Thursday, July 03, 2003
Things have just picked up and flown the last couple of weeks. Today is the first time in almost a week that I have been able to get NEAR a computer, and it's been about two weeks since I last updated. It would be impossible to relay every single event that has happened, but I can try to record the highlights (actually I am having to look at my day planner to remember what has gone on since the 20th, the last day I updated). Here goes:
Donna's Journal: The Good Parts Version
Thursday, June 26th:
Today was Teacher's Day, which is a big deal here in Thailand. The students spend all week making big ornate flower arrangements and sculptures to present to the teachers this day (there is also a judging later of the flowers and the winners are announced that night). There is also a fashion show at night, a Kan-tok performed by the students/staff at NCC, as well as a band that comes. We were able to participate in the morning ceremony, where the flowers are presented and a monk comes and chants and gives a "sermon." It was pretty different.. we had been to the wats before but we had never really attended a Buddhist ceremony. The students also sang a couple of songs for the teachers, and awards were presented for those in the senior class with a GPA of 3.5 or better. Some of our friends received the awards, so that was exciting.
After the ceremony, we went out to watch the last day of the freshie orientation. The people here really take their orientation seriously. A couple of days before we saw the freshman rush at Chiang Mai University. For the first semester, the freshmen have to say a cheer every time they see an upper classman.. the type of cheer depends on the year of the upperclassman. They keep track of it by making freshmen ("freshies," as they call them) carry a little book and have the older students sign it when they have done it. Also, all of the freshmen boys had to shave their heads, and the girls have to wear their hair in some crazy hairstyle everyday that the upperclassmen girls pick out. The day we ate with some of the architecture students, the girls had big pigtails sticking up on each side of their heads with bright silk flowers decorating them. Anyway, here at NCC they only do it for the first month of school, but they aren't as extreme in that case as Maw-Chaw Univ is. However, on Teacher's Day it is the last day of orientation for the freshmen and the campus has been turned into something like a big carnival with different stations for the freshmen to be taken to. From about lunchtime until 4:30 or so the freshmen rotate to different stations and do crazy things, have their faces covered with whitish paint stuff, the boys' and girls' hair put up in ponytails and stuff. It was pretty interesting to watch. We talked briefly with one of the head administrators whom we've become close to. He said that the administration had tried to stop it from happening, or at least make it more constructive, but the students had pretty much disregarded them and did it their own way. I guess college students will do what they will do, no matter where they are.
Anyway, we didn't stay long because we had to leave for our weekend whitewater rafting trip. WOO HOO!! We loaded up our stuff and met up with the rest of our team (all 11 of us got to go together, along with some other Americans here working with the IMB, etc. AND one of our Thai friends who has been coming to church with us!). After three hours on a windy road (and a few stops because people were feeling sick), we made it to Pai. We grabbed a bite to eat and settled into our place to sleep, which were these cabins that were sort of sitting in trees. It was pretty rustic, and the beds were covered with a mosquito net canopy to keep us from getting eaten alive. But our adventure was just beginning...
Friday, June 27th:
We got up and headed out at about 7:30 am. We walked to the Pai Adventure hut (the group we were going with for our two days rafting on the Pai River), and ate some breakfast before heading out. We also met the owner and our head guide, Alex (he is Thai, but I think he just took on an easy farang name for his customers). :) We piled into the back of a couple of song-tows (trucks with big bed covers, common transportation in Thailand), and took another 1 1/2 windy drive through more mountains. When we finally arrived, we suited up for the rafting trip and were given some basics on safety and general guidelines. This was my second time whitewater rafting, so I was eager to hit the river. After Alex split us into groups per raft (we had 20 people, so we took 4 rafts all together), we walked down to the river, got into our rafts, and started out.
The first day on the river is to get you used to being in the raft, rowing together, taking commands, etc. There are virtually no rapids either, so most of the time was taken up just enjoying the view (I didn't have my glasses on, so it was blurry, but still beautiful). We drank in the quietness of the woods/jungle on either side of the river, and saw occasional birds, one of which was a peacock (that's what one of the guides said, anyway). About halfway through the afternoon, we stopped at some waterfalls and got out to explore. There are places in the waterfall where you can sit down in it, and it feels like a jacuzzi. There are other places where you can stand in the waterfall and feel the water pour over you.. some people swung on vines and jumped into the water off rocks. It was awesome. Then it was back into the rafts and onto the campsite.
We reached the camp at about 4:30. We tied up our rafts and walked across a bridge made of bamboo and logs. By this time it had started to rain, so we dropped off our gear at the bungalows (basically big sheds with three walls built on bamboo stilts with mosquito nets draped underneath where we sleep). Alex then told us about a cave nearby that we could explore with a couple of the guides before dinner. Several of us grabbed some flashlights and our helmets and headed up the side of the mountain.
The cave was really fun. After climbing down into it we just explored for about an hour or so. We found some bones, as well as some of the cave walls that were made of some kind of stone with little glittery fragments in them. There were a few tight spots (let me emphasize TIGHT.. we had to squeeze through a couple of really small places.. Fortunately there were big mud puddles to help us slide through (please note the sarcasm). :) Anyway, it was a blast.. we were covered in mud, sweat, and scrapes; when we got back to camp we got some pictures and then jumped back into the river to clean up before dinner.
That night we sat around the campfire and sang some praise and worship songs, and talked about some things that we were thankful for. We then prayed together, giving thanks and praying for further safety the next day on the rapids. A couple of hours later we turned in.
Saturday, June 28th:
At about 6:30 am, our group was packed up and had gathered at the river's edge for a baptism. One of the girls on my team committed her life to God about 3 years ago, but had not been baptized (she had been christened as a baby.. she was raised Catholic, but is no longer in the Catholic church). We sang a couple of her favorite worship songs, and a few of us on the team gave her some encouraging words and scriptures. We then prayed for her, and Quintin baptized her there in the Pai River. It was a really great experience, for us on the team and for our guests. Our friend from Chiang Mai University came to watch as well, and he was really interested in the idea of baptism and asked a lot of questions about it afterwards. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! Afterwards, we quickly ate some breakfast and was back out on the rafts, heading further toward the rapids.
We stopped one more time before reaching the whitewater. There is a hot spring that feeds into the Pai River, and apparently there is a special kind of mud that forms because of the lava activity that makes the water scalding hot. Our guide Alex smeared my face with some of the mud, and soon after everyone had it on their faces. It is actually a good face treatment, and sells for about 2,000 baht at some spas (the equivalent to about $40-50). Several photos and mudfights later, we cleaned off and for the rapids.
We could hear the rapids before we even reached them. To be honest, I was getting a little scared. I have always had a fear of deep water and drowning, but I love the feeling of rafting in rapids. I nervously asked Alex how tough the rapids were, and he assured me that they didn't get any worse than a class 3, which is about intermediate. No biggie, I have been in worse.
We came on our first real rapid shortly afterward. Since I was sitting in the front, I jammed my foot under the front of the raft and gripped my paddle hard. The last thing I distinctly remember was hearing Alex call, "Go!" and paddling hard. For the next minute or so Alex continues to call out commands ("Left! Right! Stop! Back!..."), and the roar of the water is all around us. We are dodging branches, praying that we don't hit a rock too hard. Of course, we do and I almost go flying out of the raft.. thankfully one of the guys in my raft grab my wrist and I gain my balance.
Okay, sorry to cut this narration short, but I have just a few more minutes until I have to go prepare for our class we teach. Overall, the rafting was really awesome.. there were some pretty fun rapids, and Alex was a great guide. We spent about 3-4 hours in the rapids, and no one was injured. A few hours later (about 4-5 hours of driving on curvy roads through the mountains-some curves were literally 135 degree turns), we are back at Quintin and Kim's house, dirty, exhausted, and content.
Okay, the rest of this will be summarized for now. I hope to further elaborate my feelings in all of this, but I am running short on time. Here goes..
Sunday, June 29th:
Church was great again.. one of my friends whom I met the first day here in Chiang Mai came, which was a surprise to everyone. She is pretty devout in Buddhism, but she really enjoyed the service. Afterward, she and the other girl who came to church went with me and two of my other teammates to the Airport Plaza (the big mall in Chiang Mai). We treated them to mango frappucinos and window shopped for a couple of hours. We got to have some interesting conversations, and we got to know them better.
After that, we were invited to go to a cookout at a couple of faculty's house from Maw-Chaw. Our team, along with about 30 Thai students from Maw-Chaw, ate burgers and hot dogs, and played some fun games. I met some really neat students, and had a great time. Afterwards our team split up again, and our NCC group went back to the dorms to get some sleep before another week began.
Monday, June 30
Bad news. When we first arrive into the office we are told that two students were killed in a motorcycle accident last Thursday night. Alcohol was involved (which is pretty typical here, or anywhere else for that matter), and the family had the funeral on Saturday. It was a terrible loss to many people.. the two students were seniors who were to graduate this December. We found out later that one of them was actually engaged. Everyone was more subdued today, including the faculty and staff. We were invited to the funeral of one of the boys that died (the family was having another funeral at their house) that was to take place on Wednesday.
Okay, that's it for now. Gotta run and prepare for class. Please be praying for us as we try to utilize the rest of our time here as best as we can. Just about 10 more days left here in Thailand.. please pray for the wonderful people here, for the grieving families, for the students that who are asking questions about our faith, and for our team leaders who have made our experience here in Thailand so wonderful.
Donna's Journal: The Good Parts Version
Thursday, June 26th:
Today was Teacher's Day, which is a big deal here in Thailand. The students spend all week making big ornate flower arrangements and sculptures to present to the teachers this day (there is also a judging later of the flowers and the winners are announced that night). There is also a fashion show at night, a Kan-tok performed by the students/staff at NCC, as well as a band that comes. We were able to participate in the morning ceremony, where the flowers are presented and a monk comes and chants and gives a "sermon." It was pretty different.. we had been to the wats before but we had never really attended a Buddhist ceremony. The students also sang a couple of songs for the teachers, and awards were presented for those in the senior class with a GPA of 3.5 or better. Some of our friends received the awards, so that was exciting.
After the ceremony, we went out to watch the last day of the freshie orientation. The people here really take their orientation seriously. A couple of days before we saw the freshman rush at Chiang Mai University. For the first semester, the freshmen have to say a cheer every time they see an upper classman.. the type of cheer depends on the year of the upperclassman. They keep track of it by making freshmen ("freshies," as they call them) carry a little book and have the older students sign it when they have done it. Also, all of the freshmen boys had to shave their heads, and the girls have to wear their hair in some crazy hairstyle everyday that the upperclassmen girls pick out. The day we ate with some of the architecture students, the girls had big pigtails sticking up on each side of their heads with bright silk flowers decorating them. Anyway, here at NCC they only do it for the first month of school, but they aren't as extreme in that case as Maw-Chaw Univ is. However, on Teacher's Day it is the last day of orientation for the freshmen and the campus has been turned into something like a big carnival with different stations for the freshmen to be taken to. From about lunchtime until 4:30 or so the freshmen rotate to different stations and do crazy things, have their faces covered with whitish paint stuff, the boys' and girls' hair put up in ponytails and stuff. It was pretty interesting to watch. We talked briefly with one of the head administrators whom we've become close to. He said that the administration had tried to stop it from happening, or at least make it more constructive, but the students had pretty much disregarded them and did it their own way. I guess college students will do what they will do, no matter where they are.
Anyway, we didn't stay long because we had to leave for our weekend whitewater rafting trip. WOO HOO!! We loaded up our stuff and met up with the rest of our team (all 11 of us got to go together, along with some other Americans here working with the IMB, etc. AND one of our Thai friends who has been coming to church with us!). After three hours on a windy road (and a few stops because people were feeling sick), we made it to Pai. We grabbed a bite to eat and settled into our place to sleep, which were these cabins that were sort of sitting in trees. It was pretty rustic, and the beds were covered with a mosquito net canopy to keep us from getting eaten alive. But our adventure was just beginning...
Friday, June 27th:
We got up and headed out at about 7:30 am. We walked to the Pai Adventure hut (the group we were going with for our two days rafting on the Pai River), and ate some breakfast before heading out. We also met the owner and our head guide, Alex (he is Thai, but I think he just took on an easy farang name for his customers). :) We piled into the back of a couple of song-tows (trucks with big bed covers, common transportation in Thailand), and took another 1 1/2 windy drive through more mountains. When we finally arrived, we suited up for the rafting trip and were given some basics on safety and general guidelines. This was my second time whitewater rafting, so I was eager to hit the river. After Alex split us into groups per raft (we had 20 people, so we took 4 rafts all together), we walked down to the river, got into our rafts, and started out.
The first day on the river is to get you used to being in the raft, rowing together, taking commands, etc. There are virtually no rapids either, so most of the time was taken up just enjoying the view (I didn't have my glasses on, so it was blurry, but still beautiful). We drank in the quietness of the woods/jungle on either side of the river, and saw occasional birds, one of which was a peacock (that's what one of the guides said, anyway). About halfway through the afternoon, we stopped at some waterfalls and got out to explore. There are places in the waterfall where you can sit down in it, and it feels like a jacuzzi. There are other places where you can stand in the waterfall and feel the water pour over you.. some people swung on vines and jumped into the water off rocks. It was awesome. Then it was back into the rafts and onto the campsite.
We reached the camp at about 4:30. We tied up our rafts and walked across a bridge made of bamboo and logs. By this time it had started to rain, so we dropped off our gear at the bungalows (basically big sheds with three walls built on bamboo stilts with mosquito nets draped underneath where we sleep). Alex then told us about a cave nearby that we could explore with a couple of the guides before dinner. Several of us grabbed some flashlights and our helmets and headed up the side of the mountain.
The cave was really fun. After climbing down into it we just explored for about an hour or so. We found some bones, as well as some of the cave walls that were made of some kind of stone with little glittery fragments in them. There were a few tight spots (let me emphasize TIGHT.. we had to squeeze through a couple of really small places.. Fortunately there were big mud puddles to help us slide through (please note the sarcasm). :) Anyway, it was a blast.. we were covered in mud, sweat, and scrapes; when we got back to camp we got some pictures and then jumped back into the river to clean up before dinner.
That night we sat around the campfire and sang some praise and worship songs, and talked about some things that we were thankful for. We then prayed together, giving thanks and praying for further safety the next day on the rapids. A couple of hours later we turned in.
Saturday, June 28th:
At about 6:30 am, our group was packed up and had gathered at the river's edge for a baptism. One of the girls on my team committed her life to God about 3 years ago, but had not been baptized (she had been christened as a baby.. she was raised Catholic, but is no longer in the Catholic church). We sang a couple of her favorite worship songs, and a few of us on the team gave her some encouraging words and scriptures. We then prayed for her, and Quintin baptized her there in the Pai River. It was a really great experience, for us on the team and for our guests. Our friend from Chiang Mai University came to watch as well, and he was really interested in the idea of baptism and asked a lot of questions about it afterwards. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! Afterwards, we quickly ate some breakfast and was back out on the rafts, heading further toward the rapids.
We stopped one more time before reaching the whitewater. There is a hot spring that feeds into the Pai River, and apparently there is a special kind of mud that forms because of the lava activity that makes the water scalding hot. Our guide Alex smeared my face with some of the mud, and soon after everyone had it on their faces. It is actually a good face treatment, and sells for about 2,000 baht at some spas (the equivalent to about $40-50). Several photos and mudfights later, we cleaned off and for the rapids.
We could hear the rapids before we even reached them. To be honest, I was getting a little scared. I have always had a fear of deep water and drowning, but I love the feeling of rafting in rapids. I nervously asked Alex how tough the rapids were, and he assured me that they didn't get any worse than a class 3, which is about intermediate. No biggie, I have been in worse.
We came on our first real rapid shortly afterward. Since I was sitting in the front, I jammed my foot under the front of the raft and gripped my paddle hard. The last thing I distinctly remember was hearing Alex call, "Go!" and paddling hard. For the next minute or so Alex continues to call out commands ("Left! Right! Stop! Back!..."), and the roar of the water is all around us. We are dodging branches, praying that we don't hit a rock too hard. Of course, we do and I almost go flying out of the raft.. thankfully one of the guys in my raft grab my wrist and I gain my balance.
Okay, sorry to cut this narration short, but I have just a few more minutes until I have to go prepare for our class we teach. Overall, the rafting was really awesome.. there were some pretty fun rapids, and Alex was a great guide. We spent about 3-4 hours in the rapids, and no one was injured. A few hours later (about 4-5 hours of driving on curvy roads through the mountains-some curves were literally 135 degree turns), we are back at Quintin and Kim's house, dirty, exhausted, and content.
Okay, the rest of this will be summarized for now. I hope to further elaborate my feelings in all of this, but I am running short on time. Here goes..
Sunday, June 29th:
Church was great again.. one of my friends whom I met the first day here in Chiang Mai came, which was a surprise to everyone. She is pretty devout in Buddhism, but she really enjoyed the service. Afterward, she and the other girl who came to church went with me and two of my other teammates to the Airport Plaza (the big mall in Chiang Mai). We treated them to mango frappucinos and window shopped for a couple of hours. We got to have some interesting conversations, and we got to know them better.
After that, we were invited to go to a cookout at a couple of faculty's house from Maw-Chaw. Our team, along with about 30 Thai students from Maw-Chaw, ate burgers and hot dogs, and played some fun games. I met some really neat students, and had a great time. Afterwards our team split up again, and our NCC group went back to the dorms to get some sleep before another week began.
Monday, June 30
Bad news. When we first arrive into the office we are told that two students were killed in a motorcycle accident last Thursday night. Alcohol was involved (which is pretty typical here, or anywhere else for that matter), and the family had the funeral on Saturday. It was a terrible loss to many people.. the two students were seniors who were to graduate this December. We found out later that one of them was actually engaged. Everyone was more subdued today, including the faculty and staff. We were invited to the funeral of one of the boys that died (the family was having another funeral at their house) that was to take place on Wednesday.
Okay, that's it for now. Gotta run and prepare for class. Please be praying for us as we try to utilize the rest of our time here as best as we can. Just about 10 more days left here in Thailand.. please pray for the wonderful people here, for the grieving families, for the students that who are asking questions about our faith, and for our team leaders who have made our experience here in Thailand so wonderful.
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