the shape of things to come

Tomorrow


Next Week

Today is Our Last Day at Agape

Today is our last day with the beautiful kids at the orphanage, but you can bet the stories and pictures of them will keep coming, because there is so much we haven't had a chance to share yet. The girls have been working on a dance we made up to a Psalters song, which they will hopefully get to perform for the nannies and other children. They love it! They love to perform, and are so proud when it all comes together.
The kids have also enjoyed designing and drawing their own superheroes with Luke!

We've had a wonderful experience at Agape and will be sad to leave these very important children and the reality that they let us experience with them for 2 weeks. But we are really looking forward to moving 3 hrs. North to Chiang Rai where we will be spending time in Akha and Lahu hill tribe villages, and helping out at Mirror Foundation, which works on the prevention side of the human=trafficking issue among hill tribe women and girls.

The most important part of what I have to say is that (I'm sure most all of you have heard)last weekend Thailand's neighboring Burma (Myanmar)was hit with a category 4 cyclone which had destroyed entire villages and killed AT LEAST 22,000 people, with 60,000 reported still missing.
This is a horrifying tragedy for any country to experience, but what makes this case particularly desperate is that the Burmese military junta (government) is one of the most horribly corrupt and human rights- abusing in the world right now, and they're denying aid into the country, and dragging their feet in meeting the emergency needs of their people. Among the areas that were hit were the Kareni and Mon states. Karen and Mon are minority hill tribes, and I imagine that this disaster will make an already vulnerable group of people, more vulnerable to the lure of human-trafficking in their state of desperation.
I urge our friends and family to pay attention to this issue, though it is hard to know how to help right now.

Blessings and love to all of you!

Wat U Mong & Old City

Tuk Tuk


monk's laundry at Wat U Mong


monks' art from the 60's



















We had some free time over the weekend so, on Sunday we took a tuk tuk (3 wheeled motor cart awesomeness!) to Wat U Mong (the forest temple) on the outskirts of Chiang Mai city. I have been wanting to visit this special wat since reading about how it is tucked away in a cave among trees! I don't think many tourists visit this wat- we were the only farangs when we visited. Wat U Mong was first used during King Mengrai’s rule in the 14th century. Tunnels in the cave were built around 1380 as meditation cells for the clairyoyant monk Thera Jan. Later,the monastery was abandoned, then re-inhabited in the 60's when Ajaan Buddhadasa, a well known monk and teacher at S Thailand’s Wat Suanmok, sent several monks to re-establish a Sangha (Buddhist brother hood) there. The monks in the 60's made awesome paintings and illuminations of Buddhist and Biblical texts on walls of one of the building (see pictures). SO awesome!

The feeling on the wat grounds was one of ancient sacredness and lush, green,humid serenity. We were quiet, and listened to sacred chanting of scripture by the monks who live there. There were incredible ruins in every nook and cove to be discovered. There is a gold Buddha deep inside one of the caves, and a large statue of the fasting Buddha (not a common image) elsewhere on the grounds.

Then we rode into the Old City (moated center part of Chiang Mai) and visited the Chiang Mai Arts and Cultural museum, which was neat but I was itching to get back out on the street and to learn about Chiang Mai by experiencing it! We wandered around, ate at a noodle shop, then found ourselves in the thick of the Sunday Walking Market, where 5 or so blocks are taken up by vendors peddling their goods old school-style on mats laid on the road. Fascinating! The most fun part was just watching all the people. And we did a little bargaining for some hilltribe goods as well ;)

5 Favorite Things about Thailand (so far...)

1. Cheap, delicious Thai food- on average, $3 total for a meal for 2 persons!!
2. Recycled water- what you wash with is what you flush with. brilliant! (I think we call it "Grey Water"?)
3. The scent of Jasmine everywhere- the first time I've smelled real jasmine that wasn't in a tea or candle.
4. Monks in beautiful saffron and bright orange colored robes are everywhere
5. A bidet hose in every bathroom! hooray for clean butts ;)

- Michelle


Chiang Mai Arts & Culture museum




puppies sleeping on side of street at market




scary "lady boy" performer


barbecued octopus tentacles anyone?


weird "Miss Piggy's Mini Pork Balls" mobile playing Elton John tunes and rolling around the city! We saw her the next day too, miles away.



(posted by Michelle)

5.6.08 - Tuesday - Chiang Mai

Hello family and friends,
We haven't posted in a bit. We're having trouble uploading photos.
Some people have asked if we've experienced any of the weather that hit Burma. We'll, it's been pretty rainy here, but nothing even close to the tragedy across the border. So, we're fine.

The work with the kids is going well. Michelle and the girls look beautiful doing her choreographed dance. I think they're planning on performing this Friday. We have three more days left of classes. Our newness has definitely worn off, and the kids are starting to treat us like family - with all the smiles, hugs, and occasional disrespect that comes with it. I'm going to miss these guys.

We ran into a couple of the girls at the market yesterday. It was kind of a shock seeing them in a different environment. I know they were being monitored pretty closely, but it was so good to see them out and around. I guess some of them also went camping this last weekend. Michelle and I talked about their futures today. How on earth will life work for them? Boyfriends... Marriage?

I'm hopeful to hear some of their stories in 5 to 10 years.

I'll keep this one short - and talk to you soon.
and wishes of clarity to all you Indiana and NC Democrat voters out there...!

Luke

5.3.08 - Saturday - Chiang Mai City

So today the kids got a break from their rigorous art and dance training and Michelle and I spent some time in "downtown" Chiang Mai. We got a late start to the day, but it turned out to be really enjoyable.

Much of the main city area is surrounded by a moat, which used to be the boundary of Chiang Mai. Although now there is little difference between the areas inside and out of the square city.


We sectioned off a third of the square that we planned to walk and we finished it in about 5 hours. While going in and out of alleyways and shops, Michelle and I mostly talked about Lost theories, painting philosophy, and the kids at Agape. We helped each other remember the kids' names and told each other our own little stories that we've gathered about them.
For lunch Michelle had a yellow curry and I had a "jungle" curry, all for about $3 - man, I'm really loving this stuff!



We also found some great batik work. It is done on thin fabric - so we may be able to pack one in our luggage.

We poked our head into a couple of the many "Wats" (temples) that are in the city. Some are more than 700 years old and they are a bit intimidating, but one of the monks quickly greeted us and spent 10 minutes practicing his english.





We ended the night at one of the only little restaurants open past 9pm. There were about 6 older British guys there, flipping between about 6 football matches on the TV. We shared a super soup called Tom Kha.

We got a Tuk Tuk (3 wheeled taxi) ride home. Our friends had told us that we could barter with the drivers, but one attempt and one disgusted look from the driver later - I quickly reverted to his extremely reasonable first offer! It is really quite an experience trying to barter with prices that are already less than 1/5 of what one would pay in the States. Here's an earlier photo of a Tuk Tuk -


So we're at the apartment now, listening to the rain that has been going most of the day. Here's an earlier photo of our room -

In order to get a wifi connection, I must sit where that chair is - with my computer against the corner. (sometimes we can get it where Michelle is sitting!) We're actually really lucky.

Oh, by the way, any beauty that comes through in these photos is with great thanks to Amy for helping me pick out a great used camera and letting us borrow a nice lens. (and any blurriness is completely due to our inexperience with SLRs!)

Have a great weekend, talk to you soon.

Luke

Friday in Chiang Mai

The bike ride from our moo baan (small neighborhood) to the Agape home is like something out of National Geographic; fluorescent-green rice paddies with silhouettes of purple mountain as backdrop. huge white cows with skin hanging in folds off of angular bones (looks like India :) graze by the side of the road 5 ft away from us. small rusted tin shacks glint in the afternoon sunlight which peeks through dark, threatening clouds. there are beautiful homes in the Lanna Thai style of architecture, made of rich dark wood, whose roofs come to a temple-style point. there are tropical flowers in varying shades of electric purple, whose scent mixes in with the smell of soggy garbage and rotten fruit. there are chickens running around all over the place, and water buffalo! Mangy stray dogs chase us, growling and nipping at my ankles. Motorbikes zoom past us with entire families hanging off the sides, and small pick up trucks with 10 people squished into the back, who stare and laugh at us because I'm sitting on the small back seat of the bike (which I guess is usually used for children.) I savor these mid-morning and late-afternoon bicycle rides (mostly because I'm not the one peddling 2 persons' body weight.) They're so romantic- especially when there's a sudden monsoonal downpour in the middle of the ride ;)

Our classes with the kids have been going well. The kids have really short attention spans and lose interest quickly, but it's fun to see the little girls practicing the dance moves on their free time, and there's nothing better than the pride shining in their eyes when Luke presents them with the portrait he's drawn of them. When you are one child in a family of 70, it is really important to feel unique and special, and I think Luke's portraits give the kids that gift.

Right now we are chilling in front of the fan. There is a lizard somewhere in the house that keeps saying cleck cleck cleck! really loudly. There is a cockroach the length of my middle finger, who this morning was perched on the wall above our bed, but whose location is now unknown. shudder.

5.1.08 - Thursday - Chiang Mai

Today was great. I am getting familiar with the lay of the land and getting better at the two-seater bike with Michelle. This morning I woke up from a dream about an old music teacher named Dr. P, Ryan, and Nerdrum. I’ve been dreaming a lot lately – I guess that’s pretty normal when in a new place. For breakfast I ate a mangosteen, the second to last piece of rye bread, and a couple Pringles - and then got to work preparing for drawing classes.

Monday I had the kids draw their Thai names into the drawing pads we hauled over from the Hiawatha Target. (I’ll be glad not to travel with those anymore!). After they thoroughly decorated that page, I had each class draw a friend. Yesterday I had the kids draw animals. I made 4-step instructions, starting with a circle or square and ending with a dog, butterfly, lizard, elephant, etc. – making sure they look somewhat Thai and not so American or African.

That worked pretty well, so today I had them draw cartoons. They included Mickey, Nemo, Pikachu, Batman and this funny character named Ultraman. This little dude was the print on the curtains of our Ton Sai bungalow – which were, no doubt, cut from kids’ bed sheets. I had never heard of him, but the kids knew him. And he only consisted of a few ovals, so he was easy to draw. The final image and the four steps below it were drawn on flimsy graph paper. I was pretty worried that the kids would tear them to shreds, the way any rowdy 10 year-old might handle something, but I was lucky to remember the clear plastic sheets that Michelle and I kept our important documents in. 10 sheets… perfect! I’ll reorganize those documents later.

It was pretty interesting seeing the different ways the kids handled the assignment. Some traced the final image into their drawing pads, some asked for help, and some plugged away through every step. Some smiled when I congratulated them and some played too cool (or didn’t understand me!) Some drew all 10 of the cartoons and some only a couple.



During the second half of each class, while the rest of the kids continue with the “lesson”, I draw a couple of the kids’ portraits. The kids are surprisingly patient for this and sit quite still. By now I’ve noticed some pretty characteristically Thai features, which makes it easier to complete the portraits in time. But one of the greatest things for me, is realizing that I see the kids so much differently after having completed their portraits. What was once (three days ago) a sea of (ok maybe getting politically incorrect) identical, storyless, little Thai kids, is now a group of fantastically unique children. I guess this might happen with any stranger you stare at for 20 minutes. Come to think of it, I recommend anyone give that a try (at their own risk, I suppose).



After class I hung out with some younger boys. Some were eating a snack of rambutans. It was amazing how fast they peeled and ate those spiny and pity things. After we played this game with little plastic chains – it was like jax. Then we did piggyback rides for a while.

After Michelle and I finished our 25 minute bike ride to the apartment and took a shower, we walked over to the neighborhood restaurant. Yesterday I had a great coconut cream red curry there and Michelle had Pud Thai. Today Michelle had green curry spaghetti (pronounced by the server as “sa-pa-ge-he-ti”) and I ordered a soup with vegetables. I didn’t recognize most of the veggies, but I noticed it had “green peppers”. Well, they weren’t American “green peppers” and it took about 40 minutes and an extra “bea leo” (beer) to finish it – it was so spicy.

After dinner we biked to the Supermarket about a mile or two away to get candy and breakfast. Michelle stayed with the bike outside because we had been told of a lot of bike theft. I think Michelle mostly wanted to stay outside to continue watching a most bizarre scene of about fifteen adults JAZZERCIZING in the parking lot! So, I went in to get the goods. First was some more rambutans, but then I spotted a big dragonfruit; next an Apple that was at least twice the size of a big Cub apple. I got some funny Thai candy all for about 50 cents- Yupi gummies, green tea flavored hard candy, and coffee candy. It’s almost impossible to find any real coffee here and I was craving the taste. When I got to the register, the woman rang everything up accept the produce. She gave me a frustrated laugh and pointed towards the produce. My confusion eventually turned into realization that there is a separate person for pricing produce! So there and back again I went, before I could finish my purchase.

Across from the grocery store was a little movie rental place. I wasn’t sure if last week’s Lost had finished loading (even after 44 hours!) so I bought a (no doubt) ripped Thai version of Balls of Fury for 45 baht (about $1.36) in the discount bin. Hey, there’s only so much reading a guy can do before he needs to experience some REAL literature!! And Christopher Walken is one of the greatest actors of our time – so what the heck.
Well, we got home to find that after 54 hours, the “little engine that could” - wireless connection we found, successfully downloaded the “Lost” episode.

After watching that brilliant masterpiece of a show, Michelle fell asleep and I decided to write a blog entry. Now I’m beginning to think of tomorrow’s class. What should I have the kid’s draw? More cartoons? I think I might have them draw each other again, but this time, without looking down at their paper. That should provide some laughs. I wonder if I can communicate the idea to the kids?

It’s about 1am, so my thoughts are becoming more weighty. I wonder about how to interact with the children. I wonder how much steering and “correcting” is helpful for them. While anytime I teach kids there are showers of praise – I wonder if here, I should limit my actions to that. It’s hard to try to think long term with these kids. Most of them look quite healthy, but every 5 minutes or so the phrase “these kids have HIV” races through my mind.

For years this orphanage could see 2-3 deaths in a week. Then in 2004 the Thai government released an almost magic potion called AIV. Before this, 5 years was considered old – now they have a 16 year old. These kids take the vaccine twice a day – 7am and 7pm. Any missed doses could prove to be detrimental, as the virus would overcome. The three hard working nurses have done a brilliant job keeping everyone vaccinated, but they are concerned. For in two years the kids will become adults and they will not be forced to live there any longer. One of the most important missions of the orphanage is to engrain in the kids’ minds and muscle memory the importance of this vaccination. While the thought of the kids turning 18 is a great worry of many, it is also an extraordinary dream.

A couple days ago one of the founders was recalling the time before 2004, “it was an incredible way to live – a funeral in the morning and a birthday party in the afternoon”. I could tell she had said that phrase a thousand times before to other family, friends, and volunteers, but it was still poignant.

So I wonder. Without many thoughts that I can write – I wonder about teaching and training, and helping and loving these children.



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Well, those last few paragraphs took a half an hour to write – so I guess I’m slowing down. Maybe time to go to bed. All the best to anyone reading, and we’d love to hear from you. Talk to you soon.

Luke