The Big 40!

I have finished teaching at the "Border School", (it is called this because it is about 60 kilometers from the border of Myanmar), for the time being.  On Monday I start teaching High School at Thap Sakae Wittya.  I am very excited and a little nervous.  I will be assisting the English teachers in all of the English classes with pronunciation, grammar, and slang.  The students are in full-on mode right now getting ready for final exams that take place in about 3 weeks.  I will be playing guitar and singing in the classes too.  Last week a student gave me the sheet music for 3 popular American pop songs that I am learning.  Singing songs is a great way to learn and practice English.

This last week was my 40th birthday.  It was very special to mark this chapter of my life in Thailand.  On my birthday I taught at the elementary school and in the morning I heard one of the teachers mention my name several times during the morning announcements.  Then throughout the morning every single student approached me individually with a freshly picked flower and presented it to me with a wai, (Thai greeting where you put both of your hands together as if in a prayer and bow), and a "happy birthday".  It was the sweetest thing I have ever experienced.  I had to fight back tears each time one of the little ones approached me.  No material gift could ever match the sincerity and warmth of each beautiful flower and birthday wish.  In the evening several teachers and some of the High School students from the Power of One took me to a fantastic dinner at a restaurant right on the beach in Thap Sakae.  The food was amazing.  We had large grilled prawns, (nearly the size of my fist), oysters, fish, and fresh squid.  (In this region of Thailand one of the primary things they fish for is squid, it is always available at the local restaurants and is so fresh and delicious).  We ate and talked and laughed and ate and ate and ate until I thought I was going to burst.  I taught the rest of the week and then last night, (Saturday), 2 of the adults from the Power of One, Silvia and Diane, took several of us out for dinner at a very nice restaurant, also right on the beach.  I actually had a steak! Beef is not available at very many places in Thailand and is sometimes very expensive.  So this was a very nice departure from 1 month of rice and fish and was very delicious.  It only cost 150 Thai Baht, which equates to about 5 US Dollars.  We were celebrating 3 birthdays on this night and when the owner heard this he approached us during dinner and said that they didn't have any cake so he would like to make us a birthday pancake.  It was just that too...  a very delicious pancake with candles and the whole nine yards.  I really enjoyed myself as this was my first evening of dinner and conversation with just adults.

Thank you for all of the Birthday wishes.  It truly has been one of my my most favorite and memorable Birthdays.  Now...  on to High School!

Busy Week

I am back in Ban Krud at the Coconut Cottages for a hot shower and some relaxing on the beach. It has been kind of a crazy week.  I taught Mon, Tues, and Wed and then because there was no school for the High School, I hung out with the boys from last year's Power of One program, Thor and Am. All of the local High Schools had their annual "Boy/Girl Scout Camp". It is 3 days of learning about camping, hiking, science, and scouting. Thursday we went for a huge hike in the mountains. We were supposed to head up the mountain about 4 kilometers to a beautiful waterfall but we ran out of time and got a little off the trail and never made it to the top. But it was still a great hike. It was very hot and kind of like bush whacking. Then on Friday, (after a much needed good nights rest), we went to the local museum. There was a new aquarium and an aerospace museum. It was really cool and many of the exhibits had English information in addition to Thai. In the afternoon we went to a local beach where we fed wild monkeys. They are actually "Spectacled Langurs". There are several types of monkeys in Thailand and some are more dangerous than others but these are very docile and sweet. We fed them little nuts and they loved them. There were about 30 of them, some mothers with babies. What a great experience.

After that we went to a beautiful Buddhist Temple by the beach. The lead Monk teaches meditation and when he learned that I am interested in learning more about Buddhism and meditation, he sat and talked with me for a while through and interpreter. He asked me several questions about America and what I knew about meditation. Then he asked if there was anything I would like to ask him. I asked what his thoughts are about the teaching of His Holiness the Dali Lama and Tibetan Buddhism, (different than Theravada Buddhism followed here in Thailand). He said that the teaching of the Dali Lama focuses only on "quieting the monkey mind" and that it is good to learn to quiet the restless mind but also to learn to train the monkey mind through meditation practice. He said it is important to learn to train your mind to be aware of your thoughts throughout your everyday experiences. The most interesting thing he said was to watch the movie the Matrix, (I know... right?), and that it goes deep into explaining that our reality and human experience does not tell the whole story about what is really gone on. That there are alternate realities that we need to be aware of and that we can tap into these realities through mindful meditation. He went on to say that by focusing our mind and thoughts we can thereby create a different human experience. Hmmm.... Science of Mind??? I think so. It was a fantastic conversation. That evening we went to the closing ceremony for scout camp where they had a huge bonfire, dancing, songs, and skits put on by the students. What a great day.

It is Sunday, the 24th here and tomorrow is the Chinese New Year. There are many Chinese that live in Thailand so there is always a big celebration. Tonight there will be fireworks, music, and food. Should be a fun time.

Kru Christian

Kru means teacher and so my name here is now Kru Christian.  I have been teaching at the primary school, Ban Hin Turn and it has been great.  I have been teaching English and playing guitar and singing songs with the students.  They are preschool through grade 6.  They learn English everyday as one of their subjects.  I usually help with pronunciation or clarification of the meaning of certain words.  The students are very smart and are very dedicated to learning.  Every morning they gather in front of the school to raise the Thai flag, sing the National Anthem, say a morning prayer, meditate, and receive instruction for the day.  This morning we all sang "If your happy and you know it, clap your hands".  In another picture you will see the students brushing their teeth.  They do this everyday right after lunch.  There is a funny song that plays over the P.A. system that tells them to brush the right side, then the left, then the front.  It is very cute watching them brush in unison.  There is also a picture of a green tree snake that has made his home on the school grounds in a banana tree.  The head teacher, Kru Ngo says "no fierce", which means not dangerous.  Although, the other night some of the High School boys visited me at my room and found a juvenile viper snake in a large clay pot behind my house.  I just wanted the student to fish it out and let it go in the woods but instead he smashed it with a stick.  I was kind of bummed that he killed it but he said, "if it bites you...  you could die.  But now...  snake 100% dead!"  Kind of scary but cool all the same.  I wish I had taken a picture but it all went down so fast.  The teachers are so nice to me.  Every morning there is fresh fruit hanging outside my door and they bring me a big dinner every night.  Sometimes 2 different teachers bring a full meal so there is way too much for me to eat.  The dogs are eating good.  I am trying to be polite by eating as much as possible but...  oh my...  I am always full.  Tonight is the night market in town.  Very fun.  And then tomorrow there is no school for the High School boys so they are taking me to one of their favorite places, a water fall near the beach.  I'm excited for that.

My heart is overflowing with gratitude for each day.  I am blessed.

On my own....

I am getting settled in here in Thap Sakae.  I have been set up in my own house to stay for the next 6 weeks.  In the photos you will see that it is very modest with an upstairs bedroom and no kitchen, but it has a small bathroom with no shower or sink.  I sleep on a small mattress on the floor.  It has electricity and the school has wireless Internet.  It has an Asian toilet, which has certainly taken some getting used to.  Because there is no shower or bath tub, to bathe you basically pour fresh water from a large tank over yourself and it is pretty cold so it's best to do this in the afternoon during the heat of the day.  The house is on the campus of the local high school and I feel very safe here and cozy here.  Every morning when I open my door I am greeted hello by nearly 10 dogs.  They are very sweet and I love hangin out with them.  There are 2 very small puppies...  they are too cute.  The school has about 40 stray dogs that live here.  Some have terrible mange and one is blind.  I am pretty sure by their skittish behavior that they have been abused.  It's very comforting having them around.  The bugs are crazy here.  Giant cockroaches, centipedes, flying things that I can't describe.  It takes a fair amount of telling myself each night that none of them think I am food when I go to sleep.  I think this will get easier the longer I am here.

This school has 600+ high school students and I have been very well taken care of by one of the head teachers here, Miss Kru Lek.  Kru means teacher in Thai.  She has been waiting on me hand and foot.  I can't go 3 or 4 hours without her bringing me food or bottled water.  I have had to really let go of saying no or trying to pay for anything.  I think Kru Lek has gotten tired of arguing with me about her paying for everything.  Every meal, every soft drink, even things like a bar of soap.  We had an interesting and emotional discussion about this today over lunch.  I told her that I have some money with me and I don't need for her to always pay for me but as tears welled up in her eyes she told me that she knows I have money but that for me to be here for her students means a lot to her and the school and although they cannot pay me any salary they have some money to pay for my meals and such and she wants to make sure that I am always comfortable and happy.  I am at that.  She went on to say that many volunteer teachers don't like it here in this province because it's too quiet.  I think that most volunteers are young and would rather be in a place with a great night life and more sights to see, like Bangkok or Chiang Mai.  I love the quaintness and I love the people.  It is a  great place.  I told Kru Lek with sincerity that I am blessed to be able to be here and to be in service to her and her students.

Kru Lek knows I have a major coffee "problem" so she set up my room with an electric thermos and instant coffee that actually isn't too bad.  She has picked me up every day to take me somewhere new to eat.  There are 2 great little restaurants in town here that I can eat and the school pays for my meals.  The food is amazing.  Everything tastes better here, the fruit, the veggies, and the chicken.  This must be because of the lack of chemicals, pesticides and genetic engineering.

Yesterday was teachers day at the school.  It is an annual celebration of the teachers.  In the morning the Mayor gave a speech followed by a Monk chant and blessing.  In the evening there was a huge dinner in the gymnasium with amazing food and lots of it.  There must have been 10 courses and I wish I had known this because I was full by the 5.  Then they had a a DJ play Thai disco tech music until midnight and everyone danced.  It was a blast.

Tonight I am going back to the cottages where the Power of One stayed during the last week of the program.  It is about 30 mins from here and has really cool little private bungalows that are newly remodeled with hot showers, air conditioning, and is located about 300 yards from the beach.  I plan to head there every weekend for one night to shower, rest and spend some time on the beach.  The room only costs 400 Thai baht per night.  This equates to about $12.

Power of One program comes to an end

Sorry I haven't posted anything in so long. I have been pretty sick. There has been a nasty bug going thru the entire group and I seemed to have picked it up here on the tail end. I really can't remember being this sick. I think it is some kind of bronchitis. Anyway, thankfully we have 2 great nurses on the trip and they have all kinds of drugs, including anti-biotics.

The program came to a very sad end last night in Bangkok. We had a closing ceremony where everyone shared their experience. Lots of hugs and crying... especially from the Thai students. It was extra rough because I had to say goodbye to my teens for 2 more months. I will miss them terribly.

The last few days of the program we spent a lot of time on the beach. The weather has been a little chilly and very windy so it hasn't been the best swimming conditions. But the ocean has been great just the same. We visited Ajahn's Temple and did a beach cleanup project there and then on another day we visited Chaikasem Whittya school, (where several of our Thai students attend), and participated in a full day of English learning and song. It was a blast. When we tried to leave about 100 of the Thai students mobbed our American teens for their autograph and a picture with them. They were like rock stars.

This program has been amazing and it has been an honor to watch all of the teens step into their power and to learn how to be better global citizens. Many of them now have the travel bug and would love to return to Thailand to teach or study. I can't think of a better place myself....

I am not able to post any pictures as this computer doesn't have a way to download them but I am going to put all of my pics on photo bucket as soon as I am able.

I have my teaching assignments all laid out. I will be staying at one of the local high schools starting tomorrow and teaching there for about 2 weeks. Then I will move to another high school for 2 weeks and then finally I will help out at the border school that we visited on the program. School break starts around the middle of February in Thailand so I am not sure what I will be doing for the last month I am here. Maybe helping at the temple, maybe head back up to Chiang Mai to visit the elephants.. I don't know but I know it will be perfect. As they say in Thai... "Mai Pen Rai".. "no worries".

Back in Chiang Mai

After 8 amazing days at the Elephant Nature Park we are back in Chiang Mai.  We are here for the day and 1 night then we are flying to Bangkok in the morning.  From there we take a 6 hour bus ride south to Ban Krud where we will be for the remainder of the trip.

More about the last 8 days.  We stayed at the the Elephant Nature Park just North of Chiang Mai.  We worked our tails off there caring for the elephants and helping with the daily operation of the park.  What an amazing experience!  It was an opportunity to learn more about elephant conservation and the plight of the Asian Elephant.  There are 35 ele's currently living at the park and all of them are either orphaned, injured or have been rescued from abuse.  Learning their stories and seeing their recovery provided many valuable life lessons.  Teens that have struggled with there own healing were truly inspired by these amazing animals.  There are blind elephants, elephants recovering from drug addiction, (their owners would give them amphetamines to get them to work longer hours in the illegal logging trade), and one ele that was forced to breed when she was just a juvenile.  This act of brutality resulted in a broken pelvis and two dislocated hips.  She now walks with a terrible limp.  But once again, she has a great life at the park and her healing and strength to carry on and be a great friend to one of the blind elephants is truly inspiring.  

On another day we hiked up into the forrest to do a tree blessing.  Ajahn, the Monk that is a friend of the program visited us with some Buddhist scarves made from the Monk's saffron robes.  He preformed a really powerful ceremony blessing the scarves and then we took them to an area in the jungle where hundreds of trees where planned to be cut down.  We tied the scarves around trees in that area making them sacred and sacrilege to cut down.  Logging is illegal in Northern Thailand because of the ecological devastation and because without the trees the rainy season creates tremendous erosion and even devastating mudslides.

One of the most powerful days of the trip so far was spent traveling deep into Northern Thailand to a hillside village and school to deliver school supplies, blankets and medication.  Words cannot describe the incredible experience so I will just post some photos and let you imagine how powerful this day was.  This tribal village has never seen westerners and is devastated by poverty.  Lek, the founder of the Elephant Nature Park, grew up in this area just south of the border of Burma so it is a very special place to her.

We are excited for the next leg of this trip but are all very sad to leave the elephants.

Enjoy these photos and I will post again as soon as I am able.

Peace and Love!