Homeward Bound

Right now, I'm sitting at the airport in Taipei waiting to get on the airplane for my final flight home.

All throughout this weekend, I've had to say my goodbyes to my newest friends and family. On Friday, we had a bowling party with all of the students and staff. Not to brag, but I won all of the games that I played in (although admittedly, it's easier to do that when you play against people who have never bowled before). Saturday I spent most of the day packing, and then in the evening we went for a Thai BBQ dinner. It's similar to hotpot, except there is a little grill in the middle, and the rim is boiling broth. It was a really fun dinner, once I figured out how to stop burning everything. But it was at that dinner where I had to say goodbye to Billy, P. Khin Nanda, and Hoan, and that was really tough. My newest friends and mentors in the school staff, and I had to say goodbye. For now, anyways. Once we arrived back from dinner, a surprise was waiting for Annika and I. The students and Hom went out onto the soccer field and spelled "Thx U" with lit candles. The students were each holding candles and then sang us songs and each took turns to say thank you to us. So naturally I started crying like a baby. In that moment, I felt so loved and appreciated by my new friends. We talked about how it's not a "goodbye" but a "see you later". Afterwards, we sang songs and laughed in the Sala, and even though it was my last night there, it was one of the happiest ones that I had throughout my entire trip.

I'm really going to miss these people that I've crossed paths with. Our lives have intertwined, and I am a much better person from it. I was given this opportunity of a lifetime, and I have learned so much- about Southeast Asia and the people who live there, about teaching, and about myself. I want to thank Illinois Wesleyan University, the Freeman Asia Program, and the IWU Educational Studies Department for making this dream a reality.

TukTuk Time & Suggestions for the next victims

Well, Monday was my last day teaching. But, I had the rest of last week and now the rest of this week to spend with the students, so I'm going to soak it all in while I can here.

In a tuktuk

On Tuesday, the students and the school staff went to the ECHO network NGO to learn about how they practice sustainable agriculture. Started in Florida, ECHO is a Christian organization that works to help create networks among local farmers so that they can share information and help each other out. At the Thailand location, ECHO also works as a seed bank, meaning that they take seeds given to them by local farmers, grow and develop them to harvest more seeds, store them, and then sell them to farmers who need it. They told us about how they do research to discover eco-friendly ways to use the leftover parts of the plant as fire-starters and look for new organic pesticides. They also look into different ways to store seeds that won't break the bank. They showed us their solution: putting seeds into a glass jar, poke a hole in the lid, and then use a reverse bike pump to pull the air out of the jar, then seal the hole. That easy! It was a pretty cool experience to walk around their farm and look at their seed storage facility. 

Even though Annika and I are done teaching English class, the students still had some time at the school. This is because once this semester ends, they will each embark on a 6-week period where they will do independent research on a subject of their choice in their home country. So, they are using this time to learn more about research methods and create a research proposal. Each of the school staff is working with a student, so this upcoming week I will be working with Phong to help her develop her research proposal.

Because this weekend was my last full weekend here at Mitharsuu, I lived it up as much as I could. The students, Billy, Annika and I all hung out on Friday night in the Sala, the porch area just outside of the main building. We spent the night talking about the randomest things. Billy told us about how he met his wife in the circus, and how his dream is to grow old driving an RV across the USA once he finally moves back. It was a nice Friday night!

Thai McDonalds

On Saturday, Annika and Istarted off the day by trying Thai McDonalds, which has fried chicken! While similar to McDonalds at home, the flavors were different. We then had a tuk tuk ride! At night, we took advantage of the low prices that Thailand offers and had a fancy hotel stay at Le Meridian Marriott hotel in the city near the Old Town. We figured that we probably won't be able to get such a fancy stay at a hotel anytime soon due to prices in the US, so we just went for it! We spent some time in the pool overlooking the city and lounged in our hotel beds. Later that night, we went to Ram Bar, the local gay bar, to watch their drag show. Thailand is known for these shows, where ladyboys perform. A ladyboy is when a man dresses up as a women (essentially a drag queen), but has had top surgery done, and they still identify as a man. Of course, gender is fluid and they self-identify however they want, but that's my understanding of it. Anyways, the performers were gorgeous and had some awesome lip-synching skills.

Lobby of Le Meridian

Performers at Ram Bar

The next morning, I took full advantage of the fancy hotel breakfast. I had cheese for the first time in like 7 weeks! It was glorious. Later that day, Annika and I went to the Sunday Walking Street so I could get last minute souvenirs, as I probably won't get another chance too. As expected, it was crazy busy, with people moving shoulder to shoulder, as slow as molasses. But, I got gifts for all the people that I needed too, so that's a plus.

The rest of this blog is dedicated to those who are lucky enough to embark on this journey next year! I am excited for you, and you will have such a great experience!

Here's some things that I think you should definitely pack:

• 2 weeks of clothing- I'd suggest a few long pairs of loose/breathable pants, some nice shirts that cover your shoulders and are modest, a few t-shirts, and a pair of shorts or two. You can do laundry as often as you want, and you'll likely buy clothes when you're here too
• flip flops/slides! You'll be constantly taking your shoes on and off here because of the culture, so it's better to have shoes that are easy to take on and off to wear daily
• a water bottle
• raincoat/poncho- you're here during rainy season, so I'd come prepared for that
• shower shoes- the bathroom is a communal one, and you might not want to have your shower shoes be the same as the ones you wear everyday
• a notebook- you might want to journal or take notes during the field trips, because you'll be taking in a lot of great info!
• bath towel- the sheets, blanket, a pillow, and hangers are provided, but any towel that you'll need won't be. I brought some microfiber quick-dry towels, and they worked like a charm!
• tennis shoes- the students play sports every day after class, and you'll do some trekking on the field trips
• laptop- of course, needed to write blogs
• headphones & phone charger
• a starter kit for the first week- you might not go to the mall right away to buy necessary things, so definitely bring at least a small amount of toiletries (including bug spray and itch cream)
• a backpack/day pack- you'll take lots of day trips, so bring a bag that can you don't mind lugging around all day
• for my lady friends- the feminine products here are mostly limited to pads, so keep that in mind when considering your options for that time of the month

Here's some things that aren't totally necessary, but you might need them!

• bobby pins/headbands- Annika has bangs, and I think they've given her some trouble! plus the humidity here is definitely going to make your hair poof city, so be ready for that 
• clothes to lounge around in- you'll have downtime at night, so might as well bring at least a pair of comfy clothes! I'm content with wearing my day clothes around, but this is something Annika wish she had.
• swimsuit- I love to swim, so whenever I got the chance to I did! There's a local pool that you can go to for a small fee
• a book- reading is good sometimes!
• a fanny pack- definitely not necessary, but I used it when I didn't want to bring my day pack 
• a deck of cards
• a map of Chiang Mai- the city is huge and can get confusing, but I used my map to understand the layout 
• snacks from home- you're not going to get American food unless you go out of your way to get it, so bringing some from home may make the transition easier
• travel neck pillow- it's a long flight there and you do end up taking a 5 hour car ride for a field trip, I used mine for sure

Here's some things that I packed, but didn't actually need:

• a day pack AND a backpack- I only really used my day pack, I didn't need both
• a long sleeve dry-fit shirt- I thought I was going to use this when hiking to prevent lots of mosquito bites, but I've learned to accept the bites and never wore the long sleeve because it was too hot
• 2 long skirts- I only really wore one, but that's my personal preference

Some additional tips and tricks:

• Get to know the students and staff! You will learn so much from the students, and the staff are super friendly. Take advantage of that!
• Go out and explore the city! It's full of different things to do. A few of my suggestions: visit a night market (or 2, or 3, or 10), get a Thai massage, talk with monks at the monk chat, go sight-seeing and look at different wats
• If you want Wifi in your room, then go to the mall and get a Sim card and unlimited data plan for cheap! It cost me about $15 per month, and I was able to have data in my room and avoid all of the bugs in the lobby. This, of course, is a personal preference. Annika found that she didn't need one! But, you'll need to always be with someone who has data when exploring the city, for ordering Grabs and such
• Utilize Grab (the Uber equivalent here) and the red trucks, it's the easiest way to get around town. I just pinned right outside Mitharsuu as the "home" location because it's easier than trying to tell the driver where to go
• Bring toilet paper and hand sanitizer with you when you go out into the city- public bathrooms aren't always supplied
• Chances are, you'll have to use the squatter toilet at some point. Don't be afraid to find a student that you're comfortable with and just ask how to use it. I know I did!

And please don't be afraid to reach out and ask me any questions you may have! I have loved my experience here and will likely talk about it all of the time, so if you want to chat just reach out! :)

Think outside, no box required

We just finished our last full week of teaching -- how did that happen? Where'd the time go?

Annika and I with the elephants

This past week was our last full week of teaching the English class for the students, and we shifted our lesson plans to help the students prepare for their research proposals that they will begin this week. Rather than doing vocabulary games and Quizlets, we started to show videos teaching grammar and did more writing exercises. I've never really had to consider how hard English grammar is until I taught it, and then I realized that I have no idea why we speak and write the way that we do...we just do it. So, I had to dig deep to try and come up with good enough explanations for all of the students' questions. And of course, explain that none of the rules are concrete, because there's almost always exceptions.

Teaching English class

On Wednesday, I went with some of the students to Wat Chedi Luang as they celebrated the beginnings of Buddhist Lent. Buddhist Lent is where the monks no longer go out and do their daily morning walk to get food, rather, people must bring it to the temple. During this three month period, Buddhists are not allowed to drink or misbehave, and they have to worship a lot. Monks are not permitted to stay anywhere else except their home temple. It was really cool to watch my friends as they worshiped and participated in the holiday, and I learned a lot from them too!

To top off the week, Annika and I had a really busy weekend. On Saturday, we made my literal dreams come true and spent the day at an ELEPHANT SANCTUARY!!! It was everything that I wanted it to be. We started off our day by taking a Grab (basically Uber) to the city, where we then got picked up for the hour and a half ride to Happy Elephant Home (they normally will pick you up from your accomodation, but Mitharsuu is too far outside of the city). It was a long journey, as we had to drive north to get out of the city and into the rolling green hills and mountains. Once getting there, we immediately started by feeding a 49 year old elephant named Grandma some bananas. Who knew elephants would like bananas so much! 

With my new friend

Later, we had to prepare some snacks for the elephants to eat. By preparing snacks, I mean we used a machete and cropped up some sugar cane into smaller pieces, and then filled our baskets with sugar cane pieces and bananas. Then, we got to meet the rest of the elephants! Some were rescued from circuses, some were saved from riding. There was also a 4 year old baby boy there too! Elephants eat for 16 hours a day, so it was no problem for us to continuously put food in their trunks. It was really really cool!

4 year old boy elephant

The elephants got hot, so then it was time for a mud bath. They cool themselves off by splashing mud all over themselves, using their trunks to toss it all over their bodies. The little one decided that it wasn't enough, and he went all in and just laid down in the mud. It was really fun to watch, but it was more fun to get down in the mud pit with them! Annika and I went down and started hurling mud at the elephants, rubbing it into their skin to help cool them. But of course, we were not excluded from the mess. Any time an elephant would even flap their ears, mud would go flying, all over my face and arms. By the time we were finished, Annika and I were just as covered in mud as the elephants were! 

Mud pit!

After having a delicious noodle lunch, we walked down to the river and swam with the elephants! They laid down in the water, and we splashed them. Some of the handlers were taking the elephants trunks and using them like water guns and sprayed all of us. It was really fun, but we had to say goodbye and return home after that. Once back in the city, Annika and I got a Thai massage from women ex-prisoners! The organization works to help these women get back into the workforce. We each got an hour long massage for only $8 (250 baht).

Massage from ex-prisoners

View of the river

Sunday, Annika and I decided to hike up Doi Suthep to see the famous temple up in the mountains. Built in 1386, the temple stands tall in the mountains and has a great view of Chiang Mai. We hiked up along the "Monk's trail", and we went in the afternoon which was not the greatest idea because of the heat. Nonetheless, we did the two hour hike. Honestly, it sucked while we were doing it, but the Thai forest scenery was really nice. After about half an hour of hiking, we stopped for a bit at Wat Pha Lat, a serene temple on the way up in the forest.

Enterance of Wat Pha Lat

Stairs leading down the mountain

Then, we continued on our journey for another hour and 15 minutes, and it was a challenge for sure. It was like a never ending stair stepper. But, alas, we made it, and after taking about a break we explored Wat Phra That Doi Suthep. It had beautiful architecture with a giant golden Chedi in the middle. The balcony yielded beautiful views of the city, but a big storm was coming so we headed down. Once getting back to Mitharsuu, I took the most satisfying shower and relaxed for the rest of the night.

The Golden Chedi

Buddhas

View of the city as the storm is coming

I have two weeks left, and I'm getting to the point where it's tough to be away from home. Having spent a whole semester abroad already, I'm familiar with these feelings. I'm stuck between wanting to be home with my family, and enjoying being in Thailand. Also, I miss American food so much. While I'm sure some familiar food can be found here, it's never at Mitharsuu. I know this probably sounds whiny, but I am excited about going home. However, I'm not going to let that stop me from enjoying every last minute!

Feeding the elephants

Dam good field trip

We just spent the week away at a field trip and man, do I wish that I could take my future students on trips like these.

In front of the White Temple!
L to R: Sabino, Laphai, Khoa, me, Annika, Dara in front

View from Thailand of the Mekong and Laos

On Monday, we had normal class at Mitharsuu to get briefed on our field trip to the river city of Chiang Khong. Billy and P. Khin Nanda, the teachers, discussed the itinerary, logistics of our stay, and what we would we learning about. The purpose of this trip would be to use experiential learning and go out into the field and talk to residents of communities that are affected by hydro-power dams along the Mekong River.

Tuesday we had an early morning and left the center around 8:30am to embark on our 5 hour drive to the Thai-Laos border, where Chiang Khong is located. Despite downloading many episodes of Brooklyn 99 on Netflix, I wasn’t able to watch them (or just look at my phone in general) because the roads are so dang bumpy! On the way up, we stopped and had some delicious noodle soup at a roadside restaurant, along with some 7/11 snack stops. Eventually we got to our destination, where we got settled into our rooms at the local community center. Later that night, we were introduced to the director for the local Mekong River School and walked down to the local port, where people can trade goods with the Lao side of the Mekong.

Noodle soup on the way to Chiang Khong

Port on the Thailand side for local trading between Thai-Laos

The next day, we geared up and visited the village of Baan Huay Luak, a town that has already seen the impacts of upstream hydro-power dams. Going into this information session, I already knew a few things from a previous class session led by the International Rivers group: the Mekong River is a staple for the people of Southeast Asia, and it begins with a large segment in China, reaches the eastern part of Myanmar, acts as part of the border between Laos and Thailand, then runs down along Cambodia and eventually flows into a delta in Vietnam. This river provides livelihoods for many people, as it allows for trading, fishing, collecting river weed for food and medicine, cleaning, along with many other uses. From the class sessions, I had learned that in China there have been 10 dams constructed, creating reservoirs of water that can be released whenever and that there are many more proposed dam projects. But, when visiting Baan Huay Luak, the former village leader told us that their livelihoods had been completely flipped around because of the upstream dams. Nothing is the same as it once was.

View of the Mekong from Baan Huay Kuak

Village leaders speaking

The main issue for the riverside communities was that there is now a varying flow fluctuation. Normally, in the summer months, the river is full of life and has lots of water, and dry in the winter. But this community is now living in the upside down, because I was able to go out and stand on sand dunes in the middle of the Mekong in July. See the problem? These people must now adjust to the fact that they never know when they will have any water in their river, because the people controlling the dam make the decisions about when to release the water. This means that fish can no longer follow their normal mating behaviors and reproduce, lessening the food source and potential revenue for the people. Furthermore, the river weed, which the women of the community heavily rely on, is normally collected in the dry season; however, due to river fluctuations, the plant life in the river is dying. This particular community has been fighting off this development for the last 20 years by documenting information about the impacts of the dams as well as concerns from the local people. They are consistently working to spread the knowledge and simply want to be included in the discussion of this development to make sure that things are done properly.

View from the middle of the Mekong River

The next day, we got to listen to a speaker from the Living Rivers organization, who taught us about rapids blasting. Honestly, I didn’t even realize that this was an issue before listening to his talk. He told us that there are projects in the works to blast the rock out of the river so that 500 ton barges can make their way down the river for transporting goods. While that may seem like a good thing, it will only be a good thing for the people who are controlling the shipments – so big corporations and people with money. To everyone else who lives along the river, it will be incredibly destructive. By blasting the rapids, it takes away the 11 subecosystems for fish, birds, and plants, reducing the habitats and leading them on a path towards extinction. Those giant catfish that people are always trying to fish on those crazy Animal Planet shows? They’re basically gone now.

Taking notes at the Mekong River School

But, there’s hope. Many individuals have dove into the world of research to come up with the numbers to back their stories. They are documenting the different species, numbers, and sizes of the river creatures. They’re gaining knowledge and passing it on, doing what they can to stop these processes.

In the afternoon, we heard from the director of the Mekong River School about the local community forest that was at risk for land grabbing. The forest was designated to become an SEZ – special economic zone – but the people were not about to let that happen. Through fighting back, they managed to prevent the SEZ from becoming a reality, and the forest can live on.

Learning about the community forest

Trees that have been ordained by monks

That night was the last night that we would be staying in Chiang Khong, so our brains needed a break from all of the sessions we had attended. So, during dinner the students of the Mekong River School played some live music while we ate and laughed together. The students even got up and sang songs from their home countries! It was a great time.

Billy with a melon hat

Myanmar students singing

The next morning was Friday, and it was time to head home. On the way back, some of the students, Annika, and I chose to do an extra overnight in the lake town of Phayao. On the way to Phayao, we stopped at the famous White Temple, as well as the Boon Rawd tea plantation, a temple with a giant Buddha, and a blue temple. Then we arrived in Phayao, and after scrounging around a bit for food we ended up having hotpot for dinner. The next morning, a few of us woke up early for a bike ride around the lake and saw some beautiful mountain views before stopping at a hotspring and then heading back to Chiang Mai.

The White Temple

At the Boon Rawd tea plantation

Temple with the Big Buddha

The Blue Temple

The hot springs 

Biking around Phayao Lake

Is that a bird? A plane? No, it's SUPERMONK!

"Could you imagine a monk on a motorcycle? Our robes would be flying in the wind like Superman...Supermonk."

Selfie in front of Wat Chedi Luang

This week was a pretty good one for me! We started off the week with a break from teaching on Monday, because Billy decided to teach for us since we had just returned from our weekend trip to the PhiPhi Islands. Tuesday, Annika and I led a game of HeadBands for the students to practice their vocabulary skills! We had everyone write down 3 different words: one easy, one medium, and one hard word, each on a different slip of paper. Then, we split the class into two teams and had them each go individually and try and guess the word that they were given based off of their teammates' descriptions. At first, Annika and I made the game a bit too hard by only allowing yes/no questions, so we then had to change our game plan to using descriptions. But other than that, it worked out well! Wednesday and Thursday we introduced grammar into the English classes, which was requested by the students because they will eventually need to write a research proposal in English at the end of July. Their grammar is good, but English is just so hard that there's always things to work on. Trying to teach grammar is really showing me that I have actually no clue why we write the way that we do, it's just because it sounds right. Try explaining that you pick certain words just because "it sounds right"! It's hard, and I'm hoping that I'm actually teaching the students things.

Sokhoun presenting

Friday, Sokhoun and Shar gave a presentation on LGBT+ in the workplace. Most of the students knew all of the definitions of different terminology, which makes sense because they are all human rights activists, but I was still really happy to know that these definitions are known on the other side of the world. We read a sad article about a man who took his life due to harassment from his coworkers, and my heart broke for him. It was a reminder that all across the globe, people are still fighting for the basic right to love whoever they want to.

Entry to the food section of the Night Bazaar

On a lighter note, I had a really great weekend! Friday night, Annika and I went to the Night Bazaar market (we invited the students, but none of them came with us, boo). Our first stop was for some food, and we scooped up some gyoza. After that, one burrito and chocolate peanut butter banana milkshake later, we went on our journey through the huge market. The market took place on the sidewalks of a busy street, with vendors crammed side to side, enticing you with their colorful objects and low prices. We weaved through the crowd, scanning through the products to look for anything that caught our eyes. Of course, much of it did, as I am easily distracted when shopping, I'll own up to it.

Dumplings!

Night Bazaar

At one point, we found a little alleyway that led down to a basement of a building, so we decided to check it out. Turns out, it is a bus terminal that was transformed into an art gallery when the market is open. Oil paintings and canvas drawings were everywhere, and artists could be found hard at work, painting right there on the spot. I wasn't planning on buying any art, until I saw a man who was working on the most beautiful elephant piece. I couldn't believe my eyes that it was done by hand and not a print of a photo. I immediately walked to him and watched him work. We chatted for a bit, and he started telling me about his technique of using charcoal and a Chinese brush, as well as the different elephants that he's painting. At this point there was no way that I was walking away without a piece of his work, so I ended up buying a small canvas with a baby elephant on it, which ended up being my favorite purchase of the night (which is saying a lot, because I bought quite a bit of things).

With the artist, Eddie, and his work

On Saturday, I slept in during the morning and went to a local resort's pool in the afternoon with some of the students. Essentially, that trip consisted of Shar and I swimming, the rest of the students floating and splashing around because they don't know how to swim, getting ice cream, and teaching the students how to do a underwater handstand. It was a great time! The pool was huge, so I was able to swim back and forth as much as I wanted.

Pool at the Imperial Resort

Saturday night was spent with our coworkers Hoan, Franny, Tubtim, and Hom, among some other people as well! We had a game night, where all of us (aside from Franny, because she was the teacher) learned how to play Settlers of Catan. I've heard a lot about this game, and it ended up being really fun! We had to team up, and Hom and I ended up doing pretty well until our "longest road of the game" card was taken from us. I had a good time!
Sunday was also day full of activities. Annika and I slept in late again, and then couldn't figure out what to do in the afternoon. I have a really detailed map that's got a lot of different highlights of Chiang Mai on it, so we spent some time looking at that to determine what to do. We landed on going to visit Wat Chedi Luang, so we put on our wat-appropriate clothing (long skirt and shoulders covered) and took a Grab there. The wat was bustling, full of tourists and locals alike. The temples we saw were so ornate with their gold detailing and colored glass decorations, and lots of Buddas were involved.

Trying to plan using the map

Outside Wat Ho Tham

Inside Wat Ho Tham

However, my favorite part of visiting the wats in Old Town was talking to the monks at the Monk Chat area. We were hesitant at first to just go up and talk to these monks, because we thought the monks would be serious and stern. However, after just minutes of chatting with the monks, I discovered that it wasn't the case at all! The monks were about our age, 23, and some of the chillest people I've met so far. Their names were Claim, Victor, Jumbo, and Jack. We started out our conversation about monk stuff: what their daily life looks like, what they do in their free time, why did they decide to be a monk. I learned a lot! I didn't know that there were different types of monks, but our new friends were a mix of forest monks and city monks. The forest monks are a bit more strict, meditating a few hours a day; while the city monks only meditate once a day. They begin by waking up early at 4:30-5, and then walk around the town, chanting and accepting donations. They then have breakfast and go to school, then return home and meditate. They are allowed to study English education, politics, Chinese and philosophy. Our new friends told us that they decided to become monks because their family encouraged them to, as it would help practice their Buddhism. When you become a monk, you only have to do it for 3 months, but many stay longer. Claim and Victor were both monks for 10+ years!

With our next friends
L to R: Annika, Me, Victor, Jumbo, and Claim

We talked about some deep things, too. Claim was telling us about how it can be hard to be a monk sometimes, because there are certain rules that must be followed. The example he gave was about the idea of love causing suffering, therefore you should distance yourself from love. It was hard to wrap my head around, but then he went on to talk about how people you love will eventually pass away and move on, therefore causing suffering. He talked about his parents, and how it is really hard for him to try and distance himself from them to protect himself from future suffering. He also talked about how the Buddhist philosophy teaches them the idea of controlling your own destiny, and that you must be the one who decides what happens in your life. They talked about how many people misunderstand monks and believe them to be always serious and unapproachable, but in reality they are just like everyone else, except they live by a different lifestyle.

Wat Chedi Luang

While we talked about some deep things, the vibe of our conversation was really relaxed. Annika and I were able to ask questions without worrying about offending them. Turns out, Claim practices magic in his free time, so he showed us some of his card tricks. I was impressed, but also convinced that he had to cheat somehow to figure it out. We talked about movies and our favorite scenes from Avengers: Endgame, as well as ancient Thai secrets of how to get lottery ticket numbers. I asked them if monks could ride a motorcycle, which resulted in a roar of laughter. We then all envisioned a monk on a bike, with their robes flying in the wind -- hence, Supermonk. I really had a great time with them, and it truly changed my perspective of what a monk is.

Later that night, we met up with Franny, Hoan, and our Dutch friend Tessa to watch the women's world cup at a sports bar. We hung out and trashed talked each other a bit, but eventually the USA women's team won. We celebrated (well, not Tessa), and then Annika and I got back to the Mitharsuu Center around 1am. I journaled a bit and then crashed after having a busy week.

Wanderlust Wins Again

This past week has been full of travels! Be prepared for lots of pictures in this post.

On a boat in front of Maya Bay

L to R: P. Maliwan and Hom (translating)

I started off my week with a field trip with the students and school staff. We spent Monday and Tuesday in two different villages, Mae Moh and Ban Haeng. We started off by leaving bright and early on Monday morning to embark on a two-hour drive to Mae Moh.  This community is comprised of people who have been struggling due to the formation of a coal mine and power plant run by the company EGAT. Here, we learned about the effects of living next to a coal mine from the village’s superwoman, P. Maliwan. She’s the one who has managed to keep the spirit alive in this town, despite the illnesses and fleeting young people as a result of the coal mine being developed. We were lucky to hear her speak on the issue, followed up by a Q and A session. She told us about how EGAT created the coal mine, which has in turn created issues for the local people. Coal dust and foul smells are ever-present in the air, which has led to many respiratory issues, including lung cancer. It has gotten so bad that some individuals have even passed away from the effects of the mining. In order to get any sort of compensation, families must see a doctor who will write out a health certificate that says that the coal mine is giving families health problems. However, there is only one doctor who will actually give out these certificates (because the other doctors are scared too), and she was forced to resign her job and move farther away. So, it is hard for most people to obtain this health certificate, and even when they get compensation, it is not that much. These are some of the effects of the coal mine, and this is all after P. Maliwan has won court cases for her people.

EGAT coal mine in Mae Moh

After taking in all of this information, we drove for another hour to the town of Ban Haeng, where we would spend the night at a homestay and then hear from those village people the following day. Some of the village members had volunteered their homes for us to stay in, and it was a really neat experience. Two of the students and I were placed in a traditional Thai house. We slept on mats on the floor under a mosquito net, for which I was very grateful. The house had garlic hanging from the ceiling, probably to prevent from any Thai vampires from coming inside at night (or because one of the village’s commodities was garlic, either or). In this house was a bathroom that was really short, just about 5 feet tall, and it only had a shower, a squatter toilet, a mirror, and a bucket of water – this meant that I was forced to learn how to use a squatter toilet and had to crouch for the entirety of my shower – but really is wasn’t that bad! It was fun to stay in a homestay with two of my friends.

The following day, we gathered at the community center to learn about the people of this village. I learned that this was a village where a company was trying to settle down, force the locals to move elsewhere, and set up a coal mine. But the villagers were not about to let that happen. For the last 10 years, a group of incredibly strong women worked to prevent this project from starting by getting the townspeople’s support and educating the children. They saw the effects of Mae Moh and wouldn’t let it happen to them. By following the law and demonstrating their disagreement with the project, this town has managed to win 6 of their 9 cases, and the only reason they haven’t won the other three was because they’re still in the process. While it’s hard to watch these people must fight for their right to keep their homes, it’s really inspiring to see them continuing to push and not go down easy.

Traditional Thai style house

Outside of our homestay with Kham and Khoa

Garlic house

In the community center with the village leaders

After returning from this field trip, we got to spend some class time listening to Katie Redford, one of the founders, talk about a wide variety of things: the process of manufacturing, sustainable development, the World Bank, etc. Essentially, she taught us that our world is not capable of withstanding the development of every country, which is the route that we are currently heading towards. Business and corporations are pushing for industrialization without focusing on the impacts on the environment, it is something that we simply cannot allow. We can’t be complacent. From this talk, I thought about things I had never taken a second to ponder, considered realities that are problematic. And I think that I learned quite a lot that I would not have thought about otherwise.

In class on Thursday, Annika and I gave a presentation on good presentation skills and public speaking. Because English isn’t their first language (for most of them, its their third or fourth), they sometimes get nervous when presenting, so we just gave them a few tips and tricks to a good presentation! Then, we had the students practice these skills by giving a short presentation on whether or not they believe in aliens, and then had the class give each other feedback. It had some pretty hilarious results, I’ll definitely want to do this in the future.

Khoa believes in aliens

Yargar also believes in aliens

Thursday night I spent my evening listening to local music at a jazz bar called the North Gate! I went with some co-workers and we spent the night listening to singers, drummers, saxophones, and more. It was a lovely time, and I got to just hang out, relax, and listen to some good music! They even had a dragon come out and perform, too.

Crowd outside of the North Gate jazz bar

Jazz performance

Later, on Friday afternoon, Annika, Hom and I went to a weekend getaway to the beach! We spent two nights in Ao Nang, a town in the southern province of Krabi that is home to beautiful beaches and clear waters. After a two-hour flight across the country, we got to our AirBnB and had local food for dinner and made a 7/11 snack run. The next day, we went on a speedboat tour of the PhiPhi Islands, which is one of those places that hasn’t become completely over run with tourists – yet. We stopped at 7 different locations around PhiPhi Don and PhiPhi Le, taking lots of pictures, swimming in lagoons, and snorkeling (I was able to remember some fish species that I learned about in the Galapagos: Pacific Sergeant Major, Moorish Idol, and Yellow Damselfish. Alex would be proud). The water looked like crystal, the clear water sparkling with greens and blues that blended together beautifully. Surrounding us were steep rock walls that were covered in the greenest of trees, adding to the serenity of the place. It has hard to believe that I was there, it was so unreal. Felt like I was in a Bob Ross painting, but better.

Crystal clear water

Swimming in the lagoon with Annika

Being goofy in the lagoon

After the boat tour, we went to a small local night market, and I ate some spicy Pad Thai. We walked around the main strip and looked at local vendors and fancy hotel lobbies, listening to live music being played. It was a good night, followed by lots of sleeping in the following morning. On Sunday, we had a later start and then went to the beach to spend our final hours in Ao Nang before heading to the airport to come back home to Chiang Mai. It was a delightful trip, and I’m really glad we went! I don’t know the next time I’ll have the opportunity to see such beautiful scenery, but I really hope it’s soon.

Ao Nang night market

Spicy chicken Pad Thai

Sitting in front of Maya Bay