Don't feed the Humans!

Argh first case of food poisoning abroad...not so fun. I had an "authentic" experience puking and pooping my guts out in a Lahu village a couple nights ago. I can't be sure what did it, but I was the only one in the group that got sick, and all I really did differently was sample the sugarcane we were feeding our elephant earlier in the day (what?!!).

Prior to the whole clutching-my-stomach-in-agony thing, the trek experience itself was really awesome. We went with a friend of Amanda's named Kit who has a travel business here in Chiang Rai. The day started off with a boat ride up the river to an elephant camp, where we took a little ride through the village. It was bumpy and not so comfortable; the coolest part was touching their trunks and feeding them. I couldn't help but feel sorry for them...having to lug silly falangs around so we could get a photo op. They didn't seem very happy. We had lunch in the elephant camp, and then headed out on foot from there. I don't think any of us (me, Laura, or the three Italian dudes who completed the party) were prepared for the intensity of the hike. It was really beautiful, but pretty steep in parts, and our guide Win was not one to go at a leisurely pace. We got to an Appa village first, and didn't have much time to do anything. I could go into the cultural intimacies of all the tribes here, but I just don't feel like I absorbed all that much (I'll report back once I hit the Hilltribe Museum here in Chiang Rai). We got to the village around 5 or 6 and all had showers (awesome!!!! I was literally, SOAKED in sweat, head to toes) and chilled out on the deck of our bamboo bungalow. The bungalow was built above ground to prevent flooding in the rainy season, and it was so clean and comfy and cozy that Laura and I prompty set about making plans to build one of our own. Win cooked us dinner and passed around a water bottle full of homemade moonshine. We luckily enough showed up on the first night of New Year's celebrations in the village, so everyone was in the mood to party. In the middle of the communal eating area, a tribute was set up with a pig's head and some other food items around it. The dancing centered around this, and was accompanied by drums, chimes, and cheap tinny sounding Thai pop music from speakers a few meters away. It was pretty neat, but us Westerners FAR outnumbered the villagers, so it felt a bit contrived. The foundation working in the village was called the Mirror Foundation, and they had set everything up on solar cell batteries which was pretty neat. In return, I think there was an arrangement that all us whiteys could come and gawk at will...oh well it was still very cool.

The PLAN for the next day was a hike to a waterfall and hot springs. In REALITY I gratefully accepted a jeep ride back to Chiang Rai with Kit and slept the rest of the day. Thankfully Laura was able to report back to me on all the adventures I missed out on, and provide pictures for my viewing pleasure. She also returned with well-wishes from the Italians, which I thought was very sweet.

Exciting stuff is happening every day at the center. Laura is working on an aquaculture project, whereby the swimming pool is slowly being converted into a Tilapia pond. This is a totally exciting advance in IHF's goal of sustainable development, and interesting for me as it brings me back to my days at the Salton Sea (Tilapia are like, the cockroaches of freshwater fish...totally indestructable). Two other volunteers, Adam and Eleanor, have been diligent about finishing a chicken coop so that we can keep chooks here at the center and harvest eggs. Atticus and Dan have been working really hard on the garden, getting it ready for planting this week. BEFORE THEY LEAVE. Everyone's leaving all at once! Of course we'll have new volunteers, but it's sorta sad to see the band break up. We've got a pretty fabulous dynamic going on right now.


The weather is really heating up; it seems like it turned overnight from fairly chilly to downright HOT. But, I don't think it's anywhere near as hot as it will be in a month or so. I keep playing with the idea of extending my trip (again) but we'll see how I hold out with the heat as I am a notorious whiner when the temp exceeds 80 F or so : )

Ahh yes and I finally have a story about dirty cops in a foreign land...Juan and I were riding scooters back from the Internet cafe one night (I'm a total 2 wheel whiz now, and it only took one minor crash) and we got stopped at a checkpoint up the road from a nearby festival. The cops REEKED of booze themselves, and wouldn't stop hassling us for our drivers licenses, which we kept telling them we didn't have on us. They had the gumption to actually start opening our backpacks and rooting around! It was completely cavalier and pissed me off to no end but I realized I probably wasn't in the position to have a full-on hissy fit in the middle of a dark road in a country where I didn't speak the language and was breaking the law. We promised them we'd return with our passports and licenses, and then sped off and never looked back. So there!

I'm trying my best to find time to get pictures up, but the days are so so so full right now. Juan is off to Bangkok tomorrow to do a television interview promoting IHF (yay!), and I've been left in charge. Watch out! I'm having quite a bit of fun getting to know the kids better though. We've embarked on getting them all checked out at the local hospital, so each week I'll be trucking a few more of them down there for a fun-filled Saturday doing things kids love like getting their blood drawn, hanging out in waiting rooms for hours, and being told they can't run, yell, or hit eachother. I'm holding on to my popularity by a thread, people.

Being immersed in an indiginous culture that is so TOTALLY different than my own is really bringing up a lot of personal moral and ethical dilemnas, which I won't get into on a public website. Needless to say, every day brings new experiences that smash all my beloved Western paradigms to pieces.

But overall, I love it. I'm trying to figure out how to move here. Yah, it's really that great!

It's Go Time

So poking around youtube, I found a cool little vignette about Carol and her work:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhFpqpYED8c

Check it out and once your interest is sufficiently piqued, hit the IHF website!

http://www.ihfonline.org/

A lot of exciting stuff is happening here in Thailand. Caty and Amanda, (co-director and Director of the center, respectively) have been called off to the Kenya center. They leave Monday evening, leaving all us remaining volunteers to take their places. Juan is going to act as Director, and the rumor is that I'm co-director but I'd rather not think of it that way as the responsibility freaks me out a bit. There are many volunteers here, and many more on the way...we'll be fine!

I've extended my trip one week so that I can go to a convention in Bangkok at the end of February, and I'm playing with staying even longer. It depends how this next month goes, I guess.

I'm trying like mad to think of what to say...days have just been mixing together, it's hard to believe I've been up in Chiang Rai over a week. It's amazing how safe it is here; apparently that's a side-effect of the Buddhist influence. I got abysmally lost on bicycle a few nights ago, and not once did I ever feel weird or at risk or anything. No one locks up anything here- houses, bikes, backpacks...it's just a given that no one steals which is quite amazing given the (relatively) low standard of living.

The food is absolutely fantastic, and even our meals at the center are prepared with tons of fresh herbs and spices. Mali and Nabee, the house mummies, have apparently toned down the chilis quite a bit for us falongs (white people), but there's still a fair amount of kick. We go to the market twice a week to buy groceries for the center, and it's been a really fun and interesting experience. They eat pretty much everything here...frogs, crickets, turtles, catfish, chicken legs, snails, jellied pig blood...you name it and I'm sure it's in some Thai dish somewhere. We go to this little neighborhood market almost daily and pick up lunch for around 40 cents, and I'm trying to expand my comfort zone to try new things (but the papaya salad is tried and true and just SO GOOD).

My projects over the next month will probably shift slightly from administrative stuff to more hands-on logistical projects, so I'm trying to plow through the rest of the website editing as well as making a volunteer manual and medical & dental logs for the children. Later this week, we'll bring them all in for medical checkups and vaccinations.

Until next time,
A

Pictures, kids, and itchiness

I'm at the center in Chiang Rai, and really really loving it. The kids aren't quite as cuddly as the Pokot children, but that's okay. I think they'll warm up in time as we learn their names and such.
I've got a few pictures up and posted:

http://picasaweb.google.com/passionflower24/Thailand

When I arrived in Chiang Rai I was picked up by Juan at the bus station. It was great to see him again, and a little strange...a year later, a different continent...a lot to catch up on. I went with the director of the center, Amanda to pick up some of the children from school but many had the day off for a National Holiday (they have a National Holiday for Children. Children's Day!). Back at the center, I was shown around and met the other volunteers. There's so many of us here right now...besides Amanda and the co-director Caty, theres Juan from the UK, Eleanor from France, Adam from Australia, Dennis-Michael from the US, and Laura & Phil from Australia. The center itself is beautiful and quite modern. There's several working toilets and showers (one is even western and there's even hot water). It's very comfortable. We're located in a quiet sorta bucolic setting on the outskirts of town, there's a lot of countryside and stray dogs and such. I was stoked that it was safe enough to go on a run, and I got to see a lot of the city which is MUCH larger than I had expected-62,000 people according to Wiki!
http://wikitravel.org/en/Chiang_Rai

My first night in I was super excited to try the Thai cuisine but for dinner, Caty treated 4 of the birthday kids to KFC (as in Kentucky Fried Chicken) and a toy at the supermarket. Surprisingly, even KFC inThailand was pretty good...I got tuna salad. Still not impressed enough to purchase a KFC handbag or anything (I saw one for sale at the market-unbeleivable!).

Saturday was actually Children's Day, and tons of festivities were taking place. We took the children down to Chiang Rai beach where there was a celebration complete with games, food, and music. The kids made out like bandits with tons of free food and I tried my favorite dish thus far-papaya salad. It's made with unripe papaya strips, chilis, dried shrimp, roasted peanuts, and lime juice & vinegar. It's sublime.

Sunday was super-relaxed. There were a few house meetings where we were introduced to the kids via a translator. The children are all from the hilltribes of Northern Thailand, mostly Lahu and Akha. They speak their tribal language mostly, and Amanda and Caty have just gotten a teacher to give them Thai lessons daily after they come home from school. These groups endure a lot of prejeduce and discrimination from Thai's, and aren't even treated as full citizens. They aren't even given passports, so they can never leave their tribal province. Carol (founder of International Humanity Foundation) established this center as a preventative measure against human trafficking and sexual slavery; the fate of many unwanted hilltribe children. Once again, I feel quite affirmed that IHF is truly doing work with the most marginalized and poverty-stricken populations. Here's links to more info:
http://www.thaifreedomhouse.org/hill_tribes.php
http://www.hrsolidarity.net/mainfile.php/2004vol14no06/2384/

The task I've been given is comprehensive review and edit of the website text. Not very romantic, I know, but I'm actually very happy that I can be doing something useful that utilizes my skills. Other projects are ongoing painting and cleaning at the center, and various miscellaneous administrative tasks involving sponsorship and fundraising. I know it sounds weird to travel halfway around the world just to sit at a computer much of the day, but it's some of the most important and neccesary work to be done.

As for me, I'm doing great despite being covered in mosquito bites (well not covered but they're especially itchy. Especially the ones on the bottom of my feet and forehead.) The food is awesome and cheap and plentiful, I'm in good company, and it's not humid. I have absolutely no complaints...life is extremely extremely good :)

Far East and Loving It

Here I am in Chiang Mai, Thailand...pecking away at an internet cafe halfway around the world. I wish I had pics to upload for y'all but I am still in wary-tourist mode and self-concious about it. They'll come, I promise.

My trip to Bangkok was smooth and uneventful, aside from some jet-lagged-induced resentment at the DAMN RUSSIANS that were drunk and loud and pushy in Seoul. Room for spiritual growth on my part I suppose : ). I got to my hotel around 2 am, and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the room for how cheap it was:
http://www.thongtaresort.com/

The next morning, I took a cab into central Bangkok and dropped my stuff off at the main train station. The information desk lady TOTALLY tourist-trapped me into buying a ticket for the overnight bus to Chiang Mai, versus the train. And she was soooooo polite when she explained that I would be more comfortable since I wasn't Asian (pantomiming big thighs at the same time). Anyways, I decided not to fret since she guaranteed me I'd have a great night's rest. I rationalized that the cost was worth it (about 30$ US) and it wasn't going to be the "QueasyCoach" experience I had from Nakuru to Bungoma in Kenya. NO bus ride on the planet could equal that one.

I took the Bangkok metro subway to a neighborhood called Sukumvit and attended a great meeting there. Everything is so clean and orderly and easy here! I met some great people (fellow travellers mostly), had a good lunch and did some shopping before I headed to another meeting in another area.

I spoke at length with a journalist about the political situation, and surprise surprise we weren't getting the whole picture from MSM. The group that caused all the problems at the airport and such weren't rallying for the little guys at all (even though they claimed to be a people's party); there's all sorts of complicated political alliances class elitism going on. But the bottom line is that everyone has been sated for the moment and the country is safe for the time being.

SOOO the bus. The first sign that my serenity was compromised: 1) Not a window seat but a MIRROR seat. Who wants to spend 9 hours looking at oneself while you're passing through an exotic and interesting countryside?? But it gets better...
2) The bus was full of.....RUSSIANS
3) Cockroaches were swarming in the tray table
4) My OCD plans to change into my pj's in the "toilet" and brush my teeth were foiled AND THIS WAS THE LAST STRAW-
5) Apparently there was not enough room for luggage underneath so it was all piled in the isle. My brain was swirling with fiery death scenes and being trapped in a bus dying. With Russians.

Okay enough negative Nancying...they pulled into another bus station and re-arranged the luggage. I got out and brushed my teeth and changed in the worlds funkiest outhouse, so I was a bit more calm. I decided I needed a real attitude change and got one when I pulled my meditation card for the night out...and the character defect of the day is: "I COME FIRST". Oh shit.

I actually calmed down and got a good nights' rest after all. About 6 this morning we pulled into Chiang Mai and I went on a pretty long walk that was really uninteresting (cuz I mostly stuck to highways and main roads not to get lost). Now I'm onto another bus for 3 hours to Chiang Rai and I'm VERY VERY excited to reunite with Juan who has been at the center for a few weeks now.

Ciao!