Dec. 5: We all made it to Mae Sot, our final destination. The first school we visited was Wide Horizons. This is a post secondary school that takes 24 students a year and tries to give them the proper education they need to get out into the world and get a good job. It was the original site of Hsa Thoo Lei, which was the school we visited next. We were able to get a tour of the school and learned about the difference Global Neighbors has made to the lives of the kids living and going to school at Hsa Thoo Lei. We were able to go to the garden with the kids who look after it. We all helped them water the plants, and it was a very cool experience to help them out. Hsa Thoo Lei is a school for Burmese kids. Today was also the King's birthday. I took part in a small ceremony for him, which was a very cool experience.
Dec. 6: We visited Hlee Bee School, the one we were supposed to build. Turns out it was already built, but there were still some finishing details that had to be done. So the purpose of visiting was to determine what was left to do. After figuring that out we went to the Global Neighbors farm, where they have offices and a wharehouse. This is where we prepared for our first distribution of blankets, kitchen ware, and necessities for the families and students at Ah Yone Oo School. To see the joy and thanks on the faces of those we helped was so heartwarming. We took a small tour of the school and its surrounding buildings. The place is not in very good shape, but to the people is means everything. Another great part of the day was interacting with the kids. They adored us, even though the language barrier was quite tough. We still were able to play with them and have a lot of fun.
Dec. 7: Today I took part in painting the interior and exterior of Hlee Bee School. Classes did not stop for our disruption, so the kids had a hard time focusing because they kept watching us with interest. This school is for kids in grade one to five, I believe, so they are all very young and completely adorable. We did another distribution at a Buddist school. This one was a clothing distribution. The kids could not have been more excited and thrilled about the items we brought for them. Most put their new outfits on right away and could not stop jumping around. We had supper at a Burmese restuarant on this night. There a man spoke to us about his past with Burma. It was very moving, and and incredible wake up call. It's easy to be blinded by the adorable children, and not think about what their elders had to do to get them to Thailand safely.
Dec. 8: Today was my day to teach Sketch Up to the grade twelves at Hsa Thoo Lei. It was a very rewarding and interesting experience. The language barrier was definitely the hardest challenge, but it was really cool to see the progression of what we were teaching them. In the afternoon we visited Mae La Refugee Camp. This was one of my favorite days here. This is the day that we did the camera project at Henry's School. Before we came to Thailand we had to take pictures of our life and assemble them on a USB. We brought a camera and a USB stick to Mae La to leave behind. At the school we were paired up with two students each. We showed them our pictures and then they brought us around and showed us their life, taking pictures as they went. We then swapped pictures. The students loved this project, as did we. I gave away all of the extra pictures I had printed off at this school. The ones of me and my family went in the blink of an eye.
Dec. 9: I prepared Christmas gifts for the kids at Arthur's Orpanage in Mae La Camp in the morning and taught the grade elevens Sketch Up at Hsa Thoo Lei in the early afternoon. Then we did our final distribution of food at Sky Blue School. The kids here were so happy, and loved having us there. They wanted us to take so many pictures of them, which we gladly did. We finished off the day by going back to Wide Horizons. Here we partnered up with a couple people there and just talked to them. We exchanged information so we can stay in touch, and they shared their stories with us. All filled with hardships.
Dec. 10: We went back to Mae La Camp, this time visiting Arthur's Orphanage. They made us lunch as soon as we arrived, and the food was delicious! Then the kids sang us Christmas songs. Their voices were absolutely beautiful. It was hard to choke back tears. After this we were able to hang out for awhile and get to know some of the kids. I went into one of the girls' dorms and they showed me their weaving work. They also put their make up on us, which was a very cool and humble experience. After spending some time at the camp we left to a Thai Karen village. This is where we stayed the night, getting the full Thailand experience. They cooked us a traditional meal, sang to us and sold us some traditional clothing, blankets and bags. It rained all evening, night and the next day, but the epxerience was still a good one.
Dec. 11: We were supposed to visit a remote waterfall today, but because of the rain the roads were too dangerous. Instead we took a driving tour through the jungle and we ended up in a stunning provincial park. There we stopped and hiked halfway up a moutain in search of a waterfall. We did not find it, as we went the wrong way, but nonetheless is was still breathtaking (exercise and view).
Today is December 12 and it is our free day. Our days are running out and this saddens me. I don't want to come home. Everything is so beautiful here and the weather is quite nice now that I have gotten used to it. I am not ready for the cold, but I do miss snow. I can't wait to jump in it with my brothers and sister. I miss home, and mom's cooking. I miss my friends. And of course I miss my car. We have never been apart this long. ;)
Before I sign off I need to share this quote with you because it made me laugh. FYI, Henry is a Burmese man that works for Global Neighbors. He acted as our tour guide some of the time. On this particular day Denton, who is with Gobal Neighbors (from PA) was driving the van and Henry was in the passenger seat. I just happened to hear this part of the conversation.
Henry: "What are you growing in Canada right now?"
Denton: "Snowballs."
With love,
12.11.2010
Highlights From My First 10 Days in Thailand
Nov. 24: Arrived at our first destination in Thailand, Patong Beach in the province of Phuket. We showered immediately as we felt quite disgusting from our 20 plus hours of travelling. The hostel we stayed at was Coast Star Mansion, and it was plain, but met our needs. It was quite liberating arriving. My first time really travelling alone and with no solid agenda. We were just going with the flow, which felt great and was not stressful at all. We shopped around the markets and tried out our bartering skills, which I will admit were quite weak at the beginning of this trip. We strolled over to the beach, but never did enjoy it as it wasn't super nice and the weather wasn't that great. That evening we took in a Muay Thai Boxing match. It was very cool, and it turns out a guy from Edmonton was fighting.
Nov.26: We did our first tour on this day. We visited a Buddha Cave, had a Thai lunch, went to Tum Pungchang Cave, and then went to the James Bond Island. To finish off the tour we stopped at a Muslim fishing village, called Panyee Island, that housed around 3000 people. It was a very interesting experience. We went to Bangla Road in Patong Beach, which is known for its nightlife, that evening. It was quite interesting to say the least. It was my first up close look at the sex trade here in Thailand, as there were lady boys everywhere. They sure flaunted their, er, stuff. It was disturbing, but Kayla and I did find some hilarity in it.
Nov. 27: The day I bungy jumped! What an incredible experience! It was damn near the hardest thing I have ever done mentally. It was so hard to just let yourself fall. It felt like a very long free fall until the cord caught. But I am so glad I did it. Very worth it. Will I do it again? Maybe, if the right opportunity comes up. After bungy jumping, we headed to Koh Phi Phi Don. I think my favorite place we visited, people and entertainment wise. The island is quite small, but still offered everything I needed or wanted. The ferry ride over was fabulous. We met some Canadians and soaked in the rays for our ride over. The first thing we did was check in to a place to stay. It turned out to be a hut, really far away from the town. No lights at night to find your way. We ended up only staying one night. But the first day on Phi Phi was spent checking things out, getting our first massage, and watching a fire show on the beach. We met up with a couple of Americans and partied with them that night. It was really fun, but things got rowdy with some people around 1am so we called it a night.
Nov. 28: Checked into P&P Place. Much better for only a 100 baht more, plus it was right in town. This was the day we realized that we would not be watching the Rider game. It played at 4am our time and no places offering internet were open at that time. :( But we still wore our green all day and found plenty of people from SK that way! It also rained this day, making it a write off for us. We walked around the island, dropped off some laundry, and booked a tour for the following day. We still managed to spend some time on the beach. The sun was hidden, but it was still warm when it wasn't raining.
Nov. 29: My favorite day in Phi Phi. The weather wasn't superb. It was cloudy and rained a little on and off all day, but we still managed a small sunburn ( the feet were fine! ). We did a boat tour of th surrounding islands. It included Maya Bay (not all its cracked up to be), Monkey Island, and Bamboo Island ( there are more but I forget their names). Bamboo Island was gorgeous! I did some swimming (near shore), which was wonderful, but did not snorkel. It was windy and the water was pretty choppy, and since I am not completely comfortable in water, I nixed the idea. On this tour I met an Aussie named Gordon. He, to this day, remains the coolest person I have met thus far. We hung out with him all day and I went to the beach with him later that night (Kayla was tired and slept).
Nov. 30: Railay! The most beautiful place I have ever seen! It was the smallest place we had visited, and very charming. The island is made up of mostly resorts and the nightlife almost did not exist, but it was very nice to go somewhere low key. We checked in to Ya Ya Resort, which was pretty central and very cute. We had a beautiful supper at a restaurant on the beach, and walked around a little.
Dec. 1: Time is really flying by at this point. We went on another boat tour, this one by long tail boat. It rained all day and was very dreary. The islands we visited were nice, but would have been better had the sun come out. We went out this evening with some guys we met from Sylvania (unsure of the spelling), Rok and Jan. They were really cool and it was interesting getting to know them.
Dec. 2: My rock climbing day! The best day I had! I climbed from 9am to 1pm. It was so amazing!
Dec. 3: Kayla and I met up with the group. It was very good to see familiar faces.
I miss Phi Phi a lot, in its entirety. I also miss home, but only slightly. It is still absolutely amazing being here and I am not ready to go home yet. We only have a few days left. :(
I will try to update you all on the second part of my trip before I am headed home.
With love,
Nov.26: We did our first tour on this day. We visited a Buddha Cave, had a Thai lunch, went to Tum Pungchang Cave, and then went to the James Bond Island. To finish off the tour we stopped at a Muslim fishing village, called Panyee Island, that housed around 3000 people. It was a very interesting experience. We went to Bangla Road in Patong Beach, which is known for its nightlife, that evening. It was quite interesting to say the least. It was my first up close look at the sex trade here in Thailand, as there were lady boys everywhere. They sure flaunted their, er, stuff. It was disturbing, but Kayla and I did find some hilarity in it.
Nov. 27: The day I bungy jumped! What an incredible experience! It was damn near the hardest thing I have ever done mentally. It was so hard to just let yourself fall. It felt like a very long free fall until the cord caught. But I am so glad I did it. Very worth it. Will I do it again? Maybe, if the right opportunity comes up. After bungy jumping, we headed to Koh Phi Phi Don. I think my favorite place we visited, people and entertainment wise. The island is quite small, but still offered everything I needed or wanted. The ferry ride over was fabulous. We met some Canadians and soaked in the rays for our ride over. The first thing we did was check in to a place to stay. It turned out to be a hut, really far away from the town. No lights at night to find your way. We ended up only staying one night. But the first day on Phi Phi was spent checking things out, getting our first massage, and watching a fire show on the beach. We met up with a couple of Americans and partied with them that night. It was really fun, but things got rowdy with some people around 1am so we called it a night.
Nov. 28: Checked into P&P Place. Much better for only a 100 baht more, plus it was right in town. This was the day we realized that we would not be watching the Rider game. It played at 4am our time and no places offering internet were open at that time. :( But we still wore our green all day and found plenty of people from SK that way! It also rained this day, making it a write off for us. We walked around the island, dropped off some laundry, and booked a tour for the following day. We still managed to spend some time on the beach. The sun was hidden, but it was still warm when it wasn't raining.
Nov. 29: My favorite day in Phi Phi. The weather wasn't superb. It was cloudy and rained a little on and off all day, but we still managed a small sunburn ( the feet were fine! ). We did a boat tour of th surrounding islands. It included Maya Bay (not all its cracked up to be), Monkey Island, and Bamboo Island ( there are more but I forget their names). Bamboo Island was gorgeous! I did some swimming (near shore), which was wonderful, but did not snorkel. It was windy and the water was pretty choppy, and since I am not completely comfortable in water, I nixed the idea. On this tour I met an Aussie named Gordon. He, to this day, remains the coolest person I have met thus far. We hung out with him all day and I went to the beach with him later that night (Kayla was tired and slept).
Nov. 30: Railay! The most beautiful place I have ever seen! It was the smallest place we had visited, and very charming. The island is made up of mostly resorts and the nightlife almost did not exist, but it was very nice to go somewhere low key. We checked in to Ya Ya Resort, which was pretty central and very cute. We had a beautiful supper at a restaurant on the beach, and walked around a little.
Dec. 1: Time is really flying by at this point. We went on another boat tour, this one by long tail boat. It rained all day and was very dreary. The islands we visited were nice, but would have been better had the sun come out. We went out this evening with some guys we met from Sylvania (unsure of the spelling), Rok and Jan. They were really cool and it was interesting getting to know them.
Dec. 2: My rock climbing day! The best day I had! I climbed from 9am to 1pm. It was so amazing!
Dec. 3: Kayla and I met up with the group. It was very good to see familiar faces.
I miss Phi Phi a lot, in its entirety. I also miss home, but only slightly. It is still absolutely amazing being here and I am not ready to go home yet. We only have a few days left. :(
I will try to update you all on the second part of my trip before I am headed home.
With love,
12.06.2010
Phase Two
I have now made it to Mae Sot, and am with the entire group.
We have had a crazy couple of days that I don't think will be slowing down any time soon, but that is quite alright with me. I want to do all that I can do while I am here. I can sleep over the holidays!
To summerize:
Phase one of my trip ( the holiday part ) was absolutely fabulous and stunning! I was able to see so many things and I enjoyed it all. Of course rock climbing makes it to the top of my list, along with Phi Phi. I really enjoyed the vibe and lifestyle of the people there.
In Mae Sot we have visited Hsa Thoo Lei School and Orphanage. This is also where we will be teaching our computer and program skills to, starting tomorrow. We were able to see the school we will be working on, as well. Hlee Bee School. The group who is not teaching tomorrow (me) will be working on this school. Today we did our first distribution of relief supplies, too. This happened at Ah Yone Oo School, and was very moving for everyone. It was so good to give back to those who need it desperately. Their smiles and thank yous warmed the heart.
There are many more experience to come, and everyday I wake up excited for the day. The days are long and tiring, no doubt about it. But so worth it.
With love,
We have had a crazy couple of days that I don't think will be slowing down any time soon, but that is quite alright with me. I want to do all that I can do while I am here. I can sleep over the holidays!
To summerize:
Phase one of my trip ( the holiday part ) was absolutely fabulous and stunning! I was able to see so many things and I enjoyed it all. Of course rock climbing makes it to the top of my list, along with Phi Phi. I really enjoyed the vibe and lifestyle of the people there.
In Mae Sot we have visited Hsa Thoo Lei School and Orphanage. This is also where we will be teaching our computer and program skills to, starting tomorrow. We were able to see the school we will be working on, as well. Hlee Bee School. The group who is not teaching tomorrow (me) will be working on this school. Today we did our first distribution of relief supplies, too. This happened at Ah Yone Oo School, and was very moving for everyone. It was so good to give back to those who need it desperately. Their smiles and thank yous warmed the heart.
There are many more experience to come, and everyday I wake up excited for the day. The days are long and tiring, no doubt about it. But so worth it.
With love,
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