Oceans Course

Oceans Course, the last course before I began my internship, was my most favorite course of my entire stay at ISDSI. Beaches, coral reefs, and Muslim villages! But for real, I made some strides in my personal development that I just didn’t see coming. It was a game of expectations that were completely filled in some ways and in other ways my view of the world was turned on its head.

The beaches were so beautiful! Because of some weird Thai connections that ISDSI has, we were able to camp anywhere in the national park. This was not the typical US national park with funnily costumed rangers, giant grizzly bears, and subarus filled with picture snapping national geographic wannabes. This were wide expanses of white sand beaches, reefs teeming with exotic fish, and all inside an exotic archipelago with no one in sight except for our two local guides and the eleven of us whose goal was to “learn” about the reefs. We were in the Adang Archipelago, which rival the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands, and we had the island to ourselves. It’s really unfair to everyone else that received four credits for this course.

Our first academic activity was to explore the reefs and write down five things we saw. I know other beginning assignments are usually pretty easy but this one takes the cake. Other academic activities following this event were pretty much like “go on vacation”, have a good time, enjoy the water! Also, camping on the beach is great except for all the sand and all the water. It rained a few times while we were on the islands so most of our things were perpetually wet for a good week. Many people emerged from this trip with weird rashes and staff infections. Luckily, I remained untouched by the watery ailments but came away with an unfortunate entanglement with glass (to be explained later). The islands portion went pretty much as expected. We all pretended to “engage” in our studies but in reality it came so naturally because we loved to study what we were studying. I saw so many interesting fish, reptiles, monkeys, coral (soft, branching, etc.) and I just was so happy to be there. We ended our stay in the archipelago by staying at a resort. I got a thatched bungalow all to myself!

The next part of this course was to stay with a host family in a traditional Muslim fishing village. Now, ISDSI had warned us that we must be very conservative and respectful of the culture and the religion. This preview only compounded by expectation of a strict religious setting where I would feel stifled and uncomfortable. But this was not the case… at all. First off, I was frequently harassed to join the village’s all-gay volleyball team. They had a big tournament coming up and I possessed… the height, the look, the something? I dunno, but they wanted me. I declined but I went to some of their finals at the village school and, dang, they knew how play some v-ball. They leapt, spiked, and bumped with ferocity that I had rarely seen, and all with such grace too, especially when juxtaposed with their straight counterparts. It was really interesting to observe this thriving gay community in the midst of an Islamic village because probably even more harshly than Christianity, it is intensely taboo and looked-down upon. But, the community was often seen laughing and cavorting with this community, in fact, there was only one community and the lady boys seemed to have a place. Obviously, members of the community probably disagreed with their lifestyle choices, but it didn’t matter so much that they were not accepted. Also, they lady boys were pretty respectful of the community. Some refrained from homosexual acts because they did not want to upset their neighbors or family. And… I could write a whole blog post about this subject.

Anyways… I got really close with my host mom and host dad. They were only about a decade older than me so we were more friends anyways. My dad was a fisherman and my mom was a shopkeeper. I helped run the shop when I had time. My dad had been a Muslim his whole life but he told me Islam meant freedom to me. When I tried to tell him that I thought it meant submission, he just shouted freedom and thumped his chest three times. He also wasn’t very strict in the fact that he sneaked beers and didn’t follow the ceremonies to the letter. Other fun facts about him: I watched him hold down a goat as it was slaughtered, he took me for motorcycle rides on the beach, and he was of a certain size that I could put him in my pocket and carry him around. Also, it was with him that sliced my big toe up. We were moving driftwood away from the tide line on the beach so he could pick it up later and I stumbled and got glass caught between my toe and my sandal. He raced me back to the village on his motorcycle after having used his own shirt to stop the torrent of blood exiting my body and spilling onto the sand. It was graphic, I was scared, and I was okay. I went to the hospital and after they gave me a shot DIRECTLY into my wound, I received eight stitches in my big toe. Dang, a big toe injury really sets one back. I had to use crutches for bit there. But eventually I left the village and when I was at the airport my host mom put on the waterworks that also misted me up too. I will always miss Mot and Pot.

Anyways, I really will miss my time during oceans and am so happy that it was the course to punctuate my semester abroad.

My blog is still not over. I still live in Thailand. Up next: My trip to Cambodia, My climb to the highest point in Thailand, and my Internship.

Living and Learning

Forests; I have grown up in the tallest forests of the world. I believe on average, the forests of the Pacific Northwest tower around 200ft. These amazing freaks of nature are literally yards away from my house, but my life does not depend on their existence, nor do my neighbors and nor do most people living in the Portland Metropolitan area. The Karen tribes of Northern Thailand do depend on the forest in a way that is just as much primeval as ingenuous.

We were taking a bus up to the mountains of Thailand where there are long expanses of rainforest perched on some of the more dramatic precipices I have ever seen. The bus we were going to take was around seven hours but the roads were supposed to be less tortuous than the northern bus route. When we arrived at the bus station, this all changed. We would be taking the bad road in a very small bus that lack air conditioning with two-person seats that did not fit my foreign size. The morning was very, very cold and the afternoon was stifling. But armed with a Dramamine I was able to view this experience through a drowsy lens.

When we arrived in Mae Hong Son the air had a deep fog like quality with visibility limited to one hundred yards. This was not unexpected because the weather forecast of the day was “Smoke”. I had never heard of that as a forecast possibility but unfortunately it was too true. We all wore funny little masks that made us look like we were expecting a chemical terrorist attack. The smoke was coming from all the burning from slash and burn agriculture and other things to which I am still unaware. I have never experienced such pollution and it really has further ingrained the nascent environmental ethic I am nurturing while traveling in Thailand. Thankfully, we left this town for the villages the next day where smoke was still present but on a much more manageable scale.

The villages completely succeeded and at the same time failed my expectations. We literally were living in bamboo houses but some of the huts were equipped with telephones and television. Their power source was solar so it was not dependable at all. Also, most of the food we ate was locally foraged or raised. I ate many an egg and am still wary of my ability to stomach them after the pounds and pounds of it that I ate. Also, they had a knack for waste management. Any food that we didn’t eat, we dropped through the floorboards and the pigs underneath would eagerly gobble up the scraps. The bathrooms were all equipped with a squatty potty and a bucket shower. The squatty potty is an improved upon version of an American outhouse and a bucket shower is just a bucket filled with water that one uses a cup to douse smelly body parts. The best equivalent in America that I can think of is a sponge bath.

There were six villages that we traveled to: two Christian, one Buddhist, and the rest mixed between Christian, Buddhism, and Animism. It was really interesting to see how each religion changed the tone of the village. The Christians had church all day on Sunday and the Buddhists were much more inclined to enjoy an alcoholic beverage. The main mode, in fact the only mode of transportation was our own two legs. Some days we backpacked for 9+ hours through the oppressing heat. We walked through beautiful old growth forests, climbed tall peaks, witnessed extreme vistas, but also stomped through ashed over bamboo groves and monoculture stands. We saw the drama: there was beautiful pristine forest and there was disturbed man-degraded forest. It was really good to witness both sides as to build a more holistic view of what forests are like in Thailand.

I witnessed these tribes depend on the forest for food, shelter, and even spiritual needs. They were so much more connected to their forest than I am to mine. I like to look at mine; they like to live in theirs. But this does change how forests are treated. The villagers killed all the predators that came into contact with them; they have no more tigers. In America, we love to protect these charismatic carnivores but the Karen people value them as a nuisance and as a threat to their livelihood.

With this experience I also witnessed the generation gaps where the younger generation does not receive all the knowledge their elders have about the forest. I thought this silly because I was such an earnest student wanting to know everything about the forest but then I realized I do the same thing in my own context. My parents and grandparents have important knowledge that they can pass down. My dad knows how to train horses and build houses; I don’t. My mom knows how to cook and balance books; I don’t. I could learn these things; yet, just like the younger generation of the Karen tribes I choose different pursuits. I now though, value the opportunity I have from learning from those older than me.

So, in conclusion, Mom and Dad teach me!

Long-Time Coming

Well, it’s been so long I don’t even recall the last thing I wrote; I could always check but combination of laziness and not reading my own writing prevents me.

So right now I am living in an apartment complex nestled between Chiang Mai University and the locus of nightlife, Nimahaimen Road. The old city and my host family are only a short taxi ride away. I only live here for a week at a time, but I enjoy it because it affords me much needed rest, relaxation, will all the comforts of Chiang Mai. Besides that, it’s three weeks in the field. I am in the week between Rivers and Forests Block.

Rivers Course was great! I spent a week in Don Chai, a week in Laos, and a week paddling the mighty Mekong River! The course was about dams and how they affect people. This issue struck home for me since I have lived my whole life around dams and the area I grew up in depended on the dams for energy. I have seen all sorts of dams- giant ones like the Bonneville dam, medium ones like the ones that used to store up huge recreational reservoirs on the Clackamas River, and small ones like my Dad built to create a pond in our yard. I also found out that my ancestors were displaced by dams and were forcibly relocated to a new town, creatively called New Town. It seems that dams have had almost a personal aspect to them. Now, I have an abundance of scientific and social information stored up by dams, and it was a long-time coming since dams have silently played a huge role in my life.

In Don Chai, I stayed with the village headman who I rarely saw because he was busy preventing a dam from being built that would flood his village. The village has prevented this dam for thirty years, yet it still hangs over their head threatening to destroy their way of life. Anyways, I mostly interacted with the headman’s wife. She was sixty years old with a bad hip but she had this sense of vitality that was not represented by her lack of garrulous qualities. She took us to her prized pig farm where we then became stranded. Meanwhile, she took us to her orchard arming us with multiple machetes along the way. I thought, “Oh no! She is going to have us butcher the pigs, or she is going to kill us, or some other ludicrous thought, etc.” Actually, she started chopping down trees and barked orders at us to do the same. When we did something wrong, she would raise her hands flail around half laughing, half shrieking. We finished up and then had to figure out how to get home. The day was heating up and walk back to the village would be long. We weren’t sure if she could make it back. Truth was, she couldn’t. She plopped herself on the side of road and told us to leave her. We tried to protest but her air of command compelled us to leave her but making sure she had enough water and food to last until… someone picked her up? In all honesty, we weren’t sure what was gong to happen to our geriatric compatriot. But, not having walked a blistering hot one hundred yards did we hear her pipe up; she had waved down a truck and a moped and ordered whoever these people were to take us back the village. They quickly accommodated us and took us to where we needed to go. It seems that respect for one’s elders is still a powerful force here in Thailand or rather our host mom was a powerful force.

Laos. Never thought I would end up there. I didn’t even know until a week before that our studies would bring us there. Well, most of the time we stayed in the capital Vientiane; a city replete with French cafes, communist soldiers on street corners, Soviet style government buildings, and old ruins. I was able to take myself on a walking tour and bicycle ride to really get a sense of the city. It was beautiful at first, but the longer I stayed the more I saw the façade break down and the cracks of poverty and oppression shine through. Slums seemed to be tucked away, the city shut down early because of past enforced curfews, we had some of our meetings in “secure” locations and we had to tell people we were only tourists to not raise suspicion of nosy American students who invariably would criticize the authoritarian regime. Apparently, Americans have a pesky reputation of telling other countries what to do. Not us, we were only tourists; we weren’t studying the social and environmental abuses that Laos inflicted on its people through reckless dam construction. That would be abhorrent.  Anyways, we visited a dam company who proved to be rather benign, a dam site and a relocation village. Nothing too exciting. Some of the students had to bribe soldiers because they were on the beach too late, though. I am glad I went to Laos, but I was happy to leave, because I think at the end of the week, I was beginning to feel oppressed.

The Mekong was one of the things I was looking most forward to. I had watched an hour-long show about this magnificent river when I was younger and always wanted to see it in person. Also, this river somehow reminded me of the Columbia River. It seems so wild and powerful. People always refer to the Columbia as mighty, unbridled, and raw. The Mekong is not much like the Columbia. It is a powerful river but it was so hot! I loved canoeing down the river- I think we traveled over 130km. We stayed at guesthouses at night which are somewhere between a hotel and a hostel with its own inexplicable Thai flair. We were able to visit a bunch of cool towns at night and stay with another village. We met a man who has a sister who lives in Chicago and owns a restaurant. I can’t wait to visit that restaurant.

After this course, I know a lot more about dams than I ever thought I would, but it makes it much harder to be pro-dam or anti-dam. I have seen the positives and negatives first hand. Dams have benefited my own life. It seems that the old adage rings true: the more you know, the less you know. I do know that this experience has been invaluable in shaping my education and giving me an understanding of this issue and other issues that I could have never learned in a classroom. For that, compounded with my comparative wealth, and American education makes me so much more thankful for the life I have lived and the life I continue to live.

I am also putting up pictures. I didn’t bring my camera on this last adventure, but I will steal pictures from other people haha.

So finding time, computers, internet, access to google programs is becoming rarer the longer I live in Thailand. Last week, the four student computers at ISDSI inexplicably could not log on to Gmail or Facebook. Also, its a miracle if all four computers can access the computer simultaneously. America does have its perks, but I can't say internet access is always one of them. Just think back to Freshman year at Wheaton college. The shared bandwidth divided among so many homesick freshman... nightmarish.

What about the perks of living in Thailand?

People watching

It is so entertaining to watch all the white, ill-fashioned, ruddy tourists try to navigate Chiang Mai. This especially evil of me because so recently I was among them. Well, now I am down the road of intercultural elitism.

You have the bohemian backpackers. They usually look like they haven't shaved/showered for weeks when most likely just got off the plane yesterday. You can find them hanging around "authentic" markets which are actually made to look authentic, real, and gritty but largely cater foreigners and charge much higher prices. When I go to these markets, which are usually most exciting at night, I make sure to bring some member of my host family so that I can get lower prices. These backpackers are largely ignorant of cultural norms in Thailand too, wearing tank tops and other culturally inappropriate clothes. (Note: I have gone out in tank top only once and received just consequences- being hit on by the gayboys; lesson learned). These ones are only fun to watch if they are obtusely being ignorant of Thai culture.

There are the Asian tourists. Usually from Japan, Korea, and India (though the Indians are better at fitting in somehow). They roll around in tight family groups with each member having a camera securely fastened around their neck and taking it out for every possible occasion. I saw one Japanese family get so confused with lack of public transport of which Japan is known for they thought they were lost when they were only 20 yards from their hotel. Other characteristics include family "uniforms" and throwing up the peace sign for most pictures.

Then there are the "relative" conducted tourists. These ones are difficult to explain. It usually consists a native Thai person leading around a western family. Its like a personal tour guide. They have their Thai relative do all the communication and directing basically leading the family around.  They bargain for the low prices and have intimate local knowledge that only a Thai could possess. Further observation is needed to fully understand the interwokings of  this tourist relationship.

I could go on and on classifying the tourists I see but I will not continue to bore you.

To finish off this post, I will immaturely teach you some fun Thai vocabulary that made me pale when I first heard it.

Fuhk-toh- means pumpkin, the first part is awkward for me to say when I am selling vegetables at the marker.

Chit- means shot

Salutt- While at a restaurant my parents asked me if I wanted one of these and I was very confused at what the meant. It means salad/ They use the English word with a few fun tweaks.

I hope all is well wherever you may be! God Bless!

Stiggy

I have been in Thailand for almost three weeks. I am finally settling into the rhythm and hum of everyday life. I got my first haircut! A harrowing experience it is, trying to explain to someone with a sharp object how much hair you wish to have shorn when there is no mutual language. Not to mention, this barbershop was tucked under a maze of concrete in a tight urban valley where foot traffic is at a minimum. Sketch McGetch. Thankfully, my host bro Karn (pronounced Gan) was my able guide on whom I could depend. Great experience! It cost two dollars, lasted along an hour of which half I received a shampooed head massage. I am pretty sure my hairdresser became fed up with the state of my hair as I had just finished crossfit but an hour ago. She said, “Stiggy” and pointed at my hair. This could have meant one of two things, “stinky or sticky,” Context provides no clear choice as my hair at that moment contained both attributes. Time to call in the Hardy Boys!

Well… so much has happened since I last left a blog post. I have ridden elephants, learned how to navigate Chiang Mai public transport (of which there is none) (taxis), help host a Thai party for my American friends, and retreat off into the Thai wilderness. I have also visited the hospital and done more crossfit. You win some, you lose some.

Elephants are amazing. There massive gray bodies holding the most muscular power in the terrestrial kingdom does not superficially complement the Elephant’s gentle herbivorous nature. I was able to travel to a world-renowned elephant camp (actually listed in the Guiness Book of World Records) where 72 happy elephants live. I was able to do this all on the kind dollar of my host family. I fed these gray giants, watched them play soccer and basketball, roll in the river bed, paint stunning landscapes all under a perfectly dry overcast Portland sky. It was an unforgettable experience. Please check out my pictures of this monumental event!

On Sunday, the day after, I took eight friends from ISDSI out to my host family’s farm where we had a Thai barbecue (Good Job D with all the meat! 11 years of vegetarianism can’t stop a determined person like you!) learned hwo to plant strawberries and traveled to an elephant camp where the staff least to say was markedly less professional that the one I had encountered previously in the weekend. It was almost enough to call PETA in, but at least we all got to ride elephants for cheap! And my host family bought pictures for all my friends. It was just another example of how kind and hospitable my Thai family is.

The next weekend after a grueling week of Thai language classes was a retreat to a national park. We stayed near a waterfall called Mork Fa. Check my pictures on facebook to see how beautiful this place is. It really reminded me of Oregon, except way more tropical. We learned leadership skills and wilderness rescues methods to prepare for our three week long field courses. We learned how to make a stretcher but as some of you may know (Walker, Josh Wright, Bryn…) been there, done that, not fun, don’t wanna do it again.

My soy allergy is becoming more of a problem that I hoped for, hence hospital visit. Please pray for that mess to clear up. I am armed with benedryl and an epipen, but good ‘ol prayer has no substitution.

Hope all is well wherever you may be. I am having a blast and pumped for what is to come this semester and beyond!

Dichotomy

Wow! I have been in Thailand for more than week and it feels like I have been here for a whole month!  I am speaking a little Thai, getting cold at night (only 75 degrees, which is cold in Thailand), and not getting ripped off like a farang. I bought a wallet for 25% of the listed price, of course, with the help with my Mae. It cost about a dollar.

Everything is much cheap in Thailand! A full meal to go costs about a dollar and a sit down restaurant meal costs about three dollars including wait service. Also, it is not customary to tip in Thailand. This past week, I went to the gas station bought a box of cookies and a Hershey’s bar for $1.25. But, buying things in Thailand has made me get really good at dividing everything by 30. All my math people out there (Mom, Jordan, Josh Green, Doeke, Alyssa, etc.) would be proud!

So, my food situation and general food life has been a strange dichotomy. I live on a farm and eat garden fresh food every night. I get to have garden strawberries, papaya, watermelons, coconuts, and bananas. I ate morning glory, which I know back in the states is a flower. I even eat garden lettuce, which the Thai simply refer to as salad. In the morning before school, I eat at 7-eleven- ham & cheese croissants, milk, and pastries. So, processed in the morning and farm fresh at night. I am really loving Thai food so I might come back the US fat but we will see what crossfit does to me. I enjoy it because it represents a larger theme in Thai culture where there is intense modernization and still strong ties to tradition. Thailand is considered a developing country but its development is fairly advanced. My family has two cars and two houses- farm truck, Toyota; country house, city house. I am in love with my host family! They are so kind, compassionate, and really a lot of sanuk- fun. Last night, I had a little bit of soy (typical me) and had a nasty allergic reaction. My mom and grandma were so concerned they were practically waiting outside my door the next day to see if I was ok.

So, Friday caps off my first week of classes. My day usually begins at 8 o’ clock with four hours of intensive Thai language. The classes are four people per instructor tailored to our learning styles, mine being visual. After lunch, there is three hours of Thai culture classes, thankfully taught in English. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have cross fit at four. That has been ripping me to shreds. On Friday they gave us a break and took us to Crazy Horse, which is apparently a big climbing spot for some R&R, which wasn’t really R&R for me because I apparently have a latent fear of heights. I am almost grease my pants when I had to rappel down a cavern that looked to me like it was almost 100 feet deep. Did I mention that we had to zipline across said cavern before changing ropes without any ledge to rappel mode? Exhilarating, yes. Again, never. Climbing was equally terrifying. It’s so much different than the wall at Wheaton College. It was the big leagues and my batting average was still minor league status. But, so cool to get to have my try Thailand caving, climbing, and rappelling. Not many people get to try that in their lifetime. I will post pictures on facebook! Here are some pictures that I have already taken http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2798363211293.130000.1624896654&type=1. Please enjoy!

I am having an indescribable time! This weekend I am visiting three night markets where I can continue testing my bartering skills in Thai, taking my American friends from ISDSI to the family farm, helping my dad sell produce at the market and going to an Elephant show & camp. I am pumped! 

Arrival

I made it to Chiang Mai all in one piece! Almost didn’t, almost blew chunks along the way. Let me just say this international travel sucks. It is downright awful. I stomached four airplane meals- the amount of which I could get past my gullet became less and less per meal. Stale air, infinitesimal space for my six foot frame, time zones, yuck, yuck, yuck!

My first travel companion was a man named James Moore who had quite a few decades under his belt. At first, I was hesitant to make conservation in the beginning. I didn’t necessarily want to start something that could last the full eleven hours. After a few observations I gathered that he too was traveling alone and that he had quite the travel itinerary. I later learned that he was going to be traveling to Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and some other country I am now forgetting. Initially, it made me sad that he was doing this all alone. And, I think my sadness was compounded by the fact that I was going alone too. My mood changed when he poured out his love of travel to me. “It’s like a narcotic!” he told me. I became reinvigorated by this elderly gentleman and made it to Japan safely. My next two flight companions were not as emotionally supportive as they didn’t speak a lick of English.

Bam! I am now immersed in another country; a country from what I can tell from the first 48 hours is full of striking differences and startling similarities. I literally had little to no expectation of what living on the far side of the world would be like. I got off the airport into the back of a truck (the taxi of northern Thailand) and was careened through the fast and furious traffic that apparently Thailand is so famous for. I was able to meet some fellow students along the way, who like myself, had come alone. It was nice to meet up with some Americans again and explore some of Chiang Mai.

The next day we were taken to the institute and given to our host families. I have a Mae (mom) and Paw (dad), two little brothers, Guy and Kan, a grandson, Mark-noy, and grandmother, Yahyeh. They have two houses, a country one and city one, we are staying in the country house. It takes me about 45 minutes to get to school! Paw is a farmer and Mae is high school math teacher. Thankfully, Kan and Mae can speak basic English. I would have no idea what was going if that was not the case. I mean, I still am at a loss for most of the time. It seems Mae’s goal is to fatten me up since she gets me food every two hours like clock work. And I am really enjoying Thai food despite gobbling down some strange anomalies like fermented egg. Also, everthing is eaten with rice. This morning, I ate a fired egg atop of rice. It actually tasted good. I would have never in all my years expected that.

I am learning to appreciate another culture, and strangely enough, whenever I find myself appreciating another new thing about Thai culture, I appreciate my way of life in America too! I miss so many people back in the states already!

I will be posting about my first few days in school soon! I just had my first day in school today. J