Did anyone bring trail mix or a respirator?

On October 3, I began my day with an 8 hour drive to Tamui Village, where a celebration is held every year to commemorate the end of Buddhist lent. Kati, Jenny, and I roomed together in a wooden house on stilts, which was very nice. Both our meh and paw were also very gracious and they fed us very well. Other than having dinner, which consisted of sticky rice, mushroom soup, and an omelet, nothing too exciting happened, which was good because we were all pretty exhausted and collapsed onto our mat underneath a pink mosquito net.

The next day marked the day of the celebration! We woke up, ab naamed (showered- something that is done at least twice a day to appease our homestay families who insist that we shower every time we sweat: a.k.a. ALL THE TIME), and then met up with everyone else to go to the Pha Taem National Park. We were given 2 hours to explore the park, and many of us wanted to see the closest water fall, a mere 4 miles away (each way). I, along with some friends decided to keep up a fast-paced walk to get to our destination, which was a hilarious adventure. It was an outrageously hot day, and after 10 minutes we were all having trouble getting air into our lungs, keeping our legs moving forward, and seeing through the sweat pouring into our eyes…Naturally, I was the one having the most difficulty, but I trekked on in order to see the waterfall.

Sadly, after hiking for a mile, we realized that we had gone in the opposite direction and were forced to walk another mile back to the parking lot where we waited for everyone else to join us. However, we were able to take in stunning views of the Mekong River and of Laos, which is on the other side of the river. A couple of times, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it back to the parking lot, but we rested many times, and my friends always made sure to make fun of my inability to partake in any kind of physical exertion to keep me motivated. Although I didn’t see the waterfall, I still had a wonderful time, and it made me appreciate the people who are on this trip even more because it was so much fun!

Afterwards, we returned to the village, and Kati and I took a nap, and then woke up 2 hours later and talked to some friends who were living next door. It then reached 5 PM, and we were on our way to the edge of the river where we sat on a porch made of bamboo that sat on the side of a hill. We had a stunning view of the river, which was good because we were on the lookout for the Naga, the protector of Buddha who is a snake with 7 heads, since it’s supposed to shoot fireballs out of the water to mark the end of Buddhist lent. After spending some time there, Kati, Jenny, and I made our way back to our house and had dinner with our meh. We were all pretty stuffed, but didn’t want to be rude, so we ate an entire omelet. Our meh must have thought we were ravenous since we ate an entire omelet, so she made us another one, which we had to power through…Quite funny to see 3 girls cramming food into their mouths while smiling and yet complaining of overeating in a different language.

Out meh then took us down the road where we saw glowing orbs of orange light scattered throughout the sky in a whimsical path toward the moon. We then saw that the orbs were huge paper lanterns that were lit inside and then pushed into the sky where they slowly made their way through the night sky. We then went back to the porch on the hill, where we saw long boats filled with hundreds of candles floating down the river. It was the most surreal moment that I’ve ever experienced in my life because it was so beautiful and unlike anything I’ve ever seen before in my life. I actually felt that I was part of anime movie where floating lights hang in the sky, boats on fire pass through the night, and mystical serpents slither just beneath the surface of the water. The night was made perfect by locals who sang and played local instruments for all of us to enjoy traditional music. We never saw the Naga, but I still believe that it exists…Maybe I’ll see it the next time I’m in Thailand!

At 11 PM some of us got into the vans and made our way to Bangkok, a 10 hour drive (our drivers are absolutely amazing!), to march during World Habitat Day, October 5, to demand the rights of Thai slum dwellers. We held paper mini-banners that said, “Everyone, everywhere deserves the right to housing. Don’t hurt people just because they’re poor.” We marched to parliament and a loudspeaker conveyed what the slum dwellers wanted from the Thai government, and representatives for the Prime Minister came out and spoke to us. Sadly, yet unsurprisingly, they said that they would do all they could for the 1 million people in Thailand who live in slums, but that the real problem in getting any improvements made lay in the Department of Development, which was simply a way to pass the blame on someone else.

We then marched to the U.N. Embassy, got lunch, and made our way back to Khon Kaen. It was a crazy day, but one that I feel so fortunate to have had. The slum dwellers were passionate, peaceful, and dedicated. They have nowhere else to go because they are too poor to afford to live anywhere else, and they are prepared to confront the Thai government until change is seen. It was great to stand in the middle of a crowd wearing all different ribbons to signify the different slums they came from, and holding brightly colored signs that declared their needs.

I love this program so far, and it has exceeded all of my expectations. For the past month and a half I’ve been able to walk in the shoes of people whose lives are drastically different from my own, and in doing so, I have learned more about myself, how the world works, and human nature than I have in the past 20 years.