Dear readers,
It has officially been one week since I joined the group of volunteers at their base in the Phang Nga region of Thailand and I am slowly slowly becoming accustomed to life in the very small and very quiet village.
The setup consists of (currently) 9 international volunteers and 7 members of staff. The rooms are of a 6 person sharing basis and are modest but comfortable and most importantly, roomy. We also share a big common room consisting of a kitchen, dining area, small lounge and projector screen setup. This is where people tend to gather to forage for food, read, study, lesson prep and flop. The hardest parts to get used to have been the screams coming from the cold showers (there is no hot water in the village) and the noise created from the torrential rain falling on the tin roof. Imagine trying to sleep with an orchestra of 4 bongo drummers, 6 maracas and 12 riceshakers giving the performance of a lifetime. The dogs and chickens that have kindly offered to patrol the street outside 24/7 also duitifully let us know if anyone or anything comes down our road at any point dur Nv the day and night by howling mercilessly at the unwelcome intruder. They are very vigilant....
Living in a region which in 2004 was completely flattened by the tsunami, our village is only now beginning to recover from the devastation and loss of lives brought about by the freak catastrophe. Very sobering. The memorial in the village of Baan Nam Khem shows the size of the tsunami wave that struck the region. Even though smaller that one would expect, it was the current of the waves that caused more destruction that the size of the waves themselves. More people died from the second wave having re emerged from safety to help those in need thinking that the worst was over.
The worst part is that no one really knows how many people perished in 2004 due to the thousands of undocumented Burmese refugees who were never included in the statistics, and whose bodies were never recovered. Despite the incidents of 2004 still being so fresh in people's minds, it is truly amazing to see how smiley the locals are and how quickly they have managed to reconstruct their lives. This being said, there is still so much that needs doing.
In terms of my input, I have taken the decision to join the conservation program here instead of teaching (fewer volunteers and more time spent outdoors). Seeing as the majority of schools that we work with are currently closed for the holidays I figured I would be of more use out in the field so to speak. I have quite literally doven head first into the swamps of Phang Nga. Having treked in water up to our knees, through jungles with the most unfortunate looking bugs and crawlers, and having submerged my arms up to my shoulders in mangrove swamp waters, I have definitely challenged the insectophobe in me. Even though my team feels like I may be over exaggerating, I think I convinced them of my phobia when a large spider fell into our kayak yesterday. I believe my interpretive dance of fear and panic deserved at least a 9/10 for effort. I don't think I have ever folded that way before in my life.
The best part so far however, are the turtles! The organization is currently working on a headstart program of baby turtle incubation where we put some serious elbow grease into scrubbing tanks, scrubbing baby turtles and applying a special purple iodine solution on them to help with infection which gets literally everywhere. Two days of scrubbing later, it no longer looks like a large balloon filled with purple dye exploded all over me. The stuff just does NOT come off!
I am currently writing this post sat comfortably on a long distance bus where my time of meditation has brought meto the following conclusions:
1. When on a Thai bus, bring an umbrella. The airconditioning system very considerately waters you to make sure you are constantly refreshed.
2. There is no escape from the rain. Put a jacket on, suck it up and move on with life as the locals seem to be able to and still maintain a smile on their face. We brits have a lot to learn from them.
3. If it looks like a bug, feels like a bug, and crawls like a bug, run. Screaming. Because it will follow you, find out where you live and slowly slowly make you completely paranoid.
4. 3o clock sharp could mean anywhere from 2.30 to 4.30.
5. Make sure you like rice before you visit.
6. ALWAYS check your boots before you put them on as the toads and centipedes here have a long running game of hide and seek which one eventually and unwillingly participates in.
I am writing this 1/3 of the way trough a 4 long bus journey with some of the volunteers. We are looking to go away from a beautiful rainy beach escape to one of the local beach towns. I am sitting next to a lovely 60/70 year old Thai man and I am about to offer him an Oreo (yes there is a guy and yes he sells western food for a very special price just for me... dodgy doesn't quite cover it) and befriend him.
So far so good!
It has officially been one week since I joined the group of volunteers at their base in the Phang Nga region of Thailand and I am slowly slowly becoming accustomed to life in the very small and very quiet village.
The setup consists of (currently) 9 international volunteers and 7 members of staff. The rooms are of a 6 person sharing basis and are modest but comfortable and most importantly, roomy. We also share a big common room consisting of a kitchen, dining area, small lounge and projector screen setup. This is where people tend to gather to forage for food, read, study, lesson prep and flop. The hardest parts to get used to have been the screams coming from the cold showers (there is no hot water in the village) and the noise created from the torrential rain falling on the tin roof. Imagine trying to sleep with an orchestra of 4 bongo drummers, 6 maracas and 12 riceshakers giving the performance of a lifetime. The dogs and chickens that have kindly offered to patrol the street outside 24/7 also duitifully let us know if anyone or anything comes down our road at any point dur Nv the day and night by howling mercilessly at the unwelcome intruder. They are very vigilant....
Living in a region which in 2004 was completely flattened by the tsunami, our village is only now beginning to recover from the devastation and loss of lives brought about by the freak catastrophe. Very sobering. The memorial in the village of Baan Nam Khem shows the size of the tsunami wave that struck the region. Even though smaller that one would expect, it was the current of the waves that caused more destruction that the size of the waves themselves. More people died from the second wave having re emerged from safety to help those in need thinking that the worst was over.
The worst part is that no one really knows how many people perished in 2004 due to the thousands of undocumented Burmese refugees who were never included in the statistics, and whose bodies were never recovered. Despite the incidents of 2004 still being so fresh in people's minds, it is truly amazing to see how smiley the locals are and how quickly they have managed to reconstruct their lives. This being said, there is still so much that needs doing.
In terms of my input, I have taken the decision to join the conservation program here instead of teaching (fewer volunteers and more time spent outdoors). Seeing as the majority of schools that we work with are currently closed for the holidays I figured I would be of more use out in the field so to speak. I have quite literally doven head first into the swamps of Phang Nga. Having treked in water up to our knees, through jungles with the most unfortunate looking bugs and crawlers, and having submerged my arms up to my shoulders in mangrove swamp waters, I have definitely challenged the insectophobe in me. Even though my team feels like I may be over exaggerating, I think I convinced them of my phobia when a large spider fell into our kayak yesterday. I believe my interpretive dance of fear and panic deserved at least a 9/10 for effort. I don't think I have ever folded that way before in my life.
The best part so far however, are the turtles! The organization is currently working on a headstart program of baby turtle incubation where we put some serious elbow grease into scrubbing tanks, scrubbing baby turtles and applying a special purple iodine solution on them to help with infection which gets literally everywhere. Two days of scrubbing later, it no longer looks like a large balloon filled with purple dye exploded all over me. The stuff just does NOT come off!
I am currently writing this post sat comfortably on a long distance bus where my time of meditation has brought meto the following conclusions:
1. When on a Thai bus, bring an umbrella. The airconditioning system very considerately waters you to make sure you are constantly refreshed.
2. There is no escape from the rain. Put a jacket on, suck it up and move on with life as the locals seem to be able to and still maintain a smile on their face. We brits have a lot to learn from them.
3. If it looks like a bug, feels like a bug, and crawls like a bug, run. Screaming. Because it will follow you, find out where you live and slowly slowly make you completely paranoid.
4. 3o clock sharp could mean anywhere from 2.30 to 4.30.
5. Make sure you like rice before you visit.
6. ALWAYS check your boots before you put them on as the toads and centipedes here have a long running game of hide and seek which one eventually and unwillingly participates in.
I am writing this 1/3 of the way trough a 4 long bus journey with some of the volunteers. We are looking to go away from a beautiful rainy beach escape to one of the local beach towns. I am sitting next to a lovely 60/70 year old Thai man and I am about to offer him an Oreo (yes there is a guy and yes he sells western food for a very special price just for me... dodgy doesn't quite cover it) and befriend him.
So far so good!
No comments:
Post a Comment