Personal space...or not

I've been here for almost two months now, which sounds crazy because I feel like I've been here much longer. Everyday is a new mini-adventure - what exactly did I just order to eat? Will that pack of dogs decide to get up and chase me down the street again today? Will I make it across the six lane highway to work? (Of course I will, Mom!) So far I've returned home each day well-fed, unscathed and full of a million new thoughts about human rights and South East Asia. I'm meeting a lot of wonderful and interesting people and I've even made a few really good friends.

I'm starting to notice some more subtle cultural differences that I've found really interesting. I spend a lot of time in songthaews, as this blog might reflect. Sometimes, you're the only one in the songthaew...and sometimes there's a little old lady or a small child sitting in your lap. Luckily, I've so far avoided being one of the people hanging off the back while the car races down the highway at rushhour. I think people sense my hesitation as a foreigner and spare me that role. One really interesting thing I've noticed is that in the songthaew, while climbing in and out, people do not hestitate to grab other passengers knees or shoulders to balance themselves. I'll admit that the first time I noticed someone do this to me, I was a little startled. I thought the lady was hinting that I move out of the way, but then I noticed she touched the knees and legs of almost every other woman in the car as she crawled out (quite firmly, with a lot of her weight because you have to hunch over to get out of the cars), and no one else seemed to think twice about it. Of course, I should note that in no instance would a members of the opposite sex touch in public. Sometimes you see young couples holding hands, but even that is considered a little risque.

The idea of personal space is so different here than it is at home, and I'm not saying this is bad or makes me uncomfortable, I think I actually quite like it. I had a funny experience the other day as well. I was in a songthaew on the way to work and it got very crowded. I was pushed all the way to the back and was up against a plastic bin on the floor, which was crowding my leg room. A group of cute, chatty, little old ladies got in and were sitting around me. One of the ladies smiled at me, touched my cramped legs and said something to her friends, probably along the lines of, "this poor tall girl looks so squished!" She then rested both of her arms on my legs and kind of started petting my knee...not in a weird way like that might sound, but more in a soothing way, trying to assure me that she understood I was uncomfortable. Then a mother and her young son got in (he was probably about six years old). The mom hung onto the back while the little old ladies giggled over the little boy, pushing him back to sit on the plastic bin in front of me, rather than the floor, because he was just big enough to use it as a seat (often there is a stool or two in the center that people sit on, so this worked in that way). The ladies were talking to him, fixing his jacket, and brushing his hair down and the little guy was just shyly smiling while his mom stood at the end of the car, watching but not batting an eye that a group of strangers were cooing over her son. Even when one of the ladies took out a little candy and gave it to him, the mom didn't do anything.

As I was sitting there, with this lady resting herself on my knees and smiling at me every few minutes, watching her and her friends fuss over this little kid, who didn't seem to care, nor did his mom, I thought to myself, this would never happen in the United States. If I was on the bus in DC or Seattle and someone rested their hands on me, I can just hear the "excuse me?" seething with attitude coming out of my mouth. And I can't even think what a parent's reaction would be to a perfect stranger brushing their young child's hair and cheeks and giving them candy. But I've noticed this happening all the time. When a little kid gets in the car, all the women take it upon themselves to make sure the kid stays seated and doesn't fly around the car (needless to say, no seatbelts). I frequently see people just pick up kids and sit them on their laps.

My ride to work this morning was rather uneventful, as far as songthaew rides go. I managed to avoid the dogs and cross the highway safely...I hope I can pronounce what I want for dinner correctly.

A million lanterns

This weekend was the Loy Krathong festival. It's a Buddhist festival that pays respect to Buddha and the water. To be honest, I'm actually having quite a hard time figuring out what it means beyond that. I know that loy means to float and krathongs are little lantern floats (for the water) made of flowers, banana leaves and more recently bread or styrofoam. In Chiang Mai, and throughout northern Thailand, the festival is more specifically Yi Peng Loy Krathong - which refers to the lanterns released into the sky. From what I understand, the symbolism of letting a candle float down the river or releasing the lit lantern into the sky is about letting go of anger, resentment and ill will - a Day of Atonement, if you will. I have to say though, it's the most fun way to atone that I've ever experienced!

On Saturday evening, Jessie, Rachel and I were invited to the house of one of the missionaries at Julia's NGO for dinner. It was so nice to be in a home and eat Tex-Mex with an American family! After dinner we, about fifteen adults and children, piled into a songthaew and set out for Mae Jo University, where there is a well-known Buddhist meditation center that hosts a Loy Krathong celebration every year. The traffic getting up there was insane. We ended up parking a while down the road and walking. As we were carefully maneuvering our way onto the campus, we could see hundreds of lanterns floating up in the distance and fireworks were all around (more about that later).

We reached a field with thousands of people - families, friends, students, a few tourists - all toting folded up white lanterns, cameras and listening to the monks chant prayers in Sanskrit over a loudspeaker. I could barely see where the monks were, the stage looked like a sun setting on the horizon - a semicircle in soft orange lighting, far in the distance. Being as tall as I am, especially in this country, I was able to stand on my tip toes and take some pictures. We had no idea what was being said, but we followed the crowd, kneeling when appropriate and after several minutes on our knees, we saw red smoke in the distance. We watched as hundreds of torches, three feet off of the ground, lit up from front to back. I could feel the excitement and anticipation in the crowd because everyone knew what was about to happen. Suddently everyone stood and people began unfolding and lighting their lanterns - about four or five people to a lantern, one lantern over each torch. Some more prayers were chanted as the big white lanterns were lit. When lit, they become glowing white pillars, about five feet tall and three feet wide. I could no longer see over the lanterns and actually become quite claustrophobic because hundreds of bright white lanterns were looming over me, blocking my view of the sky.

Off to the right, a loud firework shot up into the sky and as it exploded, everyone cheered and released their lanterns. I cannot find the words to explain how spectacular the sight was - thousands of lanterns floating up into the sky. The cheers from the crowd were those of absolute delight and awe. I took a video, which I hope I can figure out how to post here, because I think it actually captures the whole experience quite well, firework and all. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

The rest of the evening was a continuous stream of lanterns being released, fireworks exploding and general celebration. Back in Chiang Mai, the bank of the Ping River was crowded with food stalls, clothing markets and people selling fireworks and lanterns. The fireworks were absolutely out of control and after this weekend, I am even more happy they are illegal in the US. When they are not, people act stupid. Kids and tourists were shooting off fireworks in every direction, with seemingly no regard for the fact that there were millions of people out and about. I saw people throw sparklers and fountain-like fireworks into the middle of busy streets and watched as motorbikes and tuk tuks swerved to avoid being hit. It was insane. I must admit, some of them are quite pretty. It was nearly impossible to sleep that night because the city was filled with loud booms and pops of fireworks all night. When I woke up on Sunday morning, the air was hazy and foggy from the previous night.

I'm sure some of you heard what happened in Cambodia during their water festival this weekend. What a tragedy. For those of you who didn't, there was a stampede on a bridge where people were gathered to watch the river floats and fireworks and over 350 people were killed. It seems to be a total accident - one of those scenes that just gets out of control with too many people in panic mode. I know everyone is very shaken up about it here and I can only imagine what it's like in Phnom Pen. It's very tragic that such a joyous celebration ended so awfully and it makes me wonder what new meanings that festival is going to take on for Cambodians in years to come.

Aside from the festivities, good and bad, I'm doing quite well over here. I want to wish everyone at home a Happy Thanksgiving! Eat a slice of pumpkin pie for me!

A little hut by the river

This weekend we went to Pai ("pie"), a hippy town high up in the hills of Mae Hong Son Province. Sounds awesome, right? And it is. I went with the three other AJWS volunteers (Rachel, Jessie, Julia) plus Kim, who we met while hiking. The five of us met up at the bus stop after work, excited for the weekend, but anxious about the bus ride through the windy mountain roads, which we had heard was not for the weak-stomached. With our pharmacy of over-the-counter motion sickness pills in hand, we boarded the bus and set off for Pai. I'm not usually one to get car sick, however, after three hours of driving through the dark mountains, Thai-style (brakes are optional, as are lanes), I wanted to vomit. Julia and I were having an intense discussion for most of the ride, but towards the end, we both looked at each other and decided we needed to shut up and close our eyes.

We got to Pai before any unfortunate incidents occurred. Wow, it was different than Chiang Mai. Quiet, chilly, the air was crisp and you could actually see the stars in the night sky. We didn't have a hostel reservation because going to Pai with a reservation is so un-Pai. A woman I work with suggested we walk down to the river and stay in one of the little huts down there so that's precisely what we did.

Walking through the city for the first time reminded me of a really small Whistler Village. Julia said it reminded her of Ashland, OR. There are two main streets with guesthouses, restaurants, souvenir shops, tourism offices and at night, it becomes one big market. I would say it's "touristy" but I think that conjers up the wrong image. It's a vacation town where a certain type of tourist - mostly Bangkokians - go to escape the busy city. We made it down to the river, crossed a little bamboo bridge and found hundreds of huts on the other bank. We chose a "family hut" that we could all fit in.

I have to say, I cannot picture (certain members of) my family staying in this hut. Well, maybe back in 1974. It was on stilts, with a lit porch in the front. Inside were two queen mattresses right next to each other on the ground with clean sheets and thick blankets. The mattresses took up two-thirds of the floor space. Pinned to the wall above the mattresses were two tired looking mosquito nets, which we didn't need to use because it was cool enough that mosquitos weren't an issue. Directly across from the front door was another door which led to a cement-floored bathroom out back. There was a shower head, a western toilet, a sink, four walls and most of a roof. Staying in this hut was a liberating experience. The whole weekend I giggled to myself whenever I heard one of us say where we were staying - "In a hut, down by the river!"

I don't know what the best part about Pai was. The food was fresh, cheap and in abundance. The people we met were easy-going, friendly and full of stories. The scenery was beautiful. After dinner on Friday, Jessie, Julia and I found ourselves at "The Bamboo Hut" - an establishment made entirely of bamboo (the floors bounced as you walked), which served cold beers and free barbeque skewers of delicious pineapple, pepper, onion and meat to an eager group of backpackers who were busy swapping stories of Thailand, SE Asia, and educating each other about their respective homelands.

A funny coincidence about Pai was that we were there at the same time as the AJWS Country Rep for Thailand, Guy. Apparently, when not searching the land for NGOs doing good work, Guy helps run his family's little resort along the river in the center of Pai. This is the place I could picture my family staying. My description cannot do it justice, so I won't even try. The thing that's amazing about Thailand is that this incredible resort, which would cost well over $1000 per night in the US or Europe, costs less than $100 per night in Pai. Guy and his family were wonderful and I cannot wait to go back and visit!

On Saturday afternoon I managed to convince the girls to rent bikes and ride up to a Chinese village Guy had told us about. Moments after we set out, Jessie calls out to me, "Emma, I don't know how to say this in bike terms, but my bike is like, tight." The poor girl chose a bike without gears, which proved to be rather impossible since the entire ride was a steady uphill. She was a good sport tho and was in good spirits the whole way. Riding up was great because every one once in a while as you stopped to have a drink of water, you would look off in the distance and realize that you were in the middle of hills upon hills of rice fields and farms. We arrived at the village, 3k up the road, a little over an hour later (yes, I know.) Despite the fact that it was too manicured and clearly no one lived there anymore, it was quite a picteresque viewpoint. The ride down took us about 15 minutes.

As I've been writing this, I thought about one thing that seperates Pai from other Thai cities - the lack of a red light district. Walking through the streets of Chiang Mai, you pass countless "odd couples" - young Asian women (girls) and old European men. I don't like to automatically assume that every scantily clad woman I see around the bars is working as a prostitute, nor should I believe that every older white man I see is here to buy sex. However, it happens all the time and you do see it everyday. It's everywhere and while I wouldn't say I forget about it or stop noticing it, it does become so common place that it has stopped shocking me everytime.

That aspect of culture simply didn't exist in Pai and, even if for no other reason, it was lovely because of that. We got back to Chiang Mai yesterday evening and I miss Pai already. It's a town full of people who brave the rollercoaster-like bus ride because they want to escape to the easy-going, artistic vibes of Pai. I read that in the high season, all the guesthouses and huts fill up and hundreds of people just camp along the river. I know I'm going back, and in the spirit of Pai, I secretly hope I end up in a tent.

My First Week on the Job

I began work on Monday. I was a little nervous going into it - the first day of work is always nerve-wracking but adding a language barrier and a new idea of culturally appropriate office behavior makes it even more so. Thankfully, I work with a group of incredibly kind women. I'm beginning to understand more about what will be expected of me - editing English documents and helping with funding proposals; teaching English to the two interns in the office; developing and maintaining the NGO's social media outlets, including the website. Most of my colleagues speak very good English and they have a strong grasp on technical terminology related to human rights and politics. However, writing seems to be more difficult, so that's where I come in. It's nice to know that my knowledge of the English language, something which I've always taken for granted, could be an asset to this organization.

On Friday afternoon, I led my first "getting to know you" English lesson with the interns. They are only one and two years younger than me, so it feels odd for me to be instructing them, but they are truly the best students I could ask for! They both speak Burmese and as well as their ethnic languages (I feel like they should be teaching me something!) and their desire to learn English really moves me. They are focused, respectful and try so hard to come up with correct pronunciation and spelling. When I asked them what careers they hoped to pursue, one told me she wanted to do social work and the other said she wanted to go into politics. It makes me smile when I think that these two girls, both my age more or less, who grew up in refugee camps on the border (one has only completed a year of formal schooling) are determined to learn as much as they can out here and then go back into Burma to help their communities. I've never taught English before, so it's a little rocky and I need to help them with grammar, which I'm finding really difficult to break down and categorize in a manner that I could teach it. If anyone has any experience in this, I would love your suggestions!

Getting to and from work is an interesting process as well. I walk to Talat Warorot (a huge market - picture the vendors in Chinatown, San Francisco times a thousand...and Thai) and get on a yellow songthaew. The cars all line up single file, each line following a different route, you choose your destination and hop in the back of the first car. Once the car is full, the driver takes off and you buzz when you want to get off. It's about a 20 minute ride for me and then once I get off (and dash across the highway) I walk about five more minutes to my office. To get home, I stand out on the rode and flag down a yellow songthaew when I see one, which takes me back to Warorot.

Dried crickets, just one of the many treats at Warorot!

Warorot is amazing. It's situated right along the Ping River and is made up of two huge warehouse buildings with hundreds of stalls and stores both inside and out. It's an array of sights, sounds and smells as you move from the busy street, congested with motorbikes and songthaews, to the clothing vendors (where I cannot for the life of me find a pair of jeans that fit because apparently I'm a giant), to food vendors with barbeque meats, stirfries and exotic fruit (and Washington State apples!) I've walked through the meat and seafood part once, but I don't know that I'll ever go back because the aroma was quite overwhelming.

I have many more pictures - including some I took today during a hike up to Wat Doi Suthep. I'll post them on the "Pictures" page!

Learning About Burma...

A lot has happened in the last few days. On Sunday morning I checked into the hotel for the AJWS Orientation. There are 10 volunteers in total - five going to Phnom Phen, four of us in Chiang Mai, and one going to Mae Sot, Thailand. Normally I am not one to be enthusiastic and enjoying myself during orienation-like activities (icebreakers and "get to know you" games...)however I am finding this orientation to be very thought-provoking and well-prepared. My fellow volunteers and the AJWS leaders are all very interesting people with some incredible stories. There is one retired couple from Vancouver, BC (I will have my Canadian relatives know that I sought them out and introduced myself immediately upon reading their names and hometown on the volunteer list!) They have participated in AJWS Volunteer Corps on several placements in Africa for the past seven years. Another retired lady served in the Peace Corps in Africa and again in the West Indies. The younger volunteers (all older than myself) are incredibly smart, ambitious and friendly. It feels odd to say this, but I have already learned a lot from these people.

Yesterday we visited one of AJWS's grantees - a sustainable farm and school that brings young students across the border from Burma and teaches them about traditional, sustainable farming practices (and also a little bit of English). The students then return to Burma with the goal of creating their own small, sustainable farms to feed and empower their communities. They have a sort of alumni network within Burma, although it's hard for them to transfer information long distances, such as back to Thailand because of the dangers of the jungle, the SPDC and some of th armies of the ethnic groups. Within the country of Burma there are many smaller ethni minorities who are not Burmese but rather Karen, Karenni, Shan, etc (there are many, many groups!) Ethnic Burmese, or Burman, live mainly in the center planes and the vast majority of high SPDC leadership is Burman. The ethnic minorities live in an upside-down U-shape in the mountains surrounding the planes and are widely opposed to the SPDC (although exercising varying degrees of armed resistance.

One of the aspects of this particular NGO that I really liked was that they create a multi-ethnic experience for these young students, many of whom have never met a person from another ethnicity. It was so unbelievable to sit in their classroom and imagine them sneaking through the jungle and across the Thai/Burma border to come participate in this program. The more I'm learning about the conflict in Burma and particularily as it relates to Thailand and the relationship between Thailand and Burma the more interesting it becomes. Of course it's in the best interest of Thailand to not have to accommodate people fleeing across the border, however, they do not express strong opposition to the SPDC...a lot of blind eyes are turned I think.

To get back to my orienation, this evening we had dinner with representatives from the NGOs that we will be working with. Most people's NGOs sent one rep, mine sent three! It was a relief to meet some of the young women I'll be spending the next year with because they were so friendly and spoke incredible English. I am absolutely amazed by the amount of credibility and experience my NGO has, in fact I feel very under qualified to work there. The women live and breathe this work; it is literally their life. I believe it goes without saying that they don't make any money doing this work. Their passion is both inspiring and quite frankly, intimidating. That being said, I am very much looking forward to beginning my work and learning more about all things Burma!

Welcome to Thailand, Have a Fly!

My first day in Thailand I woke up at around 7am. I'm here at the guest house with a girl named Rachel, a fellow AJWS volunteer from Palm Desert. Rachel and I met up at the airport in LAX because we had the same flight all the way to Chiang Mai. The Green Tulip Guest House came well recommended and is really a cute place. Very clean with a very nice English speaking staff who are eager to help you, feed you and show you where to go.



After breakfast, Rachel and I sent out on a walking tour of some wats (temples) recommended by Lonely Planet. Entering a wat is similar to entering a Catholic church somewhere in Europe - as you walk in, you're struck by the ornate beauty, gold everywhere and pious people (in this case, monks) going about their daily routine as if you and the 20 other tourists didn't exist. One very interesting thing, and something I've actually quite enjoyed, is that you take your shoes off and leave them along the stairs leading up to the wat. This is true in many places you go - our guest house for example is "shoeless." I like it because I don't think that we would ever do that at home (in fact, I know we wouldn't). People would be too worried about others stealing their shoes! And admittedly, that was my first reaction, "but what if someone takes my flip flops?!" but I quickly accepted that it was unlikely to happen...no one wants my worn, rubber sandals.


We continued walking and very quickly lost our way. Street signs here are unusual to come by and, as we soon discovered, perpendicular to the streets, not parallel. But we had nowhere to be and figured we couldn't wander too far so we just kept walking. For lunch we stopped at a little corner restaurant. I love it because all the shops and restaurants are open air, with just roofs and retractable garagedoor-like walls to close up at night. The menu had English on it, so we at least knew which meat we were ordering! We both ordered a curry dish upon being assured it would not be spicy (he let us taste it first because we didn't believe him). We were enjoying our food and quietly celebrating our first meal in Thailand, when I noticed something suspicious in my bowl. At first I thought it was a little pebble...then I noticed that this little pebble had wings! And, not only did it have wings, but it also had six little legs - three of which were floating around, unattached, in my curry. Using my chopstick skills, I fished out the dead little fly and his three other legs, placing them on a plate beside me. Rachel and I could not stop laughing and to be honest, I ate most of the rest of the curry! Oh well...



Feeling full and aching from our long plane ride, we decided to treat ourselves to a Thai massage. We had heard about the skilled women at the Chiang Mai Women's Correctional Facility who give massages as part of their rehabilitation program, so we decided to head over in that direction. As we approached the prison I turned to Rachel, "So what do you think they are in prison for?" She didn't have an answer, neither did I. The prison was very nice. It had a little cafe outside, which the women ran and it was surrounded by palm trees and greenery. We followed the "massage ->" signs and walked up to a dark cement building. A young couple were exiting the building outside, choosing their shoes from amongst the pile. "It's very nice" they assured us in Irish accents. We were escorted into a small, air-conditioned room with about five thick mats lined up in a row. There were several masseuses working on people who were wearing what looked like lime green and teal hospital scrubs. A lady took us into a little changing room in the back, gave us each a pair of the fashionable scrubs and showed us where the lockers were. After changing we went back out into the main room.


Now, usually when I have gotten massages in the past, I've spent about 15 minutes filling out consent forms and health forms, specifying my experience with massage, medical history and various aches and pains. Not this time. I laid down on a mat next to Rachel's mat and the lady began massaging and stretching my legs. Thai massage is very difference than say a Swedish massage. They stretch you in various ways and work a lot with their forearms and elbows. They incorporate their own bodies into the massage. At one point I found myself being flung backwards from a sitting position onto the masseuses belly so that I was actually laying on top of her...it was very bizarre but I enjoyed it.



After the hour massage, we paid (less than $6!) and started off to find our shoes, which we soon discovered were covered in water because it was now raining harder than I've ever seen in my life! We decided to wait it out until it let up a bit, but it became clear that it was not going to stop, so we decided to walk. Rachel had a compact umbrella in bag so we huddled under that and tried to quickly walk to the next main street to find a songtow (taxi-bus vehicles in which you hop in the covered but open back with other passengers - I found this picture to the right online) and after several minutes we finally found one. We climbed in and watched out the back as people maneuvered through the streets, which had turned into rivers at this point. Looking out the back of the songtow I felt like we were in a boat, the water was about two feet high at some points! When we got back to the guest house I was completely soaked - my hair, my shirt, even through to my secret passport/money necklace. We had plans to go to the nightmarket, but could barely step outside because of the rain. It rained all night, but when I woke up this morning, it was beautiful :)

Bon voyage!

In less than 12 hours I will be boarding what will be the longest flight I’ve ever been on (13.5 hours) taking me from LA to Seoul, followed by another flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand. I’m both excited and incredibly nervous! The exposure I’ve had to Thailand was previously limited to movies such as The Beach and Brokedown Palace, which has haunted me since the first time I watched in five years ago…my obsessive Internet searches may not be soothing my nerves either. Yet I can’t help but have this warm feeling about my upcoming adventure. Everyone I have talked to who has traveled there gushes about the beautiful beaches, great food and friendly people. As I peruse the web I keep coming across the overwhelming presence of ex-pat blogs and travel websites talking about Thailand, the “land of smiles.”

In quick summary, I’ll be spending the next year of my life living in Chiang Mai, immersing myself in local Thai culture and the Burmese women’s rights movement that exists in Thailand. I am excited to meet this group of very passionate and brave women who have come together to promote women’s rights, human rights and political empowerment for Burmese women and families living both inside and outside of Burma. I’m going as a volunteer for a great organization based out of New York, American Jewish World Services, which is committed to promoting social justice and human rights throughout the developing world.

Burma, which has been ruled by a military junta since 1962, is recognized internationally as Myanmar (the military changed the country’s name in 1989). The past five decades have marked a debilitating rise in poverty and lack of civic and political rights, as the military has continued to implement extreme socialist policy and forced labor upon its citizens. As a result, Burma (as I will refer to it), has produced millions of refugees and migrant workers, many of whom end up in Thailand in hopes of making a better life for themselves and their families.

I’m nervous to go into this experience. Until recently, I am ashamed to say, I rarely thought about the plight of Burmese nationals. Many of the women I will be working with have seen and lived through atrocities that I cannot begin to identify with or explain. But I am inspired by their dedication to educating people about the importance of women’s rights and political activism.

I’m writing this blog with the intention of sharing stories and photos from my time abroad. In addition to that, I hope to share what I learn about the situation in Burma and women’s rights as well. I will miss everyone so much!