A Bit Hard to Swallow

Our second field trip and the last day of camp was spent at Coke World, which is a lengthy drive (over an hour) from the school. We packed into vans and a bus and headed out pretty early...for some reason we idled in the parking lot for a good twenty minutes before leaving, and we ended up arriving at Coke World about an hour behind schedule. This turned out to not be a big deal, as the "educational" facilities there are not extensive and we managed to LEAVE over an hour early, as well.
When I found out that we would be visiting Coke World for our field trip, something that is intended to be educational and enriching for the students, I was fairly...apprehensive. I wasn't sure what the kids would get out of touring around a major corporate conglomerate; would they learn what it takes to monopolize a market? Would they learn about the "health benefits" of Coke products?

Afterwards, though, I was less disgusted than I thought I would be. Actually, I wasn't that offended by the place at all. Coke World is located at the region manufacturing plant, and is a small part of the complex. It features a sort of museum and an activity area. The information provided, though all in Thai so I'm not 100% sure I got an accurate picture, was matter-of-fact and not as promotional as I thought it would be. The kids enjoyed the activities, even though they were not really related to coke at all. They only drank one half-cup of soda, towards the end of the day, and they didn't all leave with caffeine hangovers or sugar shakes...or marching in unison chanting Coke slogans.

No, the worst part of it was the fountain pop being served in disposable plastic cups, which, for all I know, are all recycled after the fact. It was sort of interesting to see the machinery that is involved in creating and bottling soda products, and though the whole of Coke World was somewhat bizarre and contrived, it wasn't nearly as self-celebratory as I thought it would be.
I thought it was sort of funny, though predicatable, that there were no nutritional facts posted anywhere...but at least there weren't posters of Coke being a "good part of this balanced breakfast!" or anything like that.
It was a long way to go for something that I think was entirely forgettable, but we all made it and the kids were entertained.


Until next time,
Heather