Laos, Elephants, Peace and Love

As always, more pictures here.
It's been awhile since I've posted.  I blame not having any WiFi.

At the beginning of July we met up with the BYU group from Cambodia before we headed up to Laos.  Before we left we spent a day in Thailand having great adventures.  We went to a waterfall, "rafting" on bamboo rafts, and of course, riding an elephant.  Everything was amazing.  It was the typical thing to do in Thailand and I'm glad I got to do it.  The whole time we were riding an Elephant I just kept thinking of how unreal the whole thing was.

Laos was wonderful.  It was also much hotter than Thailand, something we thought was impossible.  But, we got to stay in a very nice hotel air conditioned and everything.  It even had a shower with a door.  Those just don't exist in Thailand.  We went to a beautiful waterfall the first day there.  It had crystal clear blue water with a rope swing and falls you could jump off of.  We spent the next day riding around on bicycles and touring the city sweating buckets and buckets before finally cooling down at a nice pool where we had fries.  Real American fries.  This was on July 4th so it was very fitting.  We spent the night of the 4th at an american bar eating american food watching drunk people light off little fireworks.  We also played a great game of volleyball against the Cambodes (group from Cambodia).  I think it can be assumed here that of course Thailandia won.  More like crushed them.

I don't have time to write much more, but the pictures say it all.

This is at a Wat in the mountains where we meditated the morning we rode elephants.

It was absolutely beautiful and very peaceful.

Riding Elephants!

This is where we stayed after riding on a slow boat on the Mekong.  We rode the boat for two days before finally getting to Laos.  It was a Very small town right on the river side.

Our first morning in Laos we hiked to the top of a temple on a hill.  I don't think I've ever sweat so much in my life.

This is where we swam at our first waterfall.  We swam down lower on the river and than hiked up to see this fall.

View of Luan Prabang.

Teaching, Teaching, Teaching

Everything has been going great here in Thailand.  I love it more and more everyday.  Yesterday before dinner a couple of the girls were talking to me and telling me who everyone like who's boyfriend was who's and who they liked last month but not anymore etc.  G and I had been guessing these things because the older kids pair off and talk and flirt, we were right about most of them.  Of course Kam likes Petch and Aussie likes Oh, but I never knew that Ganyanwee had so many boys after her!

I think though that the best moments come when you see that everything you have been doing hasn't gone to waste and these kids actually do listen and learn from you even though they do everything to make you feel the opposite.  Last weekend a group of student from a Bangkok international school came to the Farm to spend a couple of days with the foundation.  All week we had been practicing and practicing with the kids on introducing themselves.  Thais are very quiet people (except when they yell.  My goodness they can yell) and very shy.  They were nervous about getting up in front of a group of older students who spoke perfect English and introducing themselves in English, a third language for many of these kids.  So, the day came and we were... ready?  Yes, we were ready.  As we went around the circle and everyone got up to introduce themselves I got so happy when Sua remembered everything we had taught him.  He said it with a smile and confidence letting everyone know that "he was from Burma, and liked to ride his bike and eat banana!"  We wrote down an entire page for Kam to say, but she got up there and and told everyone who she was and what grade she was in.  She didn't even pause to remember, she just spoke.

I love that joy you get when you teach and you realize that you are actually doing something.  Very often I feel like me teaching English to these children isn't doing anything.  I look at all the volunteers they've had in the past and how many times they've learned the vocabulary for the kitchen and think, am I even doing anything?  Does me being here mean anything?  But then there's moments like last weekend when they get up in front of a big group and that yeah, it does make a difference.  It might be slow, and it might be painful.  But at least it's working.

Chiang Mai at night (obviously).  Seen from Wat Doi Suthep

Wats, Massages and Opinions.

More pictures here.

This last weekend G and I headed down to Chiang Mai to do something "touristy" with all the other interns in Chiang Mai (there are 11 of us total)  Saturday afternoon we headed up to Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, a famous Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai.  Sadly I forgot my camera, so maybe I'll try to post some pictures from my phone.  It was beautiful.  The Wat has these big, long stairs that take you up to the temple, then you go inside and everything is gold plated, with these beautiful intricate southeastern Asia designs.  We got blessed by a monk for "success in all your life," (which I am very excited about), and then we were given a string bracelet for good luck.

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep: Stairs leading up to the temple

In the Wat looking up at the main gold plated steeple.

We spent the evening eating great food and going to the night bazar (a series of small shops and stands that sell everything from wooden frogs to vans).  We all the famous Thai massage, and let me tell you, it is famous for a reason.  I got a foot massage and it was perfect after being on my feet all day.

Some Thai Culture:

Many of you might know that sex trafficking is a big problem here in Thailand.  Last Saturday night as our wonderful facilitator Spencer was sending everyone home G, Chloe and I started people watching.  We saw again and again old grey haired men with young beautiful Thai girls.  I don't know if this is technically "sex trafficking" or prostitution, and it could be that it's just a man with his wife/girlfriend in a completely normal relationship.  All if's and buts aside, 9 out of 10 times it's nothing good.  Here in Thailand this is a very common sight, and I just want to express how grateful I am to grow up in a place where things like this aren't commonplace.  I am so grateful that where I come from women are more than an item to be played with.

I hope that I haven't offended anybody by what I just wrote.  I just think that reading about what it is Really like in Thailand is more interesting than hearing about me sorting through illegal DVD's for 15 minutes.  I also am a strong believer that people should get the cake, not just the pretty icing on top.

What's your opinion on issues like this?

A Day in Chiang Mai

Street view from our apartment

See more pictures here.

After 40 hours of flying on planes, Ambien induced memory loss, walking in foreign airports, taking sketchy shuttles to our hotel and a long smelly bus ride, Chloe, Genevieve and I finally made it to Chiang Mai.  We staggered of the bus and sat at the station enveloped in the hot humid air while we waited for Spencer, the facilitator of our internship, and Bird, the man who lives in Thailand who helps us get our internships, to come pick us up.  We were the typical Farangs ( a Thai term that means "foreigner") standing there looking disheveled and lost with our big suitcases.

So far we have worked hard to get rid of our Jet lag, eaten lots of very delicious foods, and learned how to count in Thai.  Genevieve (or G) and I are staying in a "guest house" before we move up to the orphanage, about 40 minutes away from Chiang Mai in the middle of nowhere, where we will be working with hilltribe orphaned children.  I'm not one hundred percent sure what we will be doing but I think that it will be teaching English and ASL, working in their garden with the kids, (its huge and it's where they get all the food they eat), and cooking.  The guest house G and I are staying is tiny and has no air conditioning.  That means that we avoid it at all costs during the day, and at night we sleep in shorts with no blankets, just a fan blowing on us.  Surprisingly that fan keeps it at a near perfect temperature, though it's still a bit warm.

Yesterday was our first real day in the city.  It was such a long day, by the time I went to be I felt that I had been here for three days.  During the day we went around with Spencer and Bird doing things to set up internships for the other people that will be coming and working in Chiang Mai.  In the evening we walked over to Wat Phra Sing (pronounce, pa-sing).  It was beautiful.  Everything was so elaborate and detailed.  When you go in you have to take your shoes off out of respect.  In Thailand your feet are the dirtiest part of your body and therefore you don't show your feet to anybody or touch your feet to anyone.  The Buddha statues that are placed around the temple are also sacred.  Years ago around 1980 I think some missionaries climbed on the statue, touched the head (the most sacred part of the body, also something you don't touch), and then took pictures. They made the mistake of developing these pictures.  The people who developed them saw this and as a result missionaries weren't allowed in Thailand for years, destroying years and years of of the church developing a good relationship with this country, and one was in jail for about 6 months.  Needless to say, you are very respectful around the statues.  If you decide to be in a picture with one, you just smile.  No funny faces or stances.

Genevieve by Wat Phra Sing

After we went to the Temple we went to a wedding that was being held in the LDS Church.  It was beautiful and everyone was so happy.  The LDS Church is so nice.  It is clean and has this big grassy area next to it, something you just don't find here.  Also it has air conditioning.  A BIG bonus.  After the wedding we went in to the gym where they had small tables laid out with small bowls of food on them.  The little Thai boys are Crazy!  Bird keeps telling G that she is "do" (pronounced with a sound we don't have in English).  There's not a direct translation, but it means that you are naughty.  Like a little kid is naughty.  You are crazy, talk a lot, and have a lot of energy.  Bird tells her that she is "do" just like his son.  Anyways, being at this wedding I saw exactly what he meant.  Bird's son was there and he was "do" right along with every other boy.  They were running around the gym laughing and screaming only sitting down for a second to get a bit of sticky rice.

The last thing we did yesterday was the Night Bazar.  It is a series of stands where people sell things, mostly to the Farangs.  It can be a little expensive compared to what you might find at the Sunday March, but to us it's not.  A pair of sunglasses is 200 Baht, about 6 dollars, and some shorts are about 300 Baht.  It was full of energy, so many people were there buying and selling all sorts of things.

Thailand is so amazing.  I wish that all of you could be here.  I am hoping that I will soon get used to how hot and humid it is because at my place at the orphanage I don't have air conditioning either.  It's so hot that in the morning when you are getting ready you sweat.  When you are sitting down eating lunch, you sweat.  At night when you walk down the street, you sweat.  Besides all of this is is perfect.  The people are so so kind.  They help you with anything and don't mind that you can't speak Thai.  In Europe if you try to speak, say French, they just look at you and speak English and act like you are a hassle to deal with.  But in Thailand when you try to speak and mess up they kindly correct you and smile, they're just glad you are trying to speak it.

There are more pictures here.