Cultural Orientation classes for adults at Mae La camp

---

Over the last 2 weeks I observed adult cultural orientation classes at Mae La camp for refugees bound for resettlement to the US. Separate classes are conducted for kindergarten aged children, youth and adults, while young ones are taken care of in the childcare centre. Adult participants generally attend 5 consecutive days of classes, 5 hours per day and sizes can vary from anything of up to 30. In my first week observing, the class was mixed Burmese and Karen and 2 interpreters were used to translate information to participants. Given the considerable amount of topics that need to be covered in the time given, the trainers do extremely well particularly when there are 3 languages being used in class.

There is a wealth of information comprised in the five days and the focus is slightly different for Australia and the US. Cultural orientation for the US has a greater emphasis on employment while Australia concentrates more on housing and education. All the same topics are covered there are just slight variations to tailor it to how life will be in Australia or the US. The curriculum includes topics such as learning how to greet in English, country overview, cultural adaptation, pre-arrival information, community services, emergency situations, transportation, employment, budgeting and shopping, parenting and child discipline, education, health, laws including sexual harassment, right and responsibilities, transit procedures, legal status, a discussion of dreams and fears, and self assessment of personal qualities. To make the fun learning and to retain retention rates trainers include energy games, video viewing resources, books, a life book kit, role plays, situation cards and group activities.

As you can see from this extensive curriculum there is a lot of information for participants to absorb especially when many of them have never entered a classroom environment before. As I observed each day it was great to see their confidence increase and for them to feel comfortable enough to practice their English with me, I am sure their pronunciation is a lot better than I am performing in Karen or Thai! There was one particular moment that was quite special when a participant thanked the trainer, “for showing them the way and for helping them to see that they are capable of achieving anything, especially after he had never entered a classroom environment before.” By the end of the week it was almost hard to bid the participants goodbye because I had formed an attachment to many of them. They are very gentle-natured, extremely polite and fun-loving people with a great sense of humor. I am curious to know how the rest of their resettlement journey goes, gaps I hope to be able to fill for families I meet bound for Australia.

---

Photos

The communal water tap next to the classroom
Many families use it for their daily wash and to clean their clothes

Participants from the second week of observing classes
Learning how to say hello and greet in English

A participant explaining his tree of life
He was inspirational