Just Another Week in Mae Sa Luang

Hello Everyone!

This past week went pretty well. It's kind of crazy how fast weeks go by here. Nothing too exciting happening. Nathan was off on a visa run this past week. He got back today. We're happy to have him back. It's not the same when we're not all here.

Classes are going well. The students are learning more and more English everyday. I absolutely love being able to sit and have a conversation with a first year student in English! It's great! If the conversation were in Thai, that would be great too. That would mean, I'm actually learning the language. Being as that's not the goal of the school, it's okay. Although, we are going to start taking Thai classes this week! I'm excited. I have to learn Thai for my Master's program so this will be nice.

In Bible class we were talking about Moses this past week. I always enjoy going back through the Old Testament talking about the Patriarchs. Teaching this class has me look differently at some of the things I take for granted having grown up reading the Old Testament. Some days I leave that class so excited and then other days, I'm so frustrated and feel like I'm not teaching them anything. This class was the same way last year too.

Last Sunday Erika and I ventured into the city to go to some second hand bookstores and just hang out. We went in on a sawng tao. It mean 2 benches. There are 2 benches in the back of a pickup with a camper on them. I like them. They are different colors too. There are red, green, yellow and white ones. The colors dictate where it goes. The yellow ones come out where we are. You can go all the way into Chiang Mai from here for only 17 baht, which is about 50 cents. It drops you off at a market where you can walk, catch a red or green sawng tao (they go within the city and pricier, but you can negotiate), or a tuk tuk. A tuk tuk is a motorized little vehicle. I found a cartoon of one... thank you google! :)

A Tuk Tuk it means cheap

Our first stop was Starbucks!

I love the motorbikes behind the sign! :)

This starbucks is 3 stories! I love it! We go up to the third floor when we go to hang out. You get a nice view of Tapai Gate.

Here is a picture of the traffic.

Again, you get to see motorbikes, cars, and a Sawng Tao.

This is the setting up of the Sunday Night Market. I love the umbrellas!

Me and Erika

Before heading home, we stopped for lunch at El Diablo's. This is the best burrito place in Chaing Mai. They say it has California tastes, but I don't totally agree with that. However, they are pretty delicious! (Arroy Mak!)

Besides that, I have to say I have found good reasons for television!!! How many of you like turning on the news during the elections? All that's ever on are things about the candidates, right? Well, you CAN turn it off. I've told you all that Thailand is noisy. Well, being as not many people sit an watch television in our village, they have to advertise somehow. Well, they take pickup trucks and put campaign boards on the sides of it. Then they go through the village multiple times a day to play their music with a little speech. It's a ton of fun when they park outside of your gate and play through it several times. Haha! It makes me laugh. Today I saw three pickups in a row, they looked like they were having a parade. It was pretty funny. I was walking across the way and laughed out loud. Wish you had the pleasure of hearing this. I'm going to try and get a video to share the love with all of you. :)

I hope you're all doing well and had a fabulous weekend!!

Sending much love and hugs your way,

Lainy J. :)

Weekend Trip to the Refugee Camp

Hello All of You Fine People! 

I hope you have had an enjoyable, productive, happy, and prosperous week. 

We have had a good, uneventful week in little old Mae Sa Luang. (By uneventful, I mean nothing out of the ordinary as there is always something happening.) The students are getting better at English everyday, my Bible students all got A's on their quizzes, and just overall a rather good week. Well, minus seeing another snake! Ah! I do not like them! I was taking a walk minding my own business, when I hear something move in the bushes. I look and it was an 18" or so snake. It freaked me out and needless to say, my walk was finished for the day. Yes, it was probably just a harmless garden type snake, but still... ICK!  

Before I get into the pictures from this past weekend, I have a random story from the week that I think is funny. One of my students after class asked me, "Ajan, do we have class singasong?" My response, "What?" He replied, "Do we have class sing a song?" This made me laugh! He was asking about choir class, but called it class sing a song. It totally makes sense, but I just found it hysterical. Some of the things they say can make you laugh pretty hard. 

This past weekend we had planned to visit one maybe two refugee camps. We left after English class on Friday and were ready for a four hour road trip to the headquarters where we get our permission papers. Everything went smoothly to HQ. When we got there however, they said that roads weren't good enough to take our 4-wheel drive vehicle. We needed to rent one that was lifted due to it being rainy season, which was quite pricey and we'd have to wait a couple of days. Well, I guess all I can say is "wtt!" (Welcome to Thailand!) We make plans and then they change quite often. After about 2 1/2 hours of negotiating and finding out about the other  camp and maybe 20 phone calls or so, we had plans of going to the other camp- hopefully. :) We were back in the car for another 2 hour drive. Things worked out pretty much perfectly from there on out. It was really an answer to prayers. I know we were all praying. 

We were able to visit the Mae Sa Rian Camp. We met the family of a very sweet lady who is currently working for Legacy. They were happy to have visitors. We were happy to meet and visit with them. Imagine, five people you've never met, three of which are another ethnicity and do not speak your language show up at your door unannounced to talk to you. I'm sure most of us would be less than thrilled. In our busy lives, that means pushing the pause button and entertaining these people. In our case this trip, we think they knew we were coming because the lady who works here is able to talk to her family. There were so welcoming and happy to have us there. It just amazed me.

This was my first trip to a refugee camp. It was definitely very humbling. I simply had to stop and think about the many things that I take for granted on a daily basis. We are all very blessed; some of us much more than others. It seems in the traveling that I've done, the people who have the least are the ones who really understand what life is all about and are truly the happiest people. They are thankful for the small things. Many times, we overlook the small things because our lives (well, at least mine) can become cluttered with the noise of life and I forget to appreciate life fully.  

Thailand has provided refuge and economic opportunities for large numbers of

Burmese people over recent decades. Refugee camps were established on the Burma-

Thailand Border during the 1980s in order to accommodate people displaced as ethnic

Karen, Karenni and Shan armed groups lost control over territory to the Burmese

military. Continued low-level armed conflict in the border areas has maintained the need

for the camps, with some people newly displaced and return to Burma unrealistic for

most refugees. Many refugees have been living in the camps for as long as 22 years

and are almost completely dependent on external assistance. Separate from the camps,

it is estimated that up to 2 million Burmese may now be living in Thailand, the vast

majority integrated into the Thai economy.Thailand has provided refuge and economic opportunities for large numbers of

Burmese people over recent decades. Refugee camps were established on the Burma-

Thailand Border during the 1980s in order to accommodate people displaced as ethnic

Karen, Karenni and Shan armed groups lost control over territory to the Burmese

military. Continued low-level armed conflict in the border areas has maintained the need

for the camps, with some people newly displaced and return to Burma unrealistic for

most refugees. Many refugees have been living in the camps for as long as 22 years

and are almost completely dependent on external assistance. Separate from the camps,

it is estimated that up to 2 million Burmese may now be living in Thailand, the vast

majority integrated into the Thai economy. 

(Taken from http://refugees.org/uploadedFiles/Investigate/Anti-Warehousing/Countries/DFID%20080700%20Review%20of%20Aid%20to%20Refs%20%20IDPs%20on%20the%20border(2).pdf

I would recommend checking out this website, if you're interested in further information. I found it very interesting. It helps understand Burma/ Myanmar and what's going on over there. It also gives you a basic idea of what the people who were in the camps went through before getting there.) 

We got up early in the morning to make our trip to the camp. It was a two hour drive to the camp and then about an hour/ hour and a half trek to the family's home. 

This was on the way to the camp. I'm trying to master my skills at photography out the window of a moving vehicle. 

This was our faithful, amazing truck. It just looks like a plane toyota truck, but with prayers it was awesome! The following pictures are of the drive to the camp, but they do not do it justice!

This was a nice size road- it even had markers down the middle. 

However, I think they are used to line up the middle of the truck down the road.

 You can't really tell from the angle I took the picture.

You think this looks like a sidewalk? 

Well, so did Erika and I, but nope, it's a road. 

We even battled with cows in the middle of the road. 

Who needs a road when you have a riverbed??? 

This was a toughie to cross, but will all of us praying and the durable 4-wheel drive truck all was well.  We were told before going that we would have to drive 2 hours in and then walk because of the river. So with that in mind, after we crossed a couple of these rivers, I told Erika, "There must be a mighty big river, if we can't cross it with this thing."

Another little house with lots of green.

Yep! I was right! That's a pretty big river. I think our driver is contemplating crossing it in the truck though. :) Maybe we should swim? 

No swimming necessary, 

we have a lovely bamboo bridge to cross. 

This was the first of about five.

Photo Credit: Nathan 

This was taken from the family's house looking at the camp.

Kids everywhere LOVE sugar! I was sitting in the kitchen and thought this was absolutely adorable. He's the baby of the family. 

"What sugar?"

Photo Credit: Nathan

All of us crossing on the bridge on the way back to the truck. 

Notice it's the white girls who are holding on to the handrails for dear life. :) 

Almost to the truck... we were sweaty, gross, dirty/ muddy, and 

in dire of need of showers at this point. 

This is the whole gang. They came with us to the truck to get the food and clothes that we brought with us. They had to carry it back to the house. I don't think they minded. They were super excited to get the vegetables and fruit to add some variety to their meals.

The guys got to ride in the back of the truck. 

I think they enjoyed it. 

It looked like fun, but I was thankful

 to be a girl that day and be with chivalrous guys.

Ms. Erika and I got to ride in the cab of the truck. 

Notice she is gripping my arm for dear life. 

That's not because she was afraid (at least that's what she says;)), 

but because it's manual and the road was bumpy to say the least. 

We didn't want her kneeing the gear shift. 

We don't look tired at all. Not the most flattering picture of us, but this was us cozy in cab. You can see out driver too who was really chill throughout the whole trip. He wasn't nervous at all even when we thought we were going to be stuck. He was definitely a Godsend. He wasn't even frustrated when...

thankfully after we got back to the main road, 

we had a flat tire after hitting a small rock. 

The guys got right with it. 

They could work at a tire shop 

or in the pits of NASCAR. 

Following our little adventure, we were back in the car for another 2 more hours to a hostel, which had warm showers and soft beds. I don't think I've felt that dirty in a long time. I was really, really thankful for a warm shower and good night's sleep on a soft mattress. 

It was after this trip that I realized, I don't think I'll EVER take for granted the amazingness of a warm/ hot shower or the luxury of a soft bed. 

Speaking of things, I won't take for granted... in study hall this past week, I was talking with one of the students. He saw I had a textbook and asked me, if I was in school and what I was studying. I asked him about studying and if he went to college (some of our students have some college under their belts) he didn't, but he has finished high school. He did however say, if he had money, he would want to go to college. It really touched my heart. Not only am I blessed enough to have graduated from high school, have a Bachelor's degree, but I now have the opportunity to pursue a master's degree. It's another one of those things that I get caught up and though I am most thankful for my education, I think maybe I forget how blessed I am to be able to further my education. 

Well, I think that brings everyone up to speed on my life thus far. This upcoming should be pretty low key... teaching classes, doing homework and staying out of trouble. :) Please remember us in your prayers as always they are much appreciated. 

Hope all of you have a fabulous week!! For those of you starting school this next week, have fun!! Remember there are many people, who don't have that opportunity.  For those of you who are teachers, look for opportunities to inspire. There are those who would love to be able to teach that same class you get to teach.

Sending Love and Hugs,

Lainy J.  

Trip to The Mae Sa Waterfalls

Hey, hey!! 

Today started off as a normal overcast day and about 9:00 am, it began to rain. We were sad thinking it could potentially rain all day. After saying a prayer, we were on our way only an hour or so later than tentatively planned (as we don't make concrete plans in Thailand). We took lunch with us. Chicken fried rice, Som Tom (green spicy papaya salad- one of my favorites!), grilled chicken, chips, cookies and sodas- it was quite the feast! 

The park was really nice- they let the 3 of us teachers in at the Thai price with our work permits, there are 10 waterfalls and they are beautiful, the park has trash cans and even better than that, they had RECYCLING! We didn't know that was possible in Thailand. It was great! The little things in life make us happy. 

It was quite the little hike to the highest waterfall where we spent a lot of time taking pictures and playing in the water. We were drenched by the time we got to the top because it was so muggy and the sun came out (YAY!), but the hike was lovely. You get to listen to waterfalls the entire way... bliss! :) 

So enough of my yacking.... here are some photos.

The Sign says, "Mae Sa Waterfalls." The beginning of the trek.

This was a cool rock that had a heart carved in it. I guess watching your step has some perks besides not eating it. :)

One of the falls along the way.

Another one with some greenery.

...

At last we found some of the students. (5 of the 1st years)

We  also found some clothing. :)

 

Flip flops! :)

The boys were all swimming and the girls were taking pictures with their phones. I'm not sure if any Thai students have a camera. They use their phones for everything.

Isn't it beautiful?! The water nice an refreshing. 

Aj. Nathan enjoying the waterfall!

I got to climb up a few rocks to get up here. It's kind of tricky with water running over them. Aj. Erika and me posing for a photo.

Aj. Nathan and almost all of our students. One student was at home.

I decided to play with my camera and take pictures of my flip flops and the water.

 

All of us! This is our school minus one first year student. 

3 teachers, 1 3rd year student, 2 2nd year students and 9 1st year students. Students= 10 boys and 2 girls.

And last, but not least in case you think our trip wasn't as grand as I'm making it out to be, I have a nice little video of one of the waterfalls. I bet it'll make you wish you were here with us. If you come and visit Thailand, I'll take you here. :)

Alrighty, two blog updates in two days is pretty intense especially with photos and videos. :) Don't start expecting this! I just knew if I didn't get these up before we leave on our trip, I wouldn't get it done for  a while. 

I hope you have a fabulous rest of your week and a great weekend! 

Hugs and Love Sent from Thailand,

Lainy J.

Too Much Time on Our Hands? I think not.

Greetings to All,

It's just an ordinary week in Mae Sa Luang or so one would think. I have been asked the usual question from my students if I have a boyfriend. They are determined because I wear a ring, I must have a boyfriend somewhere. In fact, one of my students said, "Aj., I think you have a fee'... a fee'...." I just looked at him with a confused look (thinking why yes I do have feet thank you for noticing). However, I wasn't sure what exactly he was trying to say. Then he looked it up in the dictionary and showed me. Can you guess what the word is? Yes, fiance. They are convinced I have a boyfriend, a fiance or something back home. Maybe even two husbands somewhere! :) Really?!?! Good ol' Mae Sa Luang! I simply have to laugh, shake my head and move on. 

Just a side note, they had already asked me a couple times before. This was last week, but apparently they can't take me at my word. I took discussion class for Erika on Friday because she had to go to immigration and it was raining and whatnot. So, I thought no big deal, I can teach it. Well, I didn't know what to have a discussion class on. It's the first year students and I only teach them Bible. So, I had them draw a picture of their family and then they had to explain and answer questions. It went really well. They then wanted to know about my family so I showed them a picture. (And by the way, the students think you are all beautiful!) They asked if I had a boyfriend. I reaffirmed that I did not. At the end of class, one of girls said, "Ajan, my brother is very handsome." Again, you just have to laugh. I think everyone in my life is trying to play yenta. 

Hopefully that brought you all a laugh. Probably not as many laughs as it does me. If you come to Thailand, be prepared, you will be ask many, many, many times if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend or if you're married. They'll be more than happy to make stories up about you too. :) Something all of us teachers have had to learn to deal/ cope with. I mean I never dreamt my reputation would be for having 2 husbands. Sigh!

This past Sunday night Erika, Nathan and I went to a Japanese dance performance in Chiang Mai. It was very modern and very interesting. There were three pieces. One of which I was trying to figure out the meaning the entire time, the other was pretty cool, and the last one left me with a confused look on my face. It was a great experience! So Erika and I were inspired! We decided to create modern art in our living room! You get to see it free of charge. :)

Notice the pretty pillows! We got new pillow cases and were rearranging the living room, when we decided to turn everything upside down to see Nathan's reaction to our "art."

Something wrong here? 

This is my personal favorite. Does it speak to you? ;)

When you live in a small and I mean small village, the little things in life bring you humor and we were quite delirious, lacking sleep. We giggled very hard while arranging our pieces of art! 

This week is a short week for us as August 12th is the Queen's Birthday. We get the day off. As some of you may remember the Queen's birthday is Mother's day here in Thailand. (Mom, Happy Thai Mother's Day!!) The three of us teachers and all the students are going to the Mae Sa Waterfalls. I'm excited! It should be fun. I've not been yet, but I've heard it's beautiful from one of our students. I'm hoping to get lots of photos to share with all of you. 

This weekend, Erika, Nathan, LaNuNan (our 3rd year student) and I will be heading to the refugee camp to visit some families who are Church of God members. I have never been here either. It should be an exciting trip. I'm looking forward to meeting the families. Even though we don't speak the same language and communication is difficult, I know just spending time with them will be good. Prayers for traveling safety would be appreciated as it is rainy season and could cause potential hazards. Also just that everything works smoothly with going into the camps. This should pose a problem, but prayers are appreciated nonetheless. 

School is running smoothly praises be to God. All my classes are going well. Bible is challenging, yet fun. English I really have a lot of fun teaching. My two students are great. They keep me on my toes and smiling. There's a lot of head shaking that goes on as well. Another story I want to share. This past week I gave my students a test in English, which they did quite well on and I was pleased. Anyway, they had pictures and next to them were sentences that the animal said. They had to use quotation marks correctly. One was of a monkey and the sentence was "I am angry because of what you did." I showed the monkey shaking its fist and making a terrible face. One of my students, the class clown, wrote, '"I am angry because of what you did," said WiChai.' I laughed so hard when I read it. I was jumping up and down inside because the grammar was correct and he wasn't confused. He was being his silly self. Legacy's class clown. :) They keep me on my toes, but I love it! 

I think that's enough stories and details for one blog post. I even got a couple pictures in there. (Just for you Messy!)

Please continue to remember us in your prayers. We can use all the prayers we can get and appreciate your faithfulness in praying. I love getting your emails and comments. They simply make my day! It's nice to hear about what's happening with all of you. 

Sending Lots of Love and Hugs from Thailand,

Lainy J.

SnAkEs!!!

So, yesterday I was trying to come with something to write about, but nothing significant has happened that I thought was worth posting. Therefore, I decided to wait until something interesting happened that all of you might enjoy reading about. So I have a story...

As many of you know, I don't like snakes. I would even venture to say I hate them. They simply freak me out. Luckily for me, my students, (well, Thais in general for that matter) do not like them either. When I was getting read to load up my car and head to LA for camp and my master's classes, what would you imagine was in between me and the car? An ugly snake. I was pretty scared and I think I scared him just as badly as he scared me. My mom went out and looked and there was no snake to be found. Apparently I looked pretty freaked out when I ran back to the house with my bags. My loving dad said, "Don't they have those in Thailand?" So sweet when you're freaked if you ask me. Haha... I love you dad. Well, in answer to your question, they most definitely have snakes here. Unfortunately for me, upon my one week marker of being in Thailand, I saw one. Not only did I see one, I was on my way to the farm driving the motorbike (the first time I've driven since I've been back) and there goes this snake bouncing across the road. Literally bobbing up and down. It really freaked me out, but I was calm enough. It was on the windy part of the road out to farm, too. Of course! I was fearful that he was stuck to the motorbike or he might bite me. But all is well. All parties involved survived. I wasn't so happy about my new little friend surviving. :( But alas and I'm hoping it was a one time encounter as I'm sure he does too. Being run over by a motorbike doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun to me. 

Hopefully, this brought a little chuckle to your day. What a great way to start off the week! :)

I taught my first full day of classes this past Friday and all went well. I'm still trying to figure out where my first year Bible class. That seems to be the biggest challenge for me right now. Teaching Bible in English to speakers of Thai, Lahu, and Karen can be difficult. I am over my jet lag, which is a good thing too. :)

Please remember all of us at Legacy in your prayers. Pray for no more snakes too. :)

Lots of Love and Hugs,

Lainy J.