"OY, we just came back from another funny experience. We took the mini van recommended in Lonley Planet to a market in a city about one hour away. The minivan was practically empty when we got on and considered changing our assigned seat. We ended up staying in our seat that was assigned and for good reason! We leave and only five minutes later we stop where about 20 more Peruvians get on the bus. Five minutes later another five people, and so on and so on until the bus was so incredibly crammed up that a large woman is practically sitting on Carly´s lap since she is in the aisle seat. Thank god it wasn´t me. Anyway, she moved back further when more people got on then there was a 90 year old woman (at least she looked that old) who was the person leaning over Carly sitting on the hand rail. We discussed giving her the seat like civil people, then thought otherwise. We weren´t going anywhere. Those were precious seats!!! Again, my sneezing returned from the dust and smells. However the views were incredible overlooking the hillsides.
We landed in a city called Pisco where there was the famous local market. Wow, was it ever cool. We bought more stuff since it is all so fabulous getting our bargaining power down to perfection. Then a big wind came and the dust kicked up and the clouds began to look peril. Without lunch we decided to get the first taxi ( a splurge) back to town.
When we got to the area where there were taxis they were all hording around us to get our business. The one that I began talking with because he was most persistent ended up driving a little itty bitty blue car that I was too uncertain to get into. Then the woman said come here, join our taxi back to Cusco. We had read that it is very common to do that. We begin to climb into the taxi and see that there are already a mother and daughter in the back seat and a dog in the way back, with the father in the front seat. I say there isn´t enough room for us and she says of course there is! We squeeze in and the little girl makes way for us. We head down the hill squashed but feeling good about getting the heck down the hill before the rain set in. It ended up to be a fine ride right to our hotel.
We are back at our hotel where we were dreaming of taking a wonderful hot shower to rinse off the dirt of the market. The woman at the front desk then tells us that their hot water is not working, after hearing our conversation and it might go back on late tonight. Ugh. Carly is in the shower now and froze her ass off. Me, I am going to probably wait and hope for the best.
Our trip to Machu Picchu is tomorrow so we need to be very clean before we start our journey. Needless to say we are both a bit anxious about it."
-Lisa
Friday, April 9, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Bienvenidos al Perú
Ah Peru! What a fantastic country. I am having an unbelievably wonderful experience. Since this is my first blog from abroad I should probably start from the very beginning to make sure my story is somewhat cohesive...
On Sunday March 21st, I boarded a flight to LAX with my mom. We had a few hours in the LA airport then hopped a plane to Lima. Three movies later, we arrived at the airport at 12:30 AM and tried to camp out at the airport. Since our flight to Iquitos was at 6 AM we didn´t think it was worth it to go into Lima for just a few hours. We could brave sleeping at the airport! There was a cafe with bench length chairs, padded to boot, where we ordered some food in an attempt to feel less guilty about crashing in their resturant. The waitress gave us a nodd of approval when I motioned sleeping on the bench, but about an hour later she shook our trying-to-sleep-heads with a request that we leave. This sent us to the lobby floor. Our belongings were piled up in a corner and we laid out a blanket that mom had comendered from the plane, but oh how mistaken we were in our hardcore-ness! Boarding a 6:30 flight to Iquitos, our heads hanging sleepily in a daze, we deeply regretted not having slept in a hotel.
Iquitos is located in north eastern Peru and termed the "gateway to the Amazon Rainforest." For six days we stayed at the Muyuna lodge, 45 km up the Amazon River by boat (about a 3 hr ride). The whole jungle trip was quite the adventure. The only other people at the lodge were a father son couple from Kentucky, with which we shared a guide, Moisis, our very own Amazonian prophet.
Moisis proved quickly on the first two hour, mosquit-clouded jungle walk that he is extremely knowledgable about every single thing pertaining to the Peruvian Amazon. This man knows his stuff. He rattled off facts about all the flora to the fauna, teaching us about medicinal, poisonous and edible plants, has an incredible eye for spotting even the most camoflauge animals from extremely far distances, and knows how to make dozens of bird calls. Mom and I could not stop giggling at how machete-happy he was. The machete is Moisis´s weapon of choice for exerting his matchoism. I´m not really sure what it was all about, but he was so excessive in his trail blazing, obliterating every branch, no matter how small, that was even the slightest bit in his way.
We were kept unbelievably busy while at Muyuna. Every day was packed with adventuring, our days often begining at 6am and ending at 9pm. The following is a list of some of our jungle activities:
-Hiking in the jungle to spot various animals, insects, and plants
-Taking a boat down the river, sometimes deep into the jungle
-Bird watching from a canoe
-Voyaging to a lake with giant lilypads - so cool!
-Grey and pink dolphin sighings
-Swimming in the Amazin River (with my mouth pursed tightly)
-Fishing, scaling, and eating phiranas
-Visiting the local village and trying to communicate with people about their lives
-Seeing a caiman, tarantuala, and huge, 1.5 inch wasps
-Touring a rum factory
and of course, the unofficial activity:
-Being eaten alive by mosquitoes
Back in Iquitos we spent an entire day working on logistics. Between planes, buses, trains, hotels, and machu picchu treks, we had and still have a lot to work out.
On the 28th, we took an evening flight back to Lima, but since our next flight was not leaving until 6 the next morning, and our previous airport overnight did not go so well, we jumped in a taxi and spend a few hours in comfy guesthouse beds. Then back to the airport for an Arequipa bound flight.
From the Arequipa airport we dropped our bags off at a great find called Hostal Solar and began our action-packed day of sightseeing. First was an incredibly informative tour of the city´s convent. The largest convent in the world and termed a "a city with in a city," this century old convent was the home to wealthy nuns who lived lavishly until the pope heard about their way of life and made them dismiss their slaves and get rid of their expensive belongings. Next was a museum about Inca human sacrifices in the Andes where we saw an actual ice mummy that was discovered about a decade ago. Dozens of these bodies have been found all over the country´s tallest mountains. Since the region is especially disaster prone, the Incas sacrificed young children as offerings to appease the angry gods. A fasinating history.
The highlight of the day was when we stumbled into a yarn store. Wall to wall, floor to ceiling was lined by shelvs of colorful spools of beautiful appaca wool yarn. I was in heaven and had to buy two balls of a magnificent coral colored baby alpaca lana. Now all I need are the knitting needles.
So now I am in Puno, after a six hour bus ride from Arequipa, typing away while rain pours outside. Puno is a large city right on Lake Titicaca. I´m loving the sight of the old women who live in the area wearing bowler hats, colorful blankets worn as shawls, and multi-layers of skirts. There is also such great shopping for alpaca everything: hats, gloves, scarves, blankets, and sweaters. Tomorrow we will visit the Floating Islands and do a homestay overnight, giving us enought time to explore this unique Peruvian sub-culture.
MUY FANTASTICO!
On Sunday March 21st, I boarded a flight to LAX with my mom. We had a few hours in the LA airport then hopped a plane to Lima. Three movies later, we arrived at the airport at 12:30 AM and tried to camp out at the airport. Since our flight to Iquitos was at 6 AM we didn´t think it was worth it to go into Lima for just a few hours. We could brave sleeping at the airport! There was a cafe with bench length chairs, padded to boot, where we ordered some food in an attempt to feel less guilty about crashing in their resturant. The waitress gave us a nodd of approval when I motioned sleeping on the bench, but about an hour later she shook our trying-to-sleep-heads with a request that we leave. This sent us to the lobby floor. Our belongings were piled up in a corner and we laid out a blanket that mom had comendered from the plane, but oh how mistaken we were in our hardcore-ness! Boarding a 6:30 flight to Iquitos, our heads hanging sleepily in a daze, we deeply regretted not having slept in a hotel.
Iquitos is located in north eastern Peru and termed the "gateway to the Amazon Rainforest." For six days we stayed at the Muyuna lodge, 45 km up the Amazon River by boat (about a 3 hr ride). The whole jungle trip was quite the adventure. The only other people at the lodge were a father son couple from Kentucky, with which we shared a guide, Moisis, our very own Amazonian prophet.
Moisis proved quickly on the first two hour, mosquit-clouded jungle walk that he is extremely knowledgable about every single thing pertaining to the Peruvian Amazon. This man knows his stuff. He rattled off facts about all the flora to the fauna, teaching us about medicinal, poisonous and edible plants, has an incredible eye for spotting even the most camoflauge animals from extremely far distances, and knows how to make dozens of bird calls. Mom and I could not stop giggling at how machete-happy he was. The machete is Moisis´s weapon of choice for exerting his matchoism. I´m not really sure what it was all about, but he was so excessive in his trail blazing, obliterating every branch, no matter how small, that was even the slightest bit in his way.
We were kept unbelievably busy while at Muyuna. Every day was packed with adventuring, our days often begining at 6am and ending at 9pm. The following is a list of some of our jungle activities:
-Hiking in the jungle to spot various animals, insects, and plants
-Taking a boat down the river, sometimes deep into the jungle
-Bird watching from a canoe
-Voyaging to a lake with giant lilypads - so cool!
-Grey and pink dolphin sighings
-Swimming in the Amazin River (with my mouth pursed tightly)
-Fishing, scaling, and eating phiranas
-Visiting the local village and trying to communicate with people about their lives
-Seeing a caiman, tarantuala, and huge, 1.5 inch wasps
-Touring a rum factory
and of course, the unofficial activity:
-Being eaten alive by mosquitoes
Back in Iquitos we spent an entire day working on logistics. Between planes, buses, trains, hotels, and machu picchu treks, we had and still have a lot to work out.
On the 28th, we took an evening flight back to Lima, but since our next flight was not leaving until 6 the next morning, and our previous airport overnight did not go so well, we jumped in a taxi and spend a few hours in comfy guesthouse beds. Then back to the airport for an Arequipa bound flight.
From the Arequipa airport we dropped our bags off at a great find called Hostal Solar and began our action-packed day of sightseeing. First was an incredibly informative tour of the city´s convent. The largest convent in the world and termed a "a city with in a city," this century old convent was the home to wealthy nuns who lived lavishly until the pope heard about their way of life and made them dismiss their slaves and get rid of their expensive belongings. Next was a museum about Inca human sacrifices in the Andes where we saw an actual ice mummy that was discovered about a decade ago. Dozens of these bodies have been found all over the country´s tallest mountains. Since the region is especially disaster prone, the Incas sacrificed young children as offerings to appease the angry gods. A fasinating history.
The highlight of the day was when we stumbled into a yarn store. Wall to wall, floor to ceiling was lined by shelvs of colorful spools of beautiful appaca wool yarn. I was in heaven and had to buy two balls of a magnificent coral colored baby alpaca lana. Now all I need are the knitting needles.
So now I am in Puno, after a six hour bus ride from Arequipa, typing away while rain pours outside. Puno is a large city right on Lake Titicaca. I´m loving the sight of the old women who live in the area wearing bowler hats, colorful blankets worn as shawls, and multi-layers of skirts. There is also such great shopping for alpaca everything: hats, gloves, scarves, blankets, and sweaters. Tomorrow we will visit the Floating Islands and do a homestay overnight, giving us enought time to explore this unique Peruvian sub-culture.
MUY FANTASTICO!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Sorry I didn't blog
If I had blogged during the last three months you would have heard all about my life.
You would have heard about the end of my time in the south of Thailand, my obsession with diving, the thrill of doing a night dive surrounded by bioluminescence, the arrival of my mom and dad in Kho Panangan our time together sunbathing along the picturesque, white sand, turquoise water beaches, caving in the Ko Sok national park, rock climbing the limestone buffs in Railay (one of the top ten rock climbing locations in the world), and touring Bangkok in a whirlwind, smog filled, two days, my stressful bout of “they’re-not-going-to-let-me-on-the-flight” standby-itis in Japan, and, at last, my arrival home.
I would have written about the mixture of emotions that comes with returning to a place that you so deeply love and leaving behind a place that taught, thrilled, and given you so much for three fantastic months, months that have changed you and even make home seem different.
You would have heard about reunions with friends and family, the constant retelling of my journey, the shear pleasure of being in the familiar again, the pangs for pad thai, my somewhat successful attempts at cooking curry with the pastes I bought back in Chiang Mai, fantastic times with the friends I missed so much while away, another round of goodbyes as they all went back to school, and the nagging anxiety that began to creep in of what I would do next.
I would have told you about how I filled my time with a new passion, guitar, and all the time I spent learning Dixie Chicks, Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, among tens of others, all the while annoying the hell out of Josh with all the singing and playing. I resumed work with Teens Turning Greening, helping to coordinate for a new initiative called BYObag, an effort to ban plastic bags and tax paper bags in Marin County, and organizing the National Summit. I babysat. A lot. I did yoga and went to the gym. I visited friends at their colleges on some weekends. I started knitting again and read. A lot. I cooked. I had a wisdom tooth (bottom right) pulled and spent a week in bed watching a British TV series from Nexflix. The anxiety of the unplanned, the unsure, crept a little deeper, then a little deeper still, and all this did was make me want to think about it less and cook yellow curry.
Next you would have heard about my epiphany moment, something I attribute, oddly enough, to knitting. I could not do it anymore. I could not spend the next three months knitting, I decided. After all, what would I do with all those scarves?
I would have described the lightness that followed, the excitement of knowing there was something ahead that would thrill, awe, teach, and excite me in the same way Thailand had, and the planning. Awe, the planning…. Do you know how much fun there is in buying a Lonley Planet guidebook and equipment at REI?
You would know how I am about to spend my next three months.
On Sunday I fly to Lima, Peru with my mom. We will travel together around the county until the 17th of April, when she flies home and I fly to Ecuador. I am going to spend a month in Quito, studying Spanish and living with an Ecuadorian family. Finally, I am taking a month long course in sustainable agriculture on an organic farm. Words cannot describe my excitement.
If I had blogged during the last three months you would have heard all about my life. Sorry, I didn’t blog. :)
You would have heard about the end of my time in the south of Thailand, my obsession with diving, the thrill of doing a night dive surrounded by bioluminescence, the arrival of my mom and dad in Kho Panangan our time together sunbathing along the picturesque, white sand, turquoise water beaches, caving in the Ko Sok national park, rock climbing the limestone buffs in Railay (one of the top ten rock climbing locations in the world), and touring Bangkok in a whirlwind, smog filled, two days, my stressful bout of “they’re-not-going-to-let-me-on-the-flight” standby-itis in Japan, and, at last, my arrival home.
I would have written about the mixture of emotions that comes with returning to a place that you so deeply love and leaving behind a place that taught, thrilled, and given you so much for three fantastic months, months that have changed you and even make home seem different.
You would have heard about reunions with friends and family, the constant retelling of my journey, the shear pleasure of being in the familiar again, the pangs for pad thai, my somewhat successful attempts at cooking curry with the pastes I bought back in Chiang Mai, fantastic times with the friends I missed so much while away, another round of goodbyes as they all went back to school, and the nagging anxiety that began to creep in of what I would do next.
I would have told you about how I filled my time with a new passion, guitar, and all the time I spent learning Dixie Chicks, Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, among tens of others, all the while annoying the hell out of Josh with all the singing and playing. I resumed work with Teens Turning Greening, helping to coordinate for a new initiative called BYObag, an effort to ban plastic bags and tax paper bags in Marin County, and organizing the National Summit. I babysat. A lot. I did yoga and went to the gym. I visited friends at their colleges on some weekends. I started knitting again and read. A lot. I cooked. I had a wisdom tooth (bottom right) pulled and spent a week in bed watching a British TV series from Nexflix. The anxiety of the unplanned, the unsure, crept a little deeper, then a little deeper still, and all this did was make me want to think about it less and cook yellow curry.
Next you would have heard about my epiphany moment, something I attribute, oddly enough, to knitting. I could not do it anymore. I could not spend the next three months knitting, I decided. After all, what would I do with all those scarves?
I would have described the lightness that followed, the excitement of knowing there was something ahead that would thrill, awe, teach, and excite me in the same way Thailand had, and the planning. Awe, the planning…. Do you know how much fun there is in buying a Lonley Planet guidebook and equipment at REI?
You would know how I am about to spend my next three months.
On Sunday I fly to Lima, Peru with my mom. We will travel together around the county until the 17th of April, when she flies home and I fly to Ecuador. I am going to spend a month in Quito, studying Spanish and living with an Ecuadorian family. Finally, I am taking a month long course in sustainable agriculture on an organic farm. Words cannot describe my excitement.
If I had blogged during the last three months you would have heard all about my life. Sorry, I didn’t blog. :)
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Oh My Buddha Pt 2
I'll be the first to admit my blogging has been less that adequate consistency wise. My utmost apologies. To get up to date I need you to travel back almost three weeks.....Time Warp!
November 18th - a day full of food. I took a cooking class with Josi and Larissa at the "Thai Farm." My menu: Yellow curry with chicken, tom yom soup with shrimp, chicken and cashew nut stir fry, pad thai, and mango with sticky rice. Wow was I full! Maybe if some of you are lucky, I'll cook a Thai meal (feast) upon my return. Most of the recipes are fairly basic and have similar ingredients. Just being in a kitchen again felt so nice after all these months of eating out, apart for breakfast.
November 23-27 - Thai Massage School. Yes, that's right. I am now certified in Thai massage. For five days, lead by our instructor Jane, Josie, Larissa and I learned over one hundred and ten different steps. Feet, Legs, Hands, Arms, Back, Neck, and Face. To do them all at once would take me probably around three hours! The hardest part was to not fall asleep in the studio. We spent just as much time being massaged (horizontal +and prone to sleeping) as we did massaging. I was surprised how much work it was. My thumbs were terribly sore, but it was pretty cool, unlike anything I'd ever done before, and I actually think I'd be able to do a lot of it back home. It's not like I'm ready to open up a business or anything, but I'm not terrible. However, I guess I'm not really that good either... but that's besides the point.
November 30 - Farewell Chiang Mai. It was truly an effort to get myself to leave this city that I lived in for almost six weeks. I felt so comfortable there and it really felt like a home. After a month and a half I had all my routines: I would go to a yoga class in this local gym a couple times a week, buy my dinners, fruit and veggies from the same women on the streets, and get afternoon coffee or fruit shakes (depending on the weather) from the same cafes. And all the people I lived with were wonderful. I did manage to pack up and move onto the next part of my trip, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
December 1-2 - Bangkok. It was the 12 hour overnight bus from Chiang Mai to Bangkok for me. Fun! After being in the same house with nine other people being off on my own again, and in a massive, crazy city, was kind of daunting. I stayed right off of Khaosan Road, the main backpacker amoeba. It was a total scene. The street was filled with vendors and completely flooded with tourists. You could buy everything from overpriced pad thai to pirated movies to drivers licenses and diplomas.
My first day in Bangkok I visited Wat Po (the famous reclining Buddha) and the Grand Palace. To find each, I had to ask for directions, a few times from tuk tuk drivers. I counted the number of times that I was told a place was closed, that I could not enter because of my attire, or that I need to come back later - but meanwhile should take a ride around the city and visit some shops, all at a special discount of course!
On day two I took the bus to Siam Square to visit these three mega malls, MBK, Siam Discovery Center, and Sam Center. Amazingly I only bought a pair of much needed iPod speakers and case. The food court in MBK was outrageous, about the size of a football field, and you could find just about any type of food. Note to reader: pineapple, mango, and passion fruit makes for a great smoothie.
December 3- Today (phew, I finally caught up) Koh Tao!!!!!! Besides the transit, which of course was an awful 22 hours of buses, ferries, and waiting, Koh Tao is awesome. I am now a certified OPEN WATER DIVER. For three days I learned how to dive. And it was beyond awesome. From the early morning until dinner, I was in the course. The first day consisted of a morning of dive theory and an afternoon of practicing skills, with all the gear on, in the swimming pool. The first time I swam underwater breathing air from my tank was magical. And it only got better the next day in the ocean. We saw all sorts of creatures: a moray eel, a box fish, puffer fish, angel fish, sting rays, and trigger fish, just to name a few. Its a fantastic sensation - exhilarating, inspiring, and beautiful. I loved it so much that I've actually decided to go for my advanced open water certification in the next two days. I'll get to go down to 30 m (compared to the 18m that we did yesterday) and go on a night dive. While it seems kinda of silly to be doing all of this, because who knows when I'll get to dive again, I am just so enamored with diving that I cannot say no.
November 18th - a day full of food. I took a cooking class with Josi and Larissa at the "Thai Farm." My menu: Yellow curry with chicken, tom yom soup with shrimp, chicken and cashew nut stir fry, pad thai, and mango with sticky rice. Wow was I full! Maybe if some of you are lucky, I'll cook a Thai meal (feast) upon my return. Most of the recipes are fairly basic and have similar ingredients. Just being in a kitchen again felt so nice after all these months of eating out, apart for breakfast.
November 23-27 - Thai Massage School. Yes, that's right. I am now certified in Thai massage. For five days, lead by our instructor Jane, Josie, Larissa and I learned over one hundred and ten different steps. Feet, Legs, Hands, Arms, Back, Neck, and Face. To do them all at once would take me probably around three hours! The hardest part was to not fall asleep in the studio. We spent just as much time being massaged (horizontal +and prone to sleeping) as we did massaging. I was surprised how much work it was. My thumbs were terribly sore, but it was pretty cool, unlike anything I'd ever done before, and I actually think I'd be able to do a lot of it back home. It's not like I'm ready to open up a business or anything, but I'm not terrible. However, I guess I'm not really that good either... but that's besides the point.
November 30 - Farewell Chiang Mai. It was truly an effort to get myself to leave this city that I lived in for almost six weeks. I felt so comfortable there and it really felt like a home. After a month and a half I had all my routines: I would go to a yoga class in this local gym a couple times a week, buy my dinners, fruit and veggies from the same women on the streets, and get afternoon coffee or fruit shakes (depending on the weather) from the same cafes. And all the people I lived with were wonderful. I did manage to pack up and move onto the next part of my trip, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
December 1-2 - Bangkok. It was the 12 hour overnight bus from Chiang Mai to Bangkok for me. Fun! After being in the same house with nine other people being off on my own again, and in a massive, crazy city, was kind of daunting. I stayed right off of Khaosan Road, the main backpacker amoeba. It was a total scene. The street was filled with vendors and completely flooded with tourists. You could buy everything from overpriced pad thai to pirated movies to drivers licenses and diplomas.
My first day in Bangkok I visited Wat Po (the famous reclining Buddha) and the Grand Palace. To find each, I had to ask for directions, a few times from tuk tuk drivers. I counted the number of times that I was told a place was closed, that I could not enter because of my attire, or that I need to come back later - but meanwhile should take a ride around the city and visit some shops, all at a special discount of course!
On day two I took the bus to Siam Square to visit these three mega malls, MBK, Siam Discovery Center, and Sam Center. Amazingly I only bought a pair of much needed iPod speakers and case. The food court in MBK was outrageous, about the size of a football field, and you could find just about any type of food. Note to reader: pineapple, mango, and passion fruit makes for a great smoothie.
December 3- Today (phew, I finally caught up) Koh Tao!!!!!! Besides the transit, which of course was an awful 22 hours of buses, ferries, and waiting, Koh Tao is awesome. I am now a certified OPEN WATER DIVER. For three days I learned how to dive. And it was beyond awesome. From the early morning until dinner, I was in the course. The first day consisted of a morning of dive theory and an afternoon of practicing skills, with all the gear on, in the swimming pool. The first time I swam underwater breathing air from my tank was magical. And it only got better the next day in the ocean. We saw all sorts of creatures: a moray eel, a box fish, puffer fish, angel fish, sting rays, and trigger fish, just to name a few. Its a fantastic sensation - exhilarating, inspiring, and beautiful. I loved it so much that I've actually decided to go for my advanced open water certification in the next two days. I'll get to go down to 30 m (compared to the 18m that we did yesterday) and go on a night dive. While it seems kinda of silly to be doing all of this, because who knows when I'll get to dive again, I am just so enamored with diving that I cannot say no.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Oh My Buddha!
OH MY BUDDHA, I cannot believe how much time has passed without blogging, and now its time to play catch-up in a major way.
Here are the highlights:
1) Trekking trip #1.
From Mae Hong Son I went on a three day, two night trek into the jungle with three other volunteers, our guide Nok, and guide-in-training, Tom. Nok and Tom could work magic with a machete and bamboo. They fashioned a teapot, walking sticks, cups, and spoons out of this plentiful plant. Our first day we walked about 4 hours - on a slippery, muddy path infested with leeches -to a Karen Village that was about as authentic "rural Thai" as you can get. Pigs, chickens , and goats (with very loud bells) wandered around the land. It was a village of about 40 people and at night we wandered around hut-hopping. In one hut, there were 15 kids huddled around a single TV watching music videos. In the other two, groups of adults sat drinking rice wine and eating this drug called beetle nut. They wrap the nut (which turns red when chewed) into a large leaf and then eat it whole. Don't worry, I did not participate. But I could not decline a sip of rice wine. They were so offended when I said, "Mai ow ka" (no thank you), that I had to take a little. But when they saw I drank the rice wine they then filled my glass again. Marleen and I then had to discreetly pour it out between the floorboards to avoid drinking the rest of the strong, foul alcohol.
On the second day we ran out of water by noon and were still hours away from our destination, a village Nok had yet to visit.
"Nok, how far are we?"
"Yes, yes"
"Nok, how faaarrrr?"
"Ah 30 minutes."
One hour later, we were still not there. When we finally arrived we hit the local store and cleaned out their water supply.
The last day was nice and tame.
It was not the smoothest of trips, but the entire weekend we were deep in the fantastically beautiful jungle. Sometimes we were foraging our own path through dense bamboo, shuffeling along a foot wide path on the mountain's edge, and other times there were 360 degree views of the magnificent area.
2) Pai.
Pai is Thailand's Bohemia. It is a hippie-ville full of wanna-be (and some real) boho's that I visited over a weekend. So that makes for some great people watching. There are two main streets in Pai that I basically walked about 20 times in the two and a half days. Apart from the street walking, I took a yoga class, attended a meditation session led by an old friend of my Grandma's, and ate lots of delicious meals. My first non-Thai food was consumed in Pai - a falafel! We found such an amazing Thai restaurant for dinner that we went back and ate there again the second night as well. They made a Pad Thai dish with green papaya instead of noodles. Soooo good.
Instead of taking the bus back to Mae Hong Son, I rafted back. Lotte and I went on a rafting trip that just so happened to finish about ten minutes from MHS - quite convenient. It was an extremely fun water adventure. We were on a boat with two Israeli sisters that we sung song after song to pass the time with. Along the river we went by a nice waterfall and a hot spring where we coated our bodies in this sulfur-smelling mud.
3. Chiang Mai.
I arrived in Chiang Mai about three weeks ago and have become completely immersed into life here. Our dorm is in the South East corner of the old city, which is about 1 x 1 mile. That means most of the city is in walking distance. It has been so refreshing to be back in a city again. As much as I liked the all-Thai-ness of Nong Khai and Mae Hong Son, its great to be back in a more international place. I'm living here with six other volunteers: four Germans and two Dutch -four girls (18-19) and two guys (23 and 28),who just arrived this weekend. We're having a great time together.
4. More Mopeds.
I've gone on three motorbike excursions in the CM area. The first was a big loop through the mountains. The highlights of that trip were a national park with great waterfalls and Doi Suthep, the most famous temple near CM. The second excursion brought us to the south of CM. We saw Bo Sang, the umbrella making village. I completely fell in love with the umbrellas and almost bought a really big one on a whim, but was talked out of it on account of its inability to fit in my pack. Instead, I opted for a tiny blue one - not as all as impressive. From there we wanted to tour all the different craft villages: silk making, cotton weaving, wood carving....but we had lots and lots of trouble finding the workshops in the towns. We actually drove to three different places without finding what we came to see. The BIG adventure of the day was a flat tire that I got on this long stretch of road in the middle of nowhere. Lucky for us this middle of nowhere just so happened to have a mechanic! But low and behold in the last 20 minutes of the drive, the tire blew out again. I had to ride home on a flat in the middle of rush hour because there was no way I was going to get it fixed again. That little mishap resulted in us missing out on the wood carving in Ban Tawai because everything was already closed. Thus, trip #3 was back to Ban Tawai, where I purchased an Elephant Mirror! I know, I know...but its so cool that I couldn't pass it up. And its not too big, so I'll find a way to get it home.
5. Thai Boxing.
In my first weekend in CM I went to a Thai Boxing match. Not too much to say about that except for that I saw a knock out! This guy went down hard. He took a foot kick to the neck and just collapsed. Out cold for a minute or two. There were also kids as young as maybe 12 fighting. That was a bit weird to see. And a band next to the ring played along to the ebb-and-flow of the fighting for more suspense. But I can't say I was on the edge of my seat.
6. Loy Krathong.
Loy Krathong was a three day festival I was lucky enough to experience in Chiang Mai, where the celebration is the biggest in the country. There were lanterns filling the sky, fireworks exploding every second, and candles floating down the river and moat. The fireworks had me completely on edge, as I felt like I was walking in a dangerous war zone. It was all quite a scene.
7. Trekking trip #2.
Similar to trip #1, but add 10 more people on the tour and forty others doing the same tour in the area. This trek should have been named the "Waterfall Tour." We saw 6 in the three days! There was a lot of swimming. Being a commercialized tourist trip, this trek included bamboo rafting and an elephant ride.
8. Teaching.
Ahaha teaching is always the last thing I write about.
As they say here in Thailand, "Same, same"....but different. Its similar to what I was doing in Nong Khai. We teach three hours every morning and work with grades k-6 depending on the day. I enjoy the 3-6th graders the most. I'm just not quite cut out to work with the younger kids. Their level of English is so low - nearly nonexistent that there is very little you can do with them besides the ABC's and numbers 1-10. And even with that, they seem to have absolutely no long-term memory and have trouble producing a "R" or a "9" if we were to call it out loud for them to write down.
The older grades are so much more rewarding because I feel that I am actually teaching them something. What a novelty....
I've also had to adjust to the "Thai" way of education. It is perfectly acceptable for a class to sit watching TV for a few hours without a teacher present, for kids to be playing outside while others in their class are working, and for complete mayhem to go on the moment the Thai teacher steps out of the room and the farangs come in. Very, very little is expected of these kids in terms of their education. There is no curriculum for English. We are told to "just do whatever we want." While some teachers would like this freedom, I just find its a reflection of their low standards. However frustrating, it is "the Thai way" and I have had to stop comparing it to our western educational standards because it only annoyed me.
With that aside, it is a great feeling to walk out of a class after teaching a bunch of 11 year olds, knowing that your lesson went well, the kids were engaged, and you just might have taught them something.
Here are the highlights:
1) Trekking trip #1.
From Mae Hong Son I went on a three day, two night trek into the jungle with three other volunteers, our guide Nok, and guide-in-training, Tom. Nok and Tom could work magic with a machete and bamboo. They fashioned a teapot, walking sticks, cups, and spoons out of this plentiful plant. Our first day we walked about 4 hours - on a slippery, muddy path infested with leeches -to a Karen Village that was about as authentic "rural Thai" as you can get. Pigs, chickens , and goats (with very loud bells) wandered around the land. It was a village of about 40 people and at night we wandered around hut-hopping. In one hut, there were 15 kids huddled around a single TV watching music videos. In the other two, groups of adults sat drinking rice wine and eating this drug called beetle nut. They wrap the nut (which turns red when chewed) into a large leaf and then eat it whole. Don't worry, I did not participate. But I could not decline a sip of rice wine. They were so offended when I said, "Mai ow ka" (no thank you), that I had to take a little. But when they saw I drank the rice wine they then filled my glass again. Marleen and I then had to discreetly pour it out between the floorboards to avoid drinking the rest of the strong, foul alcohol.
On the second day we ran out of water by noon and were still hours away from our destination, a village Nok had yet to visit.
"Nok, how far are we?"
"Yes, yes"
"Nok, how faaarrrr?"
"Ah 30 minutes."
One hour later, we were still not there. When we finally arrived we hit the local store and cleaned out their water supply.
The last day was nice and tame.
It was not the smoothest of trips, but the entire weekend we were deep in the fantastically beautiful jungle. Sometimes we were foraging our own path through dense bamboo, shuffeling along a foot wide path on the mountain's edge, and other times there were 360 degree views of the magnificent area.
2) Pai.
Pai is Thailand's Bohemia. It is a hippie-ville full of wanna-be (and some real) boho's that I visited over a weekend. So that makes for some great people watching. There are two main streets in Pai that I basically walked about 20 times in the two and a half days. Apart from the street walking, I took a yoga class, attended a meditation session led by an old friend of my Grandma's, and ate lots of delicious meals. My first non-Thai food was consumed in Pai - a falafel! We found such an amazing Thai restaurant for dinner that we went back and ate there again the second night as well. They made a Pad Thai dish with green papaya instead of noodles. Soooo good.
Instead of taking the bus back to Mae Hong Son, I rafted back. Lotte and I went on a rafting trip that just so happened to finish about ten minutes from MHS - quite convenient. It was an extremely fun water adventure. We were on a boat with two Israeli sisters that we sung song after song to pass the time with. Along the river we went by a nice waterfall and a hot spring where we coated our bodies in this sulfur-smelling mud.
3. Chiang Mai.
I arrived in Chiang Mai about three weeks ago and have become completely immersed into life here. Our dorm is in the South East corner of the old city, which is about 1 x 1 mile. That means most of the city is in walking distance. It has been so refreshing to be back in a city again. As much as I liked the all-Thai-ness of Nong Khai and Mae Hong Son, its great to be back in a more international place. I'm living here with six other volunteers: four Germans and two Dutch -four girls (18-19) and two guys (23 and 28),who just arrived this weekend. We're having a great time together.
4. More Mopeds.
I've gone on three motorbike excursions in the CM area. The first was a big loop through the mountains. The highlights of that trip were a national park with great waterfalls and Doi Suthep, the most famous temple near CM. The second excursion brought us to the south of CM. We saw Bo Sang, the umbrella making village. I completely fell in love with the umbrellas and almost bought a really big one on a whim, but was talked out of it on account of its inability to fit in my pack. Instead, I opted for a tiny blue one - not as all as impressive. From there we wanted to tour all the different craft villages: silk making, cotton weaving, wood carving....but we had lots and lots of trouble finding the workshops in the towns. We actually drove to three different places without finding what we came to see. The BIG adventure of the day was a flat tire that I got on this long stretch of road in the middle of nowhere. Lucky for us this middle of nowhere just so happened to have a mechanic! But low and behold in the last 20 minutes of the drive, the tire blew out again. I had to ride home on a flat in the middle of rush hour because there was no way I was going to get it fixed again. That little mishap resulted in us missing out on the wood carving in Ban Tawai because everything was already closed. Thus, trip #3 was back to Ban Tawai, where I purchased an Elephant Mirror! I know, I know...but its so cool that I couldn't pass it up. And its not too big, so I'll find a way to get it home.
5. Thai Boxing.
In my first weekend in CM I went to a Thai Boxing match. Not too much to say about that except for that I saw a knock out! This guy went down hard. He took a foot kick to the neck and just collapsed. Out cold for a minute or two. There were also kids as young as maybe 12 fighting. That was a bit weird to see. And a band next to the ring played along to the ebb-and-flow of the fighting for more suspense. But I can't say I was on the edge of my seat.
6. Loy Krathong.
Loy Krathong was a three day festival I was lucky enough to experience in Chiang Mai, where the celebration is the biggest in the country. There were lanterns filling the sky, fireworks exploding every second, and candles floating down the river and moat. The fireworks had me completely on edge, as I felt like I was walking in a dangerous war zone. It was all quite a scene.
7. Trekking trip #2.
Similar to trip #1, but add 10 more people on the tour and forty others doing the same tour in the area. This trek should have been named the "Waterfall Tour." We saw 6 in the three days! There was a lot of swimming. Being a commercialized tourist trip, this trek included bamboo rafting and an elephant ride.
8. Teaching.
Ahaha teaching is always the last thing I write about.
As they say here in Thailand, "Same, same"....but different. Its similar to what I was doing in Nong Khai. We teach three hours every morning and work with grades k-6 depending on the day. I enjoy the 3-6th graders the most. I'm just not quite cut out to work with the younger kids. Their level of English is so low - nearly nonexistent that there is very little you can do with them besides the ABC's and numbers 1-10. And even with that, they seem to have absolutely no long-term memory and have trouble producing a "R" or a "9" if we were to call it out loud for them to write down.
The older grades are so much more rewarding because I feel that I am actually teaching them something. What a novelty....
I've also had to adjust to the "Thai" way of education. It is perfectly acceptable for a class to sit watching TV for a few hours without a teacher present, for kids to be playing outside while others in their class are working, and for complete mayhem to go on the moment the Thai teacher steps out of the room and the farangs come in. Very, very little is expected of these kids in terms of their education. There is no curriculum for English. We are told to "just do whatever we want." While some teachers would like this freedom, I just find its a reflection of their low standards. However frustrating, it is "the Thai way" and I have had to stop comparing it to our western educational standards because it only annoyed me.
With that aside, it is a great feeling to walk out of a class after teaching a bunch of 11 year olds, knowing that your lesson went well, the kids were engaged, and you just might have taught them something.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Opportunity for Poor Children
I do not know how it is possible that I have yet to write about the main reason I came to Mae Hong Son, but I will do my best to summarize these last three weeks of volunteering.
From the concrete road where I park my moped, it is about a seven minute
walk to the OPC. The dirt path, marked by a modest blue sign, takes me along side an expansive rice patty field. (The grains of rice have just turned up this last week.) On my left there is a river, sometimes deep brown after a heavy rain and other times completely clear. Along the path there are several bamboo huts, a makeshift iron fence, and always plenty of wildlife - frogs, huge insects, and even once a snake. Two bamboo bridges announce my arrival at the OPC. I tread lightly while crossing, but the children always fly across completely unnerved.
From the concrete road where I park my moped, it is about a seven minute
walk to the OPC. The dirt path, marked by a modest blue sign, takes me along side an expansive rice patty field. (The grains of rice have just turned up this last week.) On my left there is a river, sometimes deep brown after a heavy rain and other times completely clear. Along the path there are several bamboo huts, a makeshift iron fence, and always plenty of wildlife - frogs, huge insects, and even once a snake. Two bamboo bridges announce my arrival at the OPC. I tread lightly while crossing, but the children always fly across completely unnerved.October is winter vacation for the schools in Thailand. So, of the usual fifty children aged 8-15 that live here at the orphanage, only about fifteen remain. The others have returned home to whatever family they have - some Thai, most Burmese - meaning this is not exactly an orphanage in the traditional sense, as it was made out to be in my introductory materials.
"How can orphans be going home?" I initially asked Kam Chuen, the Burmese man that runs the OPC. At the time, he gave a rather brief answer. But over the weeks he told us the boys' stories and I began to understand that sometimes it is not only the children without parents or family who are orphans in this world of ours.
Som Sak - 11
He is quiet and sweet, a total perfectionist at arts and crafts, and has a soft, beautiful smile.
Som Sak has a mother and a father. They live here in Mae Hong Son only five minutes away from their son, but he did not visit them during the holiday at all. They are homeless. Som Sak's father is an alcoholic who made him beg for money along the lake. He was beaten when he returned home empty handed.
Poot and Cain - 10 and 7, brothers.
The first day I met Poot he engaged me in a wrestling match and attempted to get my hands behind my back. We could spend hours playing chase around a single picnic table. He is a big fan of his Power Rangers t-shirt. Poot just returned from two days at home. He came home with his little brother, who the neighbors reported was not attending school and often went hungry. The first day Cain came to the OPC we went on a field trip to a local Watt, spent an hour at the swimming pool, and drank soft drinks. The boy probably though he landed in heaven.
Tee La Pon - 9
This boy constantly strikes a Power Ranger pose. He likes to play pretend kung-fu and really admires Spiderman.
I had the opportunity to meet Tee La Pon's mother on the day we were bringing him home for a few days. Apparently, he had cried that morning when told he would be leaving the OPC for two nights. He asked to only go for one day, and later, not to spend the night at all. It was clear why. Tee La Pon's mother came stumbling up to her empty hut, clearly drunk, wreaking of rice wine, and quite possibly insane. He did not even stay for five minutes.
Sa Zing - 11
I absolutely love this child.
Sa Zing and his brother Sa Hon (15) are orphans in the traditional sense. Their mother died of AIDs a few years ago. Sa Zing has HIV and, subsequently, a constant runny nose.
Um Mong - 11
Training to be a Thai Boxer. Not actually...but should be. We played boxing, not always
in a "pretend" way either, nearly every day. He likes to say, "Chicken!" while pointing at the ceiling. I fell for it a few too many times than I'd like to admit and received many pokes under my under the chin. While aggressive, Um Mong was also the most affectionate of the boys, generous with his hugs.
These are the boys I have spend my last three weeks with. I can't even say "teaching," for our English lessons were sparse. (It was there holiday after all!) Mostly it was just playing. Badminton. Coloring. Tag. Kung-Fu. Football. Painting. Made up games. Language was never a barrier with them. We always had something to do, some small, simple way to pass our time.
Now that I am leaving tomorrow, I see how much this small group of boys has taught me about living. They have made a home for their self at the OPC, under terrible circumstances they have become a family. It is all smiles, always a happy face. They have their haven, their Opportunity here at the OPC. They walk along the rice field and the river, cross their bamboo bridge, and have a world where all is well.
"How can orphans be going home?" I initially asked Kam Chuen, the Burmese man that runs the OPC. At the time, he gave a rather brief answer. But over the weeks he told us the boys' stories and I began to understand that sometimes it is not only the children without parents or family who are orphans in this world of ours.
Som Sak - 11
He is quiet and sweet, a total perfectionist at arts and crafts, and has a soft, beautiful smile.
Som Sak has a mother and a father. They live here in Mae Hong Son only five minutes away from their son, but he did not visit them during the holiday at all. They are homeless. Som Sak's father is an alcoholic who made him beg for money along the lake. He was beaten when he returned home empty handed.
Poot and Cain - 10 and 7, brothers.
The first day I met Poot he engaged me in a wrestling match and attempted to get my hands behind my back. We could spend hours playing chase around a single picnic table. He is a big fan of his Power Rangers t-shirt. Poot just returned from two days at home. He came home with his little brother, who the neighbors reported was not attending school and often went hungry. The first day Cain came to the OPC we went on a field trip to a local Watt, spent an hour at the swimming pool, and drank soft drinks. The boy probably though he landed in heaven.
Tee La Pon - 9
This boy constantly strikes a Power Ranger pose. He likes to play pretend kung-fu and really admires Spiderman.
I had the opportunity to meet Tee La Pon's mother on the day we were bringing him home for a few days. Apparently, he had cried that morning when told he would be leaving the OPC for two nights. He asked to only go for one day, and later, not to spend the night at all. It was clear why. Tee La Pon's mother came stumbling up to her empty hut, clearly drunk, wreaking of rice wine, and quite possibly insane. He did not even stay for five minutes.
Sa Zing - 11
I absolutely love this child.
Sa Zing and his brother Sa Hon (15) are orphans in the traditional sense. Their mother died of AIDs a few years ago. Sa Zing has HIV and, subsequently, a constant runny nose.
Um Mong - 11
Training to be a Thai Boxer. Not actually...but should be. We played boxing, not always
in a "pretend" way either, nearly every day. He likes to say, "Chicken!" while pointing at the ceiling. I fell for it a few too many times than I'd like to admit and received many pokes under my under the chin. While aggressive, Um Mong was also the most affectionate of the boys, generous with his hugs.These are the boys I have spend my last three weeks with. I can't even say "teaching," for our English lessons were sparse. (It was there holiday after all!) Mostly it was just playing. Badminton. Coloring. Tag. Kung-Fu. Football. Painting. Made up games. Language was never a barrier with them. We always had something to do, some small, simple way to pass our time.
Now that I am leaving tomorrow, I see how much this small group of boys has taught me about living. They have made a home for their self at the OPC, under terrible circumstances they have become a family. It is all smiles, always a happy face. They have their haven, their Opportunity here at the OPC. They walk along the rice field and the river, cross their bamboo bridge, and have a world where all is well.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Warning: I Drive a Motorbike
Mae Hong Son is a bit too hilly and a bit too spread out for me to ride a bicycle. Thus, 
as my title explains, I drive a moped. This is a first for me, but I am absolutely in love with this mode of transportation now that I've somewhat mastered it. Yesterday put my new found skills to the test in an all day excursion (by moped of course) into the mountains of the area.
For about an hour and a half we (we being myself, four other volunteers, and four Thai that we practice English with) journeyed through rice patties and jungle up winding, steep roads to the Chinese town of Mae Aw on the Thai-Burmese boarder. (Wow that was a lot of prepositions.) All the buildings in Mae Aw are made from straw and mud, and are situated surrounding a gorgeous lake. Large tubs in the front of shops display candied fruits, nuts, and teas. We were ushered into one such store and given a "Free" tea tasting. The Ginseng was excellent!
From Mae Aw we headed back down a bit and turned up another road that brought us to "Little Switzerland." You shall understand as I explain. As we rode up the mountain, the scenery suddenly changed from dense, twisting jungle to vertical, spaced out pine trees! It was quite a bizarre feeling to know that I was in Thailand, but sat by a river in a forest of pine trees that very well could have been somewhere in the Sierra's, or Switzerland.
After all that accelerating up mountains, it was time for a gas fill up. At a tiny
rode side "gas station," the gas was suctioned down a clear tube from a glass container that had markings along the side for measurement. I'd never seen anything like it. But I digress.....
Last on the tour for the day was a phenomenal waterfall. Because it is the end of the rainy season however, we could not get too close. From there we headed back to the town of Mae Hong Son for some much needed refreshments.
So those were the major sights we set out to see, and as fantastic as they were, the real highlight for me was the scenery, the backdrop of this breath taking place. During the drive I had to constantly remind myself to stay focused on the road, for all I really wanted to do was try to take in everything around me. In fact the real danger probably was not my novice moped driving skills, but all the beautiful sights to be seen.
It was such great fun though - zooming up and down these mountains. Mom and Dad, sorry to say, but the inner Dare Devil emerged full force.
I should also mention that I am now a real fan of rice patties. They are absolutely awesome. First, they have a really great sent that I now can spot from afar. Second is their vibrant green color that per
fectly contrasts the darker forest green of the hills behind them. And last in my obsession are the wooden huts that usually accompany rice patties, their straw roofs barely peaking out of the fields that look ready to engulf them.
OK, maybe I'm getting a bit carried away, but take away message is that rice patties not only feed a staggering proportion of the world's population. They do it with style.
as my title explains, I drive a moped. This is a first for me, but I am absolutely in love with this mode of transportation now that I've somewhat mastered it. Yesterday put my new found skills to the test in an all day excursion (by moped of course) into the mountains of the area.For about an hour and a half we (we being myself, four other volunteers, and four Thai that we practice English with) journeyed through rice patties and jungle up winding, steep roads to the Chinese town of Mae Aw on the Thai-Burmese boarder. (Wow that was a lot of prepositions.) All the buildings in Mae Aw are made from straw and mud, and are situated surrounding a gorgeous lake. Large tubs in the front of shops display candied fruits, nuts, and teas. We were ushered into one such store and given a "Free" tea tasting. The Ginseng was excellent!
From Mae Aw we headed back down a bit and turned up another road that brought us to "Little Switzerland." You shall understand as I explain. As we rode up the mountain, the scenery suddenly changed from dense, twisting jungle to vertical, spaced out pine trees! It was quite a bizarre feeling to know that I was in Thailand, but sat by a river in a forest of pine trees that very well could have been somewhere in the Sierra's, or Switzerland.
After all that accelerating up mountains, it was time for a gas fill up. At a tiny
rode side "gas station," the gas was suctioned down a clear tube from a glass container that had markings along the side for measurement. I'd never seen anything like it. But I digress.....Last on the tour for the day was a phenomenal waterfall. Because it is the end of the rainy season however, we could not get too close. From there we headed back to the town of Mae Hong Son for some much needed refreshments.
So those were the major sights we set out to see, and as fantastic as they were, the real highlight for me was the scenery, the backdrop of this breath taking place. During the drive I had to constantly remind myself to stay focused on the road, for all I really wanted to do was try to take in everything around me. In fact the real danger probably was not my novice moped driving skills, but all the beautiful sights to be seen.
It was such great fun though - zooming up and down these mountains. Mom and Dad, sorry to say, but the inner Dare Devil emerged full force.
I should also mention that I am now a real fan of rice patties. They are absolutely awesome. First, they have a really great sent that I now can spot from afar. Second is their vibrant green color that per
fectly contrasts the darker forest green of the hills behind them. And last in my obsession are the wooden huts that usually accompany rice patties, their straw roofs barely peaking out of the fields that look ready to engulf them.OK, maybe I'm getting a bit carried away, but take away message is that rice patties not only feed a staggering proportion of the world's population. They do it with style.
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