Thai Kids Get Taste of Life in the Valley

Nut Manasomjit has found that humor transcends any language barrier.

The 11-year-old exchange student from Bangkok stomped and shouted this week on the auditorium stage at Sepulveda Middle School to a chorus of laughter.

Nut and his Thai classmates were practicing their roles for “Who Said Jack Didn’t Know Beans?”--a spoof of “Jack and the Beanstalk” that they performed Friday. Off stage, the Thai students had trouble with their English, but on stage it was a different story.

Their acting and body language made up for a mispronounced word or two, and while they learned about life in the U.S., Sepulveda students couldn’t help but learn a little about them.

The youths, ages 11 to 15, are spending one month in the United States, including two weeks with host families in the Valley. At home, they attend Satit Chula school, part of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

While here, the 27 children attend school daily, shadowing Sepulveda’s brightest students.

“It’s hard to communicate, we use our hands and talk really slowly sometimes,” said 13-year-old Nick Wali, a seventh-grader who hosted a Thai student. “But they know what we’re saying most of the time.”

The Thai students are also learning the essentials of being a kid in America--like knowing how to high-five and say words like “dude.”

Teachers have found the Thai youths to be typical middle-school students. Some enjoy art, others are having fun practicing English and, when things get boring, some fall asleep in class, said Troy McElhaney, magnet school dean at Sepulveda Middle School.

In their spare time, the youngsters have taken in some sights. Magic Mountain seems to be the favorite.

They also spent time on the East Coast, visiting Washington, D.C., New York City and Niagara Falls. Next week they’ll visit the Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park and San Francisco before leaving for Thailand on Thursday.

Next year, administrators at both schools hope to send Sepulveda students to Bangkok, said David Puathasnanon, who helped coordinate the exchange.