the kid who doesn't fit in or looks left out, why not give him or her a chance?

Matt Leppart, Editor
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