.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Thursday, January 25, 2007

 

Times of Kuraburi

Relative to progress here with NATR & Andaman Discoveries, I continue to spend a majority of my efforts towards website and search engine optimization. While we have a great website, we are trying to make it more available to potential visitors. Google AdWords has generated some visits but more importantly been extremely valuable in providing great analysis for successful keywords, referral sources, visitor demographics, site navigation, etc. We have done some outreach/brochure-drops to partners in nearby tourist areas, but we invest more effort into viral marketing (travel hosts, forums, blogs, word-of-mouth-grassroots-goodness). If you have any suggestions on virtual neighborhoods we should be targeting, please let me know!

We continue to get inquiries for ‘voluntourism.’ While we currently provide a responsible travel option, many outgoing types are also looking to ‘do something’ while traveling. Ya, sounds familiar. So, we are developing programs catered to this voluntourist ranging from a few days of participating with existing village responsibilities to longer term research/monitoring projects. I spent a couple days last week in the village of Tung Dap for an R&D trip.

Tung Dap is a village we have supported on a project level but it is not one of the villages where we currently offer homestays. There are fifty people living in Tung Dap and they all contribute to the community’s sustenance. The lack of a CBT committee and associated tourism expectations was quite refreshing and it was apparent that this village is still collaborating at a roots level. I talked with two women who were gutting the fish from the morning’s catch. Through some chicken dancing and Thainglish, I was able to determine that the ~25 kilograms of fish would be salted, hung to dry, and distributed to all the families of the village evenly.

I had a great experience in all the activities I helped in: picking up garbage with the schoolchildren, making squid traps with the fishermen for the next morning’s mission, and fishing in a fresh water pond with my host Nu. While I struggled at grabbing the fish under water with my hands, I did learn to throw the net. To see more photos of my trip, click here.

In terms of recreation and social life, it seems the last month’s theme has been dinner parties. With volunteers coming and going and new homes to constantly warm, it is not hard to find an excuse to all get together. One weekend we visited Jeab’s uncle’s property which borders a stream and national park land. Last weekend, I had a great paddle off the beach of Ban Talae Nok and into an estuary full of mangroves. The amount of mangrove habitat along this coast continues to amaze me. Enjoying the constant breeze and hence ability to do it in this heat, I continue to bicycle around Kuraburi but will need to step up the training soon for the Himalaya return trip in spring.

Oh, and how could I forget…The Rainbow Gathering. I had heard of these hippy fests back at home, but never really knew much about them. We happen to be located just 15 kilometers from this year’s “World Gathering.” Starting on a new moon and lasting one full lunar cycle, the event usually peaks in attendance around the full moon. So sure enough, a group of us headed out for that particular night and had a great time of being “welcomed home.”

Core to its peace and happiness mission, the gathering boasts a no-drug/no-alcohol policy. I really admired this and it made it much easier to engage in real conversation rather than just chaotic-counter-culture-expression I expect at large communal events. After a couple different overnight visits, I left feeling a little mixed. It was a great example of efficient communal living, encouraging acceptance and learning, and consisting mainly of good-willed people. But there was a large group of these “idealists” who appear to shelter their beliefs in their own small circles rather than taking them to more real world scenarios.

Labels: , ,


Monday, January 22, 2007

 

I've Got a CD Coming Out!

A set of them, actually. I'm getting paid to read dialogue, lesson examples, and dictionary terms for a set of instructional CDs. I've been writing example sentences for the same company, and the whole process is really interesting. I've read a couple thousand dictionary terms, and quite a bit of lesson content now, and the production schedule is picking up. I'll be recording for two hours each day for the next week or so. Pitt took some pictures of the first session, and I'll try to post those soon.

Flowers at Jiraporn School

The school owner's wife grows fantastic orchids, as well as some lovely water plants. It's funny to see what I think of as "hot-house flowers" thriving outside, but they're gorgeous (a little like those "tropical fish"). She rotates them through so the ones that are blooming are out where they can be seen. (more pictures)

Alternate View of Thai Royalty

Around the time of the coup, we said a bit here about the sterling reputation enjoyed by Thailand's king. We pretty much passed along unedited the stated opinion of every Thai person we've ever talked to. But it seems that that's not the only opinion out there, and I'd be remiss if I didn't pass along the alternate view: here.

And on the Economics of Education

The school I work for is a private school, and it's common in Thailand for the families of some students to get off as long as possible without paying. It's also common for the school to hound those students on a regular basis for payment, rounding them up in the office for lectures and giving them bills, and generally putting them in a very uncomfortable spot. Last week I was finishing the last of the P. 4 speaking tests (with about 8 students who happen to comprise the bottom quarter or so of the class) and had them come in at lunch hour. As the students arrived dutifully on time, we saw the school secretary throw her hands in the air and yell "Jackpot!" (or what Louise assures me is the Thai equivalent). Almost every one of those students owed the school money. As expected, they struggled on the test, and it left me thinking about how economic status fits into the educational machine, both here and at home.

Labels:


Friday, January 12, 2007

 

Reflections

EDIT: After some concern from family members from this last post, I finally took the time to reread my words and feel there was validity for their negative speculation. So, I'm back to expand a little bit.

NO, I have not been having conversations with dead people and YES, I was completely sober. On that day, I focused on reaching out to Erik and letting him know how much he is missed, how much people admired his zest for life, how much positive snow safety education has resulted from his accident, etc. This is not new for me, I have reached out to other lost loved ones before. Some people do this through prayer, meditation, whatever. When reaching out to people, I have often sensed they can hear or feel my thoughts. With Erik, I felt a really strong connection and felt he understood what I was saying and was in a happy place. It was a powerful 15 minutes and due to that I felt like sharing. It probably was not wise to share with the cyber world so soon after the experience.



Today (January 12th) has been an impactful day for me. Before picking some colleagues up at a village, I had some time to reflect next to a beautiful stream. One year ago today, Emily and I landed in Delhi and began this odyssey. Wow, what fantastic experiences. I also thought about a good friend Erik Lewis who passed away two years ago today. While reflecting on quite an amazing year, it reinforced how lucky I am and how rewarding it is to continuously enjoy living. Erik shared this zest for life and living amongst his passions. To no surprise, he is doing extremely well and very much at peace with his current surroundings. It was an amazing connection: full of tears, smiles, and mutual appreciation.

Labels:


Wednesday, January 10, 2007

 

Update

Grandpa's back at home, and feeling much better by all accounts. Nothin' like watching HeeHaw through your eyelids in your very own comfy chair to speed the recuperative process.

We love you Grandpa, and hooray Aunt Barb for being the rock-star-on-hand this week!

Saturday, January 06, 2007

 

Get Well Soon, Grandpa!

We've had some bad news from North Dakota. My Grandpa Wesley is in the hospital in Minot after a minor heart attack. He's stable, and they've moved him into his own room. I'm anxiously awaiting the updates, but they think he'll be ok. When I talked to him at Christmas he said he hadn't been out ice fishing yet this winter - the ice was too thin. He said it would be thick enough to hold him up, but not him and that huge fish he was going to catch. Here's hoping the ice thickens up and he's out fishing soon. We love you, Grandpa!

I've posted some pictures from Trevor and my visit to Khukhut waterbird sanctuary and Koh Yo. Pitt let us borrow her motorcycle, and we had a fun drive over the bridge to Koh Yo for lunch. The island seems pretty laid back, and we were sorry we didn't have more time to explore. There are fish farms all around, and plenty of seafood restaurants to choose from. A lot of folks from Hat Yai day trip up to the island (about a 45 minute drive) to eat seafood, so you know it must be good. We had lunch in a lovely, out-of-the way spot nestled amongst the palm trees, and decided we'd stop on the island for dinner on the way back, too. Continuing on to the next bridge, we made it to Khukhut in another 45 minutes, and enjoyed a beautiful drive in after leaving the main road.

We knew we wanted to get on one of the boat rides, but had no idea to go about it. Signage wasn't stellar, and it took us a bit to find the office, which was empty. Luckily a cleaning lady came over, and I happened to know the word for boat (random - you learn it with the Thai alphabet) and she pointed us in the right direction. A guy who turned out to be the boat driver walked us over, and we were soon out on the water in a long-tail. He drove us through an area of shallow grass beds with canals winding through, interspersed with larger open areas and the occasional tree with crazy stalagmite-like roots sticking up all around. The shy purple swamphens with their bright red heads and purple-blue-turquoise feathers were a highlight, as were the enormous purple and gray herons. There were tons of Egrets, though I'm not sure which ones. According to the bird book, there could be 4 different kinds in the area right now, and all wearing almost identical non-breeding plumage (great egret). There were large flocks of little grebes swimming around, and when we got too close they would take off running across the water before leaping up and diving under, as if undecided whether up or down was safer. There were plenty of little cormorants perched in the trees - looking more like little vultures than waterbirds from a distance - and we saw a flock of black-winged stilts, with long skinny beaks and even longer legs. A couple of Greater Coucals were poking around looking for a meal, and we saw a blue-tailed bee eater snag either a bug or a fish off the water. Back on shore we spent some time up in an observation tower, where we watched some ashy drongos and black-naped orioles play in the tree-tops at eye level. (Thanks to Carl-Johan Svensson for posting such fantastic pictures of Thai birds - most of the links above are to his site.)

On the drive home we stopped at another restaurant on Koh Yo, and had some fantastic seafood tom yum (spicy soup) and sweet-and-sour shrimp. Yummy.

P Noot hosts a big New Year's Eve party every year, and we were recruited to come over early and help set up. We peeled, sliced, chopped, marinated, and skewered, helping set up the massive spread of food that we'd later help demolish. At the party, there was musical chairs and waterballoon tossing for the kids. There was also musical chairs for the adults, who were probably more into it than the kids, after a few hours of party time. Chairs were broken, people went sprawling, cash on a fork was awarded. It was fun. Getting on toward midnight, the fireworks started to come out, and the kids' excitement level went up. There was no count-down, but at few minutes to midnight the amount of firecrackers and roman candles being set off in the neighborhood escalated until their was constant noise and smoke. Trevor and I counted down and had a smooch, just to do it properly. Here are some pictures from the party.

This last week (or fragment of a week, anyway) we've started mid-term tests at school. It's a bit of a process. I'm doing a full class period of review, then administering the test the next period, then finishing the one-on-ones the period after that (there's a written part, then a one-on-one outside the classroom to test for speaking and listening, which takes a while with 30+ students per class). So far most of the younger kids are doing pretty well, so it's gratifying to see that they're getting something out of class, and that my expectations for the tests were fairly realistic. We start testing with the older kids next week, so we'll see how that goes.

As for me, I better get back at my own studies now. I'm hoping to meet up with Tor this weekend for some Thai/English study, and she expects me to spell all the words that go with the Thai alphabet. I don't want to fail the test!

Labels: , , , , ,


Monday, January 01, 2007

 

Jungle walks & Christmas trees

Happy New Year!

Before I get into the last week of holiday cheer in Hat Yai, I need to mention a most fantastic hike I was part of a couple weeks ago. Bodhi has raved on and on about "the lake" in Khao Sok National Park and has always wanted to hike into it from Kuraburi. He had finally put the trip together and of course I was in. Here are some photos of the adventure.

We were stoked to be supporting a graduate of our ACE Expert program by hiring Reese to put together the jungle walk. Reese is hoping to be a local guide in the Kuraburi area and completed our six month program of English, computer skills, and small business skills with 21 other ACE Experts. While he realizes the need to learn more English to communicate with future foreign visitors, he is well-versed in the language of the jungle.

We began the hike with a 4-wheel drive ride deep into the woods. From there, we spent a couple hours of walking through thick vegetation until we came to a beautiful spot at the confluence of two waterfalls. The main stream dove down slippery rock into a large swimming pool where we spent most of our afternoon. Reese brought along a small spear that was used to catch fish by propelling it forward with the large rubber band tied to it. While us farang (foreigners) struggled to just hold our breath long enough to get down to the fish, sure enough, the local guides made it look easy. Besides the fish they caught, that night our guides prepared us a camp meal we will never forget while maximizing the use of bamboo - serving dishes, hot water pots, ladles, cups, etc.

Camp is a little simpler in the jungle. Gordy and I lugged a tent in only to realize there was practically no flat, clear space big enough to set up a tent. We made do but watched as the locals prepared a more fitting sleeping arrangemet...hanging a hammock (with mosquito net) between two trees.

The next day we walked in and along the stream for a few hours before hitting the lake where a long tail boat awaited us. Chieow Laan Lake was created by a dam and provides floating access to extensive jungle habitat. We went for an afternoon canoe trip where we heard tons of birds, monkeys, and even saw a great winged hornbill fly right in front of us. We all enjoyed a good night sleep in our floating bungalows before reversing our trip back out.

While we were all proficient at pulling leeches off our lower legs every few minutes, we were grateful to have local guides keep us safe from the bigger dangers of the jungle.

Holidays in Hat Yat
Up in Kuraburi, it was easy not to miss the holidays as there were no signs of it anywhere. Arriving in Hat Yai was a different story. Hat Yai is by no means a big city, but it is one of the larger ones in Thailand and therefore boasts a good size industry of consumerism. Just in my tuk tuk ride from the bus station to Em's apartment, I observed streets lined with Christmas lights and "Merry Christmas" or "Happy New Year" signs on restaurants and retail stores. "Hmm," I thought, "I guess it is Christmas time."

Arriving in the apartment built on the theme and in addition to the lovely girl I was excited to see, there was a small Christmas tree (with presents under it!) and Christmas carols streaming on the laptop. The Holidays were on!

For Christmas Eve we headed to P Noot's place with American Christmas food in hand. Doing our best to get some meat & potatoes like we would have at home was not so easy. We bought a few cooked chickens (close enough to turkey) and then had to resort to KFC (yes, finger lickin' good KFC) for mashed potatoes. Christmas day was the work part of the holiday where I helped "Teacher Em" introduce some Christmas vocabulary and sing lots of "Jingle Bells." We helped her students make ornaments and taped them on a paper Christmas tree in each classroom. It was great to see the admiration she gets from her well behaved students. Christmas night we went a little out of tradition and enjoyed a sushi dinner for two. You can see more photos of our Christmas activities here.

While Thais think Christmas is fun, and a good excuse for shopping, New Year's Eve is one of their major holidays. Last Thursday was an all-day party at Em's school, with the parents coming to watch the students performing on stage all day, and the school putting on a dinner party for the teachers that night. Gordy, a colleague from NATR, was passing through town so joined Em and I for this night of uncertainty. Em's bilingual teaching assistant, Louise, chose not to attend so we were on our own to understand what was happening or expected from us. Gordy and I had it easy as we were just guests. Being the foreign superstar, Em had larger responsibilities such as selecting various costume contest winners, along with giving her mandatory karaoke performance. The night turned out to be quite fun with lots of dancing.

Em will write more later about the New Year's Eve party and other fun outings.

Labels: ,


This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

Powered by FeedBurner

Blogarama - The Blog Directory