This week has been an extremely rewarding change of pace. I am staying at Biang Nang Beach, right next to Khao Lak, a popular dive stop for tourists. About a half hour bike ride and 20 minute hike up the rainforest is a waterfall that I have already indulged in twice. One side of the road on the way there is a rubber plantation full of perfect lines of towering trees while the other side is the lush rain forest. The first time I rode my bike with another volunteer, Mark, who is just finishing up medical school. However, my bike, unfortunately was only suitable for someone about 5 ft tall, and I was therefore required to stand up the entire time, which put too much pressure on my handlebars, which loosened them to the point where the bike was pretty much unrideable by the time we arrived. I have since replaced it with a much better and smoother ride which has made life much easier. The journey was well rewarded though with the best shower I have had my entire trip in the mountains.
Outside of camp, life is pretty enjoyable too. There are a many Europeans hanging out around here, and I have met a lot of people I wouldn’t call tourists, but that are definitely not locals. They are more like full time vacationers? I have also made a new sister. Her name is Nang and she owns a small bar in Bang Niang while also working for Grassroots. We have gone out a few times as the nightlife is pretty fun around here. Other highlights about my living situation: the beach is only 1km away, the backdrop is the rain forest and mountains, the nearby waterfall, the 7/11 right across the street, and of course the shower!
Working at camp so far has been very fun. The kids here are definitely different than those in India. These children have already been to school for a few years, and that has definitely paid off. I am teaching child development, which is pretty vague and gives me free reign to be as creative as possible. The first week I focused mainly on self-awareness and self-esteem building while this week I am focusing on teamwork and team building. One of the notable activities we did was write a list of all the things anyone has ever told them they can’t do. Sometimes the messages come from parents, other family members, peers or even themselves. Then, after sharing one, they crumpled their paper and through it in a tissue box I had attempted to decorate like a casket. We then went into the garden and had a funeral for the “I Can’t” way of thinking. It was pretty cool.
Team building, on the contrary, has definitely been challenging already. We attempted the human knot activity, and I think it took maybe 7-8 attempts plus a demonstration by the staff to understand that they need to work together. It was actually pretty funny. In the beginning, they were all twisting and just trying to get themselves loose. It was not working. We also did the “Protect the Egg” activity in which they had to build protective containers for eggs out of straws and newspaper. All of the eggs broke the first attempt, but after redesigning them, 3 of the teams successfully protected their eggs.
Saturday, we organized a wonderful game of Capture the Flag. It was their first time playing, but certainly not last. The two teams all had headbands in their respective color that Myaa Thu and I made out of old cloth from the women’s center. They also had to come up with a team name and make their flag. One team was the Stars, and the other was Viewpoint, which actually turned out to be a really cool flag. Then they had to come up with a song/chant for their team, which was awesome because we were equipped with a guitar, tambourine and drums for some background beat and harmony. The location was perfect too, especially for first-timers. We went to a park about half an hour away right on the beach. The park had a great playground, enough trees, and was generally a dynamic enough atmosphere to make the game interesting, but it still was not too big. Like all Capture the Flag games begin, the teams all ended up in jail as they had not quite figured out the fluidity or the tactics of the game. Unfortunately, the game was totally rained out with a huge monsoon, and we had to take shelter singing songs, but the game is back on schedule for tomorrow.
Sunday, we went on a field trip of sorts to the water fall which was just beautiful. I had already been there once, but going with the kids was incredible. None of the children have been taught how to swim, so I got to work and held a beginner swimming class. I actually taught swimming all through high school, so I did have some experience working for me. I taught them all how to blow bubbles and the basics of floating, although I definitely had to be much more creative in conveying floating techniques with such an intense language barrier. There are absolutely no cognates between Burmese and English. Anyways, after swimming in the waterfall for a while, it was time to head back to camp.
So far, the culture shock is not even comparable as it was to India. However, I will say I think I preferred Indian food, as it is a little more difficult to come by vegetarian cuisine, and I have definitely had a multitude of interesting eating experiences already. If I am eating at camp or at someone’s house, I frequently reminisce about my time in China when there is a bowl of chicken feet in front of me. Other than that, the cook at camp also makes a spicy vegetable dish for the endless bowl of rice with is really sweet of her, and I have become a huge fan of the spicy papaya salad with sticky rice at the street restaurant right outside my guesthouse. I also had my first try of Thai roti, which is a sweet pancake sometimes rolled and stuffed with mango or banana. It was delicious! Indian roti is a basically just chapatti drizzled with a tiny bit of ghee that you have at every meal.
However, sometimes the food is just bizarre. After lunch at camp yesterday, they gave everyone something comparable to a dessert for the holiday Chakri. It was coconut milk with two pieces of wonder bread and “cherries.” “Cherries” are not cherries by the way. They are artificially flavored and brightly colored pieces of gelatin that don’t taste nearly as good as Jell-O.
Another day at camp we had a sweet which was coconut and sugar rolled up in a banana leaf which tasted pretty delicious.
Last night while having dinner at a cheap Thai dive that looks more like a garage from the outside, about a dozen tiny flying insects dropped right onto my head. Apparently, they were hanging out on the light right about my table. It definitely startled me to say the least. Bugs are pretty common around the street restaurants...so much for being a vegetarian, but it might not necessarily be a bad thing. Without the staple of lentils, I wouldn't want to go and have a protein deficiency or anything.
So camp ends this week with a large relay race Myaa Thu and I are planning, and then next week is a week-long holiday for the Thai New Year called Songkran. I have heard that it is basically a huge water festival where the Thais get their water guns and balloons out and just attack people with them on the street. The cities like Bangkok and Chang Mai are apparently the place to be, so that’s where I am headed next weekend.
FYI: This morning I was woken up at 7am because of a tsunami warning placed on Phang-Nga Province due to an earthquake that hit Sumatra at 5:15 this morning. The warning was lifted two hours later, so no worries thus far.
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