WILMA CERON
THIS IS A PROJECT OF THE COURSE
INTRODUCTION TO MICROCOMPUTERS (CGS 1060)
AT
INTERAMERICAN CAMPUS
INSTRUCTOR: ENRIQUE HERNANDEZ
CONTENTS:
ABOUT MYSELF
MEET A PERSONALITY OF THIS COUNTRY
My name is Wilma Ceron. I was born in Cali, Colombia, South America. I have been living in the United States now for 1.1/2 years. This is the second time I live in the United States. Well, this time I think I will definitely stay here. The first time I came to the United States (New York City) was when I was a child and to Florida now as an adult. I like Miami, where I am living, but was is a little bit uncomfortable is the climate. I think it is just too humid.
I have a 12-year-old daughter named Laura Andrea. She is still in Colombia but hope to have her here by this year, as soon as she finishes her school year. My mother would also be here with us if everything turns out as planned.
There is a wealth of things to do and see in Thailand.
Especially in Bangkok if you can tolerate the traffic congestion, which can become almost grid locked during the rush hour. The city is very urbanized but still manages to retain its oriental flavor. Street vendors abound, and the city has a much more vibrant feel than most western capitals.
The city is
divided into two parts by the Chao Phya River, with Bangkok proper on the east
side and Thonburi on the west. Between the river and Hua Lampong Railway
Station is "old" Bangkok and the Chinatown district. To the west of
Hua Lampong are the tourist, business, and residential areas.
Bangkok was once
called the "Venice of the East", but many of the canals have
disappeared to make way for more road construction. Water transport, with a few
exceptions, is a thing of the past.
People
Thailand is often called the "land of smiles", and rightly so because you will see more smiling people here than anywhere else in the world.
The country has a
population of about 59 million, with some 6.7 million of these people living in
the Bangkok area. Approximately 75% of the citizenry are ethnic Thais, 14% are
Chinese, and the remaining 11% are mostly Indian, Malay, Karen, Khmer, or Mon.
The literacy rate is high at about 94% and the average life expectancy is 66
for men and 72 for women.
The official
language is Thai, but English is widely spoken in all major tourist locations.
Religion
Buddhism
About 95% of the Thai population are Buddhist, which is a religion based on the teachings of Buddha, "the enlightened".
Born an Indian
prince in 560 BC Siddhartha Gautama subjected himself to many years of severe
austerities to arrive at a vision of the world, which is the basis of Buddhism.
Gautama Buddha spoke of four noble truths:
- "Existence is suffering" (The truth of suffering).
- "Suffering is caused by desire" (The truth of the cause of suffering).
- "Eliminate the cause of suffering and the suffering will cease to arise" (The truth of cessation of suffering).
- "The eight fold path (or middle way) is the way to eliminate desire" (The truth of the path).
The main theme of Buddhist belief is that of karma, the evaluation of all life's events and, after ones death, the rebirth of that karma in a new existence. In this way everyone has it in his own hands to determine his next life, for better or worse. The Thai proverb "do good and receive good, do evil and receive evil" sums up this concept well.
Buddhism is ever
present in Thai life from the myriad Buddha images to the saffron-robed monks
and many wat (temples) at which local people worship. As a visitor to Thailand
you are welcome to visit the wat but please remember to dress respectfully, no
shorts or vests. Remove your shoes before entering any temple building, and
never touch the head of a Buddha image.
Other Religions
About 4% of the population, mainly living in the south of Thailand, are Muslim. The remaining 1% is Confucians, Taoists, Christians, and Hindus. Thai people are very tolerant of other faiths and treat all religions with respect.
MEET A PERSONALITY OF THIS COUNTRY
HIS MAJESTY KING BHUMIBOL ADULYADEJ
His Majesty the King was born on Monday the 5th of December
1927, at Mount Auburn Hospital, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A., being the
third and youngest child of Their Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Mahidol
of Songkla.
His Majesty attended the
Ecole Nouvelle de la Suisse Romande, Chailly sur Lausanne. Later on he moved to the
Gymnase Classique Cantonal of Lausanne from where he received his Bachelier s
lettres diploma. He then chose to enter Lausanne University to study science,
but the sudden death of his elder brother, King Ananda Mahidol, in Bangkok on
the 9th of June, 1946, changed the course of his life completely, for the Law
of Succession bestowed on him the arduous but challenging function of the Thai
Crown. The Government on behalf of the people came to ask the Princess Mother
for her other son to be their King. As he had not finished his education, His
Majesty decided to go back to Switzerland for another period of study, but this
time in the subject of Political Science and Law in order to equip himself with
the proper knowledge for government.
Following the completion of his education in Switzerland in the early 1950s, His Majesty returned home to Thailand. In the years following, he began what has become his way of life - traveling throughout the year to the provinces and rural areas of the kingdom to visit his people, talk to them and, perhaps even more important, listen to them. He learns first hand of their needs and their problems and then sets about trying to find a way of giving immediate help; later these problems are studied in depth to find a permanent solution or way of assistance.
ROYAL ACTIVITIES
Foreign Affairs
As foreign relations are always conducted on Head-of-State level, His Majesty exercises to the full his prerogative in dispatching and receiving envoys to and from friendly nations. These formal functions are, however, conducted by him with the most personal touch. He anoints each Thai Ambassador in the farewell audience and gives appropriate words of advice. Foreign envoys accredited to the Thai Court are received in both formal and informal audience, in the latter, of which close personal bonds are formed, leading to smoother and more sympathetic co-operation. The personal touch is extended to areas of foreign relations outside the diplomatic circle, for His Majesty also constantly receives in audience various important and interesting foreign figures that pass by our country or have come in to co-operate with the Thai authorities in some way. The list of guests ranges from Foreign Royalty and Dignitaries through representatives of all fields of life.
Health
Apart from livelihood, Health is obviously another main concern in the welfare of any people. Health, for that reason, is also another main and close concern of His Majesty, especially as his Royal father, as already mentioned, is regarded as the Father of the modern Thai Medical Profession. His Majesty's activities range far and wide into many spheres and many areas of Health, staring with the physical contribution through attendances at Meetings of medical personnel or on medical matters such as the graduation and other ceremonies of medical students where he always gives appropriate words of advice and raises appropriate problems such as the growing brain drain of medical graduator to foreign countries and the reverse lack of medical personnel in provincial areas. He has personally observed this latter problem during his frequent trips to those areas and especially to the remote and border districts where even rudimentary facilities of health are sometimes lacking. Since a long time, therefore, he has set up his personal medical units always to accompany him on these trips and to stay for quite a while to tend to the maladies of the people some of whom see a doctor or a dentist for the very first time on such an occasion. For those villagers who need surgery or prolonged care His Majesty not only shoulders the cost of such operations or treatment in provincial hospitals or hospitals in the capital city of Bangkok but also pays for all the necessary expenses which might be incurred during the transportation of patients, hospital fees and miscellaneous fees such as household expenses during the hospitalization of the family's bread-winner. During the extended tours to visit people in rural and remote areas, His Majesty has instructed that clinics be established at the entrances to the grounds of the Royal Residences which are open to all at no cost and are staffed by His Majesty's Personal Physician, doctors and nurses attached to the Royal Medical Division as well as volunteer doctors from the Medical Departments of the various Armed Forces and medical personnel attached to the Ministry of Public Health serving in the region. Experienced surgeons of The Royal College of Surgeons also volunteer their services and perform surgery in the provincial hospitals upon the patients under expenses to the Privy Purse at the barest minimum,
TALENTS
Music
His Majesty the King's accomplishments in music are
well known, not only to his Thai subject, but also to lovers of music
worldwide. He is one of Thailand's best jazz musicians. He has composed 43
musical works, which rank among the most well known in the history of Thai
contemporary music. He has shared his musical interests with varied groups of
musicians and member of the general public. His achievements in music have been
internationally recognized and have been presented with the highest accolades
both in Thailand and abroad.
His Majesty's role as music teacher may be seen in
the musical band, which he founded in 1986. The 'Sahai Pattana' Brass Band has
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn as its first member and
consists of a number of officials in his personal service for rural
development. There are agriculturists, volunteer doctors, court officials,
aides, security officers, etc. Most had no previous musical training. His
Majesty spends a short period, each evening teaching music. The band has
performed on special occasions, but more important is the fact that unity and
friendship amongst the rural development workers have been create through
music.
His Majesty the King composed his first song
"Candle Light Blues" in 1946. During the next 20 years, he composed 40
more. The total number of compositions to date is 43. The majority of these are
songs for which he composed the music. His own lyrics and those by other
songwriters followed. Five of them have His Majesty's original lyrics in
English. The music of 2 songs was composed based upon the inspiration from
lyrics, which had been previously written. There is also a ballet suite known
as the 'Kinari Suite'.
Painting
Painting is another aspect of the Arts which His
Majesty is deeply interested in. He painted from an early age and is
self-taught. At first, his works were known by a few people and by leading
artists who had seen them.
During this early period, His Majesty wished to meet
with artists informally. He invited several leading artists to discussions and
the occasional painting contest. They included Hem Vejakorn, Kien Yimsiri,
Chamras Kietkong, Fua Haripitak, Paitoon Muangsomboon, Chuladhat
Bayakaranondha, Chalerm Nakhirak, Uab Sanasen and Bhiriya Kririshka. These
artists relate that His Majesty painted in line with his own highly original
concepts. They were consulted for technical advice and critical comments. His
Majesty's interest in painting started quite early while he still resided in
Switzerland (1937-1945). He studied from books on painting, which he has bought
or was given. He visited the studios of artists whose works he liked in order
to talk with them and to study their painting techniques. He then experimented
and applied what he had learned. He made several visits to these artists until he
felt that he understood their creativity. He later succeeded in applying these
varied technique to his own creativity in painting.
Sculpture
Amongst other aspects of the Arts, His Majesty the
King also takes an active interest in sculpture. He has both studied and
experimented in modeling, mould making and casting technique. A leading
sculptor, Paitun Muangsomboon, retired official of Division of Arts, Fine Arts
Department, has been working for His Majesty for a number of years. Mr. Paitun
relates the following account of His Majesty's activities sculpture. His Majesty is interested in all aspects of
sculpture. He is conversant with all aspects of sculpture from modeling to
casting techniques. His Majesty had studied from books on the subject of sculpture
and had sought personal experience in practice. His Majesty has personally made
two pieces of sculpture. Both are being kept at the Chitrlada Mansion of the
Dusit Palace. One is a figure study of a kneeling woman, 9 inches high, modeled
in plasticine. The other is a half figure portrait of Her Majesty Queen
Sirikit, approximately 12 inches high, also in plasticine. Mr.Paitun was later
granted royal permission to make a plaster cast of the latter.
His Majesty has also been involved with the making of
several important Buddha statues.
Hand Craft Of Boats
In childhood, His Majesty the King enjoyed making
toys for himself. He has developed great skills in the handicrafts, especially
carpentry. After the Coronation, however, he has found little time for the
crafts, having devoted much of his spare time to the welfare of his subjects.
His Majesty enjoys sailing. He constructed his own sailing boats and proved them in the pond of Chitrlada Palace. He has built three classes of sailing dinghies: the International Enterprise Class, International OK Class and International Moth Class. His Majesty the King started to build his first Enterprise Class boat on the 7th of December 1964. The 'Rajptain' was built to international specification. His Majesty used this boat to race against the Duke of Edinburgh during his visit to Thailand in 1965. The course was from Pattaya to Koh Larn. Construction of the second boat of the same class, 'A.G', was started on the same day.
His Majesty built the first International OK Class
boat, named 'Navaruek' in 1965. Many more were subsequently built, such as the
'Vega 1', 'Vega 2' and 'Vega 3'.
Photography
His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej is in all aspects of photography including cinematography production. At the age of 8, Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother gave the young prince his first camera. In those days, photographers had to be fully conversant with the principles of photography in order to achieve success. His Majesty had to study for himself, and he ceaselessly asked for advice from other people. He took photographs in the 135, 120 and special film formats, using ordinary cameras without exposure meters. He had to calculate and set the camera for proper exposure. He soon became so proficient that, at present, despite all the technical advances, he still takes photographs with ordinary cameras maintaining full control.
