Ban Mae Surin Trip

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to go to another refugee camp on the border between Thailand and Burma. This time we went to see the family of one of our workers. We were mostly there to get information on the family so that they will be able to join us for the feast in about a month.

We had also planned to visit the other camp, but unfortunately could not due to the condition of the roads. Rainy season makes traveling along the border difficult and even dangerous because roads get washed out and it becomes very slick.

So, I had to be content with just one adventure. And I would say it counts in the adventure category. Not at all for personal safety, but if you've ever seen those ads for 4-wheel drive vehicles in the US, this would count as roughing it. We were able to get in touch with a man who had a truck and could drive us into the camp. He had clearly taken the trip many times, because he was familiar with the road and had few problems. The truck did have to make it through mud and boulders, and streams, though. And after that we got to walk in for about an hour to the camp.
This was part of our room in the Guesthouse in Kuhn Yuom. We spent a night there before going to the camp in the morning.
The trusty truck we took and our driver up there to the left.
(Photo credit: Nathan Kimmons)
I believe there were five of these bridges on the way to the family's house in the camp. I didn't mind it so much, but one of the railings I was gently holding on to did break - it caused a little startle.
(Photo credit: Nathan Kimmons)
LaNuNan ended up carrying some stuff for me. Fortunately he is an innovative guy who grabbed bamboo and...
...made a pole to carry the stuff with.
The view from the family's house.
Some of the little neighbor girls - they just struck me as being so cute.
We only stayed in the camp a short time. We were not allowed to be there past dark, so we had lunch, got the information we needed, and then started the walk back. This time our walk was more interesting because a bunch of people came with us (to get the supplies we had brought) and we got to stop at the clinic.

The clinic was interesting. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of information about it. We just went in and saw the different rooms. It looked sparse. But it looked clean and organized. I asked about volunteering there for a couple weeks and it's possible. I believe I will look into that over our summer break.
The main clinic in the camp.
The group after we'd walked back to the truck.
(Photo credit: Nathan Kimmons)
I know this might not seem like a sensitive thing to say, but I really like going to the camps. Like I wrote before about the camp near Mae Sariang, I just feel like it's so peaceful and relaxed. And I feel like it's fairly clean and well-looked after. The people also seem happy. The pace is obviously slower, which I'm guessing would not be enjoyable day in day out, year in year out, but for me it's nice and simple.

I suppose the thing that strikes me about the camps is the lack of variety and the lack of choice. Their diets are not really varied. Any variety comes from little plots they choose to plant. I'm sure they see the same people all the time. Most if not all of them don't really have a choice whether or not to be there. I imagine there is uncertainty about the future too. I would feel as if my future were in someone else's hands.

I still would like to spend some time, a week or two, in one of the camps just to get a better idea of what it is like. Obviously going for two days (or an afternoon!) is not enough to understand much.

Please keep the families in your prayers, and also that Legacy can get them out for the Feast. Spending time with them here at school is so fun!

School trip - Waterfalls!

It's always fun to get away from school for a little bit. It's especially fun when all the students can go. I like to see the different personalities that come out and this was a good way to get to know this years new students.

Last week, on the Queen's birthday, we took our first school trip of the year. We didn't stray far - just a few miles up windy road - but it was a great time. We went to the local waterfalls (after a late start because of rain!) and had lunch, hiked, and swam.
Elainea and I after clawing our way up.
Some of the students taking a dip.
Hiding under the waterfall.
The crew
The crew again.
Somporn and Peto making a sand mound.
Wichai flying through the waterfall.
Finishing off the remainders from lunch.

After four hours of good fun, it was nice to come home and get into dry clothes!

July 4th in a Nutshell

This last blog hiatus has been too long! Pete's a great frog - but probably not worth the front page for that length of time!

I plan to do some serious updating in the next couple days - just so long as the internet doesn't drive me crazy.

It's been more than a month since July 4th and unfortunately I am just now blogging about it. A little of the "this just happened" excitement has worn off. However, I still think it's worth a blog!

This year we had high hopes for our 4th. We were envisioning the hamburgers, chicken watermelon, corn - plus games and fireworks! Well, the day dawned very dreary, and in non-Thailand fashion, stayed dreary the whole day. In fact it was dreary and rainy for several days in a row!

We actually had July 4th on July 5th - perhaps this is where the trouble came in! We didn't get started until late and then we found out our grill was broken. In the end, after more effort than usual, we did get all the good food we desired - just no fireworks!

Trying to get the fire started. It took a bit of time, and some less than usual methods, but it did get started!

At this point we were already eating the chicken and just waiting to get started on the hamburgers!

Lots of meat!

What 4th of July is complete without ice cream?