Chapter 1: An Invitation to Trabbia

Although she was a pre-med student, East Asian Studies 305, a seminar class on the history and culture of South East Asia, was 19 year-old college sophomore Priya Narayan’s favorite class this semester. Partly, it was because the class was small, with just 8 students, partly it was because it put her in closer touch with her Asian heritage, but mostly it was because of the professor, Susan Gelden. At 42, short, with curly black hair beginning to show grey, the twice-divorced, Dr. Gelden was a devoted teacher and a popular figure on the campus of Dorsbury College, a prestigious college in a lovely New England village at the foot of the mountains. Priya, a pre-med student from a family of Indian immigrant doctors, was mid-height, with medium-sized breasts, long, straight black hair and a lovely coffee complexion. Though she would never have admitted it, she had a bit of a crush on the professor.

Dr. Gelden was winding up her lecture on the religious belief system of the ancient Khmer kingdom. Looking at the clock, she concluded, “That’s all we have time for today.” As the students were gathering up their belongings, Professor Gelden interjected, “Sarah, Jennifer and Priya, if you have a moment would you mind staying after class?” Jennifer Collins, 19, was a tall, slim, fair-skinned, athletic redhead who played on the field hockey team. Her girl-friend, Sarah Motello, 20, was shorter, large-breasted, brunette and olive-skinned. They were the three best students in the class, so they doubted their professor was displeased with them and wondered what was up.

They gathered in front of the professor’s small desk as Susan began, “I’m sure you all remember my lecture last week about the ancient Cheronian temples recently discovered in the jungle at Mongha in modern-day Trabbia.” The girls all nodded. “Well, the Trabbian government has invited foreign scholars to work with their experts in excavating the ruins. One of those who have been invited is yours truly.”

“That’s great, congratulations,” said Jennifer. The other girls all nodded in agreement. “But what does that have to do with us?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Susan continued. “The Trabbians have set aside visas and funds for me to bring three assistants when I go this summer and I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving than my three best students. I’ve agreed to go at the end of May, after classes are over, and stay for two months, all expenses paid. This could be a really great opportunity for you to learn about both the culture of ancient Cheronia and modern-day Trabbia and to possibly be authors on a paper. Take a few days and think about it. Right now, I have to run to a faculty meeting, but if you have any questions, feel free to stop by my office.” With that the professor strode purposefully out of the room, leaving the three intrigued students behind.

Priya looked at her two classmates. “It sounds fascinating.”

“It does,” Sarah agreed, “Certainly more exciting than working in a restaurant like I did last summer.”

“And we could be together the whole time instead of just visiting for a weekend with our parents around,” Jen said, with a devilish grin, reaching over to pinch Sarah’s ample butt.

“Mmm, we could, couldn’t we?” Sarah replied, smiling broadly.

While not a virgin, Priya’s sexual experience was very limited, consisting of a 3-week liaison during her freshman year with a boy from her Intro Genetics class, during which they had had rather unsatisfying sex (for Priya, at least) a total of four times. Priya had certainly never been with another girl, nor had she even thought much about it, but seeing the lust in Sarah and Jennifer’s eyes, she couldn’t help having a momentary fantasy about how it would be to be rolling around naked with her two attractive classmates. Blushing at the thought, and hoping Sarah and Jen were too absorbed with each other to notice, Priya told them, “I have to run to the Physiology lab right now, but this sounds like a great opportunity. I want to get some more information and talk some more with the Prof, but it sounds good.” Then she turned and hurried off towards the science Building.

Later that evening, Priya sat in her dorm room, finishing the last of the 20 pages of assigned reading in Organic Chemistry. Her roommate was out as usual, staying at her boyfriend’s off campus apartment. Although she normally gave her studies her full attention, tonight Priya’s thoughts kept returning to Professor Gelden. Priya had often seen Susan running across campus in her brief shorts and had admired how fit and trim her body was; frankly she looked better than many of the students 20 or 25 years younger than her, Now Priya had a chance to spend a summer living and working with her in an exotic jungle.

Priya opened her laptop and searched “Mongha temple”. She found some fabulous photos of the ancient Cheronian structures, with various renowned experts touting them as “the little-known wonders of the ancient world”. She also searched for news stories about modern-day Trabbia. That was considerably less glowing, especially the reports from various human rights groups. In particular, there were several pieces about the use of corporal punishment for even minor offenses, and it seemed the Trabbians, unlike some other countries in the region, did not exempt females from those punishments.

Priya found herself torn between the excitement of the opportunity and the honor of being invited by the professor and her qualms over the evils of the Trabbian justice system. She lay down on her bed to think things over. As she thought about being in the jungle with Jen and Sarah and most of all with Dr. Gelden, Priya found her right hand straying down to her jeans and her fingers reaching under her waistband and into her panties. To her surprise and shame, she felt that her panties were damp from the moisture flowing out of her slit. Priya was shocked at her body’s reaction-she was not a lesbian, she liked boys, even if she hadn’t slept with many as yet.

Priya unbuttoned her jeans and slipped them off. Feeling liberated, she shoved her hand back into her underpants and began slowly stroking her clit and labia, forcing herself to fantasizing about that cute guy who sat next to her in Bacteriology class. Yet, her mind kept straying to a vision of Jen and Sarah lying on a straw mat in the jungle, each with their mouths on each other’s genitals. Worse, Priya couldn’t help thinking about herself locked in a similar embrace with Dr. Gelden. As she had these terrible fantasies, Priya’s fingers quickened their pace, moving in a circle on her sensitive clit. Almost desperate now, Priya pulled her panties off so that her hand could move freely against the sensitive button. Rubbing harder, she approached her orgasm, and as she did, a vision of a woman being flogged with a cane, as she read about in the articles on Trabbia, flashed before her. The perverted idea that Priya could find such thoughts arousing was even more disgusting than lesbian fantasies. But, Priya’s body had a mind of its own, and as she imagined the blur of the cane and the slap of it hitting the naked buttocks, she clutched the blanket with her free hand and began gasping for breath as the sweet waves of pleasure crashed over her. Priya’s head fell back against her pillow, as she felt the tension slowly ebb from her legs and stomach.

The next morning Priya ran into Jennifer and Sarah at breakfast in the cafeteria. She told them about what she had found out about Trabbia on line, though not, of course, about her reaction. They had found similar information of course and shared her concerns. They decided that the best course of action would be to go see Professor Gelden and discuss things with her. So, a few minutes later, the three students knocked on the door of Dr. Gelden’s office. “Come in,” said Susan. “Sit down” she continued, indicating some chairs at a table with a few stacks of papers at one end. “Have you had a chance to consider my offer?” she continued.

After glancing at her two friends, Priya spoke up. “We are very touched that you chose us. And the temples sound really interesting and I’d love to be a part of these pioneering excavations. I guess my main concern is some of the things we found on line about Trabbia. I mean they beat people with canes, females included, for even minor crimes like littering and drug possession and prostitution. That just sounds barbaric.” Sarah and Jennifer nodded to show that they shared Priya’s concerns.

Susan let Priya finish before replying. “I’m not going to pretend those reports aren’t true. They are. I’ve studied their history and culture, so I can see where they are coming from, at least to some extent. Up until 20 years ago, their country was very backward and quite chaotic. Then a new government took over, stressing order and development. They have made amazing strides in their economy and most people there are able to lead a decent life for the first time. They are very concerned about backsliding into the ways of the past and also worry that the Western technology they have embraced will bring some of the bad aspects of Western society, like drugs and crime and what they see as lax morality.”

“So, in order to prevent that, they take a very tough stance. They feel that if they really crack down on what we would consider minor crimes, they can make society work for the large majority of people. And really, who are we to say they are wrong? Yes, they cane minor offenders. What I’ve read about it is that it’s a horrible experience, terribly painful and humiliating. But look what we do here in the US; we have more people in prison than any other country and they sit there for many years with little or nothing to do and no preparation for their return to society. Are we really any better?”

“Well, when you put in that way,” said Jennifer, “I guess I can understand their position. Still I wouldn’t like to be caned.”

“Nor would I,” replied Susan. “But really, we aren’t planning to go there to violate their laws are we? I mean, we are going at the invitation of the Trabbian government to help them study one of their national treasures. All we need to do is focus on the task at hand and everything will be fine.”

Those reassuring words from the professor calmed the student’s fears and made the trip seem like a great idea. After all, spending a summer on an archeological dig in an exotic East Asian country sounded a whole lot more exciting than spending it back home working at the local burger joint or summer camp. So, after the school year was over, the three students and their professor, dressed for the tropics in T-shirts, shorts or thin cotton skirts and sandals, piled into the campus van for the drive to New York. There, they caught the long flight to Bangkok. After a short layover, they got on another plane for the two hour flight to Pranda, the capital of Trabbia.

At the airport in Pranda, they were met by Thura, a man about 170 cm tall with short black hair, like most Trabbian men, dressed in a blue, short-sleeved shirt, khaki pants and running shoes. “Welcome to Trabbia”, he said, in excellent, slightly-accented English. “I am with the Ministry of Culture. I have been delegated to accompany you to Mongha and make sure you have everything you need during your stay in our country. All the necessary arrangements have been made. Please follow me.” Thura was obviously a person of some importance because, following him, the Americans were waved through passport control and customs with barely a glance. At baggage claim, two porters appeared seemingly from nowhere to collect the visitors’ luggage. Thura guided the party out of the terminal into the tropical heat and escorted them to a black SUV parked at the curb. The porters placed their luggage in the back and the women climbed into the rear seat, while Thura got into the front with the driver.

“If you please,” said Thura, “we are expected at Mongha today. We have made provisions for you to spend a few days in Pranda as a sort of break after a few weeks at the archaeological site. We of course want you to appreciate that despite all of the ancient wonders, Trabbia is also a very modern and civilized country.” What they saw of Pranda seemed to support Thura’s assurances, as there were many tall, modern buildings and expressways filled with traffic. They noted that streets were quite spotless and everything appeared very orderly. After passing through the city, they continued on a good modern highway into the dense jungle, turning off, after a couple of hours, onto a well-maintained dirt road. A few minutes later, they arrived at a jungle encampment consisting of about 20 small huts and a larger one that served as a common meal area. Thura escorted the women to a cluster of smaller huts.

Each hut had two cots and a small bathroom with a simple shower and western-style toilet. Since Sarah and Jennifer were a couple, the women quickly agreed that they would share one hut, while Priya and Susan shared the other. After the women unpacked and had a brief rest, Thura knocked at the doors of their quarters and told them that dinner was being served. They all went down to the mess hall to meet their fellow archaeologists and sample the delights of Trabbian cuisine. The assembled group included several Trabbian historians and archaeologists, as well as helpers from the local population.

After everyone had dined, Thura stood up, went to the front of the room and addressed the group, “To our honored foreign guests, welcome to Trabbia. We are pleased to have a renowned expert like Professor Gelden in our country, along with her brilliant students. We hope that you will enjoy your stay and learn not only about our glorious past, but also about our dynamic present and our exciting future. I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.”

Sarah screwed up her courage and piped up, “I hope you won’t take this as an insult to your country, but we have read accusations about the mistreatment of prisoners, including caning of offenders.”

Just a hint of displeasure passed over Thura’s face, before he quickly recovered and responded, “Yes, it is true that our justice system imposes sentences of corporal punishment for certain offenses. We are not ashamed of this, but rather are proud of it. Our citizens are not willing to tolerate rampant criminality, but neither can they afford the expense of locking up non-violent criminals as you do in your country. We believe that a short painful punishment provides much more deterrent than a jail term, while allowing the offender to carry on their life with much less disruption to family and career. We believe that the very low rate at which those punished re-offend supports this position.”

Priya asked, “We know that some other countries cane male offenders, but isn’t Trabbia unique in also caning females?”

“When our government put in the laws, that was much discussed,” Thura continued, “And there were arguments on both sides. Eventually it was decided that fundamental fairness required that males and females be treated equally. The punishment is administered on the posterior, which is similar in construction in both sexes, so there is no reason to discriminate. We find that women are just as capable of taking the punishment as are men and suffer neither more nor less.”

The Americans exchanged looks of horror, but there really wasn’t much they could do, as guests in Trabbia, so they retired. The next morning they rose early and after a good breakfast began their work on the temples and last night’s uncomfortable discussion was forgotten. That is until a few days later when Thura approached their table at breakfast. “Good morning, ladies,” he began.

“Good morning,” they all replied.

“I was thinking about our discussion of the other evening. Our government wants to be sure that you understand our culture and way of life. I have spoken to a colleague of mine who is head of the women’s punishment center for this province and she has agreed that we can watch the caning of two offenders which will take place later this morning. I thought that being females, it would be more appropriate for you to witness the punishment of female offenders.”

“This morning?” asked Susan, “But we have so much work to do here.”

“The facility is close by,” Thura replied, “and all the arrangements have been made. We can have you back here in time for lunch and a solid afternoon’s work on the ancient artifacts. I think it will be very useful for you to get a taste of our modern ways as well as of our ancestors’ genius.”

Susan shrugged her shoulders. “I guess a short break from our routine here can’t hurt.”