I'm back...looks like the guys will take a bit longer to finish their shopping so I'll keep in typing...

Yong--
Needed to add one more thing about Yong. She only completed 5th grade in Guang Dong but now must go to the smaller local school--probably because she could not pass the examination to get into 6th grade. So much potential but so little opportunity.

Flowers
You know you are appreciated when you find fresh picked flowers outside your tent!!

Cook & Bottle Washer
Renay is a fabulous cook! How lucky can we get--she has taught Chinese cooking classes & written a cook book. We've been gobbling down delicious meals--how will I lose that 10 lbs???? She bought lots of fresh vege's & brought a suitcase full of other stuff to add to them. We brought a rice cooker & put all that together and you've got a great meal. All eight of us huddle around a table the size of a card table, sitting on stools and using our chopsticks manage to eat lots. Renay all insist on doing most of the dishes as well...and always with a smile!

Jenny: The Seamstress
Jenny seamstress skills are amazing! She brought with her a suitcase full of needles, thread, zippers, elastic, etc.....and the company she works for sent rolls of fabric. With the sewing machines she bought in Kunming, she has already taught several ladies how to make pants & shirts. She shows them how to make patterns too. It's so neat to watch them start with a piece of paper, draw a pattern, cut it out & presto, sew it up!!!

Scarves for all
We woke up to a drizzle so Jenny pulled out some cloth & starting cutting. In no time, she was wrapping pink scarves around the heads & necks of all the little girls who were poking their heads in our door. Soon all the women were coming, so more scarves were made. Then Jenny pulled out a roll of blue cloth & soon the boys were sporting them. It made a great picture!

Scooter Lady
As I was walking to my tent, I saw an older woman sitting on a low scooter working her way up a muddy, manure covered hill toward her home. I bent down & started pushing her as she squealed with laughter. It was all I could do to get her up that hill the whole time wondering how in the world she does it herself!!! She beckoned me to come in to her home...actually I think she was insisting...so she, I and her husband sat around a small fire that was in the middle of the room--grinning at each other. After a bit, she offered me food & he offered me his bong pipe (yes, I refused both). With the stubs she had for hands, she kept pushing the hot coals into the center of the fire. She was missing part of her leg also--but she sure wasn't missing a smile!! When I motioned that I needed to leave, she frowned. I did go back the next day & we watched a bit of traditional dancing & singing on her TV--the only thing besides a rice cooker of the western world I saw in her house. I hope to do that several times. It seemed to bring her such joy--and me too!

Always Teaching
Once a teacher, always a teacher. Every minute I can, I spend with the children. We have done lots of pattern games, follow the leader, Doggie Doggie Where's Your Bone, Counting while playing London Bridges, drawing self portraits, tic-tac-toe but their favorite is Blue Bird In & Out My Window--which they try to sing all the time even though I can not get them to say "bird"--they say "burr"--which since it's so cold, maybe makes more sense!! They also have devoured the Zoo magazines I brought. They have spents hours scouring them. Yesterday, I thought the kids were home eating supper, so I was walking toward our tents when I heard them shouting. They came bounding over a heaping manure pile and grabbed me. I surely didn't want to take all those manure filled shoes into our tenting area, so we headed up the mountain instead--singing Do, a deer, a female deer.... Just like Sound of Music...well close anyways. Later that night, I was drying dishes when a bunch showed up & asked if I could come out and play--what could I say???????

Little Mothers
The 8-10 year old girls seem to be in charge of the babies. Several of them have one strapped on their backs & they carry them most the day. That doesn't stop them from doing whatever is going on. After I gave them balloons to swat around--they joined right in. Jumping, hopping & swatting the balloon--all right next the the 4 ft ditch right next to us. No safety nets here! I've seen the same little one twice carrying a 12 in curved knife around and those stumbling toddlers also walk right next to that ditch--with no one even semi-close. Makes my heart stop beating...and I think of my little grandbabies that have safety everything everywhere.

Village Meeting
After our first whole day in the village, Yuan asked one person from each home to come to a meeting. They were excited as that day the clay coming out of the drilling was wet so there was much hope in the air. They profusely thanked us for all that we were doing. I was told I could continue working with the children. Jenny explained that the sewing could bring them in some money & hoped they would encourage the woman to continue learning. Steve was not feeling well so not there...but Rog explained about how they could build a bio sand filter so the water they got from their cisterns could be safe. He also asked permission to cement the hill going up to the scooter lady's home. They were pleased with both ideas. Much discussion followed about the latrine--the only one in the village so used by all. (How can I explain them--let's just say you don't want to know or smell it.) It's totally backed up as pampers & pads are thrown there & the pit is not covered so it's very soupy--maybe that's not the best word. The final decision was to drain the liquid, dig a hole for pampers & pads and another hole for the solids. After a year, the solids can be dug up & used as fertilizers. Yuan made them all laugh when he told them human feces make sweeter vegetables! Yuan is an talented & trusted negotiator always asking the villagers to express their opinions.

Hitting Rock
Why do these people have such a tough life?? First having someone in their family contract leprosy...then being banned to the poorest land where it's cold...and with no water. All yesterday's excited quickly came to a crash when the drillers again hit rock. They'd drilled down almost 9 feet when they hit the rock...and after spending most of another day trying to break it--they gave up. It had been so much fun for Rog & Steve to see them take charge of the drilling--having one of them hop on top to add weight--grinning as they went round & round drilling deeper & deeper and watching the children make pots & other art projects from the wet clay. Everyone had been so hopeful... I can only ask WHY????

Shopping For Supplies
While we're in town, the guys are out shopping for stuff to clean up the latrine, build a bio sand filter water system & cement the scooter lady's ramp. We certainly don't want to leave their village without some very visible success. The sewing is wonderful...but only affects a few. We want to help all of them ...with sustainable projects...that will improve their living conditions.

Wagon Train
Our tents are set up in a circle which reminds me of how wagon trains circled up at night. Rog & I must sleep pretty good as Jenny told us each morning that we added to the "snoring symphony"--along with Renay,Yuan, Steve & Ong. Renay informed Jenny that she too snored--only more quietly and almost creating a song.

Rocking
One of the little rascals climbed on my lap. I began to rock him singing "Rock A Bye Baby." He quickly put his head on my shoulder & nuzzled down...letting me rock & rock & rock him. When he finally got up...another about 8 yr old girl came. Again I rocked & she nuzzled down as I sang. I knew that this little girl's mother had left her 4 children & the village after her two husbands had died--she had probably been ostersized as others thought she brought bad luck. As I rocked her, I had to wonder if she was thinking about her mother. Painful.

Animals
Everywhere. Dogs barking, pigs snorting, roosters crowing, chicks peeping, goats bleating, ox mooing...begins just before dawn & last until...when not sure when it ends!!! All these animals produce lots of manure...so there's piles everywhere also!

Nicer Home
Rog & I & others were invited into the home of the nephew of the village leader. THough it was built exactly like every other home, it was much cleaner & neater. They had a nice pink couch & love seat. A Tv, dvd & shelf unit. The kitchen had a large cement stove with huge opening for the wok to sit. Lots of dried vege's hanging. The pork was drying upstairs. Obviously, lots of pride in that home. The nephew is the same guy who learned to put the solar light kits together quickly & seems to be the key pin in the welling project. We were told he has worked outside of the village so he had more money to spend. The village leader & his wife are working outside now.

Leaving the Village
It would seem everyone would just leave this village...but we were told that one must apply to leave their village & are often denied. They can go work other places but cannot get any benefits outside their village. Benefits like medical & schooling. As explained, if people were allowed to leave, large cities would become way overcrowded with poor people and there would be many fewer farmers--whom they depend on. So even with a good education...if that's even possible...very few villagers will have an opportunity to leave permently But a few do. The meaning of freedom has become much more precious to me.

Yuan's Story
After spending over a week with Yuan, we learned his story. He was born in one of the leprosy colonies & was plucked out by a HANDA worker who recognized how clever he was. He was taught how to make prosetics (SP???) and has become an expert at that. (Though HANDA is always scrounging for $$$ so he can make more.) He returns to the leprosy villages often serving the most needy. He found a wife in one of them & they now have a beautiful son & live in Kunming--thanks to HANDA. No wonder you see such love & tenderness in him when he is with the villagers.

Tantrums
Yup--here too. Witnessed a full blown tantrum that lasted almost an hour today. One little guy wanted his mother to quit sewing & get him some water. When she refused, he threw himself on the cement & began kicking & screaming. An older lady with one foot twisted in & who had a child already strapped on her back...picked him up & carried him a ways, then set him on the ground. There he continued his tantrum as she sat quietly ignoring him. Kids are the same everywhere.


Shredder
As Rog wa visiting the home of another villager, he saw him throw lots of greens into a shreder then take it all out to the pigs. Made the pigs happy!

Runny Noses
Can't begin to tell you how many runny noses we've wiped!! The adults use the spray method so you have to move quickly when you hear them start to blow....

Gotta go...my ride is here!

Hi All!! Hope you are all keeping warmer than we are!! We are back in a hotel now as our tents got wet & it was still drizzling so we drove the one & one half hours to town.... but here's the story from where I left off :

Jui Dao Ma Lua
After swerving for semis, motorcycles, ox & carts, goats, people and various other moving objects while driving on switchback roads climbing higher & higher (therefore the cliff beside us was getting steeper & steeper), we came to the end of the road. Then we started down a wide path & then finally turned onto the lane which ended at Jui Dao Ma Lua. Excited children raced down a hill to greet us as we tried to take in the site before us. Poverty. We have seen it before but it always slaps us in the face and it almost feel a deep ache within. But this was not the time to reflect on it...we had people to hug & show that we'd come because we cared. We set up our tents just beyond the main village and one of the locals had given up his main room for our "kitchen, dining room, storage & working space." It's about the size of our living room. The home is constructed of brick, cement floors & wood beams covered by plaster like stuff for walls. No heat. I repeat--no heat & it's probably about 45-50 F. We put on our warmest clothing and started cleaning up the best we could. Those diaper wipes I brought came in handy. I used 6 to clean off one shelf. The guys went out to meet the local men & figure out where they wanted to start drilling for water. It didn't take them long to find the spot, cut a tree to erect a tripod, attach the pulley & drilling head and begin. Renay plugged in a small heating unit & put on a kettle of water. Soon we were showing the kids the proper way to wash hands, faces & blow their nose. Who knew that could bring such bubbling laughter!!

Assessments
With the help of OnYung, I began assessing the kids. The first girl was 15, married with 1 or 2 kids & beautiful. She willingly correctly named the words on the flashcards I showed her (thank goodness I'd found some in the USA that were in Chinese) but when I asked her to read, she said "I'm married and don't need to do that." Most of the next ones were between the ages of 7 & 11...most didn't know any of the words but could count correctly the 20 buttons I showed them. Some could even figure out how many were left when I took one or two away. One 4 yr old didn't know how old he was & wouldn't tell us his name. He said he didn't know but maybe he was just pretending cause he was quite the character. I found two who could read the level 1-2-3 book I'd purchased in Kunming--one 11 & other 13--both who had gone to school in Guang Dong (nearby city). Since the 11 year old missed stumbled over some of the words, I asked the 13 year old if she was willing to read to the younger ones. With much coaxing, she agreed. We gathered up the kids (which wasn't hard as they seem to follow me like bees around their hive) and with my arm around Yong, she began. It was thrilling...but the kids were a bit too noisy & rambunctious The next day, I again asked her & made it very clear to the kids that they were to listen quietly (& if they did, we'd give them a cookie.) They lwere great & clapped when Yong finished the story. I asked if they wanted to hear another & they loudly said yes! So after three stories, I told Yong that if she read to the children often, they would become better readers and she would be like a teacher to them. She said she would like to do that so I gave her the book. She beamed! Then I handed her the cookies to hand out to her students. What a thrill for me--and I hadn't even noticed I was cold!!!

Gotta go--we're heading back to the village.....

Hi-
Can't believe I got to use a computer two days in a row!!!!

Valentine's Day in Kunming
Yup--red roses are here too & lots of couples were enjoying each other & dinner out tonight. We spent the afternoon packing up bags with soap, toothpaste, tooth brushes, towels and 6 pairs of undies in ziplocks so we'd be ready to pass them out to the woman in the villages many of which have none of the above. We then boxed up things so we'd be ready to take off tomorrow. Jenny was off with Meizi shopping for sewing machines which they found and had 15 shipped to one of the villages. The Yuan took Jenny & us to the Nationalities Museum where we got to see many of the area nationalities native clothing & housing. Finally, we were ready to celebrate our last night in Kunming. Yuan & his wife & young son, Meizi & her husband, Li, Jenny, Roger and I went out for a Dai dinner complete with 12 dishes and another enjoyable evening with our new found friends.

The Gangs All Here
Renay, founder of Eco Village of Hope & Steve who has worked with Water4 arrived late last night. We all met up for a meeting to get everyone on the same page this a.m. and then packed the truck to the gills, sent Rog, Steve & two others who will help with translation & whatever else we need (haven't got the spelling of their names yet) off to the bus station and with trusty Yuan at the wheel, the rest of us piled in the truck & headed for the nearest large city about two hours from the first village we'll be visiting: Jui Dao Ma Lu. We enjoyed another bountiful meal and are staying in a pretty nice hotel...that allows us to use the internet!! Life is good.

Renay:
Unofficial Meeting Minutes:
Renay warmly welcomed everyone to the team by passing out Valentine candy boxes. She then introduced each of us noting what area we'd be heading up. Renay was clear in tellin us the key words to all our projects was "We'll try." We don't want to raise expectations and then have the villagers lose faith in us...and themselves. Steve (who has spent much time in third world countries) called it "Poverty Fatigue": when people work & work & things don't get better pretty soon they quit & don't have any hope that things will ever improve. If we go in there saying we are going to do this or that and it doesn't work...we add to the poverty fatigue. Renay also made it clear that nothing is to be done without the approval of the village head with Yuan or Meizi doing the communiction. Steve told a story that made that point clear: A man standing next to a dog was asked by another man if his dog bites. The man said "No." So the second man bent down to pet the dog and it bit his hand off. He shouted at the first man, "I thought you said your dog did not bite!" The first man said, "My dog doesn't. That dog isn't my dog." Morale of the story: Make sure the villagers (and us) totally understand what we've come to do. We are here to teach & supply tools and give HANDA support. HANDA is here for the long run & makes frequent visits to each village providing them with essential needs. EVHS is here to enhance a little at a time, the life of the villagers. But foremost we must remember, it is their village and we must respect their wishes. If we can encourage a more hopeful & positive mind set of the villagers just a bit, progress will happen over time.

Until I get another chance to write....take care & keep in touch

I'm so excited that the last update appeared to have sent so I will just keep going....not that you have to keep reading!!!

Roads
The best. Almost all the roads seem new & very well constructed with ramps going every which way in the city and beautifully landscapes. Street sweepers are out in huge numbers using broom made of probably some type of straw. It's so clean around here. Outside the downtown area, the roads are like super highways...but still often landscaped. We've been through several loooong tunnels and over loooong bridges.

Shopping
We spent two entire days shopping for things we'll be taking to the leprosy villages. Jenny for sewing & hygiene. Rog for projects mat'l & tools. Me for classrooms & students. We were in huge supply buildings ( 11 4 story buildings) crammed with everything you can imagine. With our list in hand, we sorted through the mountains trying to find what we think we need. Not an easy task. I thought it was hard in Thailand to give out reading glasses. I truly struggled with trying to pick out reading books that I could not read for students when I don't even know their reading levels. LiRunJiang was helping me--thank goodness--but he has very limited English so we must have been a comical pair trying to figure out what I needed to buy. I was able to get lots of posters, maps, pencils, scissors, etc...so atleast it'll be a good start for the two classrooms we will be setting up. Rog was with Yuan--who spoke no English but is very smart & they were able to find much of what was on Rog's list. Jenny, of course, speaks fluent Chinese and her company & many friends had given her about $6000 to spend---most was for sewing machines but her shopping pile is huge: scissors, thread, sewing kit boxes, towels, undies, soap, q-tips, etc.... What we couldn't find at the supply centers, we found at Walmart!!

The Three Amigos
We've been having a blast with the three local Chinese who have been driving us everywhere & feeding us constantly: Meizi, Yuan & LiRun. They laugh loudly & often & try to please us in everyway possible. We feel so pampered & lucky!!! And to top it off, we have Jenny to intrepret for us!!!!

Housing & Building Cost
Back to all those millions of housing units...we were told that each is about 100 sq meters and cost about $600 a month which is about what one person can make per month. And the cost of construction is between $10 -20,000 per sq meter. What a housing boom!

Breakfast
Normal breakfast here is a very large bowl of a soup with rice noodles topped with lots of hot sause and you can add fried pork rind, onions, chilis, peppers, etc. or....boiled eggs & steamed rolls. Can you guess which I choose??? Even Rog is eating the eggs.

Lunch & Supper
Huge. It's amazing how many main dishes on set in front of you at each meal--at least 6. And an overflowing bowl of rice too. Everyone uses their chopsticks to dig in taking from each main dish and adding rice to their bowl. Rog is now an expert at using sticks & I'm improving though it's okay that it takes me much longer to eat!! Rog is trying everything and as you can imagine--liking everything. Our Three Amigos took us to a western style restraurant where one of the dishes we had was pizza. Li even ate his pizza with chopsticks. I wanted spring rolls last night so they knew where we should eat. We also got a plate mounded with deep fried fish--about 2 inches long. Yuan must have eaten 20 of them...with chopsticks....expertly eating around the tiny bones. His plate was full of those bones.

Fashion
Boy am I underdressed here! Women around here wear gorgeous clothing with lots of glitter & frills and fancy high heel shoes. (Marcee, you'd love it) Many young girls wear very short skirts & high heeled black boots. Picture someone dressed like that driving a motorcycle!

Language Barrier
Though we know we are missing out on lots because we have NO idea what is being said around us--and it seems no one speaks English anywhere we go--the good side of that is that we have lots more time to observe what's happening all around us and notice details that we usually don't because we are too busy talking!!

School Visit
We were welcomed into a private school that teaching English to students after school & on weekends. I felt at home being surrounded by word walls & sight words, posters of word families, and student work displayed that looked so similiar to USA. Most students were not there as it's still New Year holiday here but the few there were fun to visit with. This school was the first in the area to use the Smart Board and the head master was proud that so many other school officials came to visit & are now using them. I still can't fathom how we'll be able to use them in the villages as it even at that school, they did not have them hooked to the internet but had purchased a Houghton Miflin program--and I don't think we''' have that. What will be will be! Befire I left, the head master offered me a job--which I heard would pay about $1000 per month and housing was not included. Not even tempting.

Stone Forest
Since our shopping was done, the Three Amigos & us headed out of town about one hour to the Stone Forest. Stunning and humungous---(give me a break about spelling as I don't want to take the time for spell check or re-reading!!!) Giant limestone towers of every shape and size erupted over miles. These towers are called Karst--which is what the towers we canoes to by Pughet last year were. So here we are seeing karst on land! A rather new park has been established there with well built paths throughout the towering stone structures---some going waaaay down & some going waaaay up. We hiked around taking lots of pictures & truly enjoying the beautiful warm day. THe most famous tower was Ashima--named after a legendary lady who refused to marry a wealthy & powerful man but instead waited for her true love. We'd brought lunch (bread, peanut butter, chips, buns filled with beans, sweet rolls & diet& reg Coke we'd bought at Walmart) & found a perfect tables with six stools all carved from the limestone & nestled in the between the towers. Jenny pulled out smoked salmon she'd brought from Vancouver--delicious. What an amazing place to truly enjoy a wonderful feast. Only 3 people passed through as we ate & ate & ate. How lucky can one get?????? After lunch, we hiked around a bit more and then came to a stage where the local tribe (Asi) were performing traditional dancing & singing. We went to an adjacent Black Stone Forest where we again climbed among the towers, stopping to eat again & taking a rest on the green grass. Besides the towers, we enjoyed the many blossoming trees. One path we walked had blossoming cherry trees that had been connected to form an arch over us. What a wonderful day. I will try to remember one of the sayings I read on a sign that explained how the stone forest was formed by rain breaking down the limestone: Time & softness overcomes hardness.

Terrace Farming
As we drove to & from the Stone Forest, we passed lots of active terrace farming. So many hillsides had areas leveled and filled with manicured rows of vegetables. In the valleys surrounding the villages where all the houses were built, the flat land was being farmed in small plots. There were also hundreds of green houses. It seemed no land sat idle.

Fruits & Nuts
Everywhere you go there are fruits & nuts for sale--many we've seen in other countries but many other we have not. Jenny is very adventurous and trying lots of them even she has never seen. She & Rog both really enjoyed the snake skin fruit they ate yesterday. Jenny is loving the roasted sweet potatoes & was in heaven when she was given some root that she remembered eating as a child. It's not unusual to see people eating all these cooked roots anywhere we go. When I looked at the deli in Walmart, I could not recognize one thing.

Streets
Visions of playing frogger in Kolkata are returning to us as we watch pedestrian after pedestrian dogged moving vehicles. Rog said it puts real meaning to the saying A miss is as good as a mile. And once they do get to the sidewalk, they really can't walk safely there either as cars park by backing up right over the sidewalk.

Sunday at the Park
While waiting for Juan to pick us up Sunday, we went to a park. Rog & Li sat with our purchases which drew lots of attention & they were soon surrounded by kids & teens interested in looking at a map they had out. I strolled around delighted to see so many people enjoying themselves. Many kids were with grandparents and playing on the swings & slides. There were lots of games of chess & mohjong being played by groups of men. Several tables were being used for adults & kids who were painting. There was a roller skating ring & jump house too. So much fun being had.

Translation
We have had many laughs as we read signs that do show an English translation below the Chinese. Here's just two examples:
Carefully slip
Don't Drive Tiredly

Wow!! I think I'm caught up...which is good since I sure don't know when I'll have this much time to use someone's computer again!!! Hope all is well with you and yours! Please feel free to email us as we were able to read some today & loved hearing from home.........

We visited the Yunnan Stone Forest yesterday..so amazing!
Today we are at the Handa office in Kunming...Renay is coming in tonight and we plan to leave for the leprosy villages tomorrow..Packing today and going to see a cultural village this pm..Love to all Dad

Nihao,
Where do I begin....We've done & seen so much since last I could spend time on a computer. First a quick correction on my lastupdate--the Tse boys will get to attend a gov't school. We are still in Kunming but headed to leprosy villages early tomorrow. Here's a bit of what we've been experiencing...

Invitation
After spending a couple days with a local woman who was invited to join us because she'd worked with Renay, she wrapped her arm in min & invited us into her home. She beamed as we toured her 100 year old home filled with drying vegetables, wood stove, small kindkling sticks, piles of bagged clothing, mosq netted beds, ancestor worship altar... and TV...and flat screen computer! We even climbed the ladder for a view from the rooftop ducking the bambooo clothes lines. How authentic can you get?? This is the reason we travel the way we do!!

Cold
We expected to be cold in China--but not inside too!! Even though we stayed in one of the nicest homes in Taishan, it didn't have heat-nor did the fancy restraurant where we were served a 5 or 6 course meal by waitresses in pink coats--nor the bank or travel agency. Not anywhere!! Everyone wears their coats inside & outside and often with gloves if working cash registers. Our long underwear hasn't had a break!

Chairman Li
After yet a final feast prepared by Chairman Li & a neighbor, we hugged her & told her (through Jenny) that she was so kind & generous to us and she replied that it was our example--coming to help her people when we were not even Chinese--that she followed. Those words warmed my heart....and took all the chill out of the air!!

Off to Kunming
While flying to Kunming on Air China, we finally began to thaw out. Meizi & Yuan were waiting for us with huge smiles when we arrived. Both work for HANDA (an NGO helping lepers). With Yan at the wheel, we made our way to our hotel dodging traffice that weaved in & out, adding lanes at random with motorcyles & bicyles &pedestrians filling in any cracks. Bazaar!! We were rewarded with a warm hotel room with a hot shower!! The next morning we were greeted by the sun --first time since we arrived in China-- and the temperature was 20 C--so good!! This city is in the Yunnan province which is know as the Province of Eternal Spring....and boy is it nice to see it's true!! Many tress are in blossom & though most Chinese are wearing big coats...we took off our long underwear and are wearing light jackets.

High Rises
When I was trying to help my students understad number sense, I'd put marbles in jars & ask them to quess how many. As we drive through & around Kunming's miles of high rise housing, I started tryint o estimate the # of people: # of floors (@30) x number of housing units (@10) x # of people in each unit (@5) x # of high rises (too many to count)...only then did I begin to grasp what the meaning of their 1.4 population (USA is .4) Mind boggling. Can you even begin to imagine the amount of food, water, plumbing, electricity, waste control etc that is needed here???

More, More & More
Cranes are everywhere as more high rises are being built in tremendous numbers. One site we went by today had 25 high rises in construction...with bamboo sdcaffolding and mesh surrounding each.

Factoreis
Now we've seen why & where so much of what we buy in USA comes from! The factories are gigantic and they surround Kunming...and more are being built. There is housing on the site for most of the workers who we are told sleep 5 or ore to each housing unit.

Babies
Babies are adored here! Everyone I've seen has been bundled in many layers and carefully tended to. Their pants have a large slit up the back where their diaper hangs out. Many are being cared for by both grandparents. And for the first time in my life, I can't even smile at them!!! --because after I made three of them cry by trying, I realized I am only scaring them.

Few & Far Between
We've been in China a week now and seen less than 5 other caucasins & none with gray hair or as a couple. We've even had a lady ask to have her picure taken with us. And talk about getting stares!!!

This will be really short as computer use can only be done with Chinese person with you and our cells do not work here....we are well and definitely immersed...we have been here in Kunming for two days and have not seen another caucasian person...with arms linked, we have been led through many homes...offered much tea and food and through our smiles, we communicate a mutual enjoyment of each other. We will be here one more day shopping for things we will need in the leprosy colonies and meeting with smartboard representatives and visiting a school. Hope all is well there...and don't worry if you don't hear from us!! The Chinese people we are with are taking very good care of us!

ARRIVED IN CHINA

Hi Everyone...For those of you interested in reading our emails from China...here's the first. Not sure when the next time will be as finding a computer has been tricky and we are headed for even more remote areas...I expect it will get tougher...

After over 30 hours of traveling, we were grandly rewarded with a gorgeous view of the Hong Kong harbor from our 23rd floor hotel room...and woke up the next morning eager to do some roaming and found a gorgeous park where many were exercising and birds were singing, large ships were loading next to small fishing boats, and chic store fronts were next to market stalls...in other words, much contrast. A short time later, we met a Canadian, Jenny who had lived in China for her first twelve years and was returning as part of the group we'll be working with. She's a wonderfully, energetic girl who speaks Chinese & is so excited about helping in her home country...and we're so excited she is helping us get around. She had brought with her a cousin's husband who helped haul our luggage & two heavy bags of tools first to the subway and then to the train which took us to the mainland where we went through customs and then met up with our driver, Ming. If this sounds easy...it wasn't. Thanks goodness Jenny knew how to get through the maze! Then we were off...Jenny's cousin & her mother joined us...driving over an hour through the huge high-rises that were huddled together...it seemed like we were in a thick forest of high-rises...most with balconies where their laundry was hanging.

Our first real meal
Around 2, we stopped at a local restaurant for our first real meal in China...turtle & chicken soup and eel & fried rice. As dishes were set on the table, the cousin & her mom washed all the dishes with the hot tea before filling our soup bowls. I timidly tried it & was surprised it tasted so flavorful. Rog lapped it up and quickly learned to use the chopsticks to gobble down the eel & fried rice. After applauded Rog, I admit they had to bring me a fork after watching me struggle.

Jenny's home village
Then we drove off to the village where Jenny lived. It appeared to be a ghost town for the most part. Jenny found her old house that still was filled with lots of pieces of furniture, pictures on the wall, the cook stove, pig pen, chicken crate, ancestor shrine, scales and even a elegant tea pot. Jenny's memories overwhelmed her as she went from one area to another recalling her life there. A few locals started joining us--coming from those seemingly empty homes. Jenny emptied one of her suitcases spreading cookies, candy, dried salmon, dried fruit & cakes on an ancient table. That brought everyone else left in her hometown and such a party of chattering began. If only we could have understood...but without a doubt, there was much happiness. A local lady climbed the lady to light incense in front of the ancestor's shrine. Jenny then asked us to follow as she went in search of an old woman who helped her mother care for her. She found her in her home...dark, cold & barren...Jenny ladened her with warm clothes & good foods and the smile on her beaming face is one I'll never forget. Rog & I then explored abit as Jenny soaked up her time with the villagers & the memories of her long ago home. How different her life would have been had not her desperate parents...as so many of those who farmed in this village...left to find a better life. We made another stop dropping off Jenny's cousin & her mother and a suitcase filled with clothing.

Sheng On Tuin
About four hours from the border, we started seeing fields, sheds and villages that wer built on a large cement slab with house clustered together and surrounded by fish ponds, small gardens & rice paddies...built about 3 ft below the heighth of the village. We stopped in Sheng On Tuin and got out in front of the nicest home around. It belongs to Chairman Li (who is like the head of the social welfare of about 1 million people). She doesn't live in it but lets the vp of the village there . Chairman Li is a friend of Renay who heads up the Eco Village of Hope (EVH) so she generously allows EVH voluteers to stay overnight. The house has decorative tile, inlaid wooden doors, marble door knobs, huge dining room table with lazy susan, a western toilet without the flush...but no heat. I haven't taken my long undies off since I put them on shortly after we got her. But what they lack in heat, they make up in food. Today we were literally forced to stuff ourselves...twice. I am now thankful for chopsticks because they allowed me to appear to be eating for hours without actually getting much in my mouth. Rog of course, was delighted to try the quail, shrimp, tree mushrooms, various roots & other unknown vegetables even covering them in a variety of sauces. He is snoring like a happy Chinaman as I'm typing this.

ATM
We spent over 3 hours today getting tickets to Kunming at a travel agency. They would not take anything but cash so we went to a bank--they did not have an ATM so we had to go to a bigger bank. They had an ATM but it did not have money in it. Chairman Li took us to the "right bank teller" who recorded all our info...then we had to wait for another teller to give us the cash...so one ATM stop took almost 2 hours. But we succeeded!

Orphanage
Rog & I seemed to be drawn to orphanages. Chairman Li asked permission for us to visit the local one. Most of the children we off to school or therapies so we could give lots of hugs & play with the four there. They each had some type of birth defect but that didn't stop them from laughing when we tickled them or trying to dance with us. It melted our hearts when one threw a kiss as we left...leaving behind large bags of candy & milk.

Tse Family
We took a side road that led to a small group of corregated steel homes and there met the Tse family. To say they welcomed us would be a gross understatement. They opened a bag of cookies, filled a bowl with candies and an made a fresh pot of tea. They beamed as they showed us the carboard walls where they displayed their children's school awards. Unlike most, they had five kids...one of which , Alice is being sponsored by one of Renay's friends so she'd asked us to visit them. While we waited for Alice to come from school, they proudly walked us around their vegetable farm where two of their sons were gathering lettuce heads. We also visited their neighbor's pig & chicken farm and got a close up look at their two wheel tractor. When Alice came, she brought out her report cards & newest awards. She was delighted to speak a bit of English and wanted to see pictures of America. She is studying computers...and I could only marvel at the vast span between the computer world and this sparse, dark, dirt floor, ramshackle of a building that was her home. When the cold really settled in...not that we hadn't been cold the whole time...we said our good bye & then drove Alice back to her school in town (about 20 minutes away) where she stays coming home usually only once or twice a month. It cost about $1000 for room, board & books per year which her sponsor provides. Her parents hoped Renay would find sponsors for their sons but Chairman Li told us that since they had not follwed the suggested one child rule, they should deal with the consequences of their decision. My guess is that those boys have a rough life ahead of them.

Final thoughts on Thailand

Jane's Final thoughts:
I feel so fortunate to have had yet another amazing experience...and if you've been following, you know exactly why so I sure don't need to go into any more detail...only thanks for all your support & kind words. I so hope you too feel as blessed.

Rog's Final Thoughts on Thailand:
Longtail boats on the river in Bangkok, Thai food with ants and ant eggs, Spring green rice paddies, water buffalo being led by children with a rope, children sleeping on the family motorcycle as they are being carried home, beautiful sunsets, cobras being caught bare handed by their handlers...

As we prepare to leave for America we have said many goodbyes and often are asked,

"Do you like Thailand? Will you come to visit again?"
I reply, " Thailand has been wonderful to visit. The people are so friendly and everyone smiles and waves when they see you. The children are very respectful and everyone has fun and often there is laughter whenever people
are together (which seems like most of the time). The country is beautiful and warm (when it isn't hot)! There are beautiful beaches and fascinating ruins of previous civilizations. So Yes, I would love to return someday."

...but there is still much of the world that we haven't seen so it is not likely that we will be back to Thailand.

Thailand #31

Up Country:
At 8 p.m. we met up with Cori (30 yr old from Idaho wheat farm), Skye (23 yr old nurse from hills of Alabama) & Jup & jumped into a cab to the bus station for a 6 hour trip to Bplaa Bplaa Chi in the Buriram Providence which is about the only area we hadn't been to. Around 3:30 a.m., we stumbled off the bus & got into the back of a pick up truck for the 30 minute ride to Prong's (Thai former bar girl) home. We crashed until 8 p.m. & then jumped back into the pick up to meet up with a group called Operation Blessings Foundation. They are all Thai except for one doctor who is English but lives along with the rest of them in Chaing Mai. They are a Christian group that do many outreach programs throughout Thailand--one of the very few Thai groups. We went to a small village of mostly Cambodians and set up a clinic that included taking blood pressure, height, weight, doctor check up, Rx if needed, reading glasses, lice check & shampoo if needed, haircut and time with a Christian prayer partner/councilor. Luckily we had several interpreters available as the local spoke Khmer to the Thai who translated it to English for us. I was kept busy at the reading glass center--guessing as best I could what each person needed--often I think they just wanted the free glasses as wearing glasses is very popular here. Rog spent the morning doing misc. stuff & the afternoon helping me. We chuckled when we finally decided which glasses worked for the locals & they gave us a huge grin--which meant showing their black, crooked & missing teeth. I could not help but think how much more they needed a dentist!!! We were sure ready for a shower & rest when we got back to Prong's. Around 5, we walked around her village to remind people that the clinic would be at her house the next day. After an hour or so, a pick up truck came by--so typical as we really never knew what was going to happen next--so in we hopped & soon arrived at a local church where we ate (well, I did the best I could) and then a rousing church service that began with Blessed be the Name in Thai. The minister--who had been at the clinic with us--announced that we had serviced 334 people and 135 had accepted Jesus. Long & loud hallelujah shouts filled the room. Next morning at 6:30, Rog & I were cleaning red hot peppers to be added to the breakfast menu that fed the clinic workers. While they ate, I washed my hands and ate a granola bar!! Though the crowd was smaller that day--Prong was beaming as it was all her friends & neighbors being helped...thanks to her. Again, I worked the reading glass station & Rog cut some hair. The local women prepared lunch--which included fresh ant & ant eggs cooked with the rice. I have pictures to prove that I am married to a truly crazy man who ate them and licked his lips when done. A local told us that it was a very special treat to have ants & eggs as you only get them once a year & it was a sign that the rainy season would be good. I much prefer plum pudding once a year and ate yet another peanut butter sandwich. After dismantling the clinic set up, shower & rest, 11 of us climbed on 4 motorcycles and rode around 8-10 miles to Prong's friend's restaurant. Dinner was fun as a bucket with a hot charcoal chula with a small grill on top was set in the middle of the table. First you poured chicken broth into a bowl that surrounded the grill& when it boiled added the cabbage, beans, etc.. You put some suet on top & then laid chicken & liver on. In other words--a fondue type experience. On the way home we stopped at a drive in movie that had been set up. Prong told us a local person had died & so his family was expected to give her village a party. Another day we'd seen several small groups partying & she had told us it was because the king had a dream that included a certain name so he had announced that anyone with that name must have a party for their neighbors...and Thai do whatever the kings says. Next morning 6 a.m., the pick up arrived so we could help at the clinic set up in another small village about an hour away. Since we were out of free glasses, I was measuring height...and did a mental survey of the condition of teeth compared to age. Not one my age had white teeth or all their teeth. By age 40, most had lost teeth & had many cavities. Even by age 5, cavities were obvious. Good thing they live on rice. Rog spent his day with the many kids helping to educate them about brushing their teeth, checking for head lice & do lice shampooing when needed. After a group photo & many, many hugs, we were headed back to Prong's stopping by to check out some Cambodian/Khmer ruins. It had been a full and fulfilling three days and we were ready for Sunday--a day of rest.

English Doctor:
One of the marvelous things about helping out, is meeting the other people who are helping out. The English doctor,Jill is just one example. She & her husband adopted 3 Thai children who were around 10 and after a couple years of trying to raise them in England, decided to move them back to their home country as the adjustment was just too great for them. They have lived here about 8 yrs now & she spends a weekend a month plus a ten day trip working with Operation Blessings clinics. She felt strongly that the Thai Christian churches needed to take over the work that western missionaries have been doing for years--allowing the Thai to become dependent on them. She was thrilled when a couple young Thai girls were assigned to help her so she could train them a bit & encourage them to become nurses or doctors. Jill felt that even though it was quite cheap for the Thai to go to the doctors & Thai has excellent health care--most Thai doctors... who are Buddhist... did not care about treating the poor (which is most Thai)--and to appease them, they just five them lots of pills--and more if they come back. She'd only met a few Christian Thai doctors who actually cared about truly treating the poor. And since there is much inbreeding in the small villages, there is a much higher number with genetic diseases. As I watched her with patient after patient, I could almost see the love flowing out of her hands & eyes.

Religion:
Several people have added to our understanding of major religions of the country we are in as we have travel about and it often seems that many of the problems stem from those religions. For example, the Buddhist believe in doing merit (good deeds) so that they can achieve a higher next life. Not that they care for the people they do good deeds for--those poor are poor because of their previous life. So the good deed is for themselves. Similar to the Hindu belief. Both for the good of self only. Also, there is little community feeling as they worship individually. Even the Christian churches have a hard time convincing their members to serve others as it's just not been their mindset. American's giving nature is very rare here...and for that reason & many more, I feel so lucky & proud to be an American and Christian.

My Buddy:
One the first day of the clinic I met a Thai woman who said she was Joker--I wasn't sure if it was her name or just a nickname but since I grinned, she laughed and hugged me. After that, every time we met she'd wink at me & say my buddy--then we'd lace our little fingers & she'd turn her checks so I could kiss her and she'd give me the biggest belly laugh. Every time the group got together for meals or pre/post meeting or church service, she was the life of the party shouting out things that must of been funny cause everyone would crack up. Day 2 she said if I came the next day, she had a green scarf she would give me. The last day, sure enough, she had a beautiful green scarf she wrapped around me and then she had an interpreter ask me to stay with her in Thailand. I said I'd rather have her come stay with me in America. She got so excited and started shouting America. I showed her a picture of our house & she kept saying--Me America. And since she was rather large, she indicated she needed a big seat on the airplane. She asked for my email & said she'd write. We parted doing our ritual one more time. I sure I could have brought that laugh home with me!!

Sunday Church:
15 people--mostly relatives & their kids--gathered in front of Prong's & soon the pick up came by taking us to the local church where for over 2 hours there was much passionate praising going on and followed by a potluck dinner. Lucky for us, Rog & I ended up sitting on mats in the back with the kids spending our time coloring & playing with stickers. Though it would have been nice to know what was being said--it was fun being with the kids who crawled all over us. We did get to spend time with the minister who spoke good English. He's a builder by trade which explained why he had a nice big home next to the church...which he & his wife share along with their college educated daughter who choice to join them in their ministry and 12 local orphan children they take care of. Several times, one of the orphans would come over to him & he would pick them up and hug them so lovingly. Truly a unique and admirable man in a land where most men don't even care for their own children.

Coconut Run:
When asked if I wanted to go get some coconuts, I said sure & hopped on the motorbike for a short ride to a neighbor's back yard. He took a large bamboo stick with a knife on the end and in a few minutes, I was dodging the falling coconuts. Jup grabbed a hatchet type knife and cut off the end. With a glass over the hole, the coconut was tipped over and out flowed the coconut milk. We drank that sweet stuff up & then cracked up the coconut so we could spoon out the meat. Mmmmmm. After about just a 15 minute stop, we headed back carrying six coconuts for later.

Pedicure/Manicure:
As we sat on the porch with the fan blowing on us, one of Prong's nieces walked over and asked if she could polish my toenails & fingernails. Sure! She meticulously worked on cleaning my toenails--a huge feat (pun)--and then polished them with much expertise...all while salamanders, mosquitoes, flies & various other insects buzzed around us. She also offered to give me a massage but I didn't take her up on that because she'd already done so much...for only a smile & piece of gum from me.

Thai Cooking Lesson:
The guide books tell you to make sure you take a Thai cooking class--and that's just what I did--in Prong's kitchen preparing fried rice & stir fried veges with a pinch of salt, cane sugar, spices , greens from her garden, soy sauce and freshly crushed garlic. Rog is hoping I will cook it often in USA.

Silk Production:
Silk has long been a main source of income here in the villages. Prong's mom has done it her whole life. We watched each morning as she fed her worms gobs of mulberry leaves and later as she pulled the silk from the cocoon & spun it ever so carefully. What a time consuming job that would end up earning her so little and yet produce such beauty!!

Prong:
A woman torn and struggling as she tries to recover from her life in Bangkok bars. She talked about how often she thought how hard it is to make money to support her two kids & mom by spinning silk & making dresses, purses & scarves from it. How much more she earned as a bar girl. But she knew that it was wrong and degrading and more than anything, she had to show her daughter, nieces & other young village girls that you could have a good life without going to Bangkok bars. What an inspiration!

Back to Bangkok:
As we pulled away from the bus station headed back to Bangkok, Prong, her daughter, sister, several nieces & nephews & our trusty truck driver stood waving & throwing kisses. We felt so much like they had welcomed us and that we had had a true Thai family experience. We were sure glad we'd taken that leap of faith. On the ride home, we had lots of time to hash over the last several days remember lots to laugh about, learn more about each other and also learn more about The Well from Jup, Cori & Skye.

Sex Trade:
During the Viet Nam War Bangkok came to be #1 in sex trade in the world. The friendly and mild mannered people are easily lured to the city as they search for a way to provide for their families and/or escape the labor of life in the rice fields. Debt and increased expectations for material possessions combined with low education levels and unwillingness to adapt to changing markets or use new technology efficiently has led to financial difficulties in the rural areas. Many young women are encouraged by their own parents to go to Bangkok so they can can send money to support their families remaining in the countryside. The best chance for the women to provide long term support for their families is for them to find a Western man who will give them money. This may also mean a life of comforts and relative ease. The women often feel that they cannot depend on their Thai husbands to stay with them and provide for their families. So when the men leave, children are left with relatives and they go to Bangkok to get money to send home. It becomes a terrible cycle of despair for families caught in this as they are the example for the next generation.

Sight Seeing in Bangkok:
In the two days we had to sight see, we crammed in: Jim Thompson's--American WWII vet who served in Thai and came back to rejuvenate the silk industry & at 61 went for a walk in the jungle & never was seen again--house which is now a museum as he had been a collector of Thai paintings & crafts; dragged Rog to the snake farm where they milk to venomous snakes to make the antivenin needed in this country where there's over 10,000 bites a year; rode the ferry all the way to the end & back; and enjoyed a quiet afternoon by a pond in a large central park.

Thailand #30

Restaurants:
Just have to describe many of the restaurants in Thailand. In smaller villages, if you have a house that opens on a street, you just need to put a couple tables near the street and fill a half barrel with charcoal & poof...you have a restaurant. How handy...you just serve whatever you cook for your family. Maybe I should try that on Dancer Road!!! In the bigger towns, you can set up on any street...in front of any store...even 7/ll and clean fancy restaurants...you just need a propane tank, an enormous pan, various size dishes of whatever and you got yourself a restaurant. Chairs & tables are optional. Our guidebook says they are safe to eat at...and Rog has done that several times but I much prefer going into 7/ll.


Back in Bangkok--Puppet Show:
Goodbye beach--Hello Bangkok! We arrived back just in time to catch the Aksra Puppet Show and what a delight!! Ornately decorated puppets about 3 ft. tall were gracefully made to dance by three performers creating scenes from long ago with fabulous backgrounds. All together there were 7 scenes which included cock fights, kick boxing, Buddha worship, romantic encounter ,Hindu goddess worship , an elaborate carnival... and the funniest was the monkey gods who after performing came out to play with the audience. Music, lighting & other stage effects made it most entertaining. (Sorry Elsi you had to missed it--you would have been pinching yourself until you were black & blue!!)



The Well:
Their website: http://www.servantworks.com/well
We had arranged to meet Cori who was introduced to us via email by Matt & Heather Hook. They work for a ministry called The Well that is trying to help girls caught in the sex trade find a better life. Cori is an Idaho farm girl and she spent most of the afternoon showing us around The Well...sewing, jewelry, painting, classrooms. We also had the privilege to meet Jim & Judy Larson from Chicago who are the founders. We had quite an in depth discussion about what needs to happen in Thailand to reduce the sex trade situation without changing the many wonderful things about the Thai culture. They certainly have a grand and long range vision for the future. The long and short of it is that somehow the farmers need to make more money so they can provide food & education for their families. Currently, their daughters often go to big cities to make money to send home...and since they have limited education & skills...the sex trade gobbles them up. What a tragedy...
So after offering to help in anyway we could, we were asked to travel with Cori & Jup (Thai minister) & a local nurse to upcountry village...we aren't sure where or how long or for sure how we are getting there but...off we go. As we said in India--Take a Leap of Faith and See the Journey!!


Where else would you see...
-toilet paper used for napkins??
-taxi motorcycles...roaring down the sidewalk?
-sundresses with Fun in the Snow stitched on it?

Misspellings:
We are always getting a kick out of the many misspellings & unusual wording used but after noticing how we mispronounce many Thai words, we thought maybe we misspell a lot of words from other countries based on how we pronounce them. So maybe we shouldn't laugh.

Thailand 29

Stay in Udon Thani:
We had to spend a day in Udon Thani waiting to catch a train back to Bangkok so we did our usual stroll around looking for whatever. What we found was lots of bars and even more western men with young Thai girls. It made me angry. So many of the men were old or fat or just ugly or a combination. Udon was a US military base in the 60's and our guide book said that's when Udon became much more westernized. Another casualty of war. On the lighter side, we did have the opportunity to buy some fried crispy & crunchy variety of bugs including caterpillars, locust & grasshoppers...right outside a most plush five story mall. And right around the corner was a McDonald's--can you guess what I choose to eat???? Speaking of eating, since it was very difficult finding food we could eat in Nong Ban Lampu, we had eaten up most of the supply of food we'd brought from USA. Luckily, we found a large grocery store (very rare) and found Jiffy peanut butter & granola bars--first time we'd seen either of these in Thai. They also had cheese--but at about $10 for a 1/2 lb I figured I could wait until I got home to indulge.


Train ride from Udon to Bangkok:
We were sure ready to leave Udon...and anxious to see the country side. We'd purchased a 2nd class ticket (air cond) but after discovering the windows were dirty...we headed back to the 3rd class seats where the open windows kept you cool & we could clearly see the rice paddies, water buffalos, farmers, groves of banana, coconut, pineapple and rubber trees, small towns, mountains and rivers. Soon we saw a pattern...open farm fields, shacky houses, less shacky houses, a few nice homes, village, a few nice homes, shacky houses, more shacky house, open farm fields...etc. Though we had thought we'd see more during the 12 hour train ride...we sure felt like we'd seen lots of Thailand and after about 7 hours as 3rd class got crowded & hot...we gladly went back to our 2nd class air cond seats to eat our PB sandwiches.


Back in Bangkok...only to catch ride to Ko Sumet:
Somewhere along the line, someone recommended a hotel in Bangkok so when we arrived late & tired, we just showed the name to a taxi driver and soon found ourselves in gorgeous hotel. At $85, it was the most we'd paid since Pucket but...it was nice to be in a luxury with a great view of the city lights! After asking for info about getting to Ko Sumet, they quickly lined us up with a mini bus ride the next morning complete with ferry ride to the island--and they'd handle the luggage (which we were tired of hauling around & which we have promised ourselves never travel with so much luggage again!!!) On the ferry ride there, we heard there were no rooms available on the island as it was Music Festival weekend (Thais have many festivals) but we'd already adopted the India & Thai motto: No problem...and there wasn't as the ferry dropped us at a hotel with available bungalows...and handled our luggage so by noon...we were sitting a tropical island beach.

Ko Sumet:
Now I won't go into much detail as I certainly don't want to make anyone too jealous...let's just say it was everything you dream of...emerald green warm water, white powdery sand, lush shade trees, 80 degree sunny weather, fresh fruits, cold diet coke, bungalow with air, western bathroom & frig...in other words, paradise...for $50 a night...though we could have just rented a tent & slept on the beach for much cheaper. We hunkered down from 3 days on a pineapple diet. Pineapple pancakes, smoothies, in fresh salads with pineapple dressing and grilled on kabobs with meats/onion/tomatoes/potatoes/corn. MMMMM. I'm addicted. Though I must admit, fresh coconut smoothies come in a close second!!! Lots of Thai families were there also. It was a joy watching them frolic in the water...usually with their clothes on... and enjoying all the food cooked & sold on the beach. We also saw lots of western men with young Thai girls. Grrrr. We took a cruise of the smaller islands around, snorkeling a bit. Though we saw lots of fish & coral, we only caught glimpses of the radiant color that reminded us of our best snorkeling at St. John's. We also visited a fish & turtle farm where we were a bit nervous walking the ancient planks with no guard rails next to pools of huge sharks, groupers & giant turtles. We discovered a trail that led to a cliff where we could watch the sunset...and reflect on just how fortunate we are.




Shame on me...
I have to admit, I was feeling a bit bummed about not having a beach front bungalow... but God has a way of opening my eyes. We took a walk on the dirt road that ran through the center of the island and there we saw where the smiling & eager to please waiters & vendors live. Back in the mosquito invested jungle without the cool ocean breeze or view and far, far from the beach...and without the time to lounge there anyways. Shame on me.

Update #28

Another Bulletin Board:
So what happens when someone is impressed with the job you did??? They ask you to do it! There was another large bulletin board that was looking shabby so we weren't too surprised when sister asked us to redo it. It was a Kid of the Month board so we brainstormed some ideas & let sister pick the one she wanted. Next we were off to the office supply store again for supplies for an underwater scene with a fish for each kid. Again, we got rave reviews ...and though we sure didn't expect to dig up that part of our teaching experience...we were glad to please & fill the need.

Broken and Angry Children:
Sister Marie Paul spent much time with us today talking about her children...broken and angry. First they were rejected by parents & then the orphanage they were first in rejected them due to their AIDS and on top of it all, they are so confused & angry about having AIDS through no fault of their own. They have been loved by no one. They trust no one. Sisters' love is the first and it has taken them years to quell some of that anger and soothe their broken hearts just a bit. I must admit spending time with them was tough as they were quite wild and it was only with a bit of humor that I could get them to stop painting the table, or taking from my supply bag whatever they wanted, or cutting up good paper, or etc.... Sister has been to some training but is often at a loss as to how to handle situations. I think she felt like she could confide in us and use us as a sounding board...listening ears. I hope so.

Painting/Cutting/Glitter Marathon:
When the kids came home on Valentines Day, we were ready...and it's a good thing. The first ones came about 4:30 and the last ones left around 8:30!! They painted, cut &/or glittered nearly every piece of paper we had. We showed them how to make hearts...and soon there were hearts everywhere. Glitter was the highlight. Some painted slowly and with much skill...others loved being able to paint the entire sheet with multiple colors. By 8, the room was lined with drying art work and the kids, sisters, a teacher & some Vietnam visiting priest were walking around admiring the work. When I realized that the crowd, paint, glitter & scissors was getting a bit too much in one room, the teacher in me came out. I motioned for them to follow & Rog and I each grabbed a taller kid to form a London Bridge--and a better place for all their energy. When we tired of that, we had them sit in a large circle and showed them how to play Duck, Duck, Goose. Though I am sure they had no idea what a duck or goose was--they caught on quickly. They loved picking Rog as he tried to corner them and out smart them by reversing the direction he ran. So who cares it broke the rules--it sure made them laugh!! Finally--it was time for the kids to go to bed (and us too!). The sisters led the kids in singing the same Thank you song that the kids in Kolkata sang to us--only in Thai first and then English. We gave each a chocolate gold coin & a huge hug. Several ran out and picked blossoms off the tree to give us. The sisters thanked us profusely and we in turn thanked them for opening their home & hearts to us. What a full and loving Valentines Day! p.s. And to add even more delight to the day, I savored two diet cokes & a Dove chocolate bar...Rog ate a Black Chocolate bar (Thai product).

Kindness everywhere in Thailand:
Here's just a few of the kind acts that the Thai do for us all the time--
-While unsuccessfully trying to tag down a taxi, a young girl asked us where we were headed & then literally jumped in front of the next taxi that went by, told the driver where we were headed & negotiated the price, smiled & waved good bye as we drove off.
-One evening, rather late, we were trying to find a art supply store. As we walked by a grocery store, the keeper came out & asked us if he could help. After telling us the art store was not near, he handed us four oranges and bowed.
-As I was sitting in a bus stop, I was curiously looking at something a young man was drinking. He spoke up and told me what it was--in Thai--and seemed to indicate where I could buy some. I just smiled & shook my head no. Then just as we went to get on the bus, he brought me over two cold water bottles. He had the biggest grin on his face & refused money.
-Though Rog often has to lug around his suitcases, I seldom do as Thai gentlemen quickly take mine.

Service everywhere in Thailand:
Remember gas attendants? Door attendants? etc...they are still here.

Education:
We can't believe how many schools/colleges we see as we travel about. Thais put a high emphasis on education. Many appear to be boarding schools & all require uniforms. Even the colleges. They are well maintained & quite nice with ornate gates surrounding them. I did chuckle as we passed one ornate gilded entrance gate...with a water buffalo lounging right in front of it.

Happy Valentine Day to all of you! Sure hope you have many & much to love!! We see lots of red hearts and flowers around here also as the Thai celebrate this holiday also.

Motorcycle:
After church, we stood talking to the few English speaking people. One man was from Italy and was with a Thai woman (wife??) who told us all about many plants & herbs that she uses --some rubbed on during massages & other brewed to drink. She said they have been used for thousands of years & many westerners come to Thailand to be healed by them. She said she could make me look 20 years younger...it was tempting to just leave with her and forget about working with the kids!! The Italian then offered to take us with them as they went out for a drive to a beautiful, peaceful place nearby...again tempting but we'd already told the sisters we'd work with the kids. So the Italian offered his girlfriend/wife's bike...free! He practically insisted so within the next ten minutes, we had keys to a Scoopy0 (Honda)!! So later in the day (while the kids napped), we took off for some back country going through several small villages & past many fields. Imagine giving your motorcycle keys to someone you just met--who didn't even have a Thai driver's license. But as they say here all the time with a smile...No Problem.

Sunday PM:
Seems like we just never know what's going on next. After church, we were ready to get the kids painting...and found out they were going to a class on HIV/AIDS. Not sure why or who was presenting as two sisters told me they didn't think it was wise to give the kids so much information about their disease. It only upset them & most could not understand the information. So we thought we'd paint around noon. Wrong again. Some local high school students came around noon & set up to serve lunch and a live band performed...loudly. Many high school girls encouraged the kids to dance but they were being shy so one of the sisters took several kids' hands and started dancing with them...so of course, Rog & I joined in. I know what you are thinking...we certainly aren't the best ones to show anyone how to dance... Sister was having a ball & I joined her in a line dance she'd gotten started with a couple girls. Can you picture that! I was grinning from the inside out and wishing I had it on video!! I later told sister that she reminded me of Whoopi Goldberg in the movie, Sister Act!! She belly laughed!

Auytthaya:
What wat?? That's the question we had to ask each other after seeing so many new & ancient wats (temples). The ruins here cover a much larger area than Suhkathai or Lop Buri--as it was the major city of the Siam empire for over 400 years. Today's city is built all around the ruins so you can walk from a 7/ll across the street from a 700 year old wat. So strange. As we walked around, often a vehicle with a loud speaker shouting something passed by or the speakers mounted on poles would start blaring what sounded like a talk show ...no idea what they were saying but cracked us up. Just before sunset--we hopped in long boat that took us around the moat/river that surrounded the city. Seeing the ruins with the crimson sunset light as a backlight was gorgeous. We also got to see the many houses that line the moat/river--all on stilts--some very modern & fancy, some almost falling into the river & several dilapidated houseboats where friendly locals waved & smiled as we passed. We shared the river with party boats built like arks & several barges pulled by tugboats. Having seen enough wats, we took a tuk tuk 25 miles to Ban Sai's arts/craft center where the queen set up a site where handicapped & small villagers can get training in over 30 crafts so they can improve their income. The queen's retreat home is there as well as a bird park. We saw the most amazing totally white peacock and several huge hornbills. When we went back at our arranged time to hop in our tuk tuk, we found our driver hooking up a rope to replace his broken fan belt. We agreed to stick around as he drove to a local shop to get a new fan belt...which gave us time to check out the training shops where we could watch them as they worked. Fortunately, the ride back to Auytthaya was uneventful!


Overnight train ride to Udon Thani:
At 9:20 p.m. we climbed aboard the train--Rog in car 9 & me in 10--and crawled into our top berths. Though small, they were quite comfortable...until the train started to move & then I found out that Rog had the better berth. Mine was right over the wheels & next to the open door between cars. That made for a rocky, noisy night!! It took a bit to fall asleep, but lucky for me, I sleep pretty sound. Rog's berth was in the center of his car & so less noise & motion. At 7:15 a.m., we were there! We soon found a driver to take us the hour & a half drive to Nang Bua Lamphu...in search of Mother Teresa's mission there.



Mother Teresa's Home for AIDS Children:
It was a welcoming site when we saw the Missionary of Charity sisters who warmly greeted us and were eager to hear about our experience in Kolkata. Such fond memories were easy to speak about. They said their 18 children would be thrilled to have visitors and would love doing art projects with us. They had a driver take us to a nearby hotel--just $10 per night with air & western bathroom--and an internet cafe next door & a 7/11 just down the street :). Since the children were in school until 4, we checked out the town & took a quick nap. At 4, we had playdough, coloring sheets & drawing paper ready to go. Kids quickly joined us & in no time, all were busy. Looking around I couldn't help but think that we were so lucky to be able to spend some fun time with these orphan AIDS children who's parent probably already died of AIDS & who's life will probably be way too short.

Their Website

Honda Day At MT's:
After spending the morning creating flowers, the kids were treated to a fun couple hours provided by the local Honda dealer. They set up a relay where the kids & many of their employees had to 1-blow flour off a coin & pick it up with their teeth 2-drop the coin into a cup 3-eat a banana and 4-drink a glass of punch. Then they played musical chairs followed by a bowl of soup & ice cream...us too. Then it was nap time so off we went to shop for bulletin board supplies.

Bulletin Board:
As soon as Sister Marie Paul MC found out we were retired teachers, she asked if we'd redo a bulletin board that had pictures of the kids--about 3-4 years ago. Truly we had experience doing that. We'd seen a store filled with paper & cut outs so we filled up a cart, had the kids create some flowers & leaves, added new pictures of the kids the nuns provided in the center of the flowers and presto...a colorful new bulletin board. The four nuns were so impressed. One said God must of sent us to them as the apples on the old bulletin board were certainly rotten! As the kids came back after their naps, they were so excited!! You'd think it was a Christmas tree!

Game Afternoon:
We found chess & checker boards while in town, so we set that up as well as some games of five square & dots and gave each kid 4 pipe cleaners. So in no time, all were engaged in some game, creating things with pipe clearners or enjoying a bowling with the play dough. The sisters said usually the kids are so antsy and were so glad to see them all so engaged. As we walked to the evening church service, the sisters said many of the kids were asking how long we were going to stay...

Dinner:
We found a restaurant called The Best so in we went...to find out those were the only two words in English on the menu & no one there spoke English. I decided I'd stop at 7/ll later. After pointing to someone's rice & a picture of chicken, Rog thought all was good. Hot rice came & so he ate it thinking they must not have figured out he wanted chicken also. He then asked for the bill & our waitress cracked up laughing & pointed to the kitchen. Quite a bit later, chicken came & more rice (probably cause he'd eaten the first). A few bites convinced him that the chicken was the fat/joint pieces we toss...fried really crispy. That didn't convince him to stop eating...just added more hot sauce. Warm water (didn't trust ice) washed it all down. I did stop at 7/ll, got a Coke Lite, Lays chips & a ham & cheese sandwich--one half had ham on it & the other half had the cheese. Close enough!

Just a quick note to let you know we arrived in Udon Thani & are headed for Mother Teresa's mission about 50 K from here...try to write more later??

Thailand #25

Safe Haven Learning Center background:
As we rode to Mae Sot with Simon (the Australian who has been helping Tasanee for years, he explained how he would like to build some additional structures at Safe Haven so he can bring the children from Safe Haven Learning Center to live with those at the orphanage. He told us that a fundamentalist religious group from the USA had originally taken charge of the kids & moved them to the Learning Center site but had pulled out and they actually took materials (wiring, plumbing, etc.) when they left and stopped providing support. Recently that group returned and wanted to take ( or kidnap) the children-and that is why the children were brought to Safe Haven and "hid out" all day with us. That was the day they came to "visit" and stayed all day... Sometimes it is better not to know the entire story!

Traveling notes:
I need to mention that when we were trying to get to Mae Sot's bus station, we started walking down a road pulling our luggage. As we went by a barber shop, the barber came out & asked where we were headed. When he found out, he said I will take you. He then ran across the road, got his truck & off we went--leaving the barber shop door open. When we offered to pay, he totally refused. Thai service!

Driving:
The road we took to Sukhothai in the back of a truck was so curvy that it felt like we were on a go cart track & that yellow line must have just been a suggestion.

Luxury:
Imagine how great it felt to take a hot shower, swim in a cool pool, swing in a bamboo hammock, drink cold Diet Coke & relax in an air conditioned room! A month without those luxuries made it all feel so wonderful!! First night in Sukhothia, Jane feasted on a ham & cheese sandwich, chips & cold diet coke--all purchased at a 7/11!! Rog totally loves the Thai food and so he feasted at a local Thai restraurant.

Sukhothia After Thoughts:
After spending a couple days admiring the majestic remains of a kingdom over 700 years ago, reading about the King (whose name already I can't remember) who rode his treasured white elephant to the temple at the top of a hill overlooking his city and remembering The King & I--it again made us realize that even the most grandeur buildings & society doesn't guarantee fame or lasting value.

Train ride to LopBuri/Ayutthaya:
Third class is cheap & not that bad! Rog, of course, knew which side to sit on so we didn't have the sun on us & the open window kept us cool. Vendors walked the aisle selling all sorts of food--most we could not recognize-made us glad we had packed bread, peanut butter & chips so all we needed to purchase was cold water. We traveled for miles seeing the lush spring green rice fields dotted with farmers. Probably 200 miles or more. That's a lot of rice!! About every 20 miles, we came through small towns. The houses on the outskirts were made of bamboo or sawed wood with corrugated metal roofs--pretty rough looking--but as you got closer to the center, the houses were made of cement & tiled roofs & much nicer. Though beautiful bushes bloomed everywhere--there seemed to be no landscaping plan. At one stop, we were joined by a man who was very loud and friendly but we soon realized also very drunk. He spoke to us in Thai and seemed to encourage us to take pictures of rice fields, birds, ponds, etc. He smiled and bounced around as the train rocked its way along. Soon the rocking motion put him to sleep and after a short nap, the conductor stopped by to check his ticket. He quickly got off the train (he was on the wrong one). After he got off a young woman who was sitting nearby came up to us and asked if we were OK. She had been concerned because the man was so loud and she was afraid he was bothering us. How thoughtful of her! It is nice to know that there are good people around us. Though it was a long six hour trip, we were glad we'd seen some country side & meet a few more Thai.

LopBuri:
We got off the train in Lop Buri--mostly to see the monkeys. They were everywhere: hopping from moving car to car, tightrope walking the electric lines, using umbrellas as trampolines & happily climbing over the ruins. Lop Buri is is site of many ruins some of which date to the Khmers who built an empire centered around Angkar Wat in Cambodia. We went to see the "Monkey Feast" at the ruins of the Monkey Palace. Locals feed the monkeys a lot of fruit in one area and we think it encourages the monkeys to stay in just that area rather than spreading throughout the city. There we saw newly born monkeys clutching & nursing.
Jane has sometimes complained of having a monkey on her back...but in Lop Buri she really did have one and then another and another. Real ones first on her leg then on her back. Finally, as we were walking out of town toward the train station one last brave monkey snatched a plastic bag she was carrying and tore it open, spilling out a loaf a bread meant for peanut butter sandwiches. She just laughed as he made off with her lunch.



How do you know when you have been in a third world country a loooong time??
When you first start looking for the water source used to fill a container so you can "flush"...only to discover, there is handle for flushing!!!

Ayutthaya:
Who'd have guessed that we'd arrive on the Chinese New Year's!! And boy do they celebrate that! One long street was filled with set tables covered with pink tablecloths where hunreds of Chinese wearing red shirts ate numerous courses and watched several performances on a ornate stage complete with two large screens for better viewing. Often the entertainers were mimicing western performers. Vendors lined the side of the street cooking up huge amounts of who knows what and others selling an array of items. Some food items we did recognize: duck, octopus tentacles, squid, shrimp (live tank next to it), pig ears, pig jowls, rice dishes galore, egg omelets, etc. Most smelled good but we opted for pizza & ice cream. As we laid down to go to sleep, we could still hear fireworks, gongs & merriment.

Thailand #24

Quick thoughts:
-Been thinking about the song "Jesus Love the Little Children..red & yellow, black & white..." What about brown??? There's sure lots of them around here!!
-And how about the Our Father...Give us this day our daily bread...around here it's daily rice...shouldn't that be revised for here??

Tires:
-No orange cones around here!! They cut tire in half & paint it red/white. Works.
-As a matter of fact, used tires are reincarnated in lots of ways: flower pots, garbage containers, toys, road side sighs, homemade carts etc


Bamboo:
-Bamboo has to be the most versatile building material. We've seen it used in: houses, scaffolding, furniture, hammocks, playpens, boats, clotheslines, shade coverings, fences, poles for beans, drain pipes, lamps etc. More valuable than gold!! And it grows wild everywhere!!!

Motorcycles:

So while I'm on this roll. You can't imagine the ways they use motorcycles--besides loading them with as many as 5 people!! The build carts they can pull behind, carts that fasten to the front, carts that fasten to the side & even added shade covers. Some are used to carry more than 5 people, huge loads of food/bamboo/animals/straw/etc and some have built in ice boxes to sell cold goods while others have hooked up propane tanks & fry foods to sell. If you need to move anything...a motorcycle is the answer!!

Wife and Groceries

Bamboo Chairs

Eggs

Food Stand

Thai Alphabet
-Thai alphabet--HUGE! 42 consonant sounds, 30+ vowel sounds & 6 tones. In other words--I won't be learning to speak much Thai!! And I thought it was a trick to teach reading in USA!!!



Sukhothai:
From Moe Sot, we hopped a bus and headed toward the city of Sukhothai where the ruins of the Siam empire that was mostly destroyed by the Burmese about the 15th century. We rented bikes & toured the ruins of the many (and I might say way too many) Buddist temples which are enourmous and very impressive. We just happen to get there just before sunset so watched the orange glow light up the huge Buddah. Once a month, there is a traditional show depicting the history of the area--and we lucked out!! We watched the show which included the lighting of about 30 paper latterns that then lifted ... floating slowly upward until they looked like stars in the dark sky. What a glorious sight!

Thailand #23

Saying Goodbye:
After a month, it was time to say good bye and move on...so at the evening service, we thanked everyone for warmly including us in their family and that we hoped they felt our love and God's love through us. We told them we admired their self-sufficiency & the smiles that seem to come from their hearts. We encouraged them to continue working hard at school and making good decisions. Then we sang Amazing Grace. When we finished, they all stood and sang in English..."May God Bless You" and then we were bombarded with hugs, kisses, jewelry & so many gorgeous cards & a few brand new Christmas cards which widen my smile even more. Tears filled my eyes as my arms were wrapped around several at a time. Then we went back to our room to finish packing. Soon there was a knock on our door...another card & hug...then another knock, card & hug...this went on until about 11 p.m... The last young man--about 14-- knelt down in front us with his head on the floor saying Dablue Pada. Thank you. Never have we felt more honored!!! The next morning, we again generously gave and received hugs & kisses as the kids jumped in the truck & headed to school. We stood there waving (and crying) until they disappeared down the road...but never from our hearts.

The Kids Off to School

Leaving Safe Haven:
As luck would have it, Simon was headed for Mae Sot so we hitched a ride. First we had more hugs from the adults who each gave us a card also. Paw So put a beautiful necklace on me and her card included several photos of herself...she who had so little and had lost so much. How can they be so loving and generous???? Tasanee's final words were--we will see you again. So with that, we were off. Simon shared a wealth of information on our drive to Mae Sot & Tasanee had arranged for us to stay in her town apartment so we got to see Johnny & Ruby. But the next morning.... we cut the cord and took off on our own.

Tasanee

Update:
We just left the Safe Haven Orphanage today and so we are in Mae Sot--large city about two hours drive away. From here we are going to do some touring around and head toward a Mother Teresa orphanage in the north east. We have learned not to make any definite plan as things just happen when they happen and usually, it's a pleasant surprise. Bekah has been doing a great job keeping up our blog if you want to read more about what we've been doing: rogerandjane@blogspot.com We have been thinking lots about you guys and wondering what is going on with you. We miss hearing the daily happenings and keeping up on how you are doing...so when you get a minute...drop us a line. We should be near internet cafes for the next week or so. Roger & Jane