Southeast Asia 2 - Practicum

The host culture is traditionally Buddhist and animist--but increasingly secular and modern as well. We live in a mid-sized city of about a million people that draws a lot of tourists and boasts international chain restaurants and American amenities, but also fun cheap local street food! There is also a huge coffee culture (you could try a different coffee shop every single day) or you could sip from a coconut while you watch the motorbikes zoom by. There are lots of students and young professionals who speak good English, so making friends will not be a problem here. There is a wide variety in standard of living in our city, but not a lot of visible extreme poverty. There are neighborhoods that are touristy and some that are much more local. Our church is about half locals and half expats (US, Canada, South Africa, Brazil). Since it's a beach town, you can see all kinds of clothes (not particularly conservative), but we usually encourage somewhat nicer and more conservative dress when going to a local's house, to church, leading English clubs, etc. (e.g. no shorts or workout clothes, etc.). Locals also like to cover up when outside during the summer so that their skin does not get darker. Typical local food is either rice or rice noodles with meat and vegetables. As we're by the ocean, seafood is also popular. There are many western options too. Being gluten free or vegetarian/vegan is fairly easy here, but seafood, soy, or nut allergies are a bit more difficult to manage.