Christmas will be a little sparse this year

1 week ago, in the wee hours of the morning my time, our family dog died.

Gabi came to us the Christmas I was 14. Mom and dad decided that every boy needs a dog, so that was Jem's  gift. He spent many trips to the city pound searching for our new family member. The pound said that Gabi was aggressive and bad with men, children, and other pets; Jem knew that wasn't true. She was rough around the edges. She was insecure and hurt. She needed a home and stable, consistent love. She got us (and obedience school!).

We had a wonderful 10.5 years with our girl. She entered a family of non-dog lovers. She left us devastated.

I have two parts; half of my heart is home, with my family. The other half of me is here, happy and completely content in life. At least, that is the usual balance. This week my 'home half' feels empty. It is sad, homesick, and missing my dog. My 'here half' goes to work, teaches, grades, spends time with friends, and functions normally. It is happy and thankful for the life I live. But this week, just this week, everything has felt not quite right. My 'home half' aches. My life has been blessed by my wonderful dog. Right now there is a hole, but I know that that hole will be filled with more blessings.

Christmas 2005

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2010

I'm thankful for so many wonderful years with, in my opinion, the greatest dog on earth.

City Wide Photo Scavenger Hunt

You may gather from my silence that the new term has started. I find it fascinating that it takes me so many hours of prep to be ready for each hour of class time. I had heard that this was the case, but now I am experiencing it.

This weekend Jason Mraz was scheduled to perform in southern Thailand. Several friends and I had tickets and were excited for a road/concert trip. On Thursday, however, Jason canceled the concert because he was worried about travel for his fans due to flooding in Bangkok.

In an attempt to cheer up my gloomy friends I organized a photo scavenger hunt yesterday in Old City, Chiang Mai. It was a huge hit and we hope to do it again next month. We even met some people through the hunt who would like to participate next time!

Here are some pictures.

Anisha and I at Three Kings Monument

Justin with a squatty potty (we were lucky enough to find one in a toilet store!) Angela mailing a postcard to her mom

 Our entire team dancing "Single Ladies"

Our entire team eating ice cream!

Us at a Wat. For some reason we're all making ridiculous faces

Angela and I as guards at the city gate. She chose to be a human guard while I chose to be a meerkat guard

Massage, Kitchens and Kittens

These last few days have been full of firsts. Saturday I got to cook dinner, a real dinner, for the first time since moving here. My friend Anisha's parents are gracious enough to have an open door policy with us, so we crashed their house to make dinner and hang out for the evening. It was so fun to be in the kitchen that I cooked the next two days also: Sunday a dog shaped cake for my Ajaan's birthday, Monday focaccia bread for fun. I will definitely be making a point to getting into the kitchen more.

Today was my first ever massage, and a Thai massage to boot! Anisha describes Thai massage "it's like doing yoga, except they do all of the work." Lots of pushing and pulling, prodding, and cracking bones. I'm a little ticklish while getting a deep tissue massage in the area of my armpits. I'll admit it. I was nervous, first massage, but it turned out to be absolutely the best use of an hour and 100 baht. 

These last two days a small, friendly, adorable tabby kitten with a kinked tail has found us at the nursing dorm. I spent the better part of an hour this evening playing with the kitten and chatting with students and Mae Bons (house mothers) in Thinglish (*tin-glish, Thai-English). The consensus was that we love cats, our boss Ajaan Rujira does not, and I was delegated to ask Ajaan Esther (Vice President in charge of Residential Life) tomorrow what we should do with the kitty. I heard a lot of Thai conversation to the effect of "Ajaan Esther likes dogs. Do you think she likes cats? She'll take it!" Tomorrow I will find someone to adopt him.

I  recommend cooking with friends, getting Thai massages with friends, and finding homes for stray cats. All good hobbies. 

The World's Longest Ongoing War

Before coming here all the I knew of the war in Burma was that Karen refugees often find a new home in Boise. Sure, I read the Wikipedia article on the history of Burma, but it was an abstract account jumbled with dates of fighting and changing government. I admired Aung San Suu Kyi for her courage in the face of danger. Although she is no longer on house arrest (as of earlier this year) she will not leave Burma for fear that she will not be allowed to return. What devotion to her people!

In Thailand it is not so abstract. I have not been to Burma. I have not seen it with my own eyes. But it is a part of my life here. I hear from friends stories of the living conditions and the fear that dominates the people in Rangoon. I play volleyball and hang out with Free Burma Rangers, courageous individuals who brave the Burmese army, landmines, and countless other dangers to bring training, supplies, medical treatment and love to pro-Democratic ethnic groups. I have friends who cannot return home to Burma and haven't seen their families in years.

May they be blessed. May they be safe. May this war end.



My friend Jenica's blog here.

Documentary on the war in Burma here.

Well, how was YOUR flood weekend?

It started Tuesday. Reports that the dam upriver had broken (still don't know if this is true). A VERY heavy rainy season this year has already caused almost 200 deaths in Thailand from floods and mudslides. Reports of a storm is moving in from the East. There is no place for the water to go.

Wednesday was flood prep. Sandbags and furniture moved to the second story reminded me of the Boise River. The predictions said 3pm Wednesday. And the water level started rising.

We watched the Mae Ping swell and rush, carrying logs, trees and garbage from upriver. We watched it begin to spill over it's banks into houses, shops and roads.

By Thursday this was my boss' driveway (picture taken from the front door). The CV team ran into a little traffic problem trying to get to an appointment.

We had to find a back way. I decided to run down to the river to see the flooding Thursday night.

My normal running route by the high school was a bit inaccessible. The high school students, however, were ecstatic to get 2.5 days off school for flooding.

In the end the flooding was not nearly as bad as predicted. The water level did not rise as high as they thought it would, and the storm from the east was downgraded and ended up just being another rainy day. For us in Chiang Mai, it was a good weekend. My thoughts are with those who did not fair so well in this weather.

San Kampaeng Hotsprings

Ever wanted to boil eggs in a hotspring? Come to Thailand, it's a legit hobby here! You can even buy eggs and egg boiling baskets at the hotsprings.

And if THAT isn't exciting enough, get your picture taken as an American Indian! (pictured here with Jeudi [Cambodian monk] and my coworkers Anisha [from India] and Eric [from Wisconsin])

Make sure you spend some time chillin' in the warm water practicing your Thai. It's a particular highlight to have droves of Thai students giggling as you stubble through the simplest of sentences. 

(Thai students are very shy about their English. In Thai culture it is a huge taboo to make mistakes. It's very good for the students to see teachers fumbling around as we try to learn something new. It gives them more confidence to speak English, even if it isn't perfect)

If you're really lucky your American RA will let you do an English word scramble.

After all that hard work you can relax with a delicious Northern Thai meal of boiled eggs, sticky rice, roasted chicken and spicy papaya salad served family style (meaning no utensils or individual plates, everyone just grabs food from the center and enjoys!). If you're a really distinguished guest you may be lucky enough to get the chicken's foot!

What better way to end an eventful day than with a friend drinking coconut milk out of a coconut? 

 

Thai Fashion

 I haven't quite embraced the giant hair bows and colorful/eccentric accessorize that are so popular here, but I do have a traditional Northern Thai outfit. On Fridays the teachers wear traditional outfits (BTW, Jew is wearing a traditional outfit, but not from Thailand. I went to Culture Night dressed Thai and Jew went dressed in an outfit from the Philippines, I think).

Welcome to Payap University!

Last week, my first night here, I got to participate in an amazing Thai ceremony to welcome the 'freshy' nursing students to their new home at Payap.

As any good ceremony does, it started with the students crawling under the arms of all the Ajang (teachers).

Their teachers would tease them by pushing down on their backs so that they had to crawl on their bellies. They had great attitudes, though. All in good fun.

Next there were some speaches in Thai. I was hanging out with Jew (next to me), who is the Nursing dorm chaplain, and P' Thang. In Thailand, P' is a prefix that means 'big sister.' P' Thang is my first P' in Thailand. Although I only just met her, her mother, Ajang Rujira, insist that she is my P'. P' Thang is studying to get her doctorate in nursing from Chiang Mai University.

After the speech all of the students came up to us Ajang and we tied pieces of string on their wrists and said a welcome and blessing for them. By the end some of them had strings all up their arms!

The ceremony is very traditional. The students are wearing traditional northern Thai clothing, and the color of their pants signifies what year in school they are. Next we had a traditional northern Thai meal.

I don't know the names of any of this except chicken and sticky rice, but it's all very spicy and delicious.

I sat with the Dean of the faculty of nursing (far right), Ajang Rujira (she used to be the Dean, but 'retired' to the position of Residential Life Supervisor, i.e. my boss), and P' Thang.

Next some of the students did fire dancing (that's right, they're awesome!) and traditional Thai dance. They are a very talented group of students and I'm thrilled to work with them.

I was so honored to participate in such an important Thai tradition. I was the only non-Thai there and definitely the object of some young childrens' gawking. Nevertheless I was firmly enveloped in the warmth, hospitality and generosity of my Thai co-workers.

One Week In

Amazing how little difference a week makes.

I sat with new friends today at Salad Conception, a nice little joint in touristy Chiang Mai. It was my first time seeing the tourist spots, I live in a VERY Thai neighborhood. I am, in fact, the only farang (white person) in the nursing complex of 500 students and a plethora of staff.

We were served by a waiter of the Thai Hipster type, the hipster sandals, tight pants, the whole thing. The most basic salad (a real treat, salad!) was THB 50 (about $1.50) and on up to THB 100. I panicked at how expensive it was. An entire meal, with drinks and desserts, would easily have cost us THB 150-200. Even our simple salad was a price that could only be afforded on special occasions. I'm on a Thai salary now, with no room for such luxuries.

Although Chiang Mai has been home for less than a week, I found myself annoyed at the backpackers and tourists and shocked at the number of farang. I was possibly gawking as much as the children in my neighborhood do at me.

While walking around a wat (Buddhist temple) in Old City I almost told two tourists women that their attire was completely inappropriate for the temple, with spaghetti straps and mini-skirts. But they were speaking Russian. Plus it didn't seem like it was my battle.

One week in...I appreciate toilet paper, water bottles, umbrellas, nuts and dried fruit and fresh ground coffee. I appreciate my family and friends back home and my amazing new community here. One week in...I think I'll stick around for a while.

Thailand 101

My strategy to thriving in Land of Smiles is just that; smile. The language, the culture and the customs are all different. But smiling is an instant connection to the Thai heart.

Lesson 2, after you've mastered the 'smile and look dazed' phase, is the wai. Remember that slight bow with hands together, that you've seen in Asian films? Alive and thriving!

Basics of wai form:

1. Elbows at sides, not out like a chicken.

2. Palms together, prayer like, with the tips of your fingers somewhere around your chin.

3. Bow slightly (sometimes)

Etiquette for wai:

The person of social inferiority always wais first. Basically, I wai everyone but students. If someone doesn't immediately wai me, it's my social cue to wai them. The depth of bow depends on just how superior they are. You wai someone the first time you greet them in the day, then need not wai again. A monk will never wai you back, so don't be offended.

Smiling and wai-ing are about the only things I have down, although I did order my lunch today in Thai. The Thais are a gentle and forgiving people. If my undoubtable American faux pas is accompanied by smiles, they will graciously forgive my awkwardness.