Umm yeah so it turns out Chiang Mai is the best place I've been this whole trip. Clearly that says a lot given I haven't exactly disliked anything I've been doing these past weeks.
Casey and I had a really lucky find with lodgings.. we arrived at the airport in Chiang Mai without any idea where we'd stay, made friends with our very cheery taxi driver who was eyeing Casey's chocolate bar the whole time, Case gave him a piece of her chocolate when we were paying and he offered to drive us free of charge to a newly opened guesthouse. When we got there, he got us a hundred baht discount (a big discount for our budgets) for a beautiful brightly colored room. After jumping up and down a bit about our good find and taking a nap while watching Animal Planet, we decided to walk across town to an Indian restauarant and of course, being in a new city at night, got lost. We looked like such backpacking losers walking around with our Lonely Planet in hand but since we were on the opposite site of the moat (there is a moat and crumbled castle walls around the old city), it was pretty necessary.
Again, I cannot write anything without telling every detail so I am stopping myself b/c I am leaving for a mountain trek today. Part of the trek includes elephant riding.. I'm worried about that part because I saw a photo of an obnoxious American tourist hanging on an elephant trunk and was really turned off by the whole idea of riding elephants. Our friend at the guesthouse convinced us it is worth it though, so we'll see..
wow I'm late. sorry for the scatterbrained post
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Clearly I am horrible with this whole blog thing.. but anyways... I'll try to fill you in quickly on some events of the past few days.
Before I do that (here I go on a tangent already.. but whatever) I just wanted to preserve on the internet the troubling thought that I have had today that this trip will soon just be a closed chapter of my life. Basically, I'm already mourning the end of this trip and its not even over.. pretty lame, eh?
OK enough of pointless paragraphs.
Last weekend, Mackenzie, Casey, Kate and I went to Krabi. We stayed at a nice guesthouse for the equivalent of 3 bucks a night.. not too bad. The following morning we went to a wat (temple) and climbed 1,237 steps to reach the stupa (Buddhist shrine containing a relic related to Buddha) at the top. To help you picture what 1, 237 steps really is.. we basically climbed a mountain using stairs. We picked up some Dutch backpacker on the way up so the 5 of us did the climb in about 45 minutes. I felt like I was on a family hike.. with everyone competing not to be last and shortening their water breaks to not look weak.(we are very mature). The experience at the top was one of my most memorable of the trip. I did a lot of writing at the top and want to tell you more about my feelings in person.. so just remind me.
The next day we went sea kayaking to see sea caves. One cave has drawing from 3000 BCE. they were cool. We also learned about the Sea Gypsies of Trang Province and how they knew the tsunami was coming before everyone else and tried to warn people about the waves but few people believed them. It was fascinating.
That day we went to Railay, a rockclimbing hotspsot. There we found cheap rooms for 1.50 a night and I spent much of the afternoon in a hammock overlooking the water. Great backpacker vibe and fire show at night made this part of the trip awesome. Our boatride over there was unreal.. very bumpy.. our longtail boat was more than half out of the water as we wave jumped... I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face during that ride.
Teaching is still wonderful. more singing and dancing and goofyness in general.
Monday we went to a local pottery workshop and made clay pots on a pottery wheel.
Tuesday we saw the ancient Thai dance, Menorah performed in a school. Very beautiful costumes and some funny facial expressions on the 13 year old dancers.
Wednesday we went on a trip to a weaving village and saw silk fabrics being made by Thai women. I made a video on my camera, ask me to see it when I see you.. its fascinating.
Today we went to botanical gardens and went on a tree canopy walk 75 ft. up.
Now I am packing.
I'm off to Chaing Mai with Casey tomorrow. We will be there until Monday night when we fly to Bangkok and then I'll be home early Thursday morning.
Again, I didn't proofread or edit... sorry if it bothers you.
Before I do that (here I go on a tangent already.. but whatever) I just wanted to preserve on the internet the troubling thought that I have had today that this trip will soon just be a closed chapter of my life. Basically, I'm already mourning the end of this trip and its not even over.. pretty lame, eh?
OK enough of pointless paragraphs.
Last weekend, Mackenzie, Casey, Kate and I went to Krabi. We stayed at a nice guesthouse for the equivalent of 3 bucks a night.. not too bad. The following morning we went to a wat (temple) and climbed 1,237 steps to reach the stupa (Buddhist shrine containing a relic related to Buddha) at the top. To help you picture what 1, 237 steps really is.. we basically climbed a mountain using stairs. We picked up some Dutch backpacker on the way up so the 5 of us did the climb in about 45 minutes. I felt like I was on a family hike.. with everyone competing not to be last and shortening their water breaks to not look weak.(we are very mature). The experience at the top was one of my most memorable of the trip. I did a lot of writing at the top and want to tell you more about my feelings in person.. so just remind me.
The next day we went sea kayaking to see sea caves. One cave has drawing from 3000 BCE. they were cool. We also learned about the Sea Gypsies of Trang Province and how they knew the tsunami was coming before everyone else and tried to warn people about the waves but few people believed them. It was fascinating.
That day we went to Railay, a rockclimbing hotspsot. There we found cheap rooms for 1.50 a night and I spent much of the afternoon in a hammock overlooking the water. Great backpacker vibe and fire show at night made this part of the trip awesome. Our boatride over there was unreal.. very bumpy.. our longtail boat was more than half out of the water as we wave jumped... I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face during that ride.
Teaching is still wonderful. more singing and dancing and goofyness in general.
Monday we went to a local pottery workshop and made clay pots on a pottery wheel.
Tuesday we saw the ancient Thai dance, Menorah performed in a school. Very beautiful costumes and some funny facial expressions on the 13 year old dancers.
Wednesday we went on a trip to a weaving village and saw silk fabrics being made by Thai women. I made a video on my camera, ask me to see it when I see you.. its fascinating.
Today we went to botanical gardens and went on a tree canopy walk 75 ft. up.
Now I am packing.
I'm off to Chaing Mai with Casey tomorrow. We will be there until Monday night when we fly to Bangkok and then I'll be home early Thursday morning.
Again, I didn't proofread or edit... sorry if it bothers you.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Dad- your jokes on your comments are lame but I still love you
I am so happy here it is overwhelming. Today, Casey, Mackenzie and I woke up at 6, left for our school at 6:45 where we were given Thai music lessons (Thai instruments have startlingly beautiful tones) from a few students. They asked me to play the keyboard for them and I played the first page of my recital piece (Debussy's Reverie) but I could only find the first page for free online so I didn't really give the performance of the year to say the least. The students and music teacher working with us were volunteering to teach us completely out of their own free will.. I rarely see such friendliness in the States. After our music lesson, we taught our morning classes. We exlained 4th of July and played a game to celebrate.. they really liked the game and it has been one of the best methods of teaching English yet. In honor of the day, we decided to teach the class Don Mclean's "American Pie" so with the use of my ipod and a projecter, we put lyrics with words blanked out and had them fill in the words.. this is both a listening comprehension and vocabulary lesson but mostly its very fun. Lots of dancing and jumping and giggling.. all around good times. After our first two classes, the three of us chilled, and I played them lots of music from Amadou and Mariam (and thought of you, Jules) and Elvis Perkins to Beethoven's Ave Maria. The three of us mesh perfectly and we are all just so incredibly happy to be here. We then had lunch and around 25 kids raided our classroom during our lunchtime to take photos, dance, run around and get our autographs (craaazy). Lots of hugs and "I love you"s were exchanged. After lunch we were hyper and the next class was hyper. BAD (or wonderful?) combination. Mackenzie calls us the Three Stooges b/c the three of us spent more time pushing eachther and teasing than being calm teachers. We played the word scramble game and Casey got soo frustrated teaching that adjectives go before nouns (in Thai its the oppostite) that I honestly thought her head was going explode. The last class, Casey completely crashed and fell asleep at her desk while Mackenzie and I ran the class. After that class we went outside, sat in the shade, and juggled soccer balls with the kids during their gym class. I made a kid cry when accidentlly kicked the ball in his face.. good thing I'm making a positive change in Thailand, right?
I am so happy here it is overwhelming. Today, Casey, Mackenzie and I woke up at 6, left for our school at 6:45 where we were given Thai music lessons (Thai instruments have startlingly beautiful tones) from a few students. They asked me to play the keyboard for them and I played the first page of my recital piece (Debussy's Reverie) but I could only find the first page for free online so I didn't really give the performance of the year to say the least. The students and music teacher working with us were volunteering to teach us completely out of their own free will.. I rarely see such friendliness in the States. After our music lesson, we taught our morning classes. We exlained 4th of July and played a game to celebrate.. they really liked the game and it has been one of the best methods of teaching English yet. In honor of the day, we decided to teach the class Don Mclean's "American Pie" so with the use of my ipod and a projecter, we put lyrics with words blanked out and had them fill in the words.. this is both a listening comprehension and vocabulary lesson but mostly its very fun. Lots of dancing and jumping and giggling.. all around good times. After our first two classes, the three of us chilled, and I played them lots of music from Amadou and Mariam (and thought of you, Jules) and Elvis Perkins to Beethoven's Ave Maria. The three of us mesh perfectly and we are all just so incredibly happy to be here. We then had lunch and around 25 kids raided our classroom during our lunchtime to take photos, dance, run around and get our autographs (craaazy). Lots of hugs and "I love you"s were exchanged. After lunch we were hyper and the next class was hyper. BAD (or wonderful?) combination. Mackenzie calls us the Three Stooges b/c the three of us spent more time pushing eachther and teasing than being calm teachers. We played the word scramble game and Casey got soo frustrated teaching that adjectives go before nouns (in Thai its the oppostite) that I honestly thought her head was going explode. The last class, Casey completely crashed and fell asleep at her desk while Mackenzie and I ran the class. After that class we went outside, sat in the shade, and juggled soccer balls with the kids during their gym class. I made a kid cry when accidentlly kicked the ball in his face.. good thing I'm making a positive change in Thailand, right?
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Back from Koh Mook
Sorry, I know I haven't posted in a while. There is an asswipe sitting to my left trying to intercept the computer.
I am currently planning a weekend on Koh Pha Ngan for the upcoming weekend... sweet.
I just spent a weekend in paradise. literally. no joke. i'm serious. weekend in paradise. it was unreal. and paradise on a budget. so it was just, as Max Sinsteden would say, "di-vine".
Before I talk about that- I need to backtrack:
I couldn't ask for a better work placement. On our very first day, Casey and I pulled up to our school in a private car to see 1500 kids lined up in rows for their morning prayer and announcments. The girls in light blue uniforms with blue bows and short hair (which we later learned was to avoid their consciousness of their beauty at their age) and boys in blue shirts and shorts. While I have always associated uniforms with conformity and close-mindedness, I found something attractive about the unifying element of their dress. Casey and I, with 1500 pairs of eyes on us, were ushered to the stage to greet the students. While Casey introduced herself, I waved and received the response of a queen, with waving hands and cheering. I have never felt so cool in my life. no lie.
the actual teaching part was a bit overwhelming at first because we, assuming that we were not going to do anything on our first day, had not prepared any lectures. the teacher ushered us into a classroom, left the room and there we stood, with forty smiling facing giggling at us Americans and nothing prepared. We talked about America but half of our words received blank stares. We did some songs, which Casey was MUCH more comfortable with than me, but I got over my stagefright quickly. We then played hangman and simon says which we called "teacher says". This worked well and as the day went on, we perfected the games. By the end of the day we were tired, overwhelmed, but very thrilled with our placement. Since Casey is an actress and used to a crowd in front of her, I think she found the experience much easier than me, but by the end of the day I felt much better about the situation.
Casey and I witnessed a very unique Thai tradition on that day. We had heard that schools and public buildings in Bangkok had three bathrooms, one for men, one for women, and one for transexuals but did not except to witness this tradtion in the town of Trang. After giving bad expositions of American dance, Casey and I asked the students to dance for us. Everyone turned to the dancer of the class and we were surprised to see that it was a boy. The boy, who dressed in girl colors, swaggered up to the front of the room and the class, embracing his flamoyancy, began clapping and singing as he performed a dance that, in any other school, would have provoked a severe beating from bullies.
We ate our lunch with Pat, Pet, Tip, and other English teachers whose names we don't really know but pretend to. Something interesting: when I say my name, every Thai person who hears it consistently distorts his or her face in confusion at such a strange name. I'm so glad,after having a freshman year where most of my friends' names were Rachel, to finally be somewhere where my name is rare.
I keep on writing in detail and am progressing at a snails pace with this account of my past week.
Everyday the English teachers bring us Thai fruit, dessert (cakes that were sooo good) and other delicacies (I wouldn't eat the fried whole fish they brought..).
On our second day, Casey and I were given our own classroom. It is airconditioned, has a brand new computer, and a nice divider so we can teach 2 classes at once. The room is so lovely and I think really shows the school's appreciation that we are there.
By the way, I haven't realled mentionated this yet but the teaching is challenging and rewarding. Every class we have to evaluate the students and adjust our lecture/game plans. I really feel like i am making a difference, even if I am just giving the student a greater impotus to learn English. It is SUCH a wonderful feeling.
I am wired right now from dealing with hotel reservations so I will skip to this past weekend but I will continue to describe the school in the next blog.
I left the planning and travel arrangements to the group"s "dad" Barry who found us the most beautiful resort I have ever been to and if you know anything about my family's vacations, you know that that says a LOT.
We arrrived at the dock and, having to wait for the boat to pick us up, sat in a cafe and ate ice cream ( i didn't have any, don't worry mom). We then boarded a very new and rather flashy motorboat and travelled at high speeds towards stunning islands with high limestone rocks covered in thick jungle like vegetation.
I almost cried when I saw our resort. SEriously. The resort was a series of beach bungalows located on a narrow peninsula with the restaurant at the end of the peninsula. It was called Sivali Resort if you want to check out the website. There is perfect blue water and serene bungalows lining the beach. AH it was so beautiful. There were also free kayak rentals, internet accesses and great sunrise and sunset views. In short, I felt I was in heaven.
Casey and I roomed together in a bungalow with floor to ceiling windows on three sides, flower petals on our beds and private beaches (all for around 40 bucks a night per person)- UNREAL, right?
Besides our motorboat, every boat that Isaw from that point onwards was a longtail boat with these crazy 1940s looking engines that I was shocked actuallly worked.
We went on a day trip to the famed Emerald Cave where we had to swim through a pitch black cave to emerge in a private cove. Pirates used to keep their booty there because it was so hidden (I thought tou'd like that Rana and by the way, got your email, I am never on the comp except to do this stuff but I love you and will write back soon). It was breathtaking.. also most ppl found the swim in the dark caves terrifying (of course I'm too badass to be phased by it) so arriving on this beach was especially wonderful for them. To give you a sense of what it looked like, it was kind of like being at the bottom of a volcano.. except with pretty sand.
I went on many kayak rides.. one with Casey riding on the back of it.. and all ending up in incredible drifting momemnts with great conversations.
I also went for a run through the fishing town.. very cool.. and tons of long walks with friends from the trip.
AT night we drank Singhas on the beach, listened to several of the girls sing. and o WAIT I almost forgot this part.. we went skinny dipping with an 84 year old man. IT was hilarious. Casey went up to him and asked "Phil, what's up?" and he said " Nothing's up yet, nothing's up yet". BEST quote of the trip so far haha.
O and also the water was phosphorescent so we had incredible views of what looked like stars in the water. it was startlingly beautiful.
I didn't read much because my book got wet but the last night I taught Spades to my British friend Barry, Jessica the Wellesley crazy girl who is amazing, and Sarah the singer.
OKAY I need to stop writing.. more stories to come
and I didn't spellcheck or proofread so bear with me.
I am currently planning a weekend on Koh Pha Ngan for the upcoming weekend... sweet.
I just spent a weekend in paradise. literally. no joke. i'm serious. weekend in paradise. it was unreal. and paradise on a budget. so it was just, as Max Sinsteden would say, "di-vine".
Before I talk about that- I need to backtrack:
I couldn't ask for a better work placement. On our very first day, Casey and I pulled up to our school in a private car to see 1500 kids lined up in rows for their morning prayer and announcments. The girls in light blue uniforms with blue bows and short hair (which we later learned was to avoid their consciousness of their beauty at their age) and boys in blue shirts and shorts. While I have always associated uniforms with conformity and close-mindedness, I found something attractive about the unifying element of their dress. Casey and I, with 1500 pairs of eyes on us, were ushered to the stage to greet the students. While Casey introduced herself, I waved and received the response of a queen, with waving hands and cheering. I have never felt so cool in my life. no lie.
the actual teaching part was a bit overwhelming at first because we, assuming that we were not going to do anything on our first day, had not prepared any lectures. the teacher ushered us into a classroom, left the room and there we stood, with forty smiling facing giggling at us Americans and nothing prepared. We talked about America but half of our words received blank stares. We did some songs, which Casey was MUCH more comfortable with than me, but I got over my stagefright quickly. We then played hangman and simon says which we called "teacher says". This worked well and as the day went on, we perfected the games. By the end of the day we were tired, overwhelmed, but very thrilled with our placement. Since Casey is an actress and used to a crowd in front of her, I think she found the experience much easier than me, but by the end of the day I felt much better about the situation.
Casey and I witnessed a very unique Thai tradition on that day. We had heard that schools and public buildings in Bangkok had three bathrooms, one for men, one for women, and one for transexuals but did not except to witness this tradtion in the town of Trang. After giving bad expositions of American dance, Casey and I asked the students to dance for us. Everyone turned to the dancer of the class and we were surprised to see that it was a boy. The boy, who dressed in girl colors, swaggered up to the front of the room and the class, embracing his flamoyancy, began clapping and singing as he performed a dance that, in any other school, would have provoked a severe beating from bullies.
We ate our lunch with Pat, Pet, Tip, and other English teachers whose names we don't really know but pretend to. Something interesting: when I say my name, every Thai person who hears it consistently distorts his or her face in confusion at such a strange name. I'm so glad,after having a freshman year where most of my friends' names were Rachel, to finally be somewhere where my name is rare.
I keep on writing in detail and am progressing at a snails pace with this account of my past week.
Everyday the English teachers bring us Thai fruit, dessert (cakes that were sooo good) and other delicacies (I wouldn't eat the fried whole fish they brought..).
On our second day, Casey and I were given our own classroom. It is airconditioned, has a brand new computer, and a nice divider so we can teach 2 classes at once. The room is so lovely and I think really shows the school's appreciation that we are there.
By the way, I haven't realled mentionated this yet but the teaching is challenging and rewarding. Every class we have to evaluate the students and adjust our lecture/game plans. I really feel like i am making a difference, even if I am just giving the student a greater impotus to learn English. It is SUCH a wonderful feeling.
I am wired right now from dealing with hotel reservations so I will skip to this past weekend but I will continue to describe the school in the next blog.
I left the planning and travel arrangements to the group"s "dad" Barry who found us the most beautiful resort I have ever been to and if you know anything about my family's vacations, you know that that says a LOT.
We arrrived at the dock and, having to wait for the boat to pick us up, sat in a cafe and ate ice cream ( i didn't have any, don't worry mom). We then boarded a very new and rather flashy motorboat and travelled at high speeds towards stunning islands with high limestone rocks covered in thick jungle like vegetation.
I almost cried when I saw our resort. SEriously. The resort was a series of beach bungalows located on a narrow peninsula with the restaurant at the end of the peninsula. It was called Sivali Resort if you want to check out the website. There is perfect blue water and serene bungalows lining the beach. AH it was so beautiful. There were also free kayak rentals, internet accesses and great sunrise and sunset views. In short, I felt I was in heaven.
Casey and I roomed together in a bungalow with floor to ceiling windows on three sides, flower petals on our beds and private beaches (all for around 40 bucks a night per person)- UNREAL, right?
Besides our motorboat, every boat that Isaw from that point onwards was a longtail boat with these crazy 1940s looking engines that I was shocked actuallly worked.
We went on a day trip to the famed Emerald Cave where we had to swim through a pitch black cave to emerge in a private cove. Pirates used to keep their booty there because it was so hidden (I thought tou'd like that Rana and by the way, got your email, I am never on the comp except to do this stuff but I love you and will write back soon). It was breathtaking.. also most ppl found the swim in the dark caves terrifying (of course I'm too badass to be phased by it) so arriving on this beach was especially wonderful for them. To give you a sense of what it looked like, it was kind of like being at the bottom of a volcano.. except with pretty sand.
I went on many kayak rides.. one with Casey riding on the back of it.. and all ending up in incredible drifting momemnts with great conversations.
I also went for a run through the fishing town.. very cool.. and tons of long walks with friends from the trip.
AT night we drank Singhas on the beach, listened to several of the girls sing. and o WAIT I almost forgot this part.. we went skinny dipping with an 84 year old man. IT was hilarious. Casey went up to him and asked "Phil, what's up?" and he said " Nothing's up yet, nothing's up yet". BEST quote of the trip so far haha.
O and also the water was phosphorescent so we had incredible views of what looked like stars in the water. it was startlingly beautiful.
I didn't read much because my book got wet but the last night I taught Spades to my British friend Barry, Jessica the Wellesley crazy girl who is amazing, and Sarah the singer.
OKAY I need to stop writing.. more stories to come
and I didn't spellcheck or proofread so bear with me.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Culture shock does not even begin to describe what I have experienced here. Trang is a large city but the 20 volunteers staying at CCS and I are the only foreigners in the whole city. It is quite an experience to be walking in such a metropolis and to be the object of everyone's eyes. From young children to old men and women, the Thai people will stop us on the street to see Sawatdee kah/krap (Hello) and wai (bow with hands pressed together as if in prayer). Thais are very eager for us to learn their language, a language whose tonality is complicated and difficult to reproduce. Yesterday we had a Thai language lesson which was VERY overwhelming. With practice I will hopefully be able to retain more.
The group of volunteers is very diverse. There is a family of 6 consisting of two parents (the mother is a Brown grad and now a college counselor), a grandfather (who lives in Boca West-- I am so exciting for him to meet you, Grandma Rose.. you both will get along wonderfully, I know it), a six year old boy and adorable nine year old girl and a 21 year old who volunteered in India before coming here. I really like the family- I feel comfortable with them and they have very similar travel styles to my family. There is also a (minor) celebrity volunteering here.. Kate you will be SO excited to hear this... her name is Emily VanCamp.. she starred in Everwood and is now in Brothers and Sisters. She also dated Ryan from the OC and they are good friends (!!). She is so nice and down to earth- her fame does not affect her at all. The other volunteers are great. We have a lot of college students as well as a singer from Brooklyn and a trainer from Stratton Mountian School (her name is Kate.. there always seems to be a Kate in my life..). Casey, the girl I am travelling around with after the 4 weeks is great. There is also a girl from Wellesley whose father runs the Pines Theater in Northampton (so cool) and who knows Laura Weyl and who says wicked every other word.
At first I was disappointed with the group because no one stuck out as a "rachel" person (as Dad would say) but now I am really appreciating our differences. We all have different backgrounds and bring a different element to the group dynamic but also have a common interest in non-Western perspectives, Eastern relgions, and Thai traditions. Instead of having one person whom I feel more comfortable with, I have a large group of people who fascinate and challenge me. This new friend dynamic is definately growing on me and I think is very good for my own development.
I could describe everything in detail, but I tend to obsess over one small event and ignore others (ie my entire comment about losing my camera haha).. I will just relate some basic things we have done:
- Orientation scavenger hunt in Trang. We took a tuk-tuk ( a three wheeled taxi/truck) to Lotus, a Thai version of Target that I was surprised to see in Southern Thailand. I bought more conditioner and some crazy Thai chocolate there. Everyone's reactions to us was nice but the children in particular looked thrilled to see us farangs (foreigners).
- trip with Duk-Tang, one of the Thai woman who work at the homebase into town to buy a digital camera.. a jetlagged conversation with the salesperson filled with language barriers but a common sense of humor about the whole transaction
- WONDERFUL Thai food served at all meals.. and really cool exotic fruit (I'll put up pictures soon of them).
- Great runs on backroads.. views of rubber trees (Trang's biggest industry), tons of wild but friendly dogs, cows, roosters and very friendly Thai people on motorbikes.
- I saw an elephant on the side of the road yesterday.. it was just chilling.
- Mackenzie, a surfer from SoCal and I went on a bikeride in the rain this morning.. it reminded me of bike rides in Nantucket.
- This morning we drove an hour into the mountains to visit a Buddhist monastary. Beautiful views, incredible gold statues (I took lots of pictures)
- We then had Pad Thai in Trang.. much egg-ier than in the US, but delicious.
- This afternoon during our Thai cooking lesson, I'm learning how to make Pad Thai- I know Julie and everyone at Brown will be excited about that.. delicious meals next year? I think so!
We made travel plans for our weekends off..
Ko Muk next weekend and Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao the weekend after next.. we're going to the Full Moon party I think.. WOW. those islands are where The Beach was filmed, to give you a mental picture.
Ok this post of HUGE. I love and miss you all and wish you were here experiencing this with me!
The group of volunteers is very diverse. There is a family of 6 consisting of two parents (the mother is a Brown grad and now a college counselor), a grandfather (who lives in Boca West-- I am so exciting for him to meet you, Grandma Rose.. you both will get along wonderfully, I know it), a six year old boy and adorable nine year old girl and a 21 year old who volunteered in India before coming here. I really like the family- I feel comfortable with them and they have very similar travel styles to my family. There is also a (minor) celebrity volunteering here.. Kate you will be SO excited to hear this... her name is Emily VanCamp.. she starred in Everwood and is now in Brothers and Sisters. She also dated Ryan from the OC and they are good friends (!!). She is so nice and down to earth- her fame does not affect her at all. The other volunteers are great. We have a lot of college students as well as a singer from Brooklyn and a trainer from Stratton Mountian School (her name is Kate.. there always seems to be a Kate in my life..). Casey, the girl I am travelling around with after the 4 weeks is great. There is also a girl from Wellesley whose father runs the Pines Theater in Northampton (so cool) and who knows Laura Weyl and who says wicked every other word.
At first I was disappointed with the group because no one stuck out as a "rachel" person (as Dad would say) but now I am really appreciating our differences. We all have different backgrounds and bring a different element to the group dynamic but also have a common interest in non-Western perspectives, Eastern relgions, and Thai traditions. Instead of having one person whom I feel more comfortable with, I have a large group of people who fascinate and challenge me. This new friend dynamic is definately growing on me and I think is very good for my own development.
I could describe everything in detail, but I tend to obsess over one small event and ignore others (ie my entire comment about losing my camera haha).. I will just relate some basic things we have done:
- Orientation scavenger hunt in Trang. We took a tuk-tuk ( a three wheeled taxi/truck) to Lotus, a Thai version of Target that I was surprised to see in Southern Thailand. I bought more conditioner and some crazy Thai chocolate there. Everyone's reactions to us was nice but the children in particular looked thrilled to see us farangs (foreigners).
- trip with Duk-Tang, one of the Thai woman who work at the homebase into town to buy a digital camera.. a jetlagged conversation with the salesperson filled with language barriers but a common sense of humor about the whole transaction
- WONDERFUL Thai food served at all meals.. and really cool exotic fruit (I'll put up pictures soon of them).
- Great runs on backroads.. views of rubber trees (Trang's biggest industry), tons of wild but friendly dogs, cows, roosters and very friendly Thai people on motorbikes.
- I saw an elephant on the side of the road yesterday.. it was just chilling.
- Mackenzie, a surfer from SoCal and I went on a bikeride in the rain this morning.. it reminded me of bike rides in Nantucket.
- This morning we drove an hour into the mountains to visit a Buddhist monastary. Beautiful views, incredible gold statues (I took lots of pictures)
- We then had Pad Thai in Trang.. much egg-ier than in the US, but delicious.
- This afternoon during our Thai cooking lesson, I'm learning how to make Pad Thai- I know Julie and everyone at Brown will be excited about that.. delicious meals next year? I think so!
We made travel plans for our weekends off..
Ko Muk next weekend and Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Tao the weekend after next.. we're going to the Full Moon party I think.. WOW. those islands are where The Beach was filmed, to give you a mental picture.
Ok this post of HUGE. I love and miss you all and wish you were here experiencing this with me!
Sunday, June 17, 2007
There is so much to say about my first few days here. The following is what I typed up from my journal/scrapbook:
6-15
Happy Birthday, Jay!
I know Mom and Dad will laugh when they hear about this. Before even arriving in Trang, I lost somthing valuable. No, it wasn't my passport, although judging by the number of photocopies Mom made of it I know they are expecting me to lose it eventully. I lost my digital camera, the very same camera that just two days earlier, Mom and I outfitted with accessories at Ciruit City. I am almost as sad to lose the last picture that I took with the camera as I am to lose the camera itself.
I had always assumed that my flight would cross the US and then the Pacific on its way to Bangkok. When I boarded the plane, however, I learned two interesting pieces of information 1) This 17 hour flight is the longest commercial flight offered in the world, and 2) We were flying over the top of the world, the North Pole, and then down the coast of Asia to reach our destination. I lost my camera sometime after taking a picure of the vast, white nothingness that streched endlessly below the plane. Leaning over the Lord of the Rings-obsessed MIT geology student who occupied the window seat, I saw terrain so foreign and strange to the eye that I felt that I was on a different planet. The white of the clouds covering the frozen rivers and fields blended so well with the ground that at times there seemed to be no separation between land and cloud. This final photograph was taken as a symbol of the beginning of a voyage filled with challenges to my perception of the world and the system of values with which I have been raised. Although its gone, I have since bought a new camera, and have taken new pictures. Some of these pictures I am going to try to upload, although this website is now in Thai so I'm not sure how that will turn out.
6-15
Happy Birthday, Jay!
I know Mom and Dad will laugh when they hear about this. Before even arriving in Trang, I lost somthing valuable. No, it wasn't my passport, although judging by the number of photocopies Mom made of it I know they are expecting me to lose it eventully. I lost my digital camera, the very same camera that just two days earlier, Mom and I outfitted with accessories at Ciruit City. I am almost as sad to lose the last picture that I took with the camera as I am to lose the camera itself.
I had always assumed that my flight would cross the US and then the Pacific on its way to Bangkok. When I boarded the plane, however, I learned two interesting pieces of information 1) This 17 hour flight is the longest commercial flight offered in the world, and 2) We were flying over the top of the world, the North Pole, and then down the coast of Asia to reach our destination. I lost my camera sometime after taking a picure of the vast, white nothingness that streched endlessly below the plane. Leaning over the Lord of the Rings-obsessed MIT geology student who occupied the window seat, I saw terrain so foreign and strange to the eye that I felt that I was on a different planet. The white of the clouds covering the frozen rivers and fields blended so well with the ground that at times there seemed to be no separation between land and cloud. This final photograph was taken as a symbol of the beginning of a voyage filled with challenges to my perception of the world and the system of values with which I have been raised. Although its gone, I have since bought a new camera, and have taken new pictures. Some of these pictures I am going to try to upload, although this website is now in Thai so I'm not sure how that will turn out.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
My very first post!
Leaving for Thailand in less than 48 hours.
More excited than nervous, but dreading the heat.
Can't wait to meet the group and explore Trang.
I've never been out of the West... I am expecting a complete culture shock. I've been reading a lot of Murakami to help me gain a perspective on life as an East Asian, but Murakami's writing style and frequent references to American culture is not shedding much light on what life is actually like over there.
So basically, I have no idea what I am about to encounter. I kind of like the mystery, but also feel guilty for not better preparing myself for the trip. I have a 17 hour plane ride to do some reading on the history and culture of Thailand, but right now, I couldn't write more than a page about the country and most of my understanding of it comes from "The King and I" and various movies. Pathetic, I know.
I will write something more valuable after I have left, this post was more of a practice writing a blog than anything else. Happy travelling and good summer to all! - Rachel
More excited than nervous, but dreading the heat.
Can't wait to meet the group and explore Trang.
I've never been out of the West... I am expecting a complete culture shock. I've been reading a lot of Murakami to help me gain a perspective on life as an East Asian, but Murakami's writing style and frequent references to American culture is not shedding much light on what life is actually like over there.
So basically, I have no idea what I am about to encounter. I kind of like the mystery, but also feel guilty for not better preparing myself for the trip. I have a 17 hour plane ride to do some reading on the history and culture of Thailand, but right now, I couldn't write more than a page about the country and most of my understanding of it comes from "The King and I" and various movies. Pathetic, I know.
I will write something more valuable after I have left, this post was more of a practice writing a blog than anything else. Happy travelling and good summer to all! - Rachel
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