Although it’s not raining cats and dogs outside, it is raining quite hard out, and if you were to step into the streets of Khon Kaen, you might think that cats and dogs had literally just fallen from the sky. They litter the streets here, so I constantly have to watch out for cars, other pedestrians, and animals while walking around. The cats are more domesticated than the dogs, but both wander in and out of stores and restaurants, and they are accustomed to the crazy traffic that pollutes the city. Like the dogs and cats, I find myself roaming the streets in a slightly lost manner, but I’m never truly lost. Like the residents of Khon Kaen who feed and pet the dogs and cats, the people of Khon Kaen are all willing to lend helping hands to the American trying her best to communicate with the locals and gather some sort of directional sense of the city.
On September 13, I went for a run in the morning. The most exercise that I receive during the day is walking the 2 minutes that it takes to get to the 7-Eleven everyday, which is pathetic. I haven’t been feeling the best the last couple of days and I think that it may in part be due to the fact that I haven’t had any physical activity in the last 3 weeks. To remedy this problem, I went running at 7 AM in the fields right behind our apartment, and it was the most beautiful place that I have ever been. There were orchards, rice fields, trees lining the path…It was surreal! Afterwards, I had my Thai midterm, which wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It was 20 minutes of me having a conversation with Ajaan Pote, and I feel that I am at least somewhat conversational in Thai. Then, we had another lecture, and this one was quite boring…it was on the societal structures in Thailand, and was presented in a dull manner. Afterwards, I played badminton with some friends and went out to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Peace Time Café, which was really fun!
Then, I ran to my process facilitator meeting. I am excited to be a process facilitator, but I am also pretty nervous because it involves a lot of work, and I feel as though there aren’t enough hours in a day as it is already. I’m sure it will be fine and that I’ll make time, but it’s slightly nerve wracking. I learned that being a process facilitator means planning “where we’re at” sessions as well as monitoring the group’s progress and interpersonal relations. It seems like an interesting job, but I think that I’ll learn a lot from the experience.
On September 14, we went to the jungle wat again. It was our last day of orientation, and I was relieved because I’m ready to tackle the actual program! We were all absolutely exhausted because we’ve been going non-stop with lectures, Thai tutors, and preparing for our midterm, but we were all really excited to move onto the actual units (agriculture, slums/landfills, water, and mining). That night, we had a party at the interns’ house, which is in a village that’s 15 minutes away from where the students live. It was nice to hang out, dance, and eat the night away!
Yesterday, September 15, was a personal day. However, it wasn’t that personal since we all had a paper due the next day. I went to the library with Jenny, which made me miss the library at Goucher. The KKU library is nice, but the shades are drawn in every single room, so the only lighting is fluorescent, and it all felt so sterile (very orderly and impersonal). Oddly enough, I found it slightly refreshing to spend an entire day doing homework since that is what many weekends are spent doing in America. I was able to get a lot of work done, and afterwards, I went to the night market with some friends. It’s so lively there, and I was even able to hold a puppy that was for sale! It reminded me of when I went to a pet store with Sam, Jordan, and Steve, and it just so happened to be puppy night! Then, I met up with my roommate, some of her friends, and some of mine, and we went to the most amazing pad thai restaurant for dinner. Unfortunately, I have lost a lot of my appetite and have pretty bad stomach cramps. I think that it’s because I’m just trying to get used to the food here (everything is either noodles or rice, and it is all fried), but no one seems to have as much trouble adjusting as I am. Oh well, I’m sure that by the end of this trip my stomach will be invincible!
Today, September 16, I had Thai class for 3 hours, and then had a lecture on organic farming. Tomorrow I depart for Yasothorn Village (Thai people pronounce it “willage,” which I find to be incredibly endearing), which is an agriculturally based community. Apparently, 95% of Isaan farmers use fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides to increase their annual crop yields. A method that is heavily endorsed by the Thai government since the international market never seems to be satiated by the large amounts of Jasmine rice produced by Thailand. I’m so excited to go to Yasothorn because organic farming is an issue that I support, but one which I don’t know much about either.
I will be in Yasothorn for a week, so I will be out of touch for that period of time, but I eagerly await sharing my adventures with you when I return! I’m sending happiness and love your way!
Sa wa dee ka (both “hello” and “goodbye” in Thai…for a male, instead of “ka” you would substitute “crop”), Katie and Pee Bear
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