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
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Chiang Mai to Issan
Hello friends and family!
Six weeks later and I am getting ready to leave Chiang Mai tomorrow morning for the next block course in the semester. I'll be going to the north eastern region of Thailand for a course focusing on the effects that large dams have had on both ecology and human rights in this country. We have already had one week of classroom lecture on this topic and now we'll go see it live.
I have to apologize to you who are actually checking this blog because I am going to give to a surface level recap of the past month here instead of good juicy details. I think some of my fellow nagsuksa (students) have been posting so if you just need more adventures from Thailand you can check out their blogs and pictures too.
I'm just going to tell you about one of the days of my homestay so you can get an idea of what our first course was like. There was really, at least for me, not really a "typical" day because Thai life is very fluid. Sometimes just when I thought I was about to go to bed a posse of family members would come collect me and the other student that lived nearby and we would head out and about, or in our case a family member unexpectedly died and we were involved with the whole neighborhood in the week long funeral ceremonies. My family was so gracious and it was kind of hard to move out at the end, though also nice to regain the young adult independence I am so used to as a college student. This week has been more exploration of the city with other students and transitioning to not going home to Thai life every day.
So, in the mornings I would wake up around six to the sound of stir frying vegetables and eggs as Mae (mom) Ree, who probably went to bed later than me and got up earlier, cooked breakfast. It is important to greet people when you first meet them in the morning or after school, and also when you are leaving. Mae will always ask "aroy, mai?" (literally: is this food delicious or not?) and I would answer "Aroy!" ( It is delicious!) or, if it was stir fried beans which I really love, "Aroy mak mak!" (It is very delicious!). Usually I swept the house and then met Kat, the other ISDSI student who lived in my neighborhood, to catch the rot luang (this is the public transportation which is kind of like a covered pick up truck/bus with two long benches in the back. It is possible to fit 27 people in one, we have discovered!) into Chiang Mai. At ISDSI, Thai class runs from 8 -12 in the morning. For lunch we head out to a local market or restaurant that Pi Pookie, a Thai staff member who helped plan the course, thought would be especially tasty.
In the afternoon, Ajaan (professor) Christina, an anthropologist who has lived in Thailand for 20ish years, would teach about Thai culture, history, politics, or religion. Friday afternoon are fieldtrip days and we visited places like a royal farm modelling self sufficient agriculture, a Buddhist wat (temple), and NGOs.
This is such a broad overview! Next month will be better! I will be keeping journals for class that I can post when I return in 3 weeks.
On the particular day I want to tell you about, Kat and I took some time after school to buy pancake ingredients and fruit, as we planned to make American breakfast for our families on the morning before we moved to the student apartments in Chiang Mai. "Family" here includes uncles, aunts, and cousins living nearby, my Yai (grandmother) Moon, and neighbors who may or may not be related, so we got a formidable amount of mix! After shopping we took the rot luang back to our village, Mae Rim, and I greeted Yai and Nong Poo, a neighbor boy she babysits, before being directed to take a cool shower. Thai people shower a lot and really emphasize being clean and tidy, so you can understand why the sight of the sweaty, dreadlocked, unkempt western backpackers who cruise around Chiang Mai raises eyebrows and embarrased giggles.
Mae came home around 6 and makes dinner for Yai and me, which probably involved pork, vegetables, spice, and always rice. Later I went to Kat's house and learned Faun Jan, a traditional northern Thai dance involving twirling umbrellas, from Pi Dao our amazing cousin. Somehow Kat and I later ended up performing this dance infront of all the host families, students, and staff at the farewell dinner for the host families. AHH! Though we were nervous, wearing bright pink, and made up like china dolls, it was really fun and I think we made Pi Dao proud:)
On this night, after practicing, I came home to find Pau (dad) Lin home and watching Thai soap operas. We talked a little bit about our days and what I learned in Thai class, but I was feeling really sleepy as it was around 10 and past my Thai bedtime:) My neighbor Pang, who is about my age, came over to say hi and we talked for a little while too. Later after bidding my parents good night with a wai (think praying hands with fingertips raised up to about mouth level), I finally rolled into bed and beautiful sleep. When you are taking in so much new information , flavors, sights, and sounds and learning to form a new language, it is surprisingly exhausting. I feel like I understand why babies sleep so much, and why sometimes in my English classroom in Buffalo last summer I would see a student, head down on folded arms, just passed out at their desk at the end of the day.
Like I said, there was no typical day and I will save the week of funeral experience for another post, but this is something of how we have been living for 5 weeks.
This next course is going to be a mix of human rights, political science, and river ecology as far as the academic content. We will also be in homestay for a week in eastern Thailand (Issan) in a community affected by the construction of a large dam, and then returning to northern Thailand to spend around a week paddling down a river that may soon be dammed and altered. An uneasy thought lingering in the back of our student minds is the food we will encounter in Issan. Larp, a dish of raw intestines, blood, and bile, is one local dish, as well as raw fermented fish. I guess I'll just smile and swallow as fast as I can if I ever find that on my plate.
Thanks for everyone who has written letters and e-mails and is keeping me in prayer - it means a lot! I am going to be making a decision about where to intern this summer soon here; right now I am not sure if I will intern with Wycliffe/SIL or pursue something else through ISDSI.
Ok, thanks for reading. You are all in my heart and mind a lot these days. Keep an eye out for many more pictures and stories in a few weeks.
With lots of love,
Melissa
Six weeks later and I am getting ready to leave Chiang Mai tomorrow morning for the next block course in the semester. I'll be going to the north eastern region of Thailand for a course focusing on the effects that large dams have had on both ecology and human rights in this country. We have already had one week of classroom lecture on this topic and now we'll go see it live.
I have to apologize to you who are actually checking this blog because I am going to give to a surface level recap of the past month here instead of good juicy details. I think some of my fellow nagsuksa (students) have been posting so if you just need more adventures from Thailand you can check out their blogs and pictures too.
I'm just going to tell you about one of the days of my homestay so you can get an idea of what our first course was like. There was really, at least for me, not really a "typical" day because Thai life is very fluid. Sometimes just when I thought I was about to go to bed a posse of family members would come collect me and the other student that lived nearby and we would head out and about, or in our case a family member unexpectedly died and we were involved with the whole neighborhood in the week long funeral ceremonies. My family was so gracious and it was kind of hard to move out at the end, though also nice to regain the young adult independence I am so used to as a college student. This week has been more exploration of the city with other students and transitioning to not going home to Thai life every day.
So, in the mornings I would wake up around six to the sound of stir frying vegetables and eggs as Mae (mom) Ree, who probably went to bed later than me and got up earlier, cooked breakfast. It is important to greet people when you first meet them in the morning or after school, and also when you are leaving. Mae will always ask "aroy, mai?" (literally: is this food delicious or not?) and I would answer "Aroy!" ( It is delicious!) or, if it was stir fried beans which I really love, "Aroy mak mak!" (It is very delicious!). Usually I swept the house and then met Kat, the other ISDSI student who lived in my neighborhood, to catch the rot luang (this is the public transportation which is kind of like a covered pick up truck/bus with two long benches in the back. It is possible to fit 27 people in one, we have discovered!) into Chiang Mai. At ISDSI, Thai class runs from 8 -12 in the morning. For lunch we head out to a local market or restaurant that Pi Pookie, a Thai staff member who helped plan the course, thought would be especially tasty.
In the afternoon, Ajaan (professor) Christina, an anthropologist who has lived in Thailand for 20ish years, would teach about Thai culture, history, politics, or religion. Friday afternoon are fieldtrip days and we visited places like a royal farm modelling self sufficient agriculture, a Buddhist wat (temple), and NGOs.
This is such a broad overview! Next month will be better! I will be keeping journals for class that I can post when I return in 3 weeks.
On the particular day I want to tell you about, Kat and I took some time after school to buy pancake ingredients and fruit, as we planned to make American breakfast for our families on the morning before we moved to the student apartments in Chiang Mai. "Family" here includes uncles, aunts, and cousins living nearby, my Yai (grandmother) Moon, and neighbors who may or may not be related, so we got a formidable amount of mix! After shopping we took the rot luang back to our village, Mae Rim, and I greeted Yai and Nong Poo, a neighbor boy she babysits, before being directed to take a cool shower. Thai people shower a lot and really emphasize being clean and tidy, so you can understand why the sight of the sweaty, dreadlocked, unkempt western backpackers who cruise around Chiang Mai raises eyebrows and embarrased giggles.
Mae came home around 6 and makes dinner for Yai and me, which probably involved pork, vegetables, spice, and always rice. Later I went to Kat's house and learned Faun Jan, a traditional northern Thai dance involving twirling umbrellas, from Pi Dao our amazing cousin. Somehow Kat and I later ended up performing this dance infront of all the host families, students, and staff at the farewell dinner for the host families. AHH! Though we were nervous, wearing bright pink, and made up like china dolls, it was really fun and I think we made Pi Dao proud:)
On this night, after practicing, I came home to find Pau (dad) Lin home and watching Thai soap operas. We talked a little bit about our days and what I learned in Thai class, but I was feeling really sleepy as it was around 10 and past my Thai bedtime:) My neighbor Pang, who is about my age, came over to say hi and we talked for a little while too. Later after bidding my parents good night with a wai (think praying hands with fingertips raised up to about mouth level), I finally rolled into bed and beautiful sleep. When you are taking in so much new information , flavors, sights, and sounds and learning to form a new language, it is surprisingly exhausting. I feel like I understand why babies sleep so much, and why sometimes in my English classroom in Buffalo last summer I would see a student, head down on folded arms, just passed out at their desk at the end of the day.
Like I said, there was no typical day and I will save the week of funeral experience for another post, but this is something of how we have been living for 5 weeks.
This next course is going to be a mix of human rights, political science, and river ecology as far as the academic content. We will also be in homestay for a week in eastern Thailand (Issan) in a community affected by the construction of a large dam, and then returning to northern Thailand to spend around a week paddling down a river that may soon be dammed and altered. An uneasy thought lingering in the back of our student minds is the food we will encounter in Issan. Larp, a dish of raw intestines, blood, and bile, is one local dish, as well as raw fermented fish. I guess I'll just smile and swallow as fast as I can if I ever find that on my plate.
Thanks for everyone who has written letters and e-mails and is keeping me in prayer - it means a lot! I am going to be making a decision about where to intern this summer soon here; right now I am not sure if I will intern with Wycliffe/SIL or pursue something else through ISDSI.
Ok, thanks for reading. You are all in my heart and mind a lot these days. Keep an eye out for many more pictures and stories in a few weeks.
With lots of love,
Melissa
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Phase: Next
Hello from Chiang Mai -
Exciting news; I passed my written and practical test for the WFR course, so I am certified with a laminated card and everything - yes! Our whole class was able to pass, and I really have to admire the Thai staff who took an entire course and test on medical terminology in a second language. The actual test day was on Thursday, and that finished off chapter one of my time in Thailand. The ISDSI director, Mark Ritchie, took some video which I am excited to tell you you can watch at http://www.isdsi.org/wmi.html to get an idea of what the past 10 days have been like. Notes about the background music; the first song is (ironically, you'll see what I mean) one that has the right rhythm to get a rate of 100 chest compressions per minute, so we would have it playing while we practiced CPR on our Actar dummies. We were cautioned not to sing that (or "The wheels on the bus go round and round", another song with the right beat) out loud in an actual emergency situation. Indeed. The second song is country because our Australian instuctor impersonated Billy Bob the country hick to simulate angina pectoris, and it was absolutely hilarious. You can also see the car accident scenario I mentioned in the last post at the end of the video. We had amazing instructors and a really great group of people, so I am kind of missing it!
Thursday night some of the Kalamazoo students who have just finished up their semester were getting rid of clothes and other items they don't want to take back to the states. So I inherited some school uniforms, a gym membership, and a cell phone! It was great to hear some of their expereinces and I am impatient to begin the actual semester.
Here is some contact information:
cell: 081-168-1004 I am still figuring out how to check messages, so no guarantees there.
mailing:
Melissa Blosser
ISDSI
PO Box 222
Prasingh
Chiang Mai, 50205
THAILAND
package:
Melissa Blosser
ISDSI
48/1 Chiang Mai-Lampang Road (Superhighway)
Muang, Chiang Mai, 50300
THAILAND
(if you are shipping, ISDSI recommends DHL)
Dennis picked me up on Friday from the guesthouse, so I am now staying with the Layman family. After staying by myself in a guesthouse for 12 days, it is nice to be back in a home. Bread is now a part of my life again (there is a sandwich shop in Chiang Mai that with the tagline - "A Shady oasis in an ocean of rice". I have been swimming in that delicious ocean since I came and loving it, but it is also good to experience american food after 2 weeks.) Plans for this week: I am going to try to get in touch with SIL people and define some more concrete details for this summer internship. I have some phone numbers from Houghton people, Dr. Ritchie, the Laymans, and I could probably ask the Gallmans too, so there is a good web of connections. Apparently this city is a huge SIL center. Sarah and I are going to do some exploring of the city and I will probably go with her for a day or two to the children's home in a city north of Chiang Mai where she volunteers. We are going to check out a night safari at the zoo here (since I didn't end up going to Tanzania........) and maybe also another night bazaar similar to the Sunday walking street. So, good plans.
Friday I will be going back to the guesthouse and the semester will begin. My fellow classmates are rolling in on the 6th and we will all spend the first night at Mountainview. Saturday we will meet our Thai host families and stay with them for the weekend, and then Monday morning we will begin intensive Thai in our first course. I am so excited about the language learning after wandering around for 2 weeks, illiterate and only able to say "hello" (incorrectly) and a word that just indicates politeness and I don't think has any definite meaning.
The Laymans live in a lower traffic area, which also means I will be able to go for runs while I am here. There are so many cars, motorbikes, bikes, and tuk tuks zipping around every street and corner in the main city that running is really difficult. I went one day for 30 minutes and spent 20 running and 10 waiting to dart across intersections, probably to the amusement of all onlooking Thais who somehow stroll through the rush of traffic like it's a field of daisies.
So enjoy the video and look for anther update in a week or so. Hope you are all doing well.
And - - - hooray for 27 years for Mom and Dad! Each year you celebrate is a gift for me and Erik too.
With love,
Melissa
Exciting news; I passed my written and practical test for the WFR course, so I am certified with a laminated card and everything - yes! Our whole class was able to pass, and I really have to admire the Thai staff who took an entire course and test on medical terminology in a second language. The actual test day was on Thursday, and that finished off chapter one of my time in Thailand. The ISDSI director, Mark Ritchie, took some video which I am excited to tell you you can watch at http://www.isdsi.org/wmi.html to get an idea of what the past 10 days have been like. Notes about the background music; the first song is (ironically, you'll see what I mean) one that has the right rhythm to get a rate of 100 chest compressions per minute, so we would have it playing while we practiced CPR on our Actar dummies. We were cautioned not to sing that (or "The wheels on the bus go round and round", another song with the right beat) out loud in an actual emergency situation. Indeed. The second song is country because our Australian instuctor impersonated Billy Bob the country hick to simulate angina pectoris, and it was absolutely hilarious. You can also see the car accident scenario I mentioned in the last post at the end of the video. We had amazing instructors and a really great group of people, so I am kind of missing it!
Thursday night some of the Kalamazoo students who have just finished up their semester were getting rid of clothes and other items they don't want to take back to the states. So I inherited some school uniforms, a gym membership, and a cell phone! It was great to hear some of their expereinces and I am impatient to begin the actual semester.
Here is some contact information:
cell: 081-168-1004 I am still figuring out how to check messages, so no guarantees there.
mailing:
Melissa Blosser
ISDSI
PO Box 222
Prasingh
Chiang Mai, 50205
THAILAND
package:
Melissa Blosser
ISDSI
48/1 Chiang Mai-Lampang Road (Superhighway)
Muang, Chiang Mai, 50300
THAILAND
(if you are shipping, ISDSI recommends DHL)
Dennis picked me up on Friday from the guesthouse, so I am now staying with the Layman family. After staying by myself in a guesthouse for 12 days, it is nice to be back in a home. Bread is now a part of my life again (there is a sandwich shop in Chiang Mai that with the tagline - "A Shady oasis in an ocean of rice". I have been swimming in that delicious ocean since I came and loving it, but it is also good to experience american food after 2 weeks.) Plans for this week: I am going to try to get in touch with SIL people and define some more concrete details for this summer internship. I have some phone numbers from Houghton people, Dr. Ritchie, the Laymans, and I could probably ask the Gallmans too, so there is a good web of connections. Apparently this city is a huge SIL center. Sarah and I are going to do some exploring of the city and I will probably go with her for a day or two to the children's home in a city north of Chiang Mai where she volunteers. We are going to check out a night safari at the zoo here (since I didn't end up going to Tanzania........) and maybe also another night bazaar similar to the Sunday walking street. So, good plans.
Friday I will be going back to the guesthouse and the semester will begin. My fellow classmates are rolling in on the 6th and we will all spend the first night at Mountainview. Saturday we will meet our Thai host families and stay with them for the weekend, and then Monday morning we will begin intensive Thai in our first course. I am so excited about the language learning after wandering around for 2 weeks, illiterate and only able to say "hello" (incorrectly) and a word that just indicates politeness and I don't think has any definite meaning.
The Laymans live in a lower traffic area, which also means I will be able to go for runs while I am here. There are so many cars, motorbikes, bikes, and tuk tuks zipping around every street and corner in the main city that running is really difficult. I went one day for 30 minutes and spent 20 running and 10 waiting to dart across intersections, probably to the amusement of all onlooking Thais who somehow stroll through the rush of traffic like it's a field of daisies.
So enjoy the video and look for anther update in a week or so. Hope you are all doing well.
And - - - hooray for 27 years for Mom and Dad! Each year you celebrate is a gift for me and Erik too.
With love,
Melissa
Sunday, January 25, 2009
blood and trauma (but not mine!)
Hi there friends and family,
It is time for a break from wound care and fractures to update you on my first week in Thailand. Thanks for everyone who has been e-mailing and facebooking; it is so good to hear from you!
Starting this past Tuesday, I have been spending most of my time in a Wilderness First Responder course that ISDSI, the organiation I will soon be studying with, is hosting. This is a mini course before the actual semester begins, and I am the only student from the spring semester that is here so far. Most of the other people taking the class are either staff from ISDSI or other people whose work involves outdoor recreation and travel in remote locations, and there is one girl who just finished a fall version of the program I am about to do. It is fascinating to hear the stories that a lot of these guys have from their work and travel around SE Asia.
This WFR class is one that I have been wanting to take since I came to college, so I am really enjoying it even though it is like trying to drink out of the proverbial fire hydrant:) Class runs from 8 to 5 every day and I am at the half way point with five days to go. NOLS staff is teaching the course through their Wilderness Medicine Insitute, and we have excellent teachers who are both knowledgable and hilarious. The format is really hands on, so maybe we will learn about musculoskeletal injuries and pracitce making splints, and then we will be put into a scenario where we have to respond to and assess a patient and try to treat them. Our most recent scenario was a car/motorcycle accident with multiple victims with injuries including paralysis, hand amputation, impalement, femur fracture, and severe head injury. I got to have open fractures on each of my wrists, complete with protruding "bones" (sticks) and fake blood everywhere (nice!). The instructors have all kinds of crazy makeup so injuries are often frighteningly realistic, and we use cars and other things as props to make a scene as true to life as possible. Pretty challenging, pretty sweet too. We have a format that we go through in any situation to help us be consistant and thorough in an emergency, and there is a lot to remember. Also, with this level of training we will not be able to solve a lot of the issues we can discover.
This class takes up most of my time and focus, so I have only explored the city a little but I will have more time in the coming months so not to worry. Today I was able to meet up with the Gallmans, two of my professors from Houghton who are teaching here for a few months, which was great. Later I explored the Sunday walking street, which is actually several streets blocked off to motor traffic and loaded with people playing music, performing, and selling handicrafts, food, and just about anything else. It is there every Sunday night so I will definitely be revisitng. And for those of you EMW's, I have found the Thai counterpart for sladoled, labelled enigmatically as "ancient ice cream". It comes on a stick in a frozen block of delectable and interesting varieties such as coconut, black bean, and lemon. My next flavor: sweet potato. And it is only 10 baht (US 30 cents)! Eat your heart out, 5 kuna:)
My my this post is getting long and the morning is coming soon. Our class location is hard to find so I have stopped trying to get there by songtaw (like a taxi/bus), which usually ended in getting lost, and am walking about 40 min to and from class. It is refreshing before and after long days of lecture, but due to insane traffic and the fleets of motorbikes that everyone seems to drive street crossings are never dull.
I am still really excited to be meeting so many interesting and remarkable people here. One guy in my class is a doctor for the Free Burma Rangers, an NGO that trains teams of medics to operate in places where the Burmese army is destroying villages and placing land mines. I had heard of them through people in Buffalo and have been getting their e-mail updates for a while. The teams are armed but only for defense and try to protect and treat villagers that are fleeing from the army. He had one story about a time when a group that had been previously attacked by the army had a chance to treat a group of soldiers, their enemies, who had been wounded. They chose to treat them in an incredible act of non-retaliation. Amazing. Some other people in my class are missionaries who travel to remote locations to bring Bibles to churches that can't get them, people working in adventure sports companies, people working at a local climbing gym (where I hope to go some during the semester!), and all the ISDSI staff (thai and american). So it is a great group.
Well, I am back to studying a bit and then sleep. I have been thinking of many of you and so thankful for your places in my life as I am far away and noticing some vacancies that you usually fill! However, I trust that God has good plans and people for me here and I am excited to start tracing them out as my life here for the next months unfolds. Pray for good relationships and discernment for me to listen as God is speaking, eyes to see like he does. And also for, as Todd wrote in an e-mail, and "extra absorbant layer" to soak in every detail and moment.
This has been in my mind this week:
Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
I am in good hands.
With love,
Melissa
It is time for a break from wound care and fractures to update you on my first week in Thailand. Thanks for everyone who has been e-mailing and facebooking; it is so good to hear from you!
Starting this past Tuesday, I have been spending most of my time in a Wilderness First Responder course that ISDSI, the organiation I will soon be studying with, is hosting. This is a mini course before the actual semester begins, and I am the only student from the spring semester that is here so far. Most of the other people taking the class are either staff from ISDSI or other people whose work involves outdoor recreation and travel in remote locations, and there is one girl who just finished a fall version of the program I am about to do. It is fascinating to hear the stories that a lot of these guys have from their work and travel around SE Asia.
This WFR class is one that I have been wanting to take since I came to college, so I am really enjoying it even though it is like trying to drink out of the proverbial fire hydrant:) Class runs from 8 to 5 every day and I am at the half way point with five days to go. NOLS staff is teaching the course through their Wilderness Medicine Insitute, and we have excellent teachers who are both knowledgable and hilarious. The format is really hands on, so maybe we will learn about musculoskeletal injuries and pracitce making splints, and then we will be put into a scenario where we have to respond to and assess a patient and try to treat them. Our most recent scenario was a car/motorcycle accident with multiple victims with injuries including paralysis, hand amputation, impalement, femur fracture, and severe head injury. I got to have open fractures on each of my wrists, complete with protruding "bones" (sticks) and fake blood everywhere (nice!). The instructors have all kinds of crazy makeup so injuries are often frighteningly realistic, and we use cars and other things as props to make a scene as true to life as possible. Pretty challenging, pretty sweet too. We have a format that we go through in any situation to help us be consistant and thorough in an emergency, and there is a lot to remember. Also, with this level of training we will not be able to solve a lot of the issues we can discover.
This class takes up most of my time and focus, so I have only explored the city a little but I will have more time in the coming months so not to worry. Today I was able to meet up with the Gallmans, two of my professors from Houghton who are teaching here for a few months, which was great. Later I explored the Sunday walking street, which is actually several streets blocked off to motor traffic and loaded with people playing music, performing, and selling handicrafts, food, and just about anything else. It is there every Sunday night so I will definitely be revisitng. And for those of you EMW's, I have found the Thai counterpart for sladoled, labelled enigmatically as "ancient ice cream". It comes on a stick in a frozen block of delectable and interesting varieties such as coconut, black bean, and lemon. My next flavor: sweet potato. And it is only 10 baht (US 30 cents)! Eat your heart out, 5 kuna:)
My my this post is getting long and the morning is coming soon. Our class location is hard to find so I have stopped trying to get there by songtaw (like a taxi/bus), which usually ended in getting lost, and am walking about 40 min to and from class. It is refreshing before and after long days of lecture, but due to insane traffic and the fleets of motorbikes that everyone seems to drive street crossings are never dull.
I am still really excited to be meeting so many interesting and remarkable people here. One guy in my class is a doctor for the Free Burma Rangers, an NGO that trains teams of medics to operate in places where the Burmese army is destroying villages and placing land mines. I had heard of them through people in Buffalo and have been getting their e-mail updates for a while. The teams are armed but only for defense and try to protect and treat villagers that are fleeing from the army. He had one story about a time when a group that had been previously attacked by the army had a chance to treat a group of soldiers, their enemies, who had been wounded. They chose to treat them in an incredible act of non-retaliation. Amazing. Some other people in my class are missionaries who travel to remote locations to bring Bibles to churches that can't get them, people working in adventure sports companies, people working at a local climbing gym (where I hope to go some during the semester!), and all the ISDSI staff (thai and american). So it is a great group.
Well, I am back to studying a bit and then sleep. I have been thinking of many of you and so thankful for your places in my life as I am far away and noticing some vacancies that you usually fill! However, I trust that God has good plans and people for me here and I am excited to start tracing them out as my life here for the next months unfolds. Pray for good relationships and discernment for me to listen as God is speaking, eyes to see like he does. And also for, as Todd wrote in an e-mail, and "extra absorbant layer" to soak in every detail and moment.
This has been in my mind this week:
Where can I go from your spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
I am in good hands.
With love,
Melissa
Monday, January 19, 2009
First Thoughts from Thailand
Hello friends and family!
After months of eager anticipation, I am finally in Chiang Mai! I arrived the 18th just after midnight and, thanks to the chaotic sleep schedule my body expects from me, I am adjusting ok to switching night and day (Chiang Mai is 12 hours ahead of VA).
I am continuing to be amazed and so thankful for the contacts I have in the city. The Laymans, a family whose father grew up in my home church, live here as missionaries and were so gracious to pick me up from the airport and agree to let me stay with them after my first WFR (Wilderness First Responder) course is done. As I picked up my huge "bodybag" and staggered through customs after more than 20 hours in the air, I was so glad to see friendly faces instead of trying to find a taxi and navigate a new city after 1 AM. It was wonderful to meet their family and attending an international church with them in the morning. They have a 20 year old daughter, Sarah, and we are planning to explore the city together some in the time before my semester classes start Feb 6. I am planning to go with her to the children's home where she works, and I am excited to learn more about Dennis' ministry to Burmese refugees living in the Thai camps. After meeting so many people in Buffalo and hearing their stories this past spring and summer, I want to better understand what life is like for refugees before coming to the US or other countries where they are relocated.
When I first stepped off the plane, Dennis introduced me to a man who I think was the Thailand director for SIL (I can't remember details too well....). His boss flew in from PA on the same plane as me! He goes to the same church as the Laymans ad was encouraging me to intern with SIL in survey work or literacy. That was good to hear because I have not finalized anything for my internship with them, and I am trying to meet with some people in a little over a week to find out more. The internship would not take place until after mid June, so there is time to work out the details (or the whole thing....!). I have also been able to contact a girl who went to school with my brother at Messiah and is now working with SIL here. And, very wonderfully, the Gallmans (my academic advisor and his wife, who have both been my professors) are in Chiang Mai teachig for a few months and we are planning to get together. So it is wonderful to come halfway around the world and not feel completely alone!
So as I am writing to the sounds of motorcycles zipping through the streets and birds waking up, I feel gratitude and so much expectation for the coming 6 months. Tomorrow I will start the WFR course, but today is open and free. Plans include eating the amazing food at the guesthouse (yesterday I had the coconut/lime chicken and mushroom soup just for you, Dad! Only this version had tiny red and green peppers stewing at the bottom, so the fire just grows with time:), buying a map, and exploring the city. I also want to find a place to watch the inauguration, which will be 12 hours ahead of DC.
Ok, thanks to all of you who are reading this wherever you are and for those who have agreed to pray with me during this time. I appreciate it more than I can say, and I would love to hear how you are doing as well whenever you e-mail or write. Goodbye for now-
Melissa
After months of eager anticipation, I am finally in Chiang Mai! I arrived the 18th just after midnight and, thanks to the chaotic sleep schedule my body expects from me, I am adjusting ok to switching night and day (Chiang Mai is 12 hours ahead of VA).
I am continuing to be amazed and so thankful for the contacts I have in the city. The Laymans, a family whose father grew up in my home church, live here as missionaries and were so gracious to pick me up from the airport and agree to let me stay with them after my first WFR (Wilderness First Responder) course is done. As I picked up my huge "bodybag" and staggered through customs after more than 20 hours in the air, I was so glad to see friendly faces instead of trying to find a taxi and navigate a new city after 1 AM. It was wonderful to meet their family and attending an international church with them in the morning. They have a 20 year old daughter, Sarah, and we are planning to explore the city together some in the time before my semester classes start Feb 6. I am planning to go with her to the children's home where she works, and I am excited to learn more about Dennis' ministry to Burmese refugees living in the Thai camps. After meeting so many people in Buffalo and hearing their stories this past spring and summer, I want to better understand what life is like for refugees before coming to the US or other countries where they are relocated.
When I first stepped off the plane, Dennis introduced me to a man who I think was the Thailand director for SIL (I can't remember details too well....). His boss flew in from PA on the same plane as me! He goes to the same church as the Laymans ad was encouraging me to intern with SIL in survey work or literacy. That was good to hear because I have not finalized anything for my internship with them, and I am trying to meet with some people in a little over a week to find out more. The internship would not take place until after mid June, so there is time to work out the details (or the whole thing....!). I have also been able to contact a girl who went to school with my brother at Messiah and is now working with SIL here. And, very wonderfully, the Gallmans (my academic advisor and his wife, who have both been my professors) are in Chiang Mai teachig for a few months and we are planning to get together. So it is wonderful to come halfway around the world and not feel completely alone!
So as I am writing to the sounds of motorcycles zipping through the streets and birds waking up, I feel gratitude and so much expectation for the coming 6 months. Tomorrow I will start the WFR course, but today is open and free. Plans include eating the amazing food at the guesthouse (yesterday I had the coconut/lime chicken and mushroom soup just for you, Dad! Only this version had tiny red and green peppers stewing at the bottom, so the fire just grows with time:), buying a map, and exploring the city. I also want to find a place to watch the inauguration, which will be 12 hours ahead of DC.
Ok, thanks to all of you who are reading this wherever you are and for those who have agreed to pray with me during this time. I appreciate it more than I can say, and I would love to hear how you are doing as well whenever you e-mail or write. Goodbye for now-
Melissa
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