Rubber Trees

While in the south a group of us were invited to a friends rubber tree plantation to help spread fertilizer. It was really fun and educational. Here's some video of the plantation with an explanation of how to harvest and process rubber. I was very impressed with K's knowledge. Hopefully you can hear her, I haven't got the sound worked out so well.







Coming up next....Cashew Nuts!

Kate in Trang

I have the privilege of knowing some pretty amazing people. One of them is Kate (she's so amazing that I'm using her name!) She has lived in Thailand for 9 years and 7 of those in Trang. She was assigned with 3 others to help start a group there and has seen growth reach into the 20s with 73 at the Memorial. She's also helping with sign-language there.

This is Kate, ever so diligent in her work.

She uses a motor bike to get around. I sat on the back.
She doesn't mind getting her hands dirty with fish guts. She might of even enjoyed it a bit. You'd be proud, Will.
This is one of the places we visited. She found 5 deaf in the area and visits them each week. They are all proud to have their own book and are making good progress. All 5 attended the Memorial along with 6 other deaf. Kate is also an amazing cook. She has some limitations with her health so she has become quite creative in what she makes. For example, we had a bean/chicken stew with black beans, kidney beans and mung beans. We ate it on toasted rice cakes with cucumbers, lettuce and other fresh veggies. Another day she made an 'all raw' dish with chopped carrots, cabbage, green mango, lemon grass, and sprouted mung beans. To really season things she made a paste of garlic, olive oil and ground black sesame seeds. YUM! Unfortunately I didn't get a photo, I was too excited to eat it. All the dishes were very colorful as you can imagine with so many fresh veggies.

Even though I don't have as many friends here in Thailand as I do back home, the friends that I do have are really special. I hope you get to meet Kate someday.

Traveling by Train

I took the night train to southern Thailand. I really love traveling by train! Looking out at the country side always inspires personal meditation. I get lost in my thoughts. I always come prepared with a book and magazines but they inevitably end up just sitting open on my lap or getting pushed aside while I stare out the window. Maybe it's living in a big city with too many buildings, concrete and people. When I lived in rural Athens I loved sitting on the porch just staring at my surroundings in happy contemplation. I guess this is my Thailand equivalent.

There's so much to look at. Palm trees and their many varieties, banana trees, rows of rubber trees, mountains, rice fields with people bent over working, water buffalo grazing, and all the Thai villages with colorful train stations. I love it!

Here are a few photos that don't do it much justice but it gives you an idea. The sun was setting and it was hard to get a good shot with the light.

The Clash

You've probably heard about the clash between the military and the red shirts in Bkk yesterday. The shocking thing is that 20 people died and the sky train was closed. I'm really glad to be in the south. The government issued several statements on TV saying they're trying to meet with red shirt leaders to come to an agreement. We'll see. I'll arrive back in Bkk on Thursday morning. I'll fill you in.

I've had a great time in Trang so far. I have photos to post from our 3 FULL days in the ministry but I'll wait til I get back to Bkk to post them. Tomorrow we head to the beach (more photo opportunities). Tuesday a local sister invited the cong to her rubber tree plantation. We're all going to help with the fertilizing. I'm very curious how trees make tires. I'll be sure to report my findings.

Fleeing from the Water Festival

The hot season is full on. I nearly passed out after walking the streets for a few hours this morning. I managed to get home and rest in my apartment with my new air-conditioner on full blast. The heat usually peaks mid-April around 100 degrees F.

I have some time off starting next Friday for 10 days. It's during the Thai new year called Songkran (also called the Water Festival). I usually stay busy with little projects at home for the 3 days. But last year after getting doused with water a few times just going to the 7/11 I decided that this year I was definitely fleeing Bangkok. People really go nuts with throwing water at people. The worst is the people riding around in the back of trucks with a big barrel of water splashing anyone they pass. My friend in the south said it's not such a big deal down there so I leave for Trang Thursday on the night train. I'll be there for a week. Most of the time will be spent in service but I'm hoping to go to the beach one day.

The protesting has continued but not enough to cause major issues. It's more like an on going party for them. Plus all the protesters are getting paid by the politicians they're supporting. Today we watched a big group of them piled into the back of trucks driving down the main road. I'm guessing they'll go straight from the protesting to the water festival...still in the back of trucks.

Snow Days vs. Mob Days

Throughout the winter I've been watching the weather feeling very jealous at all those snow days. We of course don't have any snow days here. But we do have......Mob Days!

The protesters are at it again. This time it's the infamous "Red Shirts". They're demanding the parliament dissolve, the prime minister step down and have new elections. Of course that won't happen. So the read shirts are storming the town.

It's been going on since Friday. Each day we're hoping for a "Mob Day". Haven't had one yet but we did get released early Friday. On Sunday we saw them marching by on the main road. Nothing dangerous just holding up traffic. Not sure if the mob day will happen, but it's much more likely than a snow day. Gotta have some kinda hope!

I can see!!

I finally got laser surgery on my eyes. I've been thinking about it for awhile and finally saved enough for it. A friend here had it done at an eye hospital nearby and recommended it. I had to wear my glasses for 6 (loong) weeks prior. I was so ready to toss them!

Rather than the well-known Lasik surgery I had a procedure done called PRK. The outcome is the same but the recovery time is longer and a bit more uncomfortable. I had the procedure done on Wednesday late afternoon and expected to be fine by Thursday. However, it wasn't until Saturday that I could really open my eyes and get around without any trouble.

My friend, N, who had recommended the hospital to me offered to look after me following the precodure. I went home with her Wednesday and ended up staying until Saturday morning. It was actually really fun staying with her and her husband. I was so grateful to them for their help! It's easy to take for granted how much we need our eyes.

Here's a photo just a few hours after the procedure. It was pretty amazing how well I could see immediately afterwards. Then they put these patches over my eyes. I look a bit like a bullfrog, eh?