Rainy Season

Thailand has begun to move from the unnerving “hot season” to the aptly named “rainy season”. Don’t let the name fool you however, just because it is rainy does not mean that it has become cooler. Days are humid and muggy, air sticks to your skin and the thickness of it makes movements a fraction slower.. If it fails to rain enough it only serves as a catalyst for the humidity, making walking feel more like swimming in your own sweat. However, if a truly great storm strikes is brings wind whipping and blows all the uncomfortably sticky air away…for a few hours if lucky.

Thunderheads roll in off the horizon and contrast nicely against the newly vivid green of the rice fields surrounding my freshly painted pink and orange school. Some storms bring with them the most awesome thunderclaps I have ever heard. They start directly above my house sounding like an explosion and the almost sonic boom of it rolls out in all directions like a ripple in a pond, ripping through the quiet of the country side. Rain has become something to rely on, I know it will come at least once a day if not in opaque sheets than at least as a lazy drizzle.

Here comes the storm!

Unfortunately with the increase of the downpours the insect population has grown substantially. I have to eat with mosquito coils burning by my legs and sweep the dead bugs out of my bedroom everyday so the vast armies of ants don’t come to my abode to consume them. Yet the worst are the hordes of disgusting flying mayfly like bugs that seem to come from nowhere. I am convinced they are aliens born to earth in the raindrops as they only appear after the rain. They have large wings that fall off leaving the once flying insect to crawl and squirm around, regressed to worm once again. The wings lie everywhere, students sweep them into large piles in the morning that look reminiscent of the piles of leaves accumulated in the fall. My beloved Pisao (big sister) Pom tells me they are delicious with rice….I think I may skip delightful snack and instead try to simply focus on the beauty of the music of raindrops on my roof.

Tukae Geckos feasting on the bug buffet

I hate them so much....ewww

Adventures in Wonderland

Summer vacation in Thailand was an adventure that I will never forget and feel so lucky to have been able to experience. I traveled all over with my fellow volunteers Trisha and Val to the North of Thailand, headed south to soak up some sun on the islands and beaches and welcomed my mother and Jack to Thailand

We started out with a cross country drive, Mukdahon to Mae Sot. Mae Sot is a frontier city right on the border of Myanmar (Burma). It was a great little city and a huge cultural mixing pot, Burmese children and women with gold powder on their faces, Muslims with head coverings and Thai Hill tribe members all in the same place. We tried to cross the bridge to Burma but unfortunately the visa office was closed and we were unable to get our re-entry paper work.

A map of our cross country bus ride

The Bridge to Burma

Next we got on a Songtaew (a pickup with two benches in the back and cage around it to strap luggage to) and embarked on a 5 hour trip on "death highway" to Umphang in order to see the largest waterfall in Thailand, Nam Tok Thilawsu. The highway is through the mountains and has over 260 twist and turns and steep grade changes, it is only 169km but takes so long because of the amount of curves. There were 15 people in the truck with some standing on the bumper, holding on to the top of the truck and others on top with the luggage. We passed through thatched roof, hilltop villages and held on tightly for all the turns! After arriving in Umphang we arranged a tour to the water fall and the next day we rafted for 3 hours down a lazy river, limestone cliffs and jungle on both sides. We then walked to the water fall Thilawsu and spent three hours swimming in its pools. The day after the waterfall adventure we had to embark on the 5 hour songtaew ride again, but this time with 21 people in the back of the truck! Village women sat on the floor between our legs and held on to us like we were safety bars. They also brought plastic bags to vomit into since they are not used to traveling in cars and I felt like they should have renamed the "Vomit Highway". It was a long five hours!

Our Songtaew to Umphang

Nom Tok Thilawsu

After enduring the ride of “death highway” we boarded a regular bus for the northern city of Chiang Rai. We spent most of our time there wandering around and enjoying the local fresh market. One day we did decided to go on an adventure and signed up for a day trip of biking through the country side. For some reason none of us thought “Hey guys, 53km is a lot, especially up and down mountains and during the hot season…” Yet it was still really fun, even if I have never sweat so much in my entire life! We biked through beautiful country side and stopped to see a beautiful temple that was designed by a famous Thai artist and made all out of white. We ended our bike trip with an 8km uphill ride to see a waterfall. When we reached the top the bike company had a little celebration for us, snacks and sodas and congratulated us on our achievement. All of us had wobbly legs and were so exhausted we thought we could hardly make it up the small hill crest to even see the water fall…boy were we mistaken! Our trip leader let us finish our snacks and then said, “OK! Now we walk 3km to the waterfall!” We almost died!! It was all uphill on a little trail and once we got to the top it was a beautiful water fall but we were too tired to walk down to swim in its pools. Instead we took pictures looking down at it and then used the rest of our energy to drag ourselves back down to the truck and head home.

The White Temple

Waterfall at the end of the bike ride

After Chiang Rai we moved on to the small bohemian mountain town of Pai. It was a fun little town but was not very “Thai-like”; it was almost like being in another country. Pai is a city inhabited by Thai hippies and artists and seems to be on the farang hippy pilgrimage trail as well. I hadn't seen so many white folks with dreads in one place since UVM! We celebrated our six month anniversary in Thailand in Pai, renting motorbikes for the day and exploring the countryside on our “hogs”. We also went for an Elephant ride that included swimming in the river with our new elephant friend Mai. It was an excellent adventure!

Me and my new elephant friend

Bike gang

From Pai we traveled to Chiang Mai, a truly magical city. The “old city” is surrounded by a moat, complete with parts of the medieval walls and gates that once encompassed the city. Temples in the city are beautiful; some even have ancient ruins within their walls. There were great street markets and a wonderful night bazaar where I got to practice my haggling skills. We stayed at a fabulous hostel and met many new friends. Songkran, the Thai New Year/ water festival that borders on utter chaos, happened to occur during our time in Chiang Mai and we had a great time joining in the celebration. The moat around the old city became the epicenter of the celebration as the primary way to celebrate is to throw water on everyone around you. For Songkran the owner of our hostel piled us all into the back of his truck to bring us out to the moat surrounding the city to engage in the giant water fight that is Songkran. It was so much fun! The whole city stopped working for about a week and just had the most massive water fight you can imagine.It was almost impossible for anyone to stay dry! People walked around with giant squirt guns or buckets and dumped water on anyone they saw. People sat in the back of trucks and drove around the moat waging “war” with those standing around the moat. Vendors sold giant blocks of ice so one could chill the water being thrown and really surprise one’s victims. By the third day of the festival traffic was at a standstill and the best way to enjoy the festival was by foot. While walking we met many new faces and danced with a few outrageous lady boys while trying to soak as many people as possible. At one point I wandered down to the moat to fill my bucket only to be surrounded in a circle and splashed for ten minutes straight! Thank god it was hot out; the festival was a great relief from the heat.

Songkran action shots...oh the mayhem!

After Chiang Mai we headed south the Krabi Province to lounge on the golden beaches of Ko Lanta (Ko means island in Thai). We spent five days lying on the beach and swimming in the ocean, it was magnificent. One day we also managed to go a kayak trip to feed some monkeys, paddle around giant limestone mountains that rose from the sea, and check out some caves. It was a relaxing few days.

Limestone vista..

Hungry mommy and baby monkey!

Heavenly Sunset

Next we headed to Ko Phi Phi, an amazingly beautiful island with storybook scenery. The downside however was that it was pretty packed and full of gap year kids looking to get drunk on the free buckets of booze handed out at the beach bars every night. The plus side was that there were actual dance floors (a rarity in Thailand, usually you have to maneuver around small tables placed every five feet) and amazing fire dancers. We went snorkeling around Ko Phi Phi lei ( Where the movie The Beach was filmed) and it was gorgeous, I have never seen so many different types of coral in my entire life. The island was also full of caves that are double as nesting areas for white swallows. Sea gypsies scale the cliffs to reach the nests to sell as “cave nest”, a Chinese medicine and delicacy.

The View from the Ko Phi Phi Viewpoint

Ko Phi Phi Leh

Sea Gypsy Cave

I broke off from my traveling companions to head to Krabi Town where I met my mom and Jack! It was truly a pleasure to have them come a visit me. We checked out the limestone cliffs of Railey and then headed to Ko Yao Noi to spend most of our time lazing on beaches, tooling around on motorbikes and gazing at Phang Nga bay from the decks of our bungalows.

Railey

More Railey...

The View from our Bungalow on Ko Yao Noi

Returning to Nakhon Phanom was bittersweet, it was fun to show my mom and Jack around but hard for vacation to end and return to school. After all the excitement of traveling Nakhon Phanom seemed slow, sleepy and hot! My director went out of his way to show my Mom and Jack some of the sights of our province. One day me, Mom, Jack, my director, his two daughters and two of my roommates Don and Yu piled into a van and went to see That Phanom, Renu Nahkon and the hill top temple I visited with my students. We then feasted on Tom Yum Kung (Spicy/sour shrimp soup) fried fish and curried prawns. Thai hopistality is truly unrivaled and I was glad my mom was able to experiance it and meet my Thai family.

Group Shot!

In Renu Nakhon Temple

School started Monday the 17th of May and I love how it felt like coming home to return to the classroom and be greeted by the smiles and shouts from my students. Life is truly good.

Summertime

School has officially closed for the Thai summer. Today was bittersweet as I had to say goodbye to my graduating 12th graders, yet I cannot help but be excited for them to start the next chapter of their lives...I will miss their smiling faces.

Members of the Graduating Class Striking a Pose

Me and some of the graduating class

There was a feeling of celebration in the air today and everyone was relaxed and enjoying each other's company. We ate a large feast together, sang some songs, wished one another good luck and posed for a million photos.

Me and some of the soon to be 10th graders

This afternoon while sitting at home trying to figure out what to pack for my upcoming month and half off some of my 7th grade students came to my house to bring me some flowers and tell me they will miss me. How did I get so lucky?! It was the perfect end to a great day and wonderful semester. To think that when I first arrived students were too shy to even look at me, now they surprise me with a visit to my house!

Me and my flower bearers

My Flowers...

Tomorrow I leave on a fantastical adventure! I am backpacking around Thailand until May when school starts back up again. I will be travelling with a my fellow volunteers Patricia and Valerie and cannot wait, we have quite the itinerary. First we head to Northern Thailand and then down south to island hop and play in the ocean.

My mother and Jack will be meeting me here in Thailand the end of April and we will explore together as well before I bring them back to sleepy Nakhon Phanom to meet my students when school starts. Needless to say this may be my last post for awhile, but when I return I will have epic tales of awe inspiring adventures to share with you all.

Taste Taste

My roommate always says, "Kate, taste, taste?" When he wants me to try something new and for some reason I can never refuse...except in the case of "kai mot" (ant eggs). They really creep me out. So I said no.

However, I convinced some students who were being very "ai" (shy) to eat lunch with me the other day. They shared some of there food with me and of course they had ant eggs...but i couldnt say no to them! So I taste, taste. And it was not as horrific as I had imagined, there was so bursting of strange, gelatinous fluid...just a little squish. I did it, I may even do it again, as long as there is some Som Tom to go with it!

So lets see, since moving to Thailand I have sampled fried crickets, cow placenta soup, raw pork, turkey brains and red ant soup...its cicada season now, I guess I'll have to try one. What have you eaten today?

the ant eggs (with chili and fish sauce)

Som Tom (papaya salad), this dish is eaten with EVERY meal

These are a Few of My Favorite Things

Moments here are passing so quickly, I find myself wanting to find someway to hold on to them longer, slow the blur of daily life down. Here is a list of some of my favorite things, the stuff I want to remember:

• The sound of students yelling "good morning teacher” on my walk to school.
• The burn of chili’s that only seems to get worse when you drink water.
• The way it feels when a student braids my hair.
• The student who fills in answers they don’t know on the test with “I love teacher Kate”.
• The joy of cooling powder.
• The way the "school bus" (really its just a old white pickup with a cage around the back) sounds coming down the road, I can pick it out from a mile away.
• The way my roommate Don says “WOW”! And the facial expression that goes along with it.
• Dancing with my students and having them beg me to “Sing a song”.
• The way the mountains of Laos look from across the Mekong on a clear day.
• All my dog friends who I have tamed with kindness and now follow me to and from school.
• Watching water buffalo go for a swim in the pond behind my house.
• Cheap, delicious, amazing fruit!
• Shy smiles from the villagers when I wander in town for the weekly market.
• The celebrity status of being a “farang” (foreigner) in Northeast Thailand.
• The geckos in my room that eat all the bugs that want to eat me.
• The strange, strange calls of the giant Tuki geckos looking for love.
• Isan folk music…its really catchy.
• Thai dancing, I wish my fingers could bend so gracefully.
• Homemade Tom Yum Kung (spicy shrimp soup) with coconut milk .
• Vibrant color everywhere.
• The ghost houses outside of people houses...gotta give those spirits a place to live.
• Rice fields lined with eucalyptus trees.
• Families of four on one small motor bike.
• Dried bananas coated in honey.
• Sticky rice
• The simplicity of life here.

This is the Life

I realize that I have almost been here for six months and still have not shown many pictures of where I live and what my daily life is like here in Wangkasae. Today I thought I would share.

My "baan" (house)

My dining room table, this is where I eat my meals

My bathroom. I bathe by using the pink bowl to pour water on myself. There is no hot water but as it is pretty hot here I don't really miss it too much. The gray bucket and bowl are to "flush" the toilet, and I have to say that my thighs are super strong and looking great after using a "squatter" for a few months.

My roommate in our "kitchen". We cook on an electrical Wok and use the rice cooker for rice (duh) but also to reheat food.

Our "sink", this is where I wash the dishes.

Our backyard trash pile. It gets burned twice a month.

This is where I get my bananas, its right in my backyard!

My "hong non" (bedroom), small but my cozy sanctuary!

My beautiful school and the views around it.

Some gifts made for me by students. They carved these flowers out of pumpkin.

Some drawings I have recieved that decorate my office area at school

Some shots of my students

Identical twins name Nueng and Song (One and Two)

Making me a picture

Thats all for now, I hope you enjoyed seeing a little more of what my life is like here and all the places and people that make it home.

Feelin' hot Hot HOT

When I first arrived here in Thailand it was hot, but not this hot. When I arrived in Nakhon Phanom the hot season was in its death throes and could only spit a few hot days at me. I sweated, I complained, I drank a lot of water, but it wasn't really a big deal; it didn't last very long.

Since November I have been living in the heaven that is the “cool season”, mild days that are not too hot, not too cold, just perfect. Now however I have to carry a handkerchief with me everywhere I go to wipe the sweat that drips constantly off my face. I finally understand the Thai philosophy of bathing and now take about three baths a day as they are the only relief from the heat. I apply cooling powder (talcum powder with menthol in it) to help keep me cool and absorb my sweat. Its so hot that even my shins sweat, I never even knew that was possible! Before when I would hang my laundry up to dry it would take about day to dry, now it is bone dry in a half hour. I am always thirsty, no matter how many liters of water I drink a day it is never enough.

This past Monday we had no school so I spent the day with a friends at their house. We took a minute walk to the store and back and my shirt was soaked through when we reached the shade of their house again. We spent the rest of the day lying on the tile floor in the kitchen because it was the only cool place we could find. My room becomes an oven and I cannot stand to be in it before 6pm. My little fan can barely combat the heat, it often just feels like hairdryer blowing hot air around my room. All I do is sweat and it makes me grumpy, lazy and a little short on patience!

This week I was talking to students about the heat, telling them how hot I thought it was. They looked at me and said “Oh no teacher. It is not hot yet.” Oh. My. God.