JOSHUA MORRIS: TALES FROM A LIFE IN THAILAND

by: Liam Reilly (Korea ‘18)

When Joshua Morris graduated from Princeton University in 1999 with a B.A. in Art History, he embarked on a Princeton in Asia fellowship to teach English at Payap University in Chiang Mai, Thailand. But for Josh, as for all outstanding PiAers over the years, the PiA experience was never just about working his 9-5 teaching job and heading home to watch Netflix (perhaps it helps that the temptation to recluse onself with Netflix was greatly reduced in 1999, as it did not yet exist), or merely taking a ‘year off’ to galavant around Southeast Asia. Rather, Josh opted for an immersive and educational experience, throwing himself into every new opportunity with enthusiasm and humility. What was originally intended to be a one to two year PiA fellowship has become 19 years (going on 20!) in Chiang Mai, a successful outdoor education and distribution business, and, recently, an opportunity to give back to the country in a big way by playing a crucial role in the Tham Luang Cave Rescue. Like all good PiA stories, this story begins with relationships formed over sticky rice: “Every evening, I’d hang out with the security guard and his wife. They’d be making grilled sticky rice. Their daughter was six: I’d help her with her English homework and she’d help me with my Thai homework. So I had this immersive Thai lesson from 15h30 to 19h00. I’d get six hours of ‘no English’ every day. Then I’d go to bed, get up the next day and do it again,” says Morris. From the moment Josh arrived in Chiang Mai in 1999, he shaped his life around immersion. He quickly developed his schedule, teaching English in the morning, going to his Thai course and working at a boxing camp in the afternoon, and hanging with his Thai neighbors in the evening.

Khaetthaleeya ‘Kat’ Morris. “We wanted to give kids an alternative to breaking their whiskey bottles against the rocks while drinking - climbing the rocks instead of trashing them” says Josh about CMRCA, “we wanted to help build the culture of climbing for Thai people and establish a local community of climbers.” CMRCA’s early years were tough on Josh and Kat. The nascent climbing culture in Thailand was not developed enough to support them full-time. It was then that, with help from PiA, he was put in touch with Where There Be Dragons, a cross-cultural experiential education organization. Inspired by Dragons, Josh developed CMRCA to include more diverse offerings, integrating sustainability, act like a family, commit to community, and strive for quality in guiding, climbing, caving, and rescue. We want to inspire people to live their passion through adventure, leadership, and culture.” Josh explains that climbing itself has taught him some of his greatest lessons for sustaining CMRCA: “Climbing taught me about being aware of opportunities and trying things, taking risks. It’s okay if you fall, you’ll find a way to get up.”

A few months into his fellowship, Josh stumbled across an advertisement announcing the development of the Peak Rock Climbing Plaza, a rock climbing wall. Josh was hired as the manager and thus added the rock wall to his daily routine — after teaching and attending Thai classes, Josh would work at the rock wall until the wee hours of the morning. When his PiA fellowship concluded, Josh decided to continue in his managerial position.

But where Peak Rock Climbing was interested in building and maintaining the rock wall, Josh was interested in building a community of rock climbers, and so in 2001 Josh left to work odd jobs, earning enough money to open Chiang Mai Rock Climbing Adventures the following year with his then girlfriend, and now wife, educational programming to make climbing a tool to teach children about stepping outside of their comfort zones. They also established a gear distribution company, and developed guiding courses. As CMRCA began to grow, so did their need for staff. Josh reached out to Carrie Gordon, the Executive Director of PiA, to enquire whether PiA would be interested in establishing a partnership with CMRCA. Carrie was interested, and PiA’s partnership with CMRCA was born. Josh and Kat have worked tirelessly to ground CMRCA in their community. “We have lots of partners and work with the community, for food, lodging, and guides.” Since 2002, CMRCA has developed to become a thriving business with over 30 employees. Their mission has remained the same since CMRCA’s inception: “practice

With CMRCA established domestically and internationally, it came as no surprise that they played a major role in the rescue of twelve members of a Thai football team and their coach who were stuck in Tham Luang Cave in Chiang Rai province for 18 days in the summer of 2018. Josh began by sending a team of rope rescuers to Chiang Rai while coordinating from Chiang Mai. This proved complicated to do from a distance, so Josh went to Chiang Rai province. There, Josh ran into a Thai General he had met 18 years prior. After a discussion, Josh was asked to serve as a coordinator, translating caving jargon and liaising between the Thai military and the Anglophone divers. Josh’s team supported the U.S. Air Force and the Thai Navy Seals in building a system - drilling bolts and hanging ropes - to belay the children across the caves. “Nobody sets out to rescue boys in a cave,” says Josh, “but years of expeditions and climbing, and suddenly, it all comes into play. It was an affirmation of years of work: of preparing for a moment that I never expected would come.”

Looking forward, Josh hopes to continue to play a role in the preservation and development of Thailand’s natural resources - to undertake a cartographic survey of the caves, and to promote the outdoors and education. Reflecting on his time in Thailand thus far, Josh recommends being open to adventure: to not be so fixated on getting somewhere that you lose track of the present. “Be open to the experience. All the incredible things that happened to me along the way happened when I least expected it.” Most importantly, Josh recommends that all PiA Fellows “do more than one year.”