HelloGoodbye

Brittany returned to Bangkok on Tuesday, November 8^th. My flight left Bangkok early morning on Monday, November 14^th, so we really only had 5 days in which we had to reunite, readjust, and then say goodbye. Those 5 days went by like a flash. We had a lot of fun just hanging out, but much of our time together was bittersweet with the knowledge that it was so limited. We went to a movie, visited friends, got haircuts, ran last-minute errands, went to Ikea (the third time for me but first time for Brittany), and attempted to check off my Thailand bucket list (eating bugs, for example). 

Yummy!

One of the things on said bucket list was a shopping excursion to JJ Market, the largest outdoor market in the world, located in downtown Bangkok. Dagmar is an expert navigator of the market, so she volunteered to act as my tour guide. So, early Saturday morning the three of us took off in a taxi to the sky train that would take us to the market. We abstained from breakfast and coffee before we left because Dagmar promised us pancakes at her favorite breakfast place in the market. So, with stomachs growling and caffeine deprived brains we arrived at our station and exited the train. When we got off the platform and looked down at the street, however, we were greeted by 18 inches of water covering everything. This was my first glimpse of the flood, and I was amazed! 

The water was cleaner than I expected, so we could see through to the lines on the street. The occasional truck or bus braved the street, and the motorcycle taxi drivers stood around near the platform exit offering to drive clients through the water. We walked about a block and a half through the water on the sidewalk, being careful not to slip, then turned around and walked back to the station when our fears that the market was closed were confirmed. We decided to go to a nearby mall to shop since we came all the way and I still had a lot of souvenirs to buy. The day was a lot of fun! Although it wasn’t what we planned, doing anything with Dagmar and Brittany is fun. 

Seeing the flood with my own eyes gave me a lot more sympathy for those whose homes and lives were destroyed by the flood. We saw the mild version, 18 inches is nothing compared to some parts of the city. I heard many stories of 1-2 meter deep flood waters lasting up to 3 weeks. Imagine chest deep water, full of debris and nasty from wherever it was before filling your kitchen, your living room, your bedroom for 3 weeks! And then, when the water leaves, it leaves behind the black mold, the bacteria, the rust and the rot that make your home unsafe for living. That’s the situation in Bangkok now, as I write this from the comfort of my parent’s farm house in Michigan where the word flooding brings to mind puddles in the basement.

I left for the airport in a taxi late Sunday night, after painful goodbyes to friends who had become so dear in such a short period of time. Brittany and I have said goodbye many times over the course of our friendship, often without knowing when we’d see each other next. This time was difficult, but we know from experience that God has brought us this far and will continue to protect our friendship in spite of thousands of miles and a 12 hour time difference. 

Shane and I

My journey home was smooth. During my three hour layover in Seoul, South Korea my friend Shane (a Korean friend who studied at Grand Valley for a year) met me at the airport and showed me around. It was wonderful to see him and he crammed lots of cultural experience into my short time in his home country. We went to an ancient temple in the mountains, out to a traditional breakfast, and to a grocery store where he loaded me up with traditional Korean candy. I bade him farewell just in time to check back through security and get to my gate to board my flight. I sat between a little old Korean grandmother who didn’t even pretend she understood English and a Korean man who was on a business trip to buy hay in Canada. I had fun trying to communicate with the lady who needed lots of help operating her in-seat entertainment system. 

The flight arrived in Chicago on time and I was glad to be on US soil. It was kind of strange to see signs in only English though. I had three hours to kill in Chicago and I splurged to buy a flavored coffee (never offered in Thailand) and a pumpkin bagel (it was fall here!). The flight between Chicago and Green Bay was fast and painless, and my parents were there to greet me at the gate. Despite my exhaustion I think I started talking immediately and didn’t shut up until I fell asleep (probably mid-sentence) on the 3 hour drive home. 

Now I’ve been home for about a month. Everyone asks “How was it?”. My reply is always the same, “So good! Hard sometimes, but overall, SO GOOD!”. That’s the truth. The more I think about it though, I think if we were all honest, that’s a good description for life. Life is good, it’s hard sometimes, and it doesn’t seem good, but in the end, it’s really good. I’m grateful for the chance to experience life in Thailand and to walk alongside Brittany for three months. I have a far deeper appreciation for those who choose to live and work in a different country. I’ve learned about myself and I’ve met incredible people. I’ve seen things that few Americans will ever get to see and I’ve done things I never would have done. Thank you all so much for your support, love and encouragement! I appreciate you all so much! Thanks for reading!

Bangkok...sans Brittany

After returning to Bangkok to prepare for imminent flooding (that never materialized in our area), I found myself with a lot of time on my hands. I cleaned, read, stocked up on canned food and drinking water, and spent lots of time with two friends with whom I became very close. Brittany decided to stay in the US for an extra week, making her absence a total of three weeks. She had lots of new opportunities for networking and marketing Thai Song that would be lost if she came back as early as she planned. It was a difficult decision because she really wanted to be in Bangkok to help with the flood relief effort. However, we agreed that she should stay for the long-term good of Thai Song rather than rush back to help with more immediate needs that were already being addressed by others.

Dagmar's Birthday

In retrospect, while I missed Brittany during her absence, I feel that those three weeks challenged and stretched me more than the previous two months combined had. I experienced the pressure of making decisions on my own, the difficulty of trying to do seemingly basic things on my own in a foreign country without speaking the language. I was never in real danger, or without people to whom I could call but was forced to at least try things without help. The two friends whom I mentioned earlier (named Dagmar and Averyl) were wonderfully helpful and supportive. They encouraged me to do things on my own, but were only a phone call away if I needed anything. It was exhilarating, and frustrating at the same time. It gave me a much more authentic understanding of what it is like to live overseas. I liked it, but I think that was in part due to my knowledge of a foreseeable end to the situation. I knew I would be leaving in less than a month, so I embraced the moment without feeling trapped.

Rock Climbing

Dagmar and Averyl have a wonderful gift of hospitality, and welcomed me into their lives for that last week of Brittany’s absence. We made meals together, shopped together (primarily at Ikea, which had just opened in Bangkok), talked and laughed together. We went rock climbing at a fitness center one day, then out to a Mexican restaurant afterward. They invited me to go out with their friends for Dagmar’s birthday to a German restaurant. They were incredibly encouraging and helpful in my effort to process and conclude my time in Thailand well, as well as prepare for the future. 

Life Jackets

YWAM was in full flood relief mode, and most of the normal operations were suspended due to the crisis. Both Dagmar and Averyl are involved in the leadership of the base and were (are) consequently involved in the relief efforts. I went along with them on a couple of occasions to lend my aid, but I wasn’t super helpful. One of the major things Dagmar was coordinating was the construction of life jackets out of rice bags and empty plastic bottles. I don’t know who came up with the idea, but it was pretty ingenious. That was something I could help with in spite of my lack of Thai language skills. 

Also during this time I had the wonderful opportunity to reunite with my dear friend Chey Foran, from YWAM Denver. She staffed my Disicipleship Training School (DTS) three years ago and led my outreach to Argentina. I haven’t seen her since. In the last year she left YWAM staff in Denver and started a non-profit organization dedicated to reaching at risk children with art. The name of the organization is The Art and Justice League (http://www.facebook.com/artandjustice?sk=wall). She and the other two members of the staff came to Thailand on a scouting mission to explore ways they could partner with and gain access to at risk children in Thailand and Cambodia. Their plans were amended by the flooding, and they ended up staying in Bangkok longer than they expected. So, I got to hang out with them for a whole afternoon! It was wonderful to catch up with Chey and hear more about her passion for art!

Flying into a Flood

Katie and I were planning on leaving Mai Sai for Chaing Mai on the Sunday after our outing to the village. However, we loved Mai Sai so much that we decided to postpone our trip for one more day. We spent our unexpected extra day lounging around town, exploring the market, eating street food, and talking. We wandered into a Burmese restaurant for lunch, and I had one of the best dishes I have ever eaten! The name escapes me now, but I know it had something to do with pickled tea leaves. I know, it sounds disgusting, but trust me, it’s awesome! Our hostel was about two kilometers outside of town. It was a beautiful hostel, and very reasonably priced. Unfortunately, getting into town once public transportation ceased (about dark), presented a bit of a problem. That night we found ourselves in just that debacle. To make a long story short, we ended up borrowing a stranger’s motorcycle to get into town for dinner. In retrospect, it wasn’t the wisest decision I have ever made, but it sure was fun!!!

 

The following day our trip to Chaing Mai was uneventful. The scenery was beautiful so our driver’s painfully slow navigation of mountain roads wasn’t too frustrating. We caught a tuk-tuk to our hostel and settled in. The next four days were spent wandering the city. We got massages, ate lots of delicious food, met interesting people, got lost, saw lots of cool temples, laughed a lot, and became great friends. We both decided that Chaing Mai was lovely and we’d love to stay there for a long time.

The only cloud over our free-wheeling week was the perpetual news of the flooding in Bangkok. Everywhere we went and everyone we talked to reminded us of the situation, but the facts were questionable. Everyone had different opinions about what was happening and whose fault it was. I contacted my friends still in Bangkok, and they helped me decide to go back there earlier than I originally planned. The bus system was already paralyzed and there was some concern that the airport in Bangkok would be closed. After talking to my parents, I decided to fly back to Bangkok on Thursday. I wanted to be there if we were going to be stranded. To this day I don’t think I can explain my reasoning for leaving beautiful, safe Chaing Mai to go back to the middle of the crisis, but I did it. And I’m glad I did it. Although I never claimed to love that city, I felt a certain sense of loyalty to it. I wanted to stand in solidarity with my friends there and be available if there was anything I could do to help.

 

So, after a sad goodbye to Katie, I flew back to Bangkok by myself and, in a streak of independence, negotiated a fair price with a taxi driver despite his attempt to take advantage of me and my apparent naivety. The airport and the roads to our area were completely dry. In fact, I didn’t actually see the flood for another couple weeks. I returned to Brittany’s apartment to find it safe and sound. The refrigerator was still plugged in, and there were no bugs in the toilet. I soon found out that there was a cockroach infestation in my absence, but it that just gave me an opportunity to practice my shoe-slapping-ninja skills. Although I was sad to leave Katie and the beauty of the North, I was glad to be back.

Elephant riding, boa petting and rice harvesting...no big deal

When I left you last time, I had just gotten to Mai Sai and begun my week up North with Katie. I arrived in Mai Sai on a Friday. The very next day we woke early and took a bus back to Chaing Rai to meet about a dozen other YWAM Bangkok staff who were in town for a conference. One of them, a man named Neeroot (probably not spelled like that), grew up in a village about an hour’s drive up into the hills. Katie and I got off the bus on the side of the road and were soon picked up by the rest of the group in a song tau (pickup truck with benches in the bed). After a stop for coffees all around, we were off. The drive was beautiful and full of laughter. Katie knew everyone and I knew a few of them. Included in the group were Brandon and Aum, Brittany’s brother and sister-in-law. 

Our route took us up into the rolling green hills, and very soon we were driving through the jungle on curving steep roads. After about an hour we arrived in the village. It was surreal. Most of the houses are elevated and made of some combination of wood, bamboo and leaves. We went directly to Neeroot’s parent’s house. We clambered out of the truck and looked around. An old woman (Neeroot's Grandma) sat on a bamboo platform weaving a purse. Surrounding her were brightly colored scarves and purses with tassels. She smiled at us and Brandon immediately greeted her like an old friend. Soon Neeroot’s parents came out and ushered us into another elevated bamboo building. It was empty except for mats on the floor. They told us to sit down and served us hot tea, water bottles, and fresh fruit. We sat around for a while chatting and marveling at the impressively sturdy structure. Neeroot explained that his father built it. There were five buildings on the lot, each with a different function. We were sitting in what served as the living room/dining room/sleeping area for guests or family especially on really hot nights. Next to it was a more Western-looking building that housed the kitchen and I’m not sure what else. On the opposite side was another more Western style building…maybe Grandma and Grandpa’s house? Then of course, the outhouse and Grandma’s working platform. 

After we finished our snack we walked farther into the village, passing similar family compounds with pigs tied to trees in the yards, women weaving scarves and purses, and children napping in hammocks. After about a quarter mile, we came upon our destination: an elephant camp! That’s right! We rode elephants! The way I understand it, these elephants are used for actual work. I’m not sure what they do, but I don’t think this camp and these elephants are just for tourists. Either way, we all paid and piled onto our respective elephants after spending a few minutes feeding them bananas. I was riding with Katie and a Thai woman named Ooo. The ride was very slow, but thrilling at the same time. Our seat seemed to slide to one side as we went along. This worked to our advantage because about 15 minutes into our ride the driver stopped the elephant and slipped out of his perch on top of the head, offering each of us a chance to ride in his seat. Katie went first, then me, then Ooo. We situated ourselves right about the spot where the head meets the neck, with our feet hanging down just behind the ears. The breadth of the elephant helped in making us feel secure, although I found the motion of slow plodding steps very different than I expected. 

The half-hour ride went quickly and soon we were back at the camp. We thanked our driver and took some last pictures of the elephants, then clambered back into the song tau that came to pick us up. We drove back to Neeroot’s house for a homemade lunch of rice, soup, fresh vegetables, and other traditional Thai dishes. Brandon brought out pickled chicken feet he acquired on his recent trip to China and we passed them around. I must say that I’m not really a fan. Brandon explained that he found them in a convenience store right next to the other snack foods. We helped clean up after lunch then headed out for a walk around the village. Brandon gave us a tour of the houses of people he knew, and we followed like little ducklings with eyes wide open. The tour stopped at a store on the main street in which the main attraction was a gigantic boa constrictor in a cage. The owner explained that they raised the snake from birth and had trained it to only eat dead things. Apparently it was more or less harmless to people. We took turns touching it and remarking on how we would hate to see one of these in the wild. It was pretty sweet! When squeezed, its muscles would constrict, making it hard as a rock. Eventually, we moved on to a rice field that was being harvested. We learned how to cut the stalks with a curved blade and place them in bunches to dry. The process is intensely physical because although the stalks are light, you are bent over the entire time. I have a far deeper respect for farmers in Thailand after harvesting rice for about five minutes. 

Brandon and Aum

We thanked our hosts and piled back into the song tau for our ride back to the city. We were all pretty tired, so the drive back was significantly quieter than the morning’s ride. We rode all the way back to Mai Sai where they dropped Brandon, Aum, Katie and I off. Katie and I cleaned up and then headed down to the market to do some shopping and then meet Brandon and Aum for dinner. The whole day was so much fun!! It was great to experience a different side of Thailand. I realized that small towns have some things in common no matter where they are. I like the intimacy of a small town, even when that small town involves 100-pound boa constrictors!

Somewhat unexciting information of life between south and north...

After Brittany left for America, I spent the next few days cleaning and attempting to fix the broken washing machine with no success. I had been wanting to go up north to Mae Sai to visit Brandon and Aum, Brittany’s brother and sister-in-law. This seemed like a good time, and it just so happened that my friend Katie was also staying in Mae Sai. I called Brandon, and he set me up with a taxi driver who would take me to the bus station and go in and buy the ticket with me. We left around 3pm, got to the station around 4, bought a ticket to Chaing Rai on a bus that left at 9:40pm. Ideally, I wanted to get a VIP bus straight to Mae Sai. As it turned out, that bus was full, and the only available seat was on a second-class bus with no bathroom headed for Chaing Rai. I didn’t really know what was happening until the ticket was bought, but the taxi driver called Brandon and he told me what was going on. I figured that since the ticket was already in my hand, I would take whatever came. 

As I had 5 hours to wait, the kind taxi driver took me to a local mall, where I wandered around until it was time to go back to the bus station. It was a welcome relief from the chaos of the bus station. Apparently during crisis situations, such as the flooding that was at that time already encroaching on the outer limits of Bangkok, refugees collect at the bus station. After a frustrating time trying to get a tuk-tuk in the rain to get me back to the bus station, I finally made it there around 7:30. I weaseled my way through the crowds of people sitting on every available surface, and found a spot on the floor near my gate. Soon enough a middle-aged Thai man planted himself next to me and took it upon himself to entertain me and translate announcements for me. He was very kind, but a little clingy. I was actually glad to get on my second-class, bathroom-less bus. The bus was actually pretty nice. The seats were very clean, they reclined, and they gave us blankets. Unfortunately, there were two children sitting about 5 rows ahead of me who cried and puked intermittently for the entire duration of the 14 hour trip. 

Once I got to Chaing Rai, I purchased another bus ticket to Mae Sai. I could have gone via song tau and city bus, but at that point I was tired and unwilling to deal with city transportation. I figured buying a seat on a tour bus would speed up the trip. In reality, the normally 45 minute trip took 2 hours, and the bus didn’t leave for three hours after I arrived in Chaing Rai. I finally got to Mae Sai around 5pm and promptly got on a song tau to take me into town, forgetting to get my bag from the hold of the bus. I accidentally rode past the hostel where Katie was waiting for me, and ended up walking back on the side of the road. I met Katie, and she convinced her friend who worked behind the counter to take her to the bus station and get my bag.

It was quite the trip! They were able to get my bag without too much trouble. Katie and I went into town that night and ate at a little restaurant someone recommended to her earlier that day. The food was fabulous!! Atmosphere, not so great, but with Katie it was fun. Really, that was the anthem of the week that was to follow. Katie made everything fun!!