The last few days of work flew by, it was amazing to see all our hard work completed and an amazing community center standing before us. The students put the final coats of paint on and were even able to finish and amazing mural (a beautiful painting of two elephants and a globe). The building came out beautiful and the students are so proud of all their hard work. We celebrated with the community during dedication cermonies that included multiple dance performances from the community, Thai folk music performed by local community members and many speeches. Again the elder community members tied strings around our wrists to symbolize our connection to them and the community and the monks at the temple blessed us and wished us luck in our travels. The students gave thanks to their families before we all sat down to an amazing final meal (we all contributed spaghetti) with the community and enjoyed some dancing and games before the night was up.
It was with many tears and heartfelt goodbyes that we loaded into the vans this morning. the students from the school and all of our host families were there to send us off. We received cards from all the students thanking us for the time we spent at the school and for all our work. The families too had a hard time saying goodbye and didn't want to let us go. We loaded up the last of our things and headed to the city where we have enjoyed a great lunch and errands before we board the train tonight and head to Bangkok then Cambodia. We are amazed at how fast the time has gone and are excited to do some more travel even though we already miss our Thai families and community. We hope this finds you all well.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Big ol Thailand Update
All,
so sorry for the delayed updates...we have been relaying our updates from the field over the phone to the office as we have not had access to computers for the last few weeks (Which have been amazing to say the least) and they have typed up a travel log of sorts.I pasted below all the current updates in order from the first to the most current (it's a bunch of reading) Sorry no pictures those will be coming in the next couple weeks. Currently we are back in chaing mai after our time in the village. Tonight we will board the night train to Bangkok where we will spend tomorrow before we fly to cambodia for our last few days. There will be another update at some pt soon, but here is what we have so far.
7/4/2009
Sawatdee (Ka/Khrap),
Greetings all. We have been in Thailand nearly a week now and things are great. We have seen and done so much already, and it has been great getting to know each other and the group.
We spent the first few days around Chiang Mai getting to know the group and this beautiful city. We had our first Thai lessons and have had lots of opportunities to practice at local markets, restaurants and with our hotel staff. We have been using songthaews (local taxi trucks) to get around and students have really enjoyed all the sights and sounds of the city. We have had plenty of rest by the pool to get everyone on Thai time and have shared some amazing meals. The students are particularly enjoying trying all the different fruit out and the dragonfruit seems to be a favorite. We visited the famous Wat Doi Suthep a Buddhist temple atop a nearby mountain and learned a little about Buddhism. We also had a chance to visit a temple here in town and were able to talk in groups with monks about Thailand, being a monk, Buddhism, and life in general. It was a real highlight for the students.
Everyone has agreed the trek has been a real high point in the trip so far. We hiked to a hilltop village where we were treated to amazing scenery, a beautiful bamboo long house to share, and even some amazing singing and music from the local community. Once we hiked down we were able to relax and cool off with a great ride down the river on bamboo rafts while enjoying the scenery. Yesterday we finished the trek with a trip to the elephant preserve where everyone got a chance to visit with the elephants and take a ride through the jungle. The students especially enjoyed getting to cross the river on top of the elephants.
We have done lots of preparing for the community and feel as ready as we can be for this next step of our adventure. We will load into vans this morning and head to Baan Pok where a welcome ceremony awaits us.
We hope this finds you all well and we will update you when we can!
Team Thailand
7/9/09
Family and Friends,
Our Thai journey continues…
We arrived in our village of Baan Pok on Sunday to a very special welcome ceremony that the entire community had planned for us. During this ceremony everyone in our group and the community was connected together with one piece of string, and then there was some chanting in Thai to welcome us and provide good luck to our group. Then the elders came to cut the string, and tied the string as bracelets on us, many of which remain on our wrists as a special reminder of the warm welcome and good wishes they presented to our group. Our homestay parents tell us that these bracelets both protect travelers on journeys while at the same time reminding them of those loved ones they have left behind. We will certainly cherish them during our time here together!
Our first morning in the village was a Buddhist holiday, and the community invited our group to come to the temple to celebrate. At dawn we climbed the local wat, or temple, along with our host families and the entire village in order to celebrate the full moon holiday, during which everyone brings food, flowers and gifts to the temple. The story goes that these gifts will help to sustain the monks living within, as they are not allowed to spend a night outside the temple for the following 3 months. It was such an honor to be invited to participate in this beautiful ceremony!
Otherwise, we have been working very hard on our service project and our efforts are really paying off! Endless bucket brigades and sand trains have made an immediate impact. Walls are rising (up to 4 feet) and the community center is coming together quickly. Hand gestures and our basic Thai lead to forms of communication that are both functional and hilarious. Students in the community just finished teaching us a local Thai dance and we look forward to spending more time with them now that school is back in session. In the afternoons we've really been enjoying workshops designed and led by our "student leader of the day." These have ranged from fun games to more reflective discussions. This weekend we are really looking forward to spending some time in a local orphanage that has invited us for dinner. All in all we've had SO much fun together, and the group has been incredibly supportive, accepting, and open with one other. How lucky we all are to be here in Thailand! Hope you are all having a great summer back at home too!
More to follow…
Team Thailand
7/17/09
Greetings from Baan Pok! It’s hard to believe, but we’re wrapping up our time here in the village very soon and are putting the final touches on the community center we are building. We just finished a day of plastering after days of mixing mountains of cement. The work has been rigorous but rewarding, and we look forward to that last coat of paint that will go on the building this weekend!
Last weekend we all enjoyed a great excursion to an innovative and inspiring orphanage in the area. Global Routes has been visiting this particular organization for the last few years, and each time they welcome us with open arms and smiling faces. We worked and played with kids ranging from 4 to 14 and they showed us around their sustainable farm where they learn job skills including gardening, wood carving, and crafts. In the afternoon we played some soccer with the kids and shared a dinner with them that evening. That night was a great time for a deeper conversation about the differences in our lifestyles and culture and what we can take home from this experience.
Back in the village, we continue in that sprit by sharing stories each morning before diving into the work of the day. We are locally famous for breaking into song throughout the day as we share our pop music with the work crew here! Each day the hardest workers earn “red can” (a.k.a. Coca-Cola) awards, which we all enjoy in the warm afternoons. In the evening, we all have enjoyed helping our families to cook, though only the bravest among us have tried some of the more “exotic” offerings, such as tadpole soup, fried silkworms, and pig brain. For others, bowls of rice, chicken or goat, edamame, bamboo shoots, and, of course, fish sauce is more than enough to fill us up!
In short, we will certainly miss the routines and friendships we have developed here, but look forward to a memorable farewell ceremony and project dedication upcoming. We’ve already written thank you cards to our host families, which will be translated into Thai by our leaders. To you, we also want to thank you for supporting us in our journey and we look forward to sharing more stories soon!
Team Thailand
so sorry for the delayed updates...we have been relaying our updates from the field over the phone to the office as we have not had access to computers for the last few weeks (Which have been amazing to say the least) and they have typed up a travel log of sorts.I pasted below all the current updates in order from the first to the most current (it's a bunch of reading) Sorry no pictures those will be coming in the next couple weeks. Currently we are back in chaing mai after our time in the village. Tonight we will board the night train to Bangkok where we will spend tomorrow before we fly to cambodia for our last few days. There will be another update at some pt soon, but here is what we have so far.
7/4/2009
Sawatdee (Ka/Khrap),
Greetings all. We have been in Thailand nearly a week now and things are great. We have seen and done so much already, and it has been great getting to know each other and the group.
We spent the first few days around Chiang Mai getting to know the group and this beautiful city. We had our first Thai lessons and have had lots of opportunities to practice at local markets, restaurants and with our hotel staff. We have been using songthaews (local taxi trucks) to get around and students have really enjoyed all the sights and sounds of the city. We have had plenty of rest by the pool to get everyone on Thai time and have shared some amazing meals. The students are particularly enjoying trying all the different fruit out and the dragonfruit seems to be a favorite. We visited the famous Wat Doi Suthep a Buddhist temple atop a nearby mountain and learned a little about Buddhism. We also had a chance to visit a temple here in town and were able to talk in groups with monks about Thailand, being a monk, Buddhism, and life in general. It was a real highlight for the students.
Everyone has agreed the trek has been a real high point in the trip so far. We hiked to a hilltop village where we were treated to amazing scenery, a beautiful bamboo long house to share, and even some amazing singing and music from the local community. Once we hiked down we were able to relax and cool off with a great ride down the river on bamboo rafts while enjoying the scenery. Yesterday we finished the trek with a trip to the elephant preserve where everyone got a chance to visit with the elephants and take a ride through the jungle. The students especially enjoyed getting to cross the river on top of the elephants.
We have done lots of preparing for the community and feel as ready as we can be for this next step of our adventure. We will load into vans this morning and head to Baan Pok where a welcome ceremony awaits us.
We hope this finds you all well and we will update you when we can!
Team Thailand
7/9/09
Family and Friends,
Our Thai journey continues…
We arrived in our village of Baan Pok on Sunday to a very special welcome ceremony that the entire community had planned for us. During this ceremony everyone in our group and the community was connected together with one piece of string, and then there was some chanting in Thai to welcome us and provide good luck to our group. Then the elders came to cut the string, and tied the string as bracelets on us, many of which remain on our wrists as a special reminder of the warm welcome and good wishes they presented to our group. Our homestay parents tell us that these bracelets both protect travelers on journeys while at the same time reminding them of those loved ones they have left behind. We will certainly cherish them during our time here together!
Our first morning in the village was a Buddhist holiday, and the community invited our group to come to the temple to celebrate. At dawn we climbed the local wat, or temple, along with our host families and the entire village in order to celebrate the full moon holiday, during which everyone brings food, flowers and gifts to the temple. The story goes that these gifts will help to sustain the monks living within, as they are not allowed to spend a night outside the temple for the following 3 months. It was such an honor to be invited to participate in this beautiful ceremony!
Otherwise, we have been working very hard on our service project and our efforts are really paying off! Endless bucket brigades and sand trains have made an immediate impact. Walls are rising (up to 4 feet) and the community center is coming together quickly. Hand gestures and our basic Thai lead to forms of communication that are both functional and hilarious. Students in the community just finished teaching us a local Thai dance and we look forward to spending more time with them now that school is back in session. In the afternoons we've really been enjoying workshops designed and led by our "student leader of the day." These have ranged from fun games to more reflective discussions. This weekend we are really looking forward to spending some time in a local orphanage that has invited us for dinner. All in all we've had SO much fun together, and the group has been incredibly supportive, accepting, and open with one other. How lucky we all are to be here in Thailand! Hope you are all having a great summer back at home too!
More to follow…
Team Thailand
7/17/09
Greetings from Baan Pok! It’s hard to believe, but we’re wrapping up our time here in the village very soon and are putting the final touches on the community center we are building. We just finished a day of plastering after days of mixing mountains of cement. The work has been rigorous but rewarding, and we look forward to that last coat of paint that will go on the building this weekend!
Last weekend we all enjoyed a great excursion to an innovative and inspiring orphanage in the area. Global Routes has been visiting this particular organization for the last few years, and each time they welcome us with open arms and smiling faces. We worked and played with kids ranging from 4 to 14 and they showed us around their sustainable farm where they learn job skills including gardening, wood carving, and crafts. In the afternoon we played some soccer with the kids and shared a dinner with them that evening. That night was a great time for a deeper conversation about the differences in our lifestyles and culture and what we can take home from this experience.
Back in the village, we continue in that sprit by sharing stories each morning before diving into the work of the day. We are locally famous for breaking into song throughout the day as we share our pop music with the work crew here! Each day the hardest workers earn “red can” (a.k.a. Coca-Cola) awards, which we all enjoy in the warm afternoons. In the evening, we all have enjoyed helping our families to cook, though only the bravest among us have tried some of the more “exotic” offerings, such as tadpole soup, fried silkworms, and pig brain. For others, bowls of rice, chicken or goat, edamame, bamboo shoots, and, of course, fish sauce is more than enough to fill us up!
In short, we will certainly miss the routines and friendships we have developed here, but look forward to a memorable farewell ceremony and project dedication upcoming. We’ve already written thank you cards to our host families, which will be translated into Thai by our leaders. To you, we also want to thank you for supporting us in our journey and we look forward to sharing more stories soon!
Team Thailand
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