farrong on the perch

So, this entry is really quite long (again). Miami mom has requested that write in more detail, so bear with me and here it goes!

September 12, 2009
Last weekend the ISDSI retreat took us to Mok Fah National Park for some relaxin—from speaking thai and the usual awkward weekends with the host fams.
On the way to Mok Fah, we stopped at a huge mucky lake to take our swimming test…just to make sure that none of us would drown during the islands course. We had to swim 300 meters nonstop, then tread water for 15 minutes. The first group to go was Alice, Adam, Adam, and Alec. Alice naturally finished before all the boys (she’d been on swim team in highschool).
I surprised myself and made good time in my swim…I always thought I only swam well enough to wakeboard and chill on South Beach. It more tiring than difficult, so everyone was left exhausted after the test. Some of us sunbathed and had some good bonding talk near the “beach” (which we were later told was very mae rip roy—inappropriate).
For lunch we all sat under chicki huts and ate mini feasts. One of the main courses involved killing live shrimp by shaking them in some sort of acidic/spicey confection…this was apparently a perfect spot and meal for a “romantic” thai lunch between couples. It was almost inhumane…but I participated in the killing. I wonder, do shrimp have feelings?
When we got to Mok Fah National Park, the Pi’s (older staff) and Ajaans (professors) distributed dish duty for the weekend and gave us free time till dinner.

After a 10 minutes hike into the wet bamboo forest, we set eyes on the most spectacular waterfall I’d ever seen—mother nature had create a twin set of falls that were as high as a 10 story building. I swear, we all just stared in amazement for about 5 minutes before timidly getting into the chilled waters. Gigi was the most fearless of us all, she just plowed right in like a child jumping into a pool in the middle of winter! Then we were all standing behind and beneath the roaring falls, letting the water pound on our backs…kind of like a thai massage! As strange as it sounds, it was indeed a magical experience. I am almost afraid no other waterfall will make me feel the same way again.
During dinner I watched Pi Dana (Ajaaan Mark’s wife) play the guitar and one of the Pi’s set up a slack line. It was really comforting to know that my teachers still knew how to play and have fun like us nawngs (younger kids).
As soon as the camp fire was going, Pi Pui was there to start the bonding games. My favorite and by far, the most ridiculous game, was called “Birdie on the Perch.” Ajaan Mark played on his drum and we danced around the fire. When he stopped playing, you’d have to find a partner to either jump on or carry. The last two people This became really competitive and hilarious—I saw Ally go down hard (like a tree) after being tackled, Alice jumped on someone’s back after they’d already picked someone up, the boys would have to awkwardly pick each other up (Alec and Caleb were real good at this), and I was literally swept off my feet a couple times. Another successful bonding experience!
On Saturday we were all trained (sort of) on wilderness first aid. After a 2 hour talk with Pi Ben, we split into 4 groups and were each given walkie talkies, a map to find our injured person, and 1.5 hours to get them safely back to camp. After walking 10 minutes up the road past the waterfall trail, we found Leo…our 190 lb classmate. He had a “broken knee and hurt shoulder” and was doing a really great job at acting out the part. After about 20 minutes of discussing our game plan, our team of 6 braced Leo’s knee with his sleeping pad and used his sleeping pad to carry him back to the campfire…”beam” style (as in, with our arms making a human cot). The six of us walked down a small trail, down the asphalt road, along a stream, crossed the stream (with our hiking shoes still on), and back to campfire…with 15 minutes left to spare! Our group had really great dynamic and I believe we did everything pretty well—except we should have braced his knee with some bamboo poles and I should have not been carrying him by his feet (this would have been excruciatingly painful if his knee was really hurt). Successful sweaty bonding experience #2!
After lunch, Mark, Laurie, Ally, Julie, Banana, Adam and I went to the smaller downstream waterfall to swing on the vine. Mark (naturally) broke the vine so that it was now dragging in the water. Laurie tried to swing on it and it just came crashing down on her. Hopefully another vine will grow back for future swingers.
Then we went up to the big twin waterfall, explored a bat cave, and walked a bird watching trail...all just in time for supper. How good is life this weekend?
That night, Pi Pui assigned some more silly games…this time we had to get into our wilderness first aid groups and perform a skit around the campfire. Embarrassing city! (Sometimes I wonder how many activities are assigned just for the shear amusement of the staff). Our group performed “A Day in the Life in Thailand.” It was so awkward, not to mention that fact that a previous group performed the same exact skit 10 times better. We wont go into it any further.
On my way into my cabin, I split my toenail with the edge of the screen door and started bleeding a lot. After Ben’s “10 Million Ways to Die in Thailand”/wilderness first aid speech today, I began picturing .my toe rotting off. So I got Pi Carrie (an old friend from DU that now works with ISDSI) to syringe my toenail with clean water. Later I realized my paranoia and how minor my injury was…but thanks Pi Carrie for humoring me anyway ☺
Sunday morning we went on a 1 hour guided hike into the bamboo forest with some thai park rangers. I was already somewhat familiar with most of the bamboo ecology, thanks to my American father’s obsession with our backyard bamboo collection. Though I did find out that the mother bamboo worm bores into a baby bamboo shoot, bears more worms, then as they eat all the starch inside one bamboo compartment they move up into the next.
At the end of the hike, we ended up at the twin waterfalls. Alice slipped on a rock and hyper-extended her knee. After yesterday’s wilderness first aid exercise, this scared the shit out of all of us…but I am sure we all felt prepared to “beam” Alice out of there if need be. She ended being okay, just a sore knee.
After lunch we headed back to ISDSI headquarters and (reluctantly) got picked up by our host families. I don’t think any of us wanted to leave Mok Fah Waterfall…couldn’t we just finished thai classes there?
Banana and I were picked up by MaePong (Angela’s mom), and I was passed on to MaeMeow (Banana’s mom) and MaeNoi (my Aunt)…till about 9:30 pm when MaeToy (my mom) finally picked me up. I was nui (exhausted) from the weekend and irritated. Since the time when I was picked up at ISDSI, 5 hours had passed, I was pressured into eating dinner at each person’s house I was at, I had feminine discomfort (that might have been too much info), and I just desperately wanted to pass out in my own bed. Sometimes it seems like MaeToy’s busy life doesn’t really have time for me…which leaves her to pawn me off on her sister, MaePong, or MaeMeo.
MaeToy apologized and hugged me repeatedly. I said, “Mae Pen Rai,” no worries, a couple times, but I was really just too tired to be polite and “thai” about it. The next day was a little strange between MaeToy and I. I tried to act normal and pretend nothing had ever happened (the “thai” way). She meticulously did all of my laundry and ironed my school uniforms for the next week…this made me feel really sorry for showing my discomfort with her on Sunday. Things were back to normal by Tuesday. I learned why and how thais walk around problems to keep the delicate family relations at peace.

Booyakasha

Day 13 of living with host fam, day 7 of thai lessons. Culture shock may be setting in now that I am not a tourist.

First week was really interesting, considering I did not know a word of thai and my family did not know a word of English. We both got really good at speaking with our hands. I live with MaeToy (Mother Toy), PoCha (Father Cha), and Fa (my 18 year old autistic little sister Fa). MaeNoi (Mother Noi, my aunt) lives next door and she knows a little bit of English. My parent’s 14 year old son, Fruk, is very tall and plays volleyball in Bangkok…I have yet to meet him.

Sunday is laundry day, so Fa showed me how to handwash my underwear…it was actually quite sweet of her. She also showed me how to wash the dishes. After this, MaeToy went to school. PoCha drove Fa and I to the gym, got out of the car, and spoke in thai and gave me a running motion. This still baffles me…did he want me to run?

Then PoCha left to Phuket for 5 days, apparently on a business trip.

Living in a homestay and being lost is translation is a lot like being 12 years old again. You never know what is going to happen next! Your parents plan your every move--from the time you wakeup, when you shower and brush your teeth, to the time your go to bed. The first night of my homestay I found myself at a Thai funeral. The next day PoCha tried to take me to the gym. For the first week of school, my neighboring American friends Banana (real name Hannah) and Angela and I somehow were driven to school by someone’s parents every day. This past Saturday morning, Banana and I found ourselves at a 7 hour thai meeting. At this meeting we realized that we dont enjoy Thai dance…at least the slow form that I believe is meant for older people.

Though week 2 has definitely been more solo. Banana, Angela and I ride the yellow taxi and walk to school by ourselves! I told my mom that I liked orchids, and on Sunday Banana, Angela and I found ourselves at the Chiang Mai Botanical Garden. Things are definitely running smoother. Thai class is helping me understand alot more. I have realized that the overprotective vibe that I feel from my mother is all for my own good, to keep me within the thai “family circle” and to show me the “thai way of life.”

I am also beginning to see the hierarchy that thai families have between the older vs younger and the husband vs wife. MaeToy always seems to be running around doing something for the family, for school, or for her job. Every family friend that I meet manages to say (in English) that MaeToy is a very smart, strong and kind woman. And let me just add that I have met A LOT of family and friends, of course as the token farrong (tourist) daughter. My father on the other hand, goes to work, does some occasional cooking, drives the family to places if necessary, and holds down the couch. I’ll post more on family relations in another blog.

Last Friday we had class at Crazy Horse Buttress—a sweet limestone rock climbing spot in the mountains. We climbed, went caving, zip lining, and repelling. Altogoether it was a successful sweaty bonding experience. And let me just say something for Ally, BOOYAKASHA!

Culture Shock:

• Use fork in left hand to push food onto spoon in your right hand
• Dont shake hands or give high fives with your left hand (gross!)
• the "Wai" =thai way of saying hello by putting your hands in prayer position and bowing your head to them
• Wai 3 times when you pass a monk
• Take your shoes off before you enter any home (love this, but I still mess this up at least once a week)
• Thais dont say "bless you" after you sneeze
• Eat 3 rice meals a day with at least 2-3 snacks in between
• Wai your elder to say hello and goodbye
• Smelling someone's cheek = "thai kiss" (this whole time I just thought that MaeToy was giving me the smell check)
• Women must walk like China dolls (no running)...even in the pouring rain
• Never sit higher than an elder. Example: if an elder sits on the floor, you must move to the floor. Or if you pass through a room where an elder is sitting, you must hunch by.
• Thais dont cry or seem to show sadness in public
• Funerals are not somber, they are more like social events
• You may only wear short sleeve, 3/4 sleeve, or long sleeve shorts and knee length pants/skirts.
• Never touch someone's head (the most sacred part of the body)
• Thais will talk good and bad about you (in Thai or English) infront of you.
• It is okay to call someone fat
• Parents dont encourage their children to diet or eat healthy (happy IS healthy)
• no rules to the road--you can drive on the opposing side of traffic if it is convenient
• Its okay to throw rocks at or kick a dog if they deserve it
• NEVER wash your underwear or socks with clothes (always handwash and hang in a concealed area)
• Thais believe all Americans are rich
• No kissing, holding hands, or touching of opposite sex in public (even if you are married)
• Stop eating before you are hungry to save room for that extra food parents will put on your plate
• Shower with toilet seat up
• Cold showers wearing flip flops
• Women must always sit with legs properly crossed
• Always seem happy or your parents will really worry
• Picking your nose in public is OK
• Wash feet before you go to bed
• No privacy whatsoever. Example: Fa will constantly peak into my room, talk to me through the bathroom door, stare at me while i eat, or watch me pluck my eyebrows.
• My neighbors take showers and sing in the back yard
• Cars are not afraid to run you over (hit and run = OK)
• Schoolgirls will ride motorcycles side-saddle style (if they aren't driving)
• There are stray, mangy, and friendly dogs at every corner
• No homeless people in sight
• Thais constantly sweep their floors but dont clean ceiling cobwebs, windows, bathroom, sink, kitchen countertops, dust, use clorox or 409
• I am constantly sweating
• Women must usually sit in the back of bus
• You WILL be bit my mosquitos, bed bugs, and other strange insects...get used to it!

Strange Eats:

• Yellow watermelon = tastes just like red watermelon
• Deep fried frog (Angela likes this, but I nearly vomited all over her mother's kitchen table)
• Silk worm (didn't try this, but Ally did and they were apparently soggy)
• Fried bamboo worm = surprising alright, crunchy
• Mangosteen = the most delicious fruit
• Fried squid = not a fan
• Shrimp potato chips = wierd
• Liver = eating this was an accident, never again

Sorry this was such a long post. I know I'm a terrible writer, so I hope I'm not boring you too much! Still trying to figure out how to add photos...

one week of summer vacation

i was not even in thailand and i loved it already! though the plane flight was 17 hours long from california to bangkok, they fed us 3 excellent meals, free movies, and had seats that reclined enough to get some fair sleep. i think that the united states needs to step up to the plate here! i have come to find that the thais are really accomodating and helpful.

Saturday: dusit, bangkok.

Laurie and I stayed in a hostel and spent the day one of Bangkok’s famous temples, the Grand Palace.

also, let me just mention that the roads and traffic here are a total free-for-all--drivers drive on the opposite side of traffic all the time. i witnessed a group of pubescent teenagers lead cars through a red light and there are barely any cross-walk signs or sidewalks free of vendors, etc. its really every pedestrian for themselves out there! also, it seems as though at every street you turn, someone is selling either food or trinkets outside their home or on the sidewalk. the air is toxic with car fumes, the heat is greenhouse-like, and the thai people never even seem to break a sweat. although this was all a surprise to me, i had yet to feel 'culture shock.' being in bangkok just felt like i was walking the streets of Chinatown in NY.

monday- long beach, ko chang.

woke up at 6 am this morning and found myself in a beautiful bungalow on a hill over looking the thai gulf. i walked down the hill past a family of small hummingbirds feeding on some yellow flowers and saw that the tide has receded a couple hundred feet! i watched two packs of beach dogs from opposing resorts give each other territorial growls on the sandy beach.

the lodge laurie and i are staying at is called the Treehouse, a very fitting name. there were about 20 "bungalows" (chickie huts with walls) that lined the beach and hill. our stay was very much like camping in a cabin like we used to do in girl scouts--no electricity, one mattress with mosquito netting, 3 windows, and a sweet hammock on the porch overlooking the water...all for 100 bht/night ($3/night). the restaurant served excellent food and had coolers stocked with chang and singha beer all day long. Indigenous paradise!

this next part is a really long story, but i'll try to make it short. Laurie, our new friends Faruk (Turkey) and the two Dutch girls and I decided to kayak about 45 minutes out to the nearest island...though i admit laurie was doing most of the paddling. When we rowed back to the Treehouse, the two Dutch girls flipped their kayak and we tried to find a motor boat on the mainland to go and get them. This whole process was really dramatic and long— Faruk thought the girls were going to drown at sea, and no one on Long beach seemed to have a motorboat. Finally, I hopped on Charlie’s (Norway) motorbike with him, one of the guests from the neighboring resort, to go try and rent a boat from a nearby fishing village. Five minutes into the ride we spot the two Dutch girls walking up the road with half of a paddle. Apparently they had just swum about 45 minutes to shore with the kayak. Phew! Talk about life and death situations.

Anyway, the next day we went to another beach on Ko Chang, Ao Khlong Prao, and stayed on at more luxurious resort. Ally met up with us and the next two days consisted of thai massage, all you can eat bomb-breakfast, and lounging in beach chairs all day. Perfect way to end our busy summers and begin our thailand adventure!

ps- i'll be posting photos as soon as i can figure out how to do it!