Stomping Grounds

I'm back to the 'ole stomping grounds. I was picked up in DC by my wonderful fiance Liam on Wednesday and slowly made it back to my parents' place in Alabama seeing my whole family and many friends along the way. It was much more difficult for me to leave than I ever imagined. Though I was in Wamba only a few months, I made some close friends that were difficult to leave.

On my way to Nairobi (where I flew out), I rode through Samburu National Reserve. I saw all the animals I'd been sharing the area with for the many months I'd been in Wamba: giraffes, elephants, all sorts of gaezelle/deer-like animals, birds and even a lion!!! I will be sure to share pictures once I am able to get them in a sharable mode!

Telling the peeps...

Hello again Blog followers!

These past few entries will set records for newsiness. A few weeks ago, Liam and I announced our engagement and now, I announce my return to the states! I have purchased a one-way ticket to D.C. with no present plans of retuning to Kenya. This decision comes with a plethora of mixed feelings: excitement, anxiety, failure, disappointment... I have developed many wonderful relationships here with my neighbors and the sisters and even some of the students at the nursing school, and oh! the children who have kept my joy in their smiles and excitement! I will be leaving the hospital on good terms, but I can't help but feel like I should stay and attempt to save the world! But, oh relief! The messiah has already done that!

Though these past few weeks of deciding have been difficult, I am joyous and resting in this unexpected change - knowing the most difficult challenges will come upon me in the future months as I try to gracefully reintegrate into American society.

I will be in the deep south for the first half of July and hope to see many of you confederates then! Stay tuned, I will continue updaying for a while still.

a little on life

Hello all!

Sorry for the long delay in blog posts. It seems to me that everything here is average and there's not much to write about, but I think I could probably describe the way I took a bath last night and interest some of you:) It's a good thing to be getting used to the everyday life here though. There has been a struggle for water here lately. I'm not sure the problem. I hear word that it is an internal and intentionally unfair rationing. I prefer to just stay naive to the politics of the rationing for now... but it has caused some extra maneuvering to have enough water to wash and keeps my house a little funky with extra rationing of toilet flushing!

Last night was my neighbor's birthday. We went into town for a dinner of ugali (like grits) and roasted goat meat - the most common meal here. It was nice to spend an evening relaxing with friends outside of the compound. I am learning more and more of the language which makes life easier and times like last night more fun for me... but I'm not affluent enough to understand any detail. For now, I just get excited to understand the general idea of the conversations.

I am learning SO much at work. There are three wonderful doctors here that are so patient with me and often take the time to answer my floods of questions and teach me about all these new diseases like malaria and tuberculosis. My favorite days in the ward are when the doctors do rounds with me. I get to tell them all the complaints of the patients over the past few days and watch them do whatever procedures like echographies and reading xrays and general assessments. I feel like I have learned a lifetime of material in these two months and know that it will continue on like that as long as I am here.

I am spending as much time as I can with the Sisters. They are such a joy to be around. I am learning the catholic catechism with one of the sisters. We meet once or twice a week for an hour and talk about the beliefs of the catholic church. It is a wonderful and direct way to learn about the base of both the original church and the christian faith. This sort of class learning has been great for the intellectual in me to help understand my own beliefs better. And of course it's wonderful to have my brilliant fiance to discuss the many questions I develop in the process.

Announcement!

Dear friends and family and the many other followers of Skye’s blog,

We, Skye Chambless and Liam de los Reyes, have happy news. On Sunday, May 15 we became engaged to one another! It is with great excitement, hope and trust in the guidance of God that we prepare to enter into one of the greatest blessings and gifts in life – the commitment of love and self-giving to one another in marriage. There will be much celebration to look forward to in the coming months. In the fall Skye will return for a few weeks from Kenya to celebrate our wedding as well as two of her cousins’ weddings, Clay and Tyler and Brennen and Natalie. After all of the celebrating we hope to return to Kenya together. We would like to thank Skye’s friends and family for the support they have already given her that have been so important to her purpose and mission in Kenya, and look forward to the love and support of our friends and family now as we prepare for life together and throughout our life as we live out the commitment and love of marriage.

Pictures!

Skye made this basket from a package she received then made a ball by knotting up some plastic bags and tying them together with pieces of scrap fabric. It was time, she decided, to take the kids in her community to school.

Notice the follow through on his shot, clearly learned from Skye...who since making her skills known in the community has received the nickname "Air America."

To be a nurse in Wamba

Hi everyone, this is Liam. Skye sent me this update to post on the blog, hope you enjoy catching up on the latest with her and her experiences in developing world health care.

I thought you all might be interested in hearing about some of the cases I'm seeing in the hospital. The problems are so different from the states where the number one killer is heart disease, a disease of genes and lifestyle. Here, it's mostly tropical disease and trauma. The most common things I'm seeing are tuberculosis - so many kinds I didn't even know existed! One patient has a mass the size of a soccer ball growing from spinal tuberculosis. Another has a grapefruit sized mass on his foot from tb. Also, HIV and syphilis. We have a lot of men with enlarged prostates and there's been an odd and recent development of esophageal cancer. There must be an environmental cause, but no one knows yet. I've seen intestinal obstruction, gangrene, cystic kidneys, rectal prolapse, a lion attack, an elephant attack (both shepherds tending their flock), a shooting, two beatings (yes, men beat by mobs of other men. Two separate cases.), malaria, many snake bites, and last night a man came in carried by the motorbike that hit him. Yes, that means I’ve seen more lion attacks than cases of diabetes! And just two people with congenital hypertension.

I'm glad to be getting used to the routine and the needs of the ward. I'm learning a lot of Swahili and about caring for people from the patients and so much about the diseases and such from the over nurses and doctors. I am a full time sponge, which is pretty tiring. But I've still had time to relax, read, get to know my neighbors and love and be loved by the sisters!

I am able to read emails easier than send them, so keep me updated on your lives too!

Report on Skye through Mom Chambless

Many people have contacted me to say they are following Skye through her blog. I recently met Hannah and her friends who attend high school in North Carolina. They found out what Skye is doing and wanted to help support her volunteer work and have organized a fundraiser for Skye. Another young woman who heard about Skye has read all her blogs and is totally interested. I know that most of you reading this blog know Skye and love her. Thanks, from Mom, for keeping her in your prayers and thoughts.

Since Skye will have trouble updating her blog, I told her I would make reports when I hear from her. Her last contact was good and bad news. She was well and feeling good. But, she had spent a week recuperating from a bad stomach bug and dehydration. She guesses she is coming in contact with bacteria that is foreign to her system and so she will expect some of this. The sisters took her immediately into their care to get her well. She says she had 6 new mothers "all tough as nails" and "who treat her like a precious daughter". They fixed her every meal, did all her laundry, saw to her every need, and made her feel very loved.

Skye has worked in the men's, women's, and children's ward at Wamba Hospital and they are all short handed. She is mostly training and observing at this point. She talked a bit about some of the types of injuries and needs being met. Some were: snake bites, an elephant attack (that is different from home), HIV, TB, malaria, and bacterial infections. On a daily basis she helps the patients by bathing them, changing their bedding, dressing their wounds, and giving medications. She has truly enjoyed her work and is eager to get back after her illness.

Skye enjoys spending time with her neightbors who all work at the nursing school. They play volleyball everyday at 5:30. They share meals together. The young children spend a lot of time at Skye's house where she keeps crayons and coloring books for them. They are her best teachers of Swahili.

What we take for granted. After speaking with Skye about her difficult water situation, I am reminded how easy it is to take something so essential to our existence for granted. Water. We can't live without it, yet, we, Americans, have it so easily. All we have to do is twist on the faucet and out comes clean, clear, delicious water for drinking and bathing. Skye says most Samburu women and men must search for low lying places and dig for water. The hospital is lucky to have a well. It operates 3 hours per day at which time, everyone in the community must collect the water in containers to be used as needed. The water is so full of hard minerals that everything gets covered in crust and that she must filter the larva and silt out. Then she must boil is twice in order to consume it. She says bathing leaves her feeling like she just got out of the salty ocean. She has not complained one bit and is very thankful for the water she does have. I am just saying, because of her experience, I am more thankful for the amazing water we have each day.

pictures of a weekend hike

http://www.wamba-onlus.org/photo/album/list

26 March - a journal entry

A successful walk into town. I went in search for Mercy but couldn't find her. We had agreed to pick up my uniform at 4pm today. So, I went alone. Yes, I was nervous like a child, but I marched on. All the little kids yell "ciao!" at me - all the whites around here are Italian, so that's the greeting the learn. There are a few streets - all spread out. I couldn't remember how far we walked before turning right - I was hoping I'd recognize the tailor's shop when I saw it, but I didn't think to make mental notes when going in with Mercy on Thursday. I took the first right and saw a tailor's shop right away! Easy! Walked up and in and... nope, wrong tailor shop. I sead a nervous and apologetic "habari" and walked on. I saw something familiar a block down so turned and saw another tailor shop - this one looking more familiar. Yep! There's that iron on the counter (filled with red hot coals) just like before. The lady was all smiles when she saw me. I inspected my new uniform, paid for the next one and requested that the next uniform have real pockets, not just slits. A must for a nursing shirt! Proud of my own success, I mounted the street home. On the short, two-block walk I passed two roaming camels and a larch bull. Of course, everyone stared at me from start to finish and many people attempted conversation. Five young boys saw me walk passed and began shouting at me "how arre you, verrdy white!??!" Proud of their english I'm sure! When I returned home with uniform in hand, Mercy's three children were laying on my front porh. I invited them in and they have since been coloring. What a joy it is to be surrounded by children!

The Bush

I'm here! In the bush! on my neighbor's wireless internet modem. amazing, this technology. I will be brief because the internet is precious and pricey here, so I'm just going to type up a few excerpts from my journal: 23 March - The drive from Nairobi to Wamba ... All around was still green, lush farmland. We constantly saw shephards roaming with goats, sheep, cows of many kinds finding green grass. Then, all of the sudden, we were in the bush. Sister Linda was right when she said I wouldn't have to ask when we were in the bush... I'd know. The ground was red dust. The road was straight and flat. Though vegitation covered the landscape, it was all bushes. A few classic African trees [insert pre-school grade picture here]. But it wasn't totally flat. Always, the distance revealed tall mountains. Not a range with foothills, but single or a pair of tall hills covered in the same terrain. We occasionally passed a several mile patch where the trees were green with fresh leaves and grass scattered the dusty, rocky earth. Those were the places that had seen recent rainfall. Otherwise, there was just dust and grey bush. We saw very few people but occasionally we passed someone walking or riding a bike down a long stretch. I wonder where they are going or coming from!? Finally we turned off the paved road for our last 53km stretch to wamba. A dirt road marked by the lack of bushes. Like Sister Linda said - the road is like corrogated tin. A full series of bumps followed us to wamba. we passed 10 or 20 other traveling vehicles along the way. Once we passed a group of 6 or so children digging a human-sized hole searching for water. Then we got to the Samburu district - where the Samburu tribe lives. They wear brightly colored fabrics wrapped as dresses and skirts. The men have large, sagging holes in their ears with weighted earrings. The women wear their hair short - some bowl cut - with large plates of beaded necklaces. It seems that every man carries a large stick and every woman a small child in her back. They are dark as night with such beautiful, brightly colored clothing and jewelry. I have so much more to say, but I will leave you with those few but exciting images. I am setteled into my own place (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and living room). The biggest difference in my living in that there is not a constant water supply. So, I harvest water from the tap during the couple of hours each day that it works and store it in a large bin. When I need water to bathe or wash dishes, I just dip in my pitcher! Also, the water is bad quality. I strain it to get the mosquito larvae out then boil it before drinking. Still, it is full of minerals that make it harsh on my skin. So I will forever feel like I've washed in salt water! I am outfitted with a tailor-made uniform (I'll send pictures when I can... It'll definitely be one for the fridge... old school:) and plan to start work tomorrow! I'm so, so, so excited!!!

Address

For those of you that don't make it to the end of my previous post, here's my new address:

Skye Chambless c/o Wamba Nursing Training
P.O. Box 49
20603 Wamba
Kenya

Hello Kenya!

I said my goodbyes to my new friends of Bangkok and received gifts of food, chocolates, pocky (my favorite snack) and notes of encouragement... Then off to a new land. The travels went nicely. My only scare came when I was sleeping at my terminal in Mumbai, India waiting for the boarding of my flight into Nairobi. I slept two straight hours contorted over arm rests on a row of seats. I woke up as the last few people boarded the Nairobi flight. I grabbed my things and shufled quickly to the attendant. Crisis averted. The plane was huge and there were not many passangers, so I stretched out and slept the whole way to Africa.

I did have more trouble than expected with immigration, but I guess there are some true perks to working with nuns! I got a three month tourist visa after sister linda spoke with the previously unwilling officer over the phone. I wil go to immigration on monday to convert the visa to a one year work permit. Sister Linda and her trusty driver John have been quite the hosts! They set me up with a rom in the Catholic Hostel - which is available to tourists like any hostel, but it is on the grounds of the Nairobi convent and its profits go to support the catholic missions of Kenya. Sister Linda brought me into the convent for a breakfast of toast and delicious Kenyan coffee! Ah, finally! I met lots of sweet, really funny nuns. We traveled to the nursing council and successfully secured my Kenyan nursing license. I feel so exotic! Yes, I hold nursing licenses in Alabama and... Kenya! (dear Chelsey... isn't that cool?!)

Sister Linda has informed me that I wil have my own apartment and will be living in community with the professors at Wamba's nursing school. They are all kenyan and have families with children! She says they helped her set up my apartment and are really excited to be living near an American:) They want to teach me Swahili and how to cook Kenyan food... I'm so lucky! I will work 7 hour shifts, 6 days a week most likely on the regular medical/surgical floor. They say wamba is beautiful. Sister Linda has told me there is a mountain in sights and beacause it's been so dry, they've already had to shoo elephants away from the cultivated compound three times in the past season. She says there's a wildlife park nearby too!

My contact will be quite different from now on. I will no longer have internet access. I will have a phone - so in case of an emergancy I can have contact with the states. But my main communication will be letters. My new address is:

Skye Chambless c/o Wamba Nursing Training
P.O. Box 49
20603 Wamba
Kenya

With much love and hope and excitement!
Skye

Koh Samet

This past weekend was my last in Thailand. I will leave on Thursday for Kenya. So, two of my housemates joined me for a vacation on a beautiful Thai island - Koh Samet. Story for the fridge!... the island is considered a national park. So, like all national parks, Thai nationals get in way cheaper than foreigners, in this case 40 Bhat for Thais and 200 Bhat for foreigners. We are always joking with the girls at The Well that we're Thai and try to prove it by eating hot peppers and other such Thai things. So, when we reached the beach a uniformed fellow approached us to collect our fee. I chuckled as I repeated the well rehearsed line, "Bin con Thai" (I am Thai) and handed him a thousand Bhat note. He responded straight-faced, "Con Thai" (ok, you're Thai). HA! I was chuckling all the while until he asked for a smaller bill because he didn't have enough change for such a big note!!!! He charged us all 40 Bhat each! Amazing! I can't complain about everyone staring and calling me "farang" after I got a break like that from a man in uniform!

We rented a small bungalow on a rocky beach just a short walk from a sandy white beach. It was peaceful and afforded for a quiet and restful weekend. The scenery was incredible! The water was bright hues of blue and green and clear to the bottom. I walked in up to my shoulders and could still see my feet! The three of us went kayaking one afternoon, hiking another, and drank lots of delicious smoothies and ate amazing Thai food, as always. Mostly though, I just sat in a lounge chair and read, relaxed and reflected.

Cultural faux pas number 762:

I went to a new part of town last week. The nature of the location necessitated that I take a form of transportation new to me in this city: the bus. I boarded the great monster just in time to avoid the torrential downpour. I loaded at the back entrance and saw no empty seats. I walked the length of the bus to be sure my eyes weren't tricking my body into the discomfort of standing for the long ride. All the seats were indeed taken. My thoughts drifted toward my lady-ness, secretly hoping one of the men would realize their chivalrous duty and offer... oh... yep... he noticed... he's standing... he's definitely looking at me. I drop my chin and raise my eyes to his shoulder in order to read his face without making eye contact as a woman to an eastern man. He's definitely acknowledging me. He's walking straight towards me, standing next to me and watching me. I give a short bow with my neck and drop my face farther in thanks. I take his seat at the front of the bus. A pause. He's walking toward me again... oh no! he just wants to talk to me because I'm white. He probably wants me to teach his nephew English... What's that? He stretches his arms out and shows me the long sliver tube he's carrying. Wow, quite a coin collection... Oh! Oh my! He's the attendant! I just took the seat of the money collector! I can't help but chuckle. He came to collect my alms and I took the opportunity to snag his seat, never even revealing my change purse. Silly foreigner!

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

"Is the distinction between living for Christ and dying for Him, after all, so great? Is not the second the logical conclusion of the first?" - Elizabeth Elliot

"Relationships develop when people spend time together. Spending time with God ought to be the essence of prayer. However, as it is usually practiced, prayer is more like a series of email or instant messages than hanging out together. Often it involves more talking than listening. It should not be a surprise that the result is a superficial relationship." - David Benner in The Gift of Being Yourself

A Breath of Fresh Air

I got back last night from a four-day visit to the countryside. Jub, Cori, a lovely couple traveling around from the states and I travelled about 8 hours mostly by bus to a northern province called Buriram. P’Prong was born and raised in Buriram. She left for Bangkok when she was a teenager hoping to make good money to support herself and her poor country family. She didn’t start in the bars, but after a failed marriage and two kids to support she ended up working at a bar girl. She was one of the first students of The Well 5 or 6 years ago. She eventually decided she was ready to try to move back out to Buriram and start a children’s ministry. So we were in Buriram visiting with P’Prong and helping with a traveling medical clinic that came through her village. Here’s an excerpt from my journal on Friday:

Today was the second day of a traveling, free, Thai clinic down from Chang Mai. They brought only one foreigner – the physician – and we have four foreigners including myself. I say this because of the importance of Thai involvement in their own healing. It is a very good thing to be in the cultural minority.

So, last night we walked around P’Prong’s village to remind her neighbors that the clinic would be set up at her house today. After the walk we rode out a few miles to an orphanage – 14 kids – run by a sweet Thai couple. They had the whole team there. They fed us dinner and had an info/worship session. This morning, we woke up to the team outside our house. Some of the others were up early to make breakfast for everyone. Pork and rice mush with some veggies – a lot of yummy cilantro! Yumm! “Coffee” too- from a packet – just add water. I will be glad to have that precious Virginia gold back in my morning mug... A little pre-clinic socializing, prayer, prep, set-up, then: day 2! It was much slower than yesterday’s 334 patients.

We took turns going over to the kitchen for lunch, chicken-foot soup, a delicacy. I had a part of one of the feet – it was surprisingly supple; a bit like fat around a bone. Then Jub came out with a bowl of ants and larvae cooked with egg. We saw a man harvesting them yesterday. A long piece of bamboo with a bucket on the end. He found a nest in the top of a tree – maybe 50 feet up. He put the bucket under it and hit up on the nest – “shaking” the ants and larvae right out of the nest. It was tasty, mainly flavorless just absorbing the flavors of the egg and sauces. The larvae did have quite the texture though – pop in your mouth like a series of mini-balloons. The ants were kind of crunchy, like shrimp legs. One of the guys said the ants too were somewhat of a special treat. They can only be harvested about one week of the year. They are a “sign” that the rainy season is coming!

Why did I come to Bangkok?

I know this blog is public domain, which automatically makes it off limits for religious talk... but I don't want to make a liar of myself... God asked me to come. So, I came. He gave me direction and purpose too, which makes the whole process a good bit easier! I believe I am being built up to work with people like these women - specificity scares me, but I will try throwing out the specifics like people who have experienced sexual abuse or been a part of the sex trade.

So, what will I do? The short story is, I would like to have a rehab/retreat center that will take in these people and work through a long process of healing to hopefully and eventually help them to become functional, employable people. This visit to The Well is one of many steps toward making this idea a reality. This step is hopefully getting me closer to understanding the complexities of working in this capacity. For example, what are the initial and long term needs? How do you reach this group of people and find the ones that want/need to be freed from the bondage of their reality? How do you start and run an organization? Etc.

So, I didn't really come to help these girls or even The Well, though I do hope that I am able to do as much of that as I can while I'm here! I am so grateful that the people at The Well have allowed me to get so involved even though I am only here for a short amount of time! In order to preserve these experiences for future use, I have started taking notes on what I would want to emulate or change about The Well's model and way of doing things if I were to start a similar organization. In addition to visiting other organizations and picking the brains of everyone around me, this week I was able to join in on The Well's staff development meeting. What a wonderful surprise that this sort of thing is happening while I'm here with them!

There are four main people who run The Well. Jim and Judy are the original founders and Richard and Bee came along a few years ago. The four of them plus Cori who facilitated the meeting and I, sitting as quietly as I could at the edge of the table, met all day yesterday and talked about The Well: its vision and mission, its strengths and weaknesses, the absolute necessities for success. We will all meet again on wednesday. I am so glad to be able to join them for these amazingly pertinent discussions and am really excited to be learning SO MUCH about exactly what I came here to learn!

Dream World: the world of happiness

Friday was a holiday, so everyone was off work. Three of my housemates and I joined P'Pada and her two boys for a trip to DreamWorld... which is a lot like a small six flags. I'm not very into the crowds and the lines and all the other things associated with theme parks, but I ended up having a blast withthe fun people I went with! The boys were so excited, which was contagious.

Flood!

Praise be that we had such a beautiful morning of storm on

Tuesday. Chelsey and I just barely beat the rain walking to The Well for the morning group counseling session. Once we settled in the rain came down in force. Here in Thailand there is a rainy season and... another season. We're in the other season. So, there hasn't been a drop of rain in two months. I loved hearing the rain on the tin roofs and soaked in the knowledge of the city being cleansed, the pollution washing away with the waters.

The rains let up just minutes before we broke for lunch. We saw

the flooding immediately as we stepped out of the safe haven of the building. The street was ankle deep in water. The drains were backed up from two months of unfettered debris drifting and plugging them. I was wearing sandals, so trudged through. Chelsey wore closed toed

shoes so got a ride on my back to the nearest dry spot a block away. I broke from the group. Wading ankle deep most of the way home. I could feel the film of street mess clinging to my skin and seeping slowly into the pores of my

feet. The layers of dog f

eces and piles of food offerings giving weight to the "cleansing waters."

I reached my home unassuming. As I lifted my head from the door handle I realized my afternoon would see no rest as the stairs gave way to a sweet trickle of a

waterfall coming from one of the higher floors. After a full house sweep, I realized the only two rooms that were affected were my own and the bottom floor... the communal living area. I was so excited to learn my room had a small porch overlooking the alleyway that led to our home. Tuesday, the porch was the source of my afternoon efforts. It has one small drain designed like that of a shower and a foot tall toe board that raises from the porch floor - a fine feature if one is using the porch for a game of jacks or marbles. However, the height of the foot board was not considerably compared to the height of the step up from the porch into my room which incidentally is about half the size. So, after two months of collecting debris the drain clogged as quickly as the rains came. Then the porch became a pool. When the level of the water reached

the level of my room, the pool began finding refuge from the outside storm on my well tended bed. The waterfilled the lowest spots of my room and then started on the journey down the steps to the living room.

Because the rains had stopped, I was able to chase away the two centimeters of water from my room within the afternoon. My mattress however is still drying two days later. My roommate has invited me to rest on her full bed in the evenings which has offered and excellent alternative to my quiet floor-haven.

Chaktuchak

I headed out early today. I grabbed a songthau (a truck with two benches in the back for passengers) to the BTS (the skytrain... like the marta but nicer). It took about 40 minutes on the BTS to go from the farthest south station - On Nut - to the farthest north station - Mo Chit - where I disembarked for a day at the tourists dream... Chaktuchak outdoor market. Thousands of stalls of useless Asian knickknacks framed by anything else you can imagine from liveanimal to beads to fine furniture and antiques. The only thing I didn't want to leave without was a pair of chopsticks for my brother Reid (Reid, if you are reading this, act surprised when you get them in the mail;) Ibought him a pair at the same market three years ago -they have since come up missing. PERFECT!!! because his birthday is next month (march 4th for those who want to send lots of money, gifts and love!) I did come awaywith some lovely sticks, a pottery mug - so nice for my morning coffee treat- a comb for my unruly mess, an iced latte for a treat and some cinnamon - a rare commodity here. I spent several hours wondering the allies - some stores I passed at least 10 times because I got soturned around.

What a wonderful thing for the calm of my spirit to spend a day exploring along. Thought I was surrounded by bustle, i was quite alone. Though I listened to many conversations, I had none of my own. A great break for the ole' cords! I took a few pictures of particular scenes I remember from my day wondering with Melanie - dishes, lots of dishes! and orchids/hanging pl

ants. I enjoyed walking the many stuffy hallways lined with books of all languages - more lonely planets (of archival years) at Chaktuchak than anywhere else on this lonely planet I believe. I got over my fear of taking pictures - encouraged by the enormous SLRs that hung from my market peers' necks and too knowing I am currently in Asia... I believe the sentiment is "if there's not a photo, it didn't happen to an Asian."

Chinatown

So, all of this actually happened last thursday. But hopefully you can step up to the better late than never plate with me this week! So, Thursday was the chinese new year! Happy 2554! Thursday is also the evening we go to chinatown for outreach. Needless to say, it was PACKED!

Chinatown is a poor and dirty part of Bangkok. It is mainly inhabited by Chinese immigrants. The prostitution in Chinatown is very different from the bars. Here are the economics - Thailand benefits greatly from the sex trade in two ways: 1. sex tourism. The economy is supported by tourists - most of whom engage in the sex trade. I have seen statistics that claim 60-70% of the men who come to Thailand engage in the sex trade while they are here. So, if the sex trade was truly eliminated, what would happen to the economy? It would plummet! 2. The Thai government can get political brownie points for being moral and "cracking down" on the sex trade and maintain good business relations which keeps the business men coming in which keeps the sex trade booming. So, how does the country keep the sex trade booming and show that they are working hard to eradicate it all at the same time? They keep the bars open and running for westerners and arrest the prostitutes that serve locals. The chinatown prostitutes fall in the latter category. There are two main ways they go "under cover." 1. Many of them have mats with a small basket presenting cucumbers and alcohol drinks for sale. To the unknowing eye - their merchandise is inside the basket. 2. Other women will rent a stool outside of a shop for about 50 cents. She just sits, looking like a lazy customer of the shop and is extra friendly to the men who pass by. When the police come and question her, she hands over a pink envelope with some of her earnings and hopes he will turn a blind eye. When the ladies and johns agree on a price, they step into one of the many hotels. The hotels must do a lot of washing because they only rent out rooms in 30 minute or one hour increments. Then the girls return to their posts and the men continue on their way.

So, we went to the streets that night - two westerners, two Thais. As a non-Thai speaker, I was not very helpful. Most of my interaction was in the beginning with introducing myself and trying to understand and repeat the girl's name. The rest was too Thai for me to understand. But I'm glad for the going for my learning. Even thought I don't understand what's being said, I can see how it works. It's not so hard to walk up to one of these women and start talking. Hey! where are you from? How long have you been in Bangkok? - It's easy to talk about The Well. "We work for a group that helps people get off the streets an get other jobs if they want to." But last night we talked to one lady about how she makes her skin so white (the ultimate beauty in Thailand) with a special soap from the corner store. She told us that the night was going well because she had already had one customer and the police hadn't come by yet. After a while we said goodbye and moved on.

We saw a woman I recognized. She and her 12 year old son had been to The Well a week before for a visit. She was very loud and clingy and sat visiting with other rough characters with her son in a back alley. She was excited to see us. We sat and talked a while. She said she was doing okay. She had a japanese customer for a few days last week which was good for her financially. She explained to us that she lives with her boyfriend sometimes, but he doesn't want her son around, so the boy is homeless. She said a few years ago she couldn't find the boy. He had been picked up by a group that taught him to steal - he was good at it for a while, but eventually got caught and went to jail for a few months. When he got out again, she found him. The boy has never been to school. If he doesn't steal, how else does he eat when his mom is away for days at a time with her boyfriend or a customer?

This lady had been introduced to Jub (my housemate) by a friend who also lived and worked on the street with her eleven year old son. Jub asked where her friend was tonight. We never saw the friend and her son, but Jub explained to me that the mother works as a prostitute and hit the jackpot one week when she found a foreigner to sell her son to for a few days. He brought back 1,000 Bhat (about $30) and they bought all new clothes. She was very excited for her boy to be contributing to them so generously. The boy said he really liked the foreigner - he was so nice to him and made him feel so loved and cared for. When the ladies I work with Jub and Pada heard these stories they got very upset with the mother and said please don't do this to your son, it is not good for him. But she wouldn't hear it. The next week Jub and Pada saw the little boy. When he recognized them, he ran away - they haven't seen him since.

Before we left for home, we walked down the main drag to see the festivities. There were people everywhere! Street vendors were selling everything from flip-flops to ice cream. People were pushing and shoving. Crazy! We walked around (more accurately - we were shoved around) for 10 or 20 minutes before we decided it was late and enough and headed home. We were too tired to stay for the dragon show or the parade with the Thai princess.

I got home in time to take advantage of living 12 hours in the future and was the first to wish my boyfriend Liam a happy birthday!

It's not fair that I get to have this much fun!

I got some pictures up for you again! These first ones are of our house-mates Monday night dinner. It is a mandatory gathering of the six of us. Automatic demerits for being late or absent! We started off the meeting with Jub's delicious Thai cooking. Going clockwise from my empty chair is Ad, our designated house male - a Thai native, Cori from Idaho, Jub a native, Chelsey from Texas here to teach metal-working, and Hannah from London. When I took my third serving of rice to help buffer the amazing Thai spice, the two Thai's cheered and clapped! It startled me, but I accepted with a polite bow... Cori leaned in to tell me the best way to win the heart of a Thai is through eating - the more the better!

After dinner came music time. Everyone in the house plays guitar which makes for fun jams! Jub wanted to learn some "American dancing," so Cori and I jumped right into the electric slide. What a laugh to see two Thai's, an english girl, and a conservative southern baptist learning the electric slide to the slowest country music we could find! Ha!

Friday we celebrated this month's birthdays. We gathered for worship, games, and yummy food! One of the games left the losers covered in baby powder... you can see that Cori got the short stick:) Friday was Liam's birthday too! So, I brought a picture of the two of us to the party and everyone sang to him! He never showed up for his piece of cake, so I felt obliged to pick up his slack and ate it for him!

The Road Trip Journal

Alabama to California.
Five days.
2375 miles.
$292.66 gas
97.11 gallons

Jan 12, 2011 (SKYE)
The travelers: Sally and Skye. The destination: Jackson TN…ultimately Orange, CA.
Today is Wednesday. The time in 4:15pm. We have been driving for 20 minutes. We missed our first turn. We were determined to take the road trip without modern technology (ie. a GPS). Though we are still determined to complete the cross-continental trip without a GPS, we have dubbed the beginning of the trip starting when we pick up Heather in TN. We are now using the GPS and in the county outside of Birmingham….not a good start. We are driving Sally’s grandparents’ 2001 Chevrolet Lumina – Color: white.
6:31 pm – second turn off of the trip missed. GPS tells us to turn around 6 miles.
6:36 pm – second turn off of the trip missed for the second time. Back to the original direction…exiting on 86B…finally.
“I’m okay with being taken hostage” – SALLY

Jan 13, 2011 (SALLY)
The REAL road trip begins. Skye, Heather, and I are on the road. Snow is still covering the ground. We’ve crossed one state line TN/AR. Yay! Heather says AR is the world capitol of rice fields – I don’t believe her. Maybe the US capitol, but not he world. Don’t you think that would be in Asia somewhere? There has been snow in every state thus far. It is cold outside. We had to use an ice scraper to clean the windshield….a new concept for us Alabamians.

14:24 (HEATHER)
Skye had some trouble finding out if the car was already on – so she turned the key again. The car didn’t like that. It was definitely on. The lady at Subway thought Sally was stealing fountain drinks. She wasn’t, but we did have a suspicions eye on us while we ate our sandwiches. Heather (writing) ate processed chicken on her sub. She will probably live a long and productive life due to the heavy load of preservatives in the meat. She’s trying to be like sally and “choosing life” by eating as many preservatives as possible, thereby preserving her own body for life on this earth. We have discovered that Skye has a beautiful singing voice and should cut a record and Sally can’t sew a straight line. We are currently in Oklahoma.

15:58 (HEATHER)
Skye just saw a tortoise. Yeah, in Oklahoma. Sally and I aren’t so sure. We are still seeing snow, however – making this the third state which have seen snow – well, fifth if you count Sally and Skye’s jaunt to Jackson last night.

15:42 (SKYE)
There’s big news for me to share in the journal.
1) We saw the most beautiful sunset. The horizon looked like “embers” (sally). A bright blue streak through the middle of orange and pink clouds. WAR EAGLE. There were beautiful big windmills on the horizon too. Moving slowly and setting off the melting sky.

2) The car quit. It was about 6:30pm. We were stopping for gas, restroom, and dinner break. Yes. Call us efficient and we will nod in approval. We pulled off of I-40 for the first time since lunch. When we got tot the bottom of the ramp, the steering was heavy and the gas pedal produced no results. Sally suggested turning the car off and back on. It worked. Pulling into the gas station and the car died again as we pulled up to the pump. Expletives and howls of laughter filled the warm air of the unnamed Lumina….laughter that is nervous laughter – like what could be heard by all of the castle apartments while Melanie and sally pierced my left nostril so many years ago. So, we filled up, went to the restroom, checked the oil & stared disappointingly at the engine while saying back and forth to each other, “I don’t know anything about cars! Do you?” “No. But I think it looks okay”.
So we mounted our trustee steed once more with floods of doubt rushing in through every orifice of the now lethargic Lumina. By the time we reached the next block we had decided on the name – the White Warrior. She needs a good bit of encouragement to stay strong. Confidence is key for such car models. So, White Warrior or is! Christening is set to be at the Grand Canyon. We’re considering a Christening of micturation.

3) We ate at “Home Cooking Cafe.”
“Are girls allowed?” - Heather
“What are the vegetables tonight?” –Sally
“Corn” – the waitress.
“Corn it is!” – Skye.
15 fried mushrooms for Heather. A questionable decision as we still have two and a half hours left with very little airflow.
We are on track to arrive at our hotel around 10:00pm. 14 ½ hours day. Average gas price - $2.90.

Jan 14, 09:14 (HEATHER)
Best Western slept us well last night. Approximately 9 hours of sleep. Amarillo, Texas, wasn’t so yellow after all. Sally is driving. Already made wrong turn – but we’ve set straight and headed west. Heather hablo con el novio de Skye por telefono anoche. El dio el diario a las chicas y el quire leerlo cuando terminan el viaje magnifico de in calle. We are driving in Texas. It is extremely flat. We passed a very sad and stinky cattle farm. The small burned my nostrils.
10:08 we are no longer in central time. We just saw snow on top some distant mountain in New Mexico. Exciting times. Currently listening to Amos Lee.

13:33 M.T. (SKYE)
We’re in New Mexico. Skye writing, Heather driving, Sally sewing/quilting in the back seat. Listening to the Avett brothers. We just stopped in Albuquerque, NM. For lunch – Garcia’s – a recommendation from a local on authentic New Mexican food. Yummy food and Velveeta queso all around! Then we hit the open road for our final 5 hours stretch of the day. We loaded up in the White Warrior. As we approached the first stop light she showed her temperamental side once again. No steering, no gas, tough break…yeah, tough break White Warrior. So, heather restarted the engine, Sally gave a friendly smile to the honking, eye rolling, probably cursing woman behind us. We sped onto the I-40. 20 minutes later we’re getting low on gas and there is no sign of civilization. Oops… 20 minutes after that we pull off for a gas station. She dies again. This time the break was really tough and heather couldn’t get her to stop or turn, so we missed the gas station. We cranked her back up and all was fine. Nothing a healthy u-turn can’t fix. Checked the oil – good. Checked coolant – who knows what that is supposed to look like anyways. Back to the open road!

We stopped at the Continental divide for a picture. It’s not very impressive, but an interesting concept that there is a line where the water flows to the Pacific or Atlantic. I (still Skye) was barefooted and ended up with muck in between my toes. I washed my feet with a patch of snow. I didn’t feel regretful for the first few seconds. But there was a several minute window of pain following the fleeting confidence.

16:10 Mountain Time. We’re now in Arizona. There’s lots of snow again. It doesn’t feel much colder though. The rocks surrounding us are beautiful. Red, black, yellow, smooth, jagged, sandy. So many different qualities. The biggest trees don’t get much taller then 20 feet, and they are sparse, just dotting the hills. Mostly evergreens – cedar and pine, I guess.

17:10 (SALLY)
It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to write. Nothing exciting ever happens when I write – ok, I’ve only written once, so there has not been much opportunity. I kind of wish the car would break down again so I could write about it. Skye just claimed she saw blue clay. Oh, this sunset is exquisite! The open plains bordered by mountains make the perfect backdrop for the sunset. I think AZ will be my favorite state - I mean, with the Grand Canyon being here and all. Heather is chillin in the back seat like she owns the place and Skye is talking to Liam on the phone. Thanks Liam for the tire pressure gauge. We followed through with our promise and checked all the tires today. We received such great road trip gifts from Anna, Liam, Shatomi, Katie, David, Pop, Lou, and Kellie. Between the tire gage, flashlight, food, coffee, books, and this journal…we are well cared for. There is SNOW in ARIZONA!!! Skye just sang for us. Heather and I both wish we could sing like Skye. Even if we sit with the posture she instructed we still can’t produce a sounds that cows would not cringe to.

God has provided me with the most amazing friends. Here I have my oldest friend Heather. We have never lived in the same state, but our friendship has continued to grow. She has always been there to encourage and challenge me in my walk with God. And there is Skye, we have known each other for 3 ½ years, but you would think that it had been many more years. Skye is such a great encourager and wise woman. Walking through life with these beautiful women has been a wonderful blessing. I pretty much have the coolest friends in the world. I am constantly reminded how fortunate I am with the people God has placed in my life. The sunset is gone now and therefore my light has diminished. Peace.

1-14-11 (HEATHER)
“Buffet?! They should call it a barfet.” --- Sally

1-15-11 (SALLY)
Yes! I am finally in the journal seat when something exciting happened.

1-15-11 (SKYE)
Oh, poor Sally. The sun is now setting on Friday the 15th. Sally wrote the sentence about just as we pulled into the Grand Canyon general store. She then lost the journal seat.

1-15-11 (SALLY)
HA!! I got it back Skye! That’s right, I am once again in the hot seat, and there is news to be told. This morning we left our retro hotel in Flagstaff, AZ and headed north to the Grand Canyon. there were designated snow play areas along the way. Good thing because there was about a foot of snow on the ground. On to the good stuff… As we were driving the straight desert road (there were curves but Skye challenged Heather to drive straight and not give into the curves). Suddenly in the distance Heather spotted a lone stranger with thumb pointed to the heavens. Heather said, “Should we?” and we said, “YES!” A few minutes later Zack was tightly packed in our backseat. Did I mention that the three of us were bench seating for this leg of the journey? The following thirty minutes were filled with Heather grinning in celebration of her first ever hitch hiking experience. As we pulled up to the park gate Zack rolled down his window and let the attendant know he was a local. She waved us through. Our deed of picking up the overall wearing and cast carrying Zack got us free admittance! This saved us a whopping $25. We then dropped Zack off at the Grand Canyon General Store where he worked. People say that hitchhiking is dangerous… I agree if you pick up the wrong person. We all felt good about the situation and sure enough… it ended wonderfully. We went on to enjoy the spectacular views of the Grand Canyon. It was absolutely beautiful. Snow covered half the canyon while we enjoyed the perfect temperature of 50 degrees.

SKYE – “Does anyone want to go to the Hoover Dam?”
SALLY – “Na, we have a Hoover Dam in Birmingham.”
HEATHER – “I want to take the damn tour!”


11/16/11 (SKYE)
13:39 SO much has gone unjournaled because we were so late getting in last night. So we’ll step a bit into the past for this entry. Yesterday, Saturday, we visited the Grand Canyon. We bought delicious sourdough bread, muenster cheese, and a rotisserie chicken. We picnicked overlooking the canyon. We cut our bread and cheese with my big, beautiful Preston knife and fought off a crow for our goods. We hit the road, deciding to get down the I-40 a bit for a short Sunday drive. On the way south, we changed our plans a bit…Vegas would only be an hour or so out of the way. Heather and Sally had never been. We thought we could find a cheap hotel. So, when we got to 93 – we veered northwest for sin city. We stopped at the Hoover Dam on the way. We drove up to the dam and had to go through a security checkpoint. A guard shined his flashlight throughout the car and let us know we would be able to stop the car or walk on the dam… We crossed the dam and saw another guard stopping two rebellious walkers. SCANDAL! We parked at a designated parking area with a few bikers and took some glowing nighttime photos. Then on to Vegas! We drove up to the city. Lights everywhere, chapels abundant, dressed up people young and old. We parked at a garage under what looked like the Seattle space needle. We found out how much it would cost to go more than 100 stories up to top ($16 per person) and decided to see Vegas by foot instead of sky. So we walked down the strip for several hours. Lots of people! Extreme amounts of stimulation. Lots of pictures. Our jaws dropped & dragging the ground the entire way. We walked unto the Venetian. Saw lots of gamblers – complete with hoodies, sunglasses, and ear buds. We decided to get of the city for the night because the hotels were not as cheap as we expected and mostly booked anyways. Back to the interstate. Southbound. We were all mucho tired and so we hit up the first exit out of the city Jean, NV. The only things in Jean were gas stations and a huge hotel/casino. We fell into the clean beds, but found that to be the only thing we liked about the hotel. No breakfast, broken shower, sad people addicted to the machines, smoking and drinking at 9:30am on Sunday morning – yucky atmosphere. We split with our eyes peeled for good coffee.

1-16-11 (HEATHER)
14:46 PCT
It’s been a while since I’ve been in the journal seat. Not a whole lot has occurred today. I will, however, give you the skinny on a few events Skye left out. I think she may have done that to give me something exciting to put on paper. The White Warrior died four times last night – once going off the Hoover Dam, once on the interstate headed into Los Vegas, once on Los Vegas Blvd, and once going into the parking garage. We almost had an incident with a man on a motorized scooter. What would that be called…a scooter bender? Thankfully, due to the vocalization of both Sally and myself, and the cat–like reflexes of Skye and the White Warrior, the man made it across the street with no mishap. Vegas was definitely an experience - one I will be satisfied not to repeat, but am glad to have seen it at face value. Hopeless, dirt, sad, and empty are the adjectives that will forever come to my mind when I hear the words “Los Vegas.” Leaving the casino/hotel was no difficult feat this morning. We have seen some pretty amazing scenery today – desert, rolling hills, dunes, snowcapped mountains – to name a few. Starbucks coffee was a hit this morning – quite literally as in Skye’s case as her traveling mug hit the ground rolling as we pulled out. We have now discovered that the car roof is NOT the ideal spot for travel mugs – especially if you intend to partake of what is inside. No worries - the starbucks man was sympathetic to her dilemma, and once again we hit the road with full cups of joe (all inside the car this time). Currently we are in LA! The White Warrior has only died once thus far – this time going full speed down the interstate. After a brief rest on the shoulder, the White Warrior has gathered her strength once again and is currently bringing us to Sally’s new abode in Orange, California.

1/17/11 (SKYE)
We spent the night with the Little’s. Very hospitable. Lovely place to stay. All packed up and headed to the airport. This is my “CLOSURE” entry. The pressure’s on. We walked out of the house this morning to roll out to the airport and… the White Warrior’s final hurrah – A FLAT TIRE!!! Good thing we had planned to take the Little’s car for security’s sake. Goodbye White Warrior. Treat my friend Sally better than you have me. Oh, such a fun five days: getting to know Heather, seeing the many terrains of the States, being young and goofy, taking detours like the Grand Canyon and Vegas, good music, yummy chocolate, and great friends! Leaving the States with the American dream on my coat tails. Thailand here I come!

1/17/11 (HEATHER)
My time to close. Sad to be leaving sunny California. Even more sad to be parting with my old and new friends Sally and Skye. Oh, but what a memorable experience! My favorite city –Flagstaff, AR. Favorite food – tuna salad at the brewery in Flagstaff. Favorite site – Grand Canyon. Favorite quote – “La Boxing!” –sally... as opposed to “L.A. Boxing”. Favorite stranger – Zack the hitchhiker. Favorite shower – the hot one at the Little’s. And of course there are many more but for time’s sake I will close with a quote that I believe the three of us have fulfilled on our great American road trip:
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.” – Confucius.

1/17/11 (SALLY)
I just took Skye and Heather to the airport. What a grand journey this has been. I can’t think of a better way to move across the country than our journey the past couple of days. We now go our separate ways; Skye off to Thailand and then on to Wamba, Kenya and Heather back home to Jackson, TN. As for me, well I just changed the flat tire on the White Warrior and took her to the mechanic where I await her diagnosis. Peace.