x-mas

Yet again I didn't get any love from Santa this year (and by 'love', I mean material goods).

Maybe I need to give up hope in the jolly guy.

Or be less naughty.

Mighty Aphrodite

Just took an online quiz: "Which greek goddess are you?" at http://www.paleothea.com/quiz.html

Here's what their scientific calculations resulted in:

"You are APHRODITE. Yes, indeedy, the patron saint of love, beauty, and prostitutes is your "inner goddess." Though some people might think you are a ditz, you have more depth than anyone knows, not to mention the power you wield in your self-comfort."

It's nice to know i'm not a ditz because that's exactly how I felt today after watching 'Hotel Rwanda.' Maybe not a ditz, but an idiot for not knowing that genocide happened. The other overarching emotion was saddness that people can be so cruel. The preciousness of life makes me want to reach out and hug all you wondeful people I love. And even the ones I don't

ever take a step outside your life?

The whiteys showed up in my town about 4 days ago. Whiteys whiteys everywhere!

The new volunteers are training in my town for the next 10 weeks. I have been over to their training 'hub' a few times to help out. Yesterday they had a session teaching them how to set up mosquito nets, how to use squat toilets, how to shower in Thailand, since today they head off to their homestays.

I was in their seats a year ago. I too was freaking out about not having toilet paper and worrying I was going to insult my family by where I put my feet. After I helped demonstrate the proper way to kneel at dinner and preached the benefits of the Diva cup I went out to dinner w some trainers and volunteers.

I love having all these new excited volunteers in town for the next 10 weeks. One reason is it makes the town feel more like my town. As we were walking in a big group out last night the lady I buy fruit from asked me why are all these whiteys here? Everyone keeps asking me what's going on??

Having all these whities fresh off the plane makes it so obvious for me to see how much has changed in my life in the last year. Remembering myself last year I can see how much i've grown. I have chilled out so much. Part of that is because Peace Corps doesn't feel like "real life," that it doesn't count or something. But part of it is because Thailand is Soooo chill. It is just fabulous to see that I've really made a life for myself in this little Thai town. That I live (mostly) like a Thai. That I have been welcomed into their community.

On the 10 minute walk home from dinner to where everyone is staying I ran into 3 groups of people I knew. It's nice to know people and be known. With the last group I ended up sitting down on the chairs outside their place and chatting for 30 or 40 minutes. Every time a group of newbies walked by I was able to think what it must have looked like from their eyes, and I was impressed w myself. If I do say so!

The wide-eyes have a million questions about manuvering in Thailand and dealing w Peace Corps. I love being able to help them figure everything out from cell phones in Thailand to Peace Corps obsession w straps on the back of shoes.

street life

Somethings in the air in Uthai Thani.... and it's making me giddy on life. Oh how I love this town and these people.

I love the little interactions that happen because life is lived outside. Today I was biking home from school and passed 3 people resting in the shade on the side of the road. I said hi as I peddled by and they smiled and commented that the air was low in my tire. So I stopped and they came over to help me add air. As I was adding air they were asking me where I was headed and where I was coming from. While we were chatting my phone rang and when I went to answer it they immediately took over the pumping of the back tire and when they were done they moved to the front. So helpful, so caring, so friendly, so easygoing.

It's amazing what a little air in your tire will do for your speed! I was cruisin! But I managed to stop to get some grilled bananas for my friends. All over town people set up little grills or burners in front of their houses and sell anything from sliced pineapple, to fried chicken. I love the thai practice of showing up at a friends house just to give them food and do it whenever I can. Today it was grilled bananas that come drowned in caramel-ish sauce for Naa Ow. And I got to shoot the shit for a little while w the banana lady who I say hi to outside her house everyday as I bike whereever I'm off too and she sells sits under her umbrella and adds coals to the grill. She just sits there all day till she runs out of bananas and watches the street life as she flips them over and over.

One Year Anniversary

I just got back from a nice run and am about to jump in the shower. I'm eating my yogurt and checking email before I start the rest of my day. I am headed to Bangkok in a few hours to meet friends. Lots of people will be there and the occation is the next group of volunteers is arriving. I am group 117- the 117th group to volunteer in Thailand. Today 118 is arriving. And in about 1 year 119 will arrive. A little birdy told me that 119 is the last group to be in Thailand. After that it will no longer be a Peace Corps country. I don't know the exact reasoning, but I think it's bc it's too developed a country. Apparently PC tried to bow out about 10 years ago and Thailand begged and begged for them to stay. The govn't of Thailand does a lot more for PC Volunteers than in other countries, like paying for our housing.

I had a long conversation w a friend Vanessa who finished her service on Halloween and is now working for PC as a trainer for the next group. Vanessa came to thailand w her husband and as a wife she had a really different experience that I am having. She was a nothing here. Invisible to people when her husband was around and they could speak to him. For her first year at site she was only called by her husbands name, and throughout her time here any project she did was credited to her husband. Vanessa is a strong, caring woman with a positive attitude. She is a great role model for a gal like me, so it surprised me so much to hear what a miserable time she had in PC thailand. While we don't have the physical hardships of PCV in places like Africa, she feels the cultural ajustments that need tobe made here are some of the hardest. As a woman she felt invisible, and put down all the time for not doing every domestic task for her husband or producing children. She spent 2 years listening to people try to give her husband another wife or get him to go to the prostitutes.

Hearing a role model talk about how difficult PC was for her and how close she was to going back to the states on many occations made me feel better about difficulties I'm having. I am having a little difficulty planning my English Camp w my teacher. I can't stand when people say things then don't do them. It is VERY Thai to agree w you, but just turn around and not do it. So, on a couple occations I had trouble keeping my relaxed, easy-going Thai personality in check and reverted back to my american stronger ways. My co-teacher didn't like it, but of course didn't say anything. I would really chill out and not worry to much about the camp except that I have invited 40 volunteers to come help. 5 friends and all 35 of the new teaching volunteers who are training in my town.

In other news the LifeSkills workshop is going well. I have previously refered to it as an HIV/AIDS workshop, and it very much is, but I think the best part of it is the empowering part. But there is a lot of HIV information. We got a grant from Bush's PEPFAR fund and all. Above is a picture of one participant learning how to apply a condom....

running fool

I am planning an English Workshop for 5th and 6th graders in my town. About 100 in all. My co-teacher asked what we should call it. I said we can just call it English Camp- that's what these workshops are called, and the Thais are obsesed w them. They happen all the time. My co-teacher wasn't excited about this name, so I suggested a few others, like 'We speak English' 'I love English.' Then I thought of one and was able to convince my co-teacher how fabulous this name is:"I'm an English Speaking Fool." I told her it's all the rage in America. It's my own little joke to myself.

So today was great!! Got up early and was out of the house by 6 AM to beat that Thailand heat. And I went and went and went. Just like old Forrest. But unlike Mr. Gump I stopped after 23 miles. I know... I was slacking....

Then Jordan came over. Jordan is the closest volunteer to me, she lives 30 miles away. She was my pig out partner. We had lots and lots of Essan food (food from the NorthEast part of Thailand)- green papaya salad, grilled chicken, and warm sticky rice. We sat on a mat by the river and chatted for hours. All about life in Thailand as a PC Volunteer.

After Jordan left I treated myself to a pedicure and hair wash/head massage.

Then I made a great fried veggie Thai dish.

Then I met up w a friend who is working at the training for the group that comes in 5 days, making it 1 year since I arrived.

Now I am watching a Sex and the City DVD and writing to you!!!! It's the one where Aden and Carrie get back together. Aden is the greatest, how could she end up with Big?

Wedding in Uthai

Went to a Thai wedding this morning. The older sister of Jeeda married a man she'd been seeing for 2 years. They met at the temple. It was a really small wedding just family and a few others, all in all about 20 people. It was held in the shop where Jeeda's family works- the front of the house where they live. Everything was pushed aside in the store. But there still wasn't a lot of room so the doors were left open and we all hung out on the sidewalk and ate our curry there.

It is tradition in Thailand for the groom to give the Bride's family gold and cash at the wedding. And the cash is left out on a beautiful platter for all the see at the wedding. It probably isn't the most kosher of things to ask how much money was exchanged, but I did. It was 100,000 baht, which is about $2,500. Everyone there seemed to know that this is not a practice in the states, that the man "just" give a ring to the woman. I explained that the woman's family usually pays for the wedding, and when I told them how much that can cost they were appropriately surprised.

This is a picture from the wedding. The bride and groom are there in the middle in traditional silk Thai outfits. Happens to be baby blue at this wedding. Everything in front is food as offerings. Can you see the fan in the center. That's the 1000 baht bills displayed.

After the wedding this morning I hung out at home all day. Cleaned up, read, emailed, wrote some letters, ate some yummy thai fried bananas and thai fruit. My friend came over this afternoon to chat briefly about the budget for our HIV prevention workshop. She brought her 4 year old son and we played w a cat a little. Basically I rested today because I have a big run tomorrow. 23 MILES!! OH MAN. I am a little intimidated!!! 10 weeks countdown till my marathon.

photos?

Rachel N just posted some fabulous pictures from our trip. I wonder if you can see them. Try the link http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=2hl4cna1.604ugln5&x=1&y=-pwwii1
You may need to sign up and get a username/password.

Tomorrow is the first day of the AIDS workshop. I'll keep you posted.

New Years 2006

I'm back home. Last night was 16 hours of van and bus rides. For a country only the size of Texas it takes a long time to get around. Carolyn and Brooke took the overnight bus from Krabi to Bangkok with me and then we went our seperate ways home.

Rachel, Adnan, and I flew down to Phuket on the 28th. Phuket is one of the tourist hot spots in Thailand. And there were LOTS of tourists where we were. It was a gorgeous beach. Nice places to sit on lounge chairs under big umbrellas. Sipping juice out of a coconut. Reading John Irving. As with most Thai beaches there was never a durth of Thais coming up to us selling fruit or drinks or spring rolls or sarongs or jewelery. At Padong beach there were also people selling 2 foot wooden motorcyles. As Rachel N said, "What would you do w that?"

The highlights in Padong were the run on the beach in the rain w Rach and the seafood dinner. The morning of the 30th we got up early and took a boat over to Krabi. There we met up w 8 other PC volunteers (two with guests) for a total of 13. Day one R, A, my friend Carolyn, and I rented a long tail boat (think big wooden row boat w an engine) and took a 20 min ride to a cute tiny beach tucked away on the back side of an island. All around the beach and jutting out into the water were limestone clifts hundreds of feet high.

Day 2 (New Years Eve DAY) the whole of us took a 10 minute boat ride to the next beach over- Railey Beach. Again huge limestone clifts. This time we walked into the middle of the peninsula and climbed up and over one of these huge clifts in the woods to get to a hidden lagoon. This hike was not for the faint of heart. There were 3 places where we went directly down for 15 feet-ish. It was serious rock climbing manuvering, with people below telling us where to place our feet or hands. There were ropes permanently in place to help. My back was sore for 2 days from holding myself up w the ropes. The lagoon was gorgeous. Again there were plant covered clifts all around going 100s of feet up. Sunlight coming in from above. Great echoes in there. The pool was probably 50 yards in diameter, but it was never more than 4 feet deep. We had a great game of frisbee in the middle and then discovered the soft clay mud under the water. Instant mud bath!!

After climbing out and checking out some of the ocean side beaches where they have famous rock climbing sites we went home and rested up for New Years. Yummy Mexican Dinner, than to a really big party in the woods. There was a huge stage and great DJ playing. We danced well into the New Year.

The 1st was a chill day of rest on the beach. Rachel and Adnan left in order to get to bangkok for their flight early on the 2nd. it was so so sad to see them leave. Before they left we had one last meal of one of Rachel's favorite dishes "Som Tom" (spicey papaya salad with sticky rice).

On the 2nd Brooke, Lindsey, Jessica, and I went on a tour of some of the islands in the area on a speed boat. It was nice to get away from some of the crowds and see more remote gorgeous white sand and blue water beaches. We also got to do lots of snorkeling in the clear water. One stop had a nice coral reef. We spent most of the time joking w our tour guide who was excited he had some thai speakers. It was too hot to really lie out, and I have no desire to get sun. We spent most of the time up to our waste in the water chatting away, or sitting in the water at the edge of the ocean.

Then back to the hotel to shower and get to the bus stop for that 12 hour ride....