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!