Trip to the Karen Villiage

Last week was graduation at Chiang Mai University. In Thailand, students finish their senior year, but do not have their ceremony until the spring of the year afterward. This means that the campus was overrun with giddy graduates being reunited with long lost friends and taking pictures together in every place imaginable as they reminisced over the "glory days" of yesteryear. Additionally extended families seemed to swarm through nearby markets buying elaborate floral bouquets for their cherished students. The queen of Thailand even flew in to perform the graduation ceremony, while the underclassmen constantly practiced their marching formations for the elaborate procession.

Needless to say, campus was hardly in a fit state for much educational progress to be made. With great wisdom and foresight, Ajarn Mike had preempted this "catastrophe" and made plans for us to go up to the mountains and stay in a village there with one of the "Hill Tribe" ethnic groups of Thailand known as the Karen. Thus, by Wednesday afternoon, we were on our way up the windy mountain road, leaving the chaos of graduation safely behind us. 

Along the way, we stopped for about an hour at a beautiful waterfall. Most of us went for a short swim and felt quite refreshed for the long ride ahead.

Several hours and a few hundred milligrams of dramamine later, we finally arrived at our destination: the Karen village. Of the 60 million people in Thailand, the Karen people make up roughly .5% of the population (~300,000). They live mainly by subsistence cultivation of rice and have a language and culture distinct from central Thailand. One interesting fact about the Karen is that a good portion of them are Christian. Burmese missionaries came over the mountains into Thailand about a century ago and were very successful in their efforts to bring Christianity to the Karen. We stayed at a Christian center known as the "New Life Center" which is run by a Karen man and his wife and is dedicated to equipping men and women to go out to neighboring villages and spread the gospel. 

For us, most of our time in the village was spent playing soccer with some of the kids, learning more about Karen culture, visiting a nearby school run by Compassion International, and just living life with the villagers. Although we usually slept at the New Life Center, one night we even got to have a "home-stay" with one of the families in the village. They were some of the nicest people I have ever met and showed us incredible hospitality even in the midst of their poverty. We talked to them as much as possible in Thai, but it was hard because of our limited knowledge and because they spoke a northern dialect of Thai which is different than what we have been learning. It ended up being quite a game of charades for most of the night, but we had a great time laughing at our absurd attempts to communicate. We even sang a couple of worship songs for them. It turned out that they knew several of them and they sang in Karen while we sang in English. They asked us to pray before each meal and prayed for us before we left. Even though it was a short stay, it was touching to meet such sincere Christians from a foreign culture half way across the globe.

It was quite cold in the mountains and got down to freezing every night. Additionally, it is part of the culture to shower everyday so most of the guys on our trip went down to bathe in the river every night before dinner. It was pretty chilly, but we always felt refreshed afterward. In the evenings, we would sit around the campfire at the New Life Center for a bit and sing worship songs together. It was a great time of bonding together. 

On the last day of the trip, we visited a Compassion International school in a nearby village. We had a great day getting to know the many students who ranged from elementary school all the way to high school. I think that there were around 35 students total and they loved to sing songs for us. We tried to return the favor, but I'm afraid that the result was far from harmonious. We also played a good bit of volleyball and soccer with the students. It was a great time, although things got a bit competitive when we played a guys vs. girls volleyball match (somehow the guys won, I think that the girls just didn't want to permanently damage our pride). In only one day, we had already become extremely attached to the kids and saying goodbye was very difficult. They sang us a song about how they hated to see us leave and then each one of the students sat with one of us and prayed for us before we went. It was a touching experience and left all of us wishing that we could have stayed longer. 

The next day, we went to a Karen church service in the morning and then packed our bags and headed home. The service was a great time of fellowship, and even though some things inevitably got lost in translation, we could tell that our presence meant a great deal to the people there.

Overall, the time in the village was a great break from the busy schedule of life in the city. It was refreshing to live the simple life of the Karen people and inspiring to see a people so passionate about serving God.

I almost forgot to mention it, but on the way to the
village we stopped at an awesome waterfall.

At the Compassion International school the kids loved to sing
for us. This is our attempt to return the favor.

We played a good deal of volleyball at the school too.

Peter and I had a great time with our new friend even
though I couldn't really pronounce his name.
(In case you were wondering, I am wearing
 a hand made Karen tunic) 

Here is a picture of our entire group in front of the New Life Center.

We went to a Karen church on Sunday morning and had
a great time of fellowship even though some things
inevitably got lost in translation.

This is the Karen family that I stayed with. I think that they have a few
foster kids staying with them too.

Sweet Bonfire Pic.

One of the students from the Spring Semester in Thailand two years ago went back to the Karen village after the program and now he lives there. He is a great guy and was an inspiration to meet. His name is Jonathan Adams and you can check out what he is working on at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4b4uoS1uD4

Peace and Love,

Jake

Trip to Chiang Rai

My host mom works for AIG insurance company and this weekend she had to travel up north to Chiang Rai for work so I got to go with her. We got to stay at a five star hotel called Dusit Island Resort and had a great time. Two of her nieces went with us, and they showed me around the city and took me to visit this really interesting temple called Wat Rong Khun (or the "white temple" by foreigners). While most Buddhist temples are made of wood and are painted red and gold, this temple is made of concrete, painted white, and overlaid with pieces of glass.

The inside of the temple is really interesting as well. The artist mixed pieces of modern culture with traditional Buddhist art in a really interesting mural that tells the story of human confusion and the path to enlightenment through darmah. Osama Bin Laden, George Bush, Spider Man, Super Man, and even Angry birds make and an appearance in the painting. I wish that I could have taken a picture of it, but the artist won't allow any photography of his unique work.

After seeing the temple, I had a delicious traditional Thai dinner and watched a light show at the clock tower in the middle of the city. It was beautiful. The next day, I got to eat breakfast and hang out at the resort while my host mom gave her presentation. The pool was beautiful and felt great in the hot weather. It was funny because the Thai people all thought that it was super cold even though the temperature barely dropped below 70 degrees. They thought I was crazy for going swimming, but I had a great time with the pool all to myself.

Wat Rong Khun (The White Temple)

A depiction of the souls lost in confusion and never reaching
nirvana.

The clock tower in the middle of Chiang Rai.

The river next to the hotel.

Dusit Island Resort

Hike to Doi Sutep

On Saturday, we got to go on a hike, up to a Buddhist Temple called Doi Sutep which overlooks the entire city of Chiang Mai. The trail was about 4.3 miles long with an elevation change of around 1500 ft. We got up around 6:00am and began hiking at 7:00am in order to avoid some of the tourist rush that often comes in the afternoon. The hike was beautiful, cutting through dense undergrowth, and winding its way along a stream and small waterfall for part of the time.

The actual temple was breathtaking. In the center was a huge gold plated structure called a stupa which glinted brightly in the sun. A piece of Buddha's collarbone is said to be buried under the stupa making it a sacred site. All around the temple were mural pictures telling the story of the birth of the Buddha, his early childhood, his enlightenment, and eventually his death and eternal rest.

The Buddhism practiced in Thailand is interesting because it is a mix of Theravada Buddhism and  the animism which was practiced by many of the indigenous people groups before the rise of the Thai kingdom. This syncretic mixture is illustrated by practices such as the burning of incense before shrines, making offerings to "spirit trees", and purchasing a small bell to hang in the temple. These practices may not be derived from Buddhism directly, but instead from the spirit worship which predated Buddhism in present day Thailand. In general, people come to the temple to make donations earn good karma for the next life. They see it as an investment for the future, using their money in this life to secure prosperity for the life to come. If the appearance of the temple was any indication, then the people seem to take these donations pretty seriously.

Ornate depictions of dragons lining the stairway

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Beautiful flowers lining the trail up to the temple.

One of the many statues of Buddha lining the temple walls.

This is Ajarn (professor) Add. He is the Thai professor who
coordinates the program and is a really funny guy. Here he
is explaining to us the life of the Buddha as illustrated in the mural pictures lining the temple walls.

The central stupa plated with gold.

Peter and me in front of the stupa where part of Buddha's
collarbone is supposed to be buried. 

Our entire group in the center of the temple.

Overall, the actual practices of the Buddhist people are quite a bit different than I though that they might be. Even the story of Buddha's life was slightly different than I have heard it in the past. This surprised me and I am excited to learn more about Buddhism in the coming weeks. Hopefully, understanding a bit more Thai will help me figure out exactly what is going on inside the temple and how Buddhist practices are practically manifest in people's lives.

Week 1 of School

It has only been a week since we landed here in Chiang Mai, but it already seems like we have been here for a whole month.

This week we started taking our classes at Chiang Mai University. Every day we get to wear our sweet school uniforms, but they get a bit hot in the 85 degree afternoons. So far, we have only been taking Thai language class. We have class from 8:00 to 12:00 and then we have a lunch break. In the afternoons, we have class from 1:00 to 2:00 and then go to our internship. I am doing my internship at a hospital outside the city, but we don't start until next week so I have had a bit more free time which is really nice.

Thai has been very difficult to learn so far because it is a tonal language and each different tone can give a different meaning to the words. Luckily, we have Thai buddies, other Thai students who are studying English at the university, who have been helping us get around and showing us how to buy food etc.

First Day of School!

This is a rot deng (red truck). We pile in and ride them everywhere.

All of our Thai buddies!

All the Westmont students in our traditional Thai garb.

On Wednesday night we went out to a traditional Thai dinner. The food was delicious and we got to see some beautiful Thai dancing. 

A Thai performer pounding the drums.

Beautiful Thai Dancing

The last thing I want to leave you is another funny sign that I discovered. I'm not exactly sure what it means, but it encapsulates an important element of Thai culture. There is a saying here in Thailand called "Mai pen rai" which basically means "no problem". For the Thais, it is more of a lifestyle. Enjoy!

Riding Elephants

Today we got up at 5:30 and drove out of the city a couple of hours to ride elephants. It was a great time and our guide was really funny. He kept singing "Whoop em gangnam style" and taught me some valuable phrases in Thai such as "kee chang" (elephant poop) and "soi kia" (beautiful girl). When we saw a couple of dogs during the elephant ride he pointed to them and said, "Thai call barbecue".

Here are some pictures from the day:

Our guide got off the elephant and let me sit up on the neck.

Ryan and I on our fearless steed

Bamboo Raft

Driving the ship down treacherous waters

The elephant is definitely a better soccer player than I am:)

The elephant painted these pictures in the show.
Pretty impressive!

Welcome to Thailand

After a long day of travelling, we finally landed in Thailand around 1 o'clock Friday morning. We checked into our hotel where we will be staying for the first few days. It felt so good to finally get some sleep!!

This morning we ate a nutritious breakfast in the hotel of chicken soup, fried eggs and some type of spicy beef stir fry. Even though it wasn't what you might call "typical breakfast fare" it was very tasty.

Next, we went to a variety of different art shops in the city. The first store we visited was a jewelry shop. Thailand has a rich supply of garnets and other fine gems which are mostly mined in the southern part of the country. A tour guide took us through the workshop, where the artisans were cutting precious stones, shaping gold and silver, and engraving pieces of jade.

After the jewelry shop, we went to a marketplace in which there are artists who will paint different prints onto pretty much anything you want: T-shirt, purse, journal, etc... Although many of the different designs were dragons and elephants...

my personal favorite is shown below:

They also made beautiful hand crafted bamboo umbrellas with various paintings on them.

The next place we went was a fancy silk shop.
 We got a tour of the workshop where silk is harvested from silk worm cocoons, unravelled, cleaned, woven together in a loom, and printed with a variety of different designs. Peter and I liked the silk robes, but they were too expensive to buy

The last place we visited was a Lana art workshop. We got to see firsthand the process by which the artists turn strips of bamboo into beautiful decorative pieces by winding them together and coating them with Lacquer, a black sap-like material isolated from Lacquer trees found in northern Thailand. The pieces are then engraved, painted, and coated with gold in beautiful pictures and designs.





 Overall, it was a great first day in Thailand and I am excited to finally be here.
 We are riding elephants tomorrow so I better get to bed, but I have one final picture for you.

It's comforting to know that my tea didn't just taste good, but has medicinal benefits for the "unsettled" traveler.