Russian dancers, Spanish literature, Lebanese food and the Queen of Thailand

It would seem as though this blog is a mere catalogue of my weekend adventures here in Thailand. Yet again, I will be begin with the words: “This last weekend Brittany and I…” Ah well, such is the nature of a weekly update I suppose. This weekend’s adventure involved a Russian ballet, the Queen of Thailand, and seven adults in a taxi.

When I first arrived in Thailand, Brittany informed me that Bangkok is doing an annual celebration of arts and culture this fall. We decided on the spot that we would participate in at least one event for the purpose of expanding our high cultural horizons as well as having an excuse to dress up. After much discussion and time spent pouring over the scheduled events, we finally decided upon the ballet “Don Quixote” performed by a ballet company and orchestra from St. Petersburg, Russia.

After spending the entire afternoon getting dolled up with our friend Tukta, we caught a taxi to the sky train where we met up with a few friends. We took the sky train to an area of the city that is known for its Middle Eastern and Indian population and subsequent amazing food. We walked a couple of blocks to a Lebanese restaurant Brittany has been to before and ordered a tableful of amazing hummus, baba ganoushe, non bread, falafel, hameed and Turkish coffee. We enjoyed ourselves immensely and the food was very authentic. From there we hailed yet another taxi to take us to the Thailand Art and Culture Center. We stepped out of the car and into a glamorous, high society world of fancy clothes and schmoozing. Up until that point I felt a little overdressed in my black cocktail dress, but when we stepped out of the taxi I was relieved at my wardrobe choice.

The center was beautiful with covered walkways, landscaped gardens, fountains and fish ponds. We joined the crowds of socialites and expats headed into the theater. Our seats were in the nosebleed section, but the view was still very good. On our way to our seats we heard an announcement that warned all attendees to hurry and take their seats as the royal party was about to arrive. We all stopped in our tracks and stared at each other. Royalty? Royalty in Thailand is a concept difficult for Americans to understand. The royal family is revered unlike anything in our culture. They have a different language to talk about the royals and it’s actually really disrespectful to talk about them much at all. As it turned out, it was the Queen herself attending the ballet. Although she delayed the production be 20 minutes, it was so cool to be there with her and see the top of her head as she took her seat in the throne on the level below us. Every time she entered everyone stood up. I decided that I really like that way of acknowledging her presence. Very classy.

The ballet was amazing! It was close to three hours long and the dancers were nothing like I’ve ever seen before! I’m still a little fuzzy on the story of Don Quioxte, but the artistry was incredible! During intermissions we wandered around people watching and enjoying being a part of such a high class crowd. At one point we accidentally wandered our way into the throne room, only to rush out again. We also discovered that they were serving free water, orange juice and chocolates on the veranda. Man, it’s good to run with “high so” circles.

After the ballet we met a couple of other friends from YWAM and all crammed into a taxi for the ride home. Let me tell you, 6 adults in the back of a smallish car for a 40 minute is riotous if not a little hot. As soon as we shut the door the driver cranked up American dance music and we laughed. The whole ride the driver was talking to himself and giggling. When we got back to our apartment complex the guards at the gate had to do a double take when they saw all of us in the back. I think we made their night! We all went back to an apartment for drinks and brownie sundaes. It was a wonderful experience! So much fun to be dressed up! And so much fun to be a part of the intersection of so many cultures: A Spanish ballet, a Russian ballet company, Thai royalty, Lebanese food, Turkish coffee and friends from all over the world including South Africa, Oregon, Switzerland, Singapore, Thailand, and of course, Michigan.

Welcome to the Jungle!

Last weekend I had my first out-of-Bangkok experience. Brittany, myself and a couple of our friends ventured out to a town on the western side of Thailand. It’s nestled among hills/mountains (depends on your perspective) and surrounded by jungle. It’s a relatively popular tourist destination, but wasn’t overrun by any means. The claim to fame is based upon a bridge built by POWs during WWII. If you’ve ever seen the movie “The Bridge over the River Kwai”, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

The weekend started at 5:30am on Saturday morning. We traveled on motorcycle, taxi and bus, and wound up there around 11am. After checking into our guesthouse (we got two bungalows on stilts over water for about $5/night) and grabbing a bit of breakfast (a full American breakfast…so delicious!), we rented motorcycles and drove to Erawan National Park, home of a 7-tiered waterfall. The drive was lovely although long. I’ve decided that riding on the back of a motorcycle is my favorite way to travel, despite the numbness that quickly overtook my entire lower body. 

The waterfalls were amazing! The park was well kept and the trails between each tier were easy to hike. All along the trail were signs warning naive tourists of the dangerous monkeys. Apparently our American notions of monkeys being cute and cuddly if a little mischievous are totally misplaced. According to everyone here as well as the signs, monkeys are basically the devil incarnate. In spite of all of this, I was very disappointed when we didn’t see one monkey in the whole park. My only glimpse was of one on the side of the road on the way back. 

Anyway, the waterfalls were just like pictures in National Geographic or on postcards. We swam in the first level. It was amazingly surreal! We swam all the way under the fall, and climbed up into the little cave behind it. It was very safe to all of you who are worrying right now. The only hazard was with the fish. There were huge groups of fish in the pool. The sizes varied, but, like the monkeys, these fish had no problem sharing the water with humans. In fact, they had apparently figured out that human flesh is good to eat. That’s right, the fish bit. A lot! At first I thought it was super cool that the fish were so close to the surface and so visible. It added to the tropical feeling of the moment. However, once they took a few nibbles out of me, I ceased to be a fan. It took me a good 10 minutes to work up to getting into the water. I ended up diving over the majority of them and swimming as fast as possible to the deep part where they seemed to be less dense. Swimming with man-eating fish is an experience I won’t soon forget. The waterfall was worth it though!

We also swam at the fourth level. The water there didn’t really fall so much as just stream over really huge boulders. It was set up so we could climb up the side and slide down the front, propelled by the water. So much fun! We only made it to the 5^th level because they had to start closing the trails around 4pm. Apparently the monkeys start coming out around then and they are too dangerous to allow tourists to be in the middle of the jungle alone with them. By that point we were all pretty hungry and tired anyway though, so it wasn’t too much of a disappointment. 

We drove back just as the sun was setting, and walked across the famous bridge. That evening we went out to eat at a place that served steak (not quite up to American standards, but good nonetheless), got massages, and collapsed into bed. The next morning we just hung out and enjoyed the exotic atmosphere and fresh air. It’s amazing how refreshed I felt just being out of the city for 24 hours. We hit the war museum in town that afternoon and then caught our bus back to Bangkok. The museum was interesting and probably the most random museum I have ever seen. Advertised as a war museum, it actually contained a huge range of artifacts ranging from weapons from ancient Thailand to a painting of George Washington to all the dresses ever worn by a Miss Thailand (yes, a beauty pageant). We wandered around for about an hour completely confused and amused. 

Overall the weekend ranks right up there with my favorite weekends ever! It was refreshing and exciting. I feel so alive when there are trails to be hiked, rocks to be climbed and vines to be swung on. Maybe I’m really part monkey at heart…although I’m not sure about the devilish nature… :)

What do screensavers and ancient kings have in common you ask? Well, read on and find out!

I just watched a rat and a pigeon eat a plate of food set on the ground next to some incense sacrificed in front of a little Buddhist shrine. It’s one of those things that make me very aware that I am in a foreign country. Do you ever have those days in which you are content to just sit and observe, noticing little things and musing about whatever pops into your head? Today is that sort of a day for me. I’ve been meaning to blog all week, but each time I planned time to do it, something else came up. Today I’ve finally settled down to do it in a little bakery/restaurant just a block away from the YWAM base. I’ve been sitting here for about 2 hours, observing, thinking, and musing. 

I realized that one of my favorite activities is to watch my screen saver. I know, sounds thrilling, right? My screen saver is just a slideshow of all of my pictures in random order. I sat here watching it and listening to music and was struck by how much I have been blessed. The pictures reveal a cross-section of my life. Anyone who sat and watched the continuous reel of pictures would see glimpses of all of my favorite things. The pictures range from breathtaking landscapes of the Rocky Mountains to the silly faces of my friends, to slums of inner-city Buenos Aires. Seeing these pictures brings back so many memories. Each memory carries with it not only the circumstances surrounding the taking of the picture, but also the things I was learning at the time, and the ways God was revealing Himself to me. 

It reminds me of the Psalms. While I’m assuming King David didn’t have a screen saver, he always remembered the faithfulness of God. In each of his poems, songs, rants and anguished pleas, he always brought it back to that. Although I don’t always feel it now and although I don’t understand what’s happening I remember that God has always been faithful to me. He has always kept His promises and brought every circumstance about for good. Knowing that frees me to enjoy the present. It’s amazing how releasing worry changes everything. If God’s track record is perfect, I have no reason to worry about it changing. Suddenly things that seemed impossible, and circumstances that felt irredeemable don’t seem like that big of a deal. If God’s been faithful in everything else, He’ll be faithful in this. God doesn’t waste time. I might not see the purpose in everything now, but I can trust that He will bring fruit from every circumstance, every situation. Maybe the key is to simply take time to look at pictures more often.

Being a tourist: The Grand Palace and fish food

 

This last weekend Brittany and I ventured out of our area accompanied by a couple of friends. The day started around 10:30am with a 45 minute taxi ride to the Grand Palace. When we got there, the palace was closed for an hour for some reason, so we wandered through the outdoor market area set up across the street from the palace. This area is far more touristy than the area where we live. We had lunch in at a little restaurant/stand there and I had my first experience with sticky rice and mango (definitely worth noting – SO GOOD!!!). By the time we finished and headed back, the palace was open again. Although we were four very white girls, three of them speak Thai, so they were able to convince the ticket people to let us in for the Thai price (free)! I just stood there and smiled and nodded while they bargained and tried to prove their legitimacy. I’m pretty sure the guy knew I had no idea what was being said, but he let me through without paying anyway. There are some benefits to being young and blond!

The palace is more like a compound. It takes up probably the equivalent of about two or three city blocks and it’s entirely walled in. Inside, along with the actual palace, are a bunch of temples. It took me a while to figure out that while they are all Buddhist temples, there’s something special about each one. It was really surreal. The temples are literally right next to each other and they’re all really, really ornate. Some are completely covered in gold, others in jewels, others in intricate carvings. Only one was open to public entrance. We had to take our shoes off outside and have our shoulders covered. Once inside we were told to kneel down in front of the shrine. The room was huge and the shrine was huge, but the Buddha was kind of a little statue way on top of this huge shrine. Every inch of walls and ceiling were covered with beautiful pictures and designs. I was struck by the devotion of the people worshipping there.

After the palace, we hired a tuk-tuk to take us to cow-son (pardon the atrocious spelling), which is the backpacker/hippy tourist area. We wandered around through yet another outdoor market kind of thing. This one was obviously geared toward tourists though, and there were a lot of people from all over the world there. It was fun to mingle with the other foreigners. We shopped a little, and ate some roti (an amazing street food consisting of a thin sheet of fried dough doused in sweetened condensed milk and whatever other kind of topping you choose = so good!!). One of the girls and I also partook of a fish foot spa. Basically we sat with our feet in a tank of fish who ate the dead skin off our feet and legs. Let me tell you, that was an experience! I think I shrieked for the first 5 minutes straight…the people getting massages in the same room probably didn’t appreciate me very much!

We eventually found our way out of that area and to the riverboat taxi. We rode up and down the river, just looking around at the city from the river. We got off after about 45 minutes on the other side of the river, and found our way to the dinner theater where we planned to eat. It wasn’t at all what we expected, but the food was good and the view was exquisite. It turned out that it is actually an art gallery and the theater is separate. There was a short traditional Thai dance performance and some live music. We sat at a table that overlooked the river. The upper part of the wall was open so we could see and hear and even smell the river. Directly across the river from the restaurant we could see the rooftops of the Grand Palace all lit up. It was really beautiful! The night ended with a margarita at a jazz and blues club with amazing live music and a really fun atmosphere. All together the day was wonderful!

Adventure Awaits!

The longer I’m here, the faster time goes. I can’t believe it’s been over three weeks! This past week has been filled with adventures, some intentional and some not so much. I’m finding that adventure is not dependent upon environment, but rather perspective. If I live my life waiting for adventure to find me, I am inevitably disappointed and bored. If I live my daily life expecting to find adventure in the mundane, I am far more likely to find it.

Just last week I was on my way from the office to the apartment, buying dinner in the market. As I might have mentioned earlier, the market is kind of like a large barn-like structure without walls. It has cement floors with grates and gullies for drainage. Inside are rows upon rows of tables piled high with all kinds of foods. I was wandering around, looking for dinner when our daily storm hit. This one was big! The rain was coming down in buckets and the thunder and lightning were crazy! After a few minutes, the gullies were full of rushing rain water and the low parts of the floor were flooding. I decided to wait it out a bit before heading home. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea and the market was packed with people just standing around waiting. Eventually the rain slowed down and I hailed a motorcycle. The driver had a huge poncho on, and the streets were completely flooded under probably 3-4 inches of water. I happened to be wearing a skirt so I sat sideways on the back of the seat, clutching my bags in my lap. At points on the ride both of my feet were dragging in the water. By the time I got back, I was completely drenched. I hopped off the seat into 6 inches of standing water in the parking lot. I got into the apartment and burst out laughing! What an adventure! I’ve included pictures of the storm clouds and of my wet-cat look just for your entertainment.

It’s really the simple things in life that provide the most opportunity for adventure. Last week I was sent on a mission to buy a toilet plunger. No big deal, right? Not so much. First of all, I had to find somewhere that sold plungers. Brittany gave me general directions but the stores here often don’t look like stores in the US. Sometimes they are just piles of stuff on the sidewalk or under an awning. In this particular case, that’s what it was. There was a young man who looked like he might have been affiliated with the store so I approached him and began the process of communicating what I was looking for with hand gestures and English words. That’s a pretty good form of communication…except when talking about plungers. Not exactly the most run-of-the mill conversation topic. Thankfully he got it eventually, and wove his way through the piles, to return with a bright pink plunger. I wasn’t about to contest his color choice, so I gratefully took it and thanked him. We walked over to the table behind which there was a woman sleeping. After several attempts by the young man to wake her up, she finally woke with a start and looked very confused that her first sight was a “farong” standing in front of her with a big smile and holding a bright pink plunger. I paid her, thanked them again, and shoved my prize into my backpack, with the handle sticking up a good 6 inches above my head. It occurred to me that perhaps I should tie a piece of fabric to the end like a flag. I resisted the impulse and spent the rest of the afternoon receiving curious and amused looks.

Such is life here in Thailand. But it doesn’t have to be isolated to Thailand; or any foreign place for that matter. What matters is the attitude with which you approach life. It could be as small as walking a different route, talking to someone you’ve never met, reading a book by an unfamiliar author, or trying out a different restaurant. Or, it could be something as large as reassessing your career path, asking God to show you His heart for something you don’t really know about, or taking a short term mission trip. It doesn’t matter what your life is like, adventure awaits you! All you have to do is look for it!

Ant Wars and the Slum

“That’s what we need! Suicidal ants!...Come on little guys, why can’t you be more suicidal?” And so went a recent conversation between Brittany and myself as we stood in the kitchen contemplating the great dilemma of an entire colony of tiny ants invading our cereal. Let me tell you, ants here are relentless! Below is a picture of our attempt to win this particular battle with them.

A glass in a bowl full of water

This last week has flown by! I’ve been spending most days working with Thai Song, doing whatever they need done. Last week I worked on template earrings and made cards. Today I spent the morning trimming loose ends off of bags and later this week I’ll be working on some paper work and computer stuff. I’m really enjoying being involved with the business. The more time I spend there, the more I find myself catching the vision they have for empowering women.

Today (Tuesday) is Thai Song’s second anniversary. We celebrated yesterday by eating lunch with the ladies who make the bags and their families. It was quite the feast! We brought food from a local restaurant that specializes in a style of food from Esan, an eastern province. The house sits on stilts above a swamp. The water is full of trash and sewage. Between the floorboards you can see whatever happens to be floating by at the time. Brittany tells me that we’ve had a mild rainy season thus far, so the house hasn’t flooded yet. Apparently during a bad rainy season the water comes up through the floor.

The house itself is made of wood, corrugated metal, and whatever else is handy. One side of the main room doesn’t have a wall, but rather a sort of railing, beyond which is about 18 inches of open water, ending in the next house’ wall. There are four women employed by Thai Song, but only three of them could make it yesterday. Included in the party were the women’s children, two of whom are developmentally disabled adults, one with a two year old of her own. I spent a lot of our time there playing with the kids because while I can’t speak Thai, I certainly can speak gibberish and silly hand games – the language of children.

P' Ting and myself

We spread out the food in serving plates on the floor, and sat around cross-legged eating community style. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food and, although I wasn’t always able to follow the conversation, everyone seemed to be having a good time. After lunch we cleaned up the dishes (by rinsing them with water from a spigot at the back of the house) and gathered around for ice cream cake. After cake Tukta gave out awards (I’m not sure exactly what they were for, but I think it was just meant to encourage). I received a “welcome to Thailand, the land of smiles” card J Following the award ceremony, Brittany shared the story of Thai Song, which the women had never heard in its entirety. We sat around visiting for a little bit longer and then headed back to the base. It was really good to be able to actually see with my own eyes what Thai Song is all about.