Songkran and Sukothai

Hello friends and family!

Right now I am sitting in an internet cafe, waiting to catch a bus back to Chiang Mai from the ancient capital of the Sukothai kingdom. The ruins here are preserved as a UN world heritage sight and I came up with a few friends to bai tiaow, or vacation, on our spring break. We rented some bicycles and pedaled around through ancient temples and ponds yesterday under a bright blue sky, and then spent this morning and afternoon hiking up Khao Luang, a forested mountain that looks down over the province. It was a perfect way to recharge after our last course and also get ready for the next block in Mae Hong Son, which according to ISDSI legend involves intense backpacking up and down steep inclines and valleys. We shall see....

I am going to wait for another post to tell stories from the rivers course that we just finished in Issan, the eastern part of Thailand. It was a really powerful time of living with dam affected communities and exploring the rivers that our hosts call home and I want to give it the space it deserves. More to come on that!

What I would like to describe is the craziness of Songkran, or Thai New Year, that has been literally raging in the streets for the past week. Picture the biggest waterfight you have ever seen or been a part of, probably involving super soakers, hoses, buckets of water dashing onto the heads of unsuspecting passerby, and people being pushed into large bodies of water. Now magnify this to a citywide level and add blasting music, pickup trucks packed with people wielding all of these items patrolling the street, and lots and lots of whiskey. This is Songkran, and Chiang Mai is the place to be for Thai New Year so many of the students here have had the chance to celebrate with our host families during our spring break. In the 800 meters between my apartment and the internet cafe nearby, I probably had about 6 buckets of water dumped on my head/body and many more donations to my soggy state from squirtguns, hoses, and passing trucks. Another tradition that we encountered in Sukothai on the last day of the festival is the tradition of smearing a rice powder paste onto the face to bring good luck in the new year. I have never had so many people touch my face in one day, and I had flashbacks to old zombie movies as outstretched hands rushed from everywhere to wish chok dii (good luck) and happy new year to the farang via a swipe of scented goo. However, in the celebrations in the streets and splashing of water in the sunlight it is impossible to resist getting into the party too.

After we return to Chiang Mai, two other students and I are going on a 3 day caving expedition before starting our next block on Monday. Monday afternoon I am planning to meet with Katheryn, a woman who works with SIL in Chiang Mai, about an internship for this summer. I will be making a decision about my summer plans that week, so I appreciate your thoughts and prayers!

One other small thing...... my camera has gone MIA so I am not able to post pictures! I hope to find it soon so I can share the sights of my last few months here in Thailand. Thanks as always for your e-mails, letters, messages, and calls - it means a lot!

Much love and look for another update again soon.
Melissa