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.