Scaling hills, hauling bamboo, and packaging cotton balls…

Monday morning several of us headed to the Akha village to work with building the clinic. I climbed the hill to the village and carried down supplies to build the sauna. The Akha use saunas as a method of improving breathing and general health. While some of the volunteers dug the hole for the sauna room, a few of us went to collect bamboo. We climbed up a mountain to gather the bamboo from where the villagers were chopping it down. Shawn, Rose, and I exchanged several telling glances; we barely could climb up the hill without the bamboo. The situational absurdity increased when we saw the bamboo that we were to carry. They were ten meters long each. As we examined the task we faced, I hoped that Walt Disney was right when he remarked that “it’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” Without any ideas or options, I dragged bamboo poles down the edge of a mountain and through a creek. It was exhausting. We crossed the little bridge over another creek and tossed them into the pond by the clinic. On our last trip down the mountain, the rain began to pour down and reminded us why they called this the rainy season. We now were charged with moving the poles from the pond to the side of the clinic. The little boy who first taught me how to build the roof of a clinic, Sup Juay, just jumped in the water and started moving the poles. As we were soaking wet, we all dove in the water to get the poles out. It was a refreshing way to end a day.

Wednesday, I went back to work at the hospital. In the morning, I worked in Pediatrics with a little Akha boy. He was sweet and shy; I used my very limited Akha vocabulary to talk to him. In the afternoon, we made dialysis packets. We had some great conversations, which eased the usual drudgery of packaging cotton balls. Thursday, we were back in the Akha village. We presented a proposal to build adobe stoves in the village. The community currently uses open fire in each home, which causes respiratory issues and wastes considerable energy. The village elders were so excited about it that they said they wanted to start construction on Monday. We carried bags of sand and rocks to form the walls of the sauna. Friday, we were back to bamboo. When we climbed even further into the woods and were told that we couldn’t drag but must carry it on our shoulders, I stared at Ayu in disbelief. I remembered, though, Winston Churchill’s wise words to “never, never, never, never give up.” After a few failed experiments of balancing bamboo on my shoulders down the hill, we discovered a solution—one person on each end of the bamboo poles. It was still quite exhausting to bring all of the bamboo poles down the mountain, but we did it! It reminded me of a couple years back when our current President and my former boss declared—“Yes we can!”

Hill Tribes and Elephant Rides...

This past weekend was unbelievable. Pi Ti-- one of our partners-- was taking us to a Lahu tribe up what I call a mountain, but what everyone from Utah tells me is a hill. On the way, we stopped in a Karen village where he showed us attempts at sustainability. Many of the attempts failed because the volunteers and organizations did not communicate or work with the villagers. The lack of unity in their efforts has led to a failure of utility, which could have easily been avoided.

Pi Ti’s truck drove up the side of a hill to the Lahu tribe. The road was quite treacherous; I had the plausible idea that we were the first four wheeled vehicle to ever take that trip. However, as Ralph Waldo Emerson advised us: "do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Once we arrived at the village, it was as if we were entering into a new world.

There were animals absolutely everywhere: dogs, pigs, cows, chickens, roosters, cats, goats and all kinds of bugs. I originally thought it was difficult being in Thailand where I know a limited number of phrases; I know NO phrases in Lahu and that was quite hard. We spoke with some of the villagers through hand motions and simple Thai phrases. They seemed very happy with their life there. I wandered by myself for a while and as JRR Tolkien said “not all those who wander are lost.” I found this gorgeous viewpoint of the mountains (hills) and stood in awe for a half hour.

We had dinner with the village elder and we played Crazy 8s with him. Soon after this, he invited Matt, Nate and I into his hut to watch the World Cup. We were taken completely off guard. The village had recently acquired running water and we had not seen any signs of electricity, but there we were—watching Ghana v. Australia. That night the animals kept me up all night and I learned a valuable lesson: I should not work/ live on a farm.

The next morning I “woke up” relatively early and noticed something on the side of the village elder’s hut. It was a poster with a woman’s face on it and some writing. Through Pi Ti, I discovered that there were recent elections and the village elder’s preferential candidate had a great amount of sway in voting. From my campaigning days I learned it, but I didn’t think it would follow me here; the world is in love with yard signs.

Garrett and I climbed on our elephant—Nuang Li, who we believe was recovering from a cold. My right leg was damp from elephant snot by the end of the journey. It was incredible that the elephants were taking us down a mountain (hill) as we soaked in the great view. Once it was time to get off the elephant, he wouldn’t let me go. He let Garrett and the trainer jump down, but he loved me so much he was unwilling to crouch down to let me dismount. After much effort from the trainers, I had to jump on another elephant’s back to finally get down.

We walked around the corner to the beautiful Kuang Pow waterfall where we swam and I jumped off rocks into the water below. It was exhilarating. We drove the rest of the way in Pi Ti’s truck to the Akha clinic where we helped put on the roof. It’s fascinating how they use bamboo and grass to make an entire structure. I am so glad that I am being presented with these opportunities to learn about and participate in different cultural activities. As Ken Keyes once said “everyone and everything around you is your teacher.” Through these experiences, I’m trying to live the world with that understanding.

My first week in the land of smiles...

Monday, I worked in the Chiang Rai Regional Hospital. In the morning, I worked with two boys. One was part of the Akha hill tribe and the other was Thai. The Akha boy seemed very sick and the other boy recently had an operation. We painted papier-maché balloons. Around halfway through our painting, a man in the next room was very audibly dying or in serious pain from a moto accident. I saw the Thai boy put his head down and the Akha boy start to cry. It was terribly sad. In the afternoon, we worked on medical supplies. It is a very important job to make dialysis packs. It is also, unfortunately, painstakingly boring. After that, we met with our country director and I talked about project ideas that I had. Dave called three of the projects and set up meetings for Thursday.

Tuesday, started off at a village school called Nam Lad where we are building a wa

ter station. As one of the teacher's was giving us a tour of the school while we took a break for water, we saw Céline Dion lyrics on the board. She said they were translating the lyrics into English. I under my breath sang to Ryleigh (another volunteer) a line of the song. Ryleigh said "you should sing that for the class, Amy." We laughed until we remembered that the teacher spoke English. Before we knew it, the four of us were singing "Because You Loved Me" for a room of 11 year olds. The teacher was crying after because she said it was "so beautiful." I can assure you readily that it was not. She was so touched that she gave us all bracelets.

After working through the afternoon, we finished much of the wash station and started heading home. On the way, we

passed a very steep set of stairs with what looked like a temple at the top. Blake and I raced up them to find a monk's burial site that was quite beautiful. We hitched a ride with a truck back home and got ready for the evening.

Rose, Emily, Kenny, Pim and I went to the Samah Mit Community. The previous few weeks, the group had been teaching them about

finances and keeping records; we went to do house calls to check on our students. Soon after, we were offered dinner by family of the community elder. We had rice (as always) with mackerel and fried fish eggs and greens. It is apparently expensive and rare, so we were quite honored. In the village there was a little boy named Golf. Polio had crippled his hands, so he could not hold anything with them alone. He loved to draw, so that's what he would do. It reminded me of Helen Keller when she said that "although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it." He would use his leg to guide his hand across the page with a smile on his face. I was truly inspired by his patience, perseverance, and joy.

For the trip back to the house, Kenny, Rose, Emily, and I rode atop the taxi. It was incredible feeling the wind in our hair and in our faces. I felt so free. In Thai, Farang is slang for a white person. So on the way home, it was hilarious to watch all of the Thai people stare in awe at four Farangs senselessly riding atop a taxi.

Wednesday morning, we headed to DEPDC (Development and Education Project for Daughters and Communities). It is near the border with Burma, so we had a long and bumpy bus ride on the way. DEPDC works with trafficking victims and those at risk of being trafficked. In the morning we taught English in two classes and in the afternoon we did square foot gardening. That morning, as I was catching up to the group I looked both and ways and didn’t see anyone. A group of Thai people gladly pointed me in the direction of the other Farongs and I found them without difficulty.

Thursday was meeting day. At 9, we met with Pi Ti who worked with the Akha hill tribes on cultural and self-sustainability. We were able to go to one of the hill tribe communities where they organization and community members are building a clinic. As we were on our way to the site, there was a large snake in the middle of the road. Pi Ti stopped the car suddenly. My first thought was that he didn’t want to run it over until he pulls out a knife as he gets out of the car. He says something in Thai, which Dave translates as “that snake is delicious; it can be our lunch.” Unfortunately, it slithered away too quickly.

Our second meeting with Dr. David was no less exciting. He worked in remote villages on sanitation and medical supply. He had no funds other than what each volunteer brought. He condescended on other NGOs with their grants and offices and salaries. We later learned his mistrust of organizations like those came from his days as a Burmese freedom fighter. Our third meeting was rescheduled for Monday. That night, we went to the night bazaar—always entertaining. There were quite a few Farongs in the center of town, however, that I was not accustomed to seeing. I slept under the stars and a mosquito net.

Friday morning, we were back at the hospital. In the morning, we arrived early to the Pediatrics unit. Hoo-aay took the time to teach us some Thai. I worked with a brother and a sister. The little girl had stomach surgery earlier that week. We colored and painted. I played a few games with them and sang some songs. They were more lighthearted than my previous two pediatrics patients. Mae, one of the Pediatrics workers, and her friend Koi taught us a Thai song about elephants to prepare for our weekend and we all went to lunch. Afterwards, we sorted and organized medical supplies. That afternoon, we were meeting with the director of an AIDS orphanage with whom we might volunteer. We went around the bazaar that night with two Thai girls we had met and watched the US v. Serbia World Cup game. Saturday morning, I climbed some trees and went on a run around our village, excited about the upcoming events of the weekend.

Planes, a Bus, and a Birthday...

I woke up at 5:30 in the morning on June 9th to finally arrive in Chiang Rai the afternoon of June 11th. It was certainly a long trip. The flight from DFW to Tokyo was long and I was squished in the middle seat, but was overall pleasant. I had a six hour layover in the Narita Airport, which went by quickly. The flight to Bangkok from Tokyo was incredibly bumpy, but the stewardesses were unfailingly nice. I arrived at the Bangkok airport at 10:30pm and relaxed and read until my flight to Chiang Mai at 6:45am. The flight was only an hour long. I, then, ventured to the Chiang Mai Arcade Bus Station.

I spent the bus ride in awe of the goings on around me. There were overwhelming mountains to the left and monks walking on the right alongside a Carrefour complete with a Pizza Hut. As Ken Follet said, "culture clash is terrific drama." This incredible mix could be due to two separate ideas. Firstly, it could come from cultural imperialism and strong-hearted rituals in conflict. Secondly, it could be a simple fascination with a culture so different from ones own in collision with long-held traditions. The Chiang Mai Bus Station as both overcrowded and calm. Although the lines for bus tickets were long, no one acted impatiently or rudely. I had intended to purchase a VIP bus ticket, but somehow failed in that endeavor. My bus ticket was only three dollars and was an exciting, but bumpy ride. The police man who sat next to me in the bus was sleeping and I haven't the faintest idea how he managed that. It was a beautiful three hour ride with views of mountains and temples and national parks. It became increasingly evident on the bus ride that there are a disproportionate number of Playboy bunny stickers on cars and motor bikes. After being here a few days and seeing children wearing shirts with the icon , however, I discovered that it does not hold the same meaning here. There are also innumerable Che Guevara pictures, but after being in Europe for several months, I have grown accustomed to seeing his face randomly in inappropriate and odd places.

Once I arrived, I was greeted by most of the team and had a delicious lunch of goo ay dee o paht. We went to the craft store and the local market to pick up some supplies and headed back to the group home. With a program called AIDS Access, they had done arts therapy with HIV- positive children and we were organizing the paintings, bracelets, and keychains. Dinner was gaang kee o wahn, which our land lady Pi Pi made for us. I was exhausted after nearly three days of travel and very little sleep, so even the hard Asian bed looked heavenly to me.

The next morning, I awoke as a 21-year old. For my first full breakfast in Thailand, a few of us walked down the street to a woman who sells sticks of pork and rice in front of her house. They were delicious. The group, then, went to see a mountain with monkeys near the Burmese border. It was interesting to watch the interactions between the monkeys.

One of the monkeys was clearly the alpha male and his dominance overshadowed the hunger and needs of the other monkeys. I sat next down to a monkey on a bench and he made a whimpering sound; I glanced over at him, at which point, he snarled and lunged at me. I made it away safely, quite startled by an animal smaller than my cat, Joe. We climbed the mountain where the monkeys lived and breathed in the incredible view.

We descended into the caves of the mountain where there were many statues and relics. Unfortunately, my limited Thai did not extend to the signs that declared their significance.

After a day on the monkeys' mountain, we went to the walking street market where we sold the art and did double dutch jump roping for donations. The booth across from ours was a group of children and teenagers raising money for children whose parents had died. One of my group members told them it was my birthday and they sang and danced for me! Overall, a pretty incredible birthday. I think Thailand is just the place for me.

my new journey...

I leave tomorrow morning for Thailand. As the land of smiles awaits me, I catch myself thinking about the path that is leading me there. If you know me, you must be aware that I love to travel. My heart is set on exploring the world and the people in it. When I told a good friend that I was planning on volunteering abroad this summer she said that I am full of wanderlust. As I reflected, I realized how true that was. Beyond wanderlust, however, I find myself struck with wonder upon the beauty and ugliness I see around me.

I know that many of you have concerns and fears about this upcoming trip, and I understand. The world can be a scary place full of danger and evil, but from my travels abroad that's not what I have seen. I have seen that people are genuinely good at heart. If you are lost or in need, strangers will lend a hand. I am not reckless; I will still approach this adventure cautiously. William Shedd, a famous theologian once noted that while "a ship in a harbor is safe, that's not what ships are built for." I believe that is true about people. I think it's my purpose and my duty to follow Mark Twain's advice to "throw off the bowlines; sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in [my] sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Thailand is my new journey, my new adventure to explore, dream, and discover. I hope that I am able to serve the community surrounding Chiang Rai, as its beauty, culture, and people teach me new and incredible things. I hope that their perspectives enlighten me and show me how they interpret their purpose and role in the global community. My wish is that through this blog, I can give anyone and everyone a glimpse at the world through my wanderlust and wonderment.