Ayuttyha...Temples....ruins....wats...oh my...

I have been fighting writing this week. I guess, maybe, well....maybe, it is because I am leaving in less than a week! Maybe, I am just busier than normal. hah! Maybe I am just being lazy!

This past week was a short one. I got back from hiking Phukradueng on Monday, so I didn't work. I ended up catching up on sleep and enjoying an afternoon with an American friend I have made here. We submersed ourselves in the world of Starbucks and A Christmas Carol in 3D, of course. It is funny how a mall here can make you feel like you are back in the states.

They freeze the theatres here, so the chill mixed with the 3D falling snow made me feel like I was back in Colorado. Unfortunately, the second we walked out of the mall the wall of 90+ degrees hit us with a fierce blow. Sometimes, I feel like I can't catch my breath; the heat is intense. Lucky for me...I'll be home in a few days in the frigid cold. Then, I can complain about that. Haha...well, I honestly have enjoyed the summer feel of Thailand. It has been a nice change from the usual Colorado cold. Bet you all wish you were here!

The bars this week were again a bit hard on me. Of course, entering that environment is always rough; I think sometimes I just assume it will be different. We went to a bar and chatted with 3 girls we have met before. It is always neat seeing familiar faces, especially in the bars. The lack of communication is overcome by smiles and giggles. You realize that they are beginning to see that you aren't there for what they can give, but to give. We just want them to feel special. To feel a little hope. Realize that someone cares. Sometimes a smile can do that. Amazingly, a little laughter really can brighten someone's day.

They ended up telling us that one of the ladies at Rahab had been working there at night to make extra money. Of course, non of us knew this, so the stunned look of shock was plastered all over our faces. We pulled ourselves together and finished the conversation just as the girls were called up for their shift to dance. We bowed in gratitude for their time (typical Thai fashion) and left for the evening.

You know...it's funny how hard it is to see someone after you just learned their big secret. They of course, rarely know that you know, but the intensity of the moment makes it feel like they do. Like their just waiting for you to call them out on their big mistake, secret, whatever you want to call it. But really, they have no idea.

We ended up leaving the news in the hands of the bosses and I honestly don't know if I'll know what will happen from the situation. I hope and pray that she will see that the money from the bars isn't worth it. It isn't hopeful, isn't loving, isn't anything that we need.

If I find out...well, I will update you if I hear anything.

My hair classes were interrupted by preparations for the upcoming Christmas party. Not to worry though, it was fun watching the ladies get excited about reaching out to the women in the bars. We hold a Christmas party annually to invite all the bar girls to. They don't even get Christmas off, so we hope to give them a night to eat, get presents, and feel loved in a real way! It is a really neat opportunity to reach the women in the bars and allow them to see what it can be like to leave the bars. We have a tree, wreaths, and crazy color tinsel everywhere around Rahab. The girls are busily preparing skits and dance routines to share with the bar girls. They even have a dance where they wear clown wigs and white gloves. Michael Jackson, anyone? haha I am not going to lie, I have had my share of giggling and teasing while trying to figure out what the wigs and the gloves have to do with the song. This is Thailand...that is the only logical reasoning! haha

On Thursday we headed off to a nearby town called Ayuttyha. It is the former capital of Thailand. I honestly don't know when, but it is filled with temples and old ruins of temples. The ruins were amazing. The architecture of each of them was so unique. You could see the different decades as they were forming into what they now call temples (wats). We even got to see a Camia style ruin. It is the same style that is found in Cambodia. The style that was used in the Jungle Book for the monkey temples. Each detail probably took hours to create and they built miles and miles of ruins in Ayuttyha.

We went to a balloon festival and watched the hot air balloons lift off into the sunset. They even did a night glow where I learned how to take night pictures with Alex's photography tips. I've posted some pics on Facebook.

There was also a concert in the ruins that evening. They had an orchestra and a "diva" or singer. She sung Thai songs and English songs with the orchestra as her accompaniment. It was pretty incredible. The evening wrapped up with Thai dancing by three different groups of women. It is a unique form of dancing where they use their hands and feet to portray the majority of the dance. I found out they spend years bending and stretching their hands and feet so they bend back in ways that I have never seen before. Apparently, the farther you can bend back your fingers and toes, the more beautiful. Interesting definition of beautiful if you ask me. I tried. Failed miserably. Although my fingers can bend a good way back...my wrists didn't even come close. It is an awful feeling. I can't imagine training your hands and feet to do the things they do.

The weekend ended with the King's Birthday. This is bigger than America's Independence Day. Fireworks for almost an hour. Partying in the streets. Markets open everywhere all day and all night long. Food everywhere you look. Dancing and shows on stages in every city in Thailand. All for their King. It is fascinating, the dedication and almost worship-like response they have for him. It is a bit strange, in a way, but I guess if you have ruled over a buddhist country for over 60years. Well, you become like one of their gods...just a theory of course. They all even wore his color. I guess he was wearing a pink shirt on the day of his release from the hospital (he is very ill now) and well, the whole country was wearing pink for days surrounding his birthday. It was crazy! Sarah, Alex and I were the only people in Ayuttyha not wearing pink. I almost felt disrespectful, but if you are a foreigner...you just get away with things...haha.

I can't believe I leave in less than a week. It is crazy! I'll be seeing some of you soon. It will be good to be back in the states...even though I will freeze!!!

Until next week!...

Laura

Phukradueng and Turkey Day

Sometimes, we have girls leave Rahab, go back to the bars. Normally it is out of desperation for money. Money controls people and I have never seen it more controlling than I do in Thailand. Nang is one of our ladies. She joined Rahab about 1 1/2 months ago. She is an incredibly beautiful young woman from Isaan. If you'll remember Isaan is the poorest provence of Thailand. She came to be a prostitute in Patpong because her family was in desperate need of money. They were in debt to many people, so they decided to make a deal with a loan shark. Nang became a sort of security on the loan. She would work and pay off the loan, and if it wasn't paid well the loan shark, in a way, would own her. It is a sick situation that happens more often than anyone even realizes. So Nang came to Bangkok in search of work. She ended up in the bars because she would be able to make the most money with her education level. It is unfortunate, but most of the bar girls in Patpong only have up to an 8th grade education. She worked in the bars for a fewmonths before Rahab found her. She decided to leave and make jewelry with us and search out her options for other trades she could do in order to help pay off her family's debt. She was such a joy to have around....every day she would ask me how I was. Always caring about everyone around her. I could tell that she really enjoyed her surroundings.

About 2 weeks ago Nang went to visit her village. We hadn't seen her since, at least not until Tuesday. Every tuesday night is bar night, so we went to one of the bars in the area and she was there. Dancing on the stage. I blinked a few times, trying to focus on what I was seeing. Confusion and denial started to overwhelm my mind. No, no, that could be Nang. As soon as her shift was up for dancing she ran over to greet us. I couldn't believe it. It was really her. She started to explain her situation and how unhappy she was.

This was all translated to me...but you can get the jist of what they are talking about because of their animation and hand movements. It was intense. She was so upset that she had to come back to the bars, but her family had told her that she wasn't making enough money, and they needed more. So, she needed to do what she did before. (just a note: sometimes Thai families know what their daughters, wives, and moms are doing, but for the most part, no one really knows, and if they do, it is ignored) Her family had forced her back into prostitution because of their poor financing and choices. My heart was broken for her. We made it very clear that she was welcome to come back to Rahab and have lunch with us or come and pray with us, whatever she wanted. She was welcome. We were there to support her. She was ashamed though. It was pretty obvious thatwe will have to assure her even more before she will come back even for a visit. It was really tough....really tough. You just want to save them all. Pay off their debt and hope that they never, ever have to sell themselves again, but it doesn't work like that. They will either create more debt or they will then believe that their child, mom, or daughter is now making very good money and so she will be expected to send even more home. It is a vicious cycle.

When you start a week like that, you just want to be with family. Especially on Thanksgiving. This year, though, I would have to settle for the 90 degree humid land of Thailand. I didn't even think celebrating it was going to happen, but I was happily surprised. I ended up getting asked by an American missionary that I had met at church if I wanted to come over and have thanksgiving with them. I have to say it was an incredible thanksgiving. For 5 hours I forgot I was in Thailand. I was submersed into southern accents and good southern cooking. There were about 40 people there. All missionaries. All coming together to support each other and build community. A pot luck to show how much they appreciate each other. It was amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better gift. We even had pumpkin pie. It is so neat to see the community and family that some organizations have. They didn't want anyone to be alone on thanksgiving. Everyone was connected. It felt like family in a way. I even got to play 2 rounds of Apples to Apples (one of my family's favorite games) and I even won(for the first time ever).

PhuKradueng:

I ended the week with an adventure. I met up with a thai girl and two girls, teaching at an international school (one canadian, one american) and headed up to Northern Thailand. We took a night bus (2 buses/8 hours) to Isaan to visit a National Park called Phu (mountain in Thai) Kradueng. Okay so I don't remember what Kradueng means. Sorry! Anyways, so we trekked up the mountain for about 6 miles. It was a pretty intense hike. The trails were small and steep and sometimes even had ladders just to get you to the next point. It was funny though, because about every km or so there would be a few restaurant stalls and bathrooms. Thai people are all about their food. They don't really go far without it. haha.

So, even though it was 6 miles and pretty intense, you could break 4 different times along the way. So, not to worry if your tired. Just get to the next resting point and stay as long as you like. It was funny, not at all how we do things in Colorado. There is only one trail up so it took us almost 5 hours. There were many people hiking and another thing about Thailand, you don't carry your stuff up. Someone takes it up for you. They strap many things to both sides of a bamboo pole, put a small pad for their shoulders on it, and hike all your stuff up for you. It was strange and made me feel really bad, but then I had to remember that this is how they make their living. This is what they do to survive.

So you shared the trail with the luggage carriers, the people walking with you and the people headed down the trail. At times it seemed a bit insane.

When we made it to the top, I felt more accomplished than I ever have before on a hike. Amazing how 6 miles can do that to you in Thailand.

We got to the top which is more like a plateau, found the camping area, got all of our stuff arranged, and headed to a nearby cliff on some bikes we rented to see the sunset. It was incredible. The bright orange sun coasting down below the mountains. You could see the mountain range and a large part of Isaan spread out before you. It was beautiful.

After dinner at a restaurant stall near our campsite...haha you will have to see pictures to see what camping in Thailand is really like....it is amusing....so, after dinner we went to bed. It was super dark and we hardly slept on the bus ride there, so

we were all ready for a good night's rest.

We woke up at 5am for the sunrise and walked to another cliff to watch. It was even more beautiful than the sunset. We grabbed a cup of coffee....yes, I know...really roughing it in Thailand, eh?.....and sat and watched the sun come up. It was bright and pink and orange...and the clouds around it were rimmed in the different colors.

We headed back to camp, packed, sent our stuff down, and hopped on some more bikes for a long bike around the top of the mountain. This was pretty much mountain biking with no helmet and a rickety old mountain bike that made you feel like it would fold under your weight. We squeaked along to a nearby waterfall and snapped a few pics, then headed off to the cliffs. Most of the cliffs are connected by trails so you can ride the trails along the edge of the mountain. It is breathtaking. For miles you ride and see mountain ranges and Thai towns down below. Pictures don't do it justice, but that seems to be the case no matter where you go.

After biking for awhile, we headed back down the mountain and spent the rest of the day in my Thai friend's village. I learned that Village in Thailand actually can mean anything for the hut kind of village to a neighborhood. Her village was a neighborhood. It was filled with people that were anxious to meet the white foreigners. We were greeted with a meal from a funeral procession. We met all of her family and learned that she was related to most of her village. They all worked together to make sure everyone was fed and cared for and even built houses and such for each other. They were a real community...looking out for each other. No one was without. It was really neat to see. We even visited her family's rice fields and watched them cut and collect the rice. I felt like I was really in Thailand. Living in the city is such a small piece of what Thailand is like. It was so nice to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and see what life was like for the people in Isaan. To really understand where most of the ladies of Rahab come from.

I arrived home at 4am this morning...thinking about how little time I have left here. Only two weeks. I can't believe how fast it has gone by. I am trying not to think about it too much, but it will definitely be hard to leave these people that have grown so dear to my heart.

Until next week.....

Laura

Blur...

This week was really tough on me. It got to a point where the exhaustion, the emotions and the interruptions were unbearable. I spent my few moments of silence wishing that I could just be at home. In my comfortable life. Where my shower is clean, I don’t have to watch my every step, a place, where I can fully be myself and feel perfect bliss.

It’s funny, though, because the more I thought about it the more I remembered my conversation that I had with my mom when I told her I was coming to Thailand. I told her I didn’t want to be comfortable anymore. I was done with the mundane life I was living and I was ready for a good challenge. Something to wake me up…help me to feel alive again. So, here I am complaining about being uncomfortable, when all along it is what I wanted. I know, I know, so just stop complaining Laura…

I wish I could say it was that easy. I have been reading this book called Secondhand Jesus. (thank you Vickie and Jackie) It is a book that really questions if you know where you stand in your own faith. If you have been believing someone else’s’ idea of who Jesus/God is or if you have built enough of a relationship with Him to really know for yourself. This week I was reading about the rumor that God wants us all to be happy and live lives of success and joy. I realized that it was in perfect line with how my week was going. It was a struggle, this week, and all I wanted was to feel comfortable. Isn’t that what God wants too? He doesn’t want me to suffer right? He doesn’t want me to feel exhausted every time I wake up? He doesn’t want me to see women getting abused and being disrespected to unfathomable degrees? Right?

It all brought me back to something that I always say to people…especially when I feel they aren’t walking the walk. Hah, but really I should take my own advice. I mean I kinda believed it before, but now, it seems so real, so truthful and something I should be acting on everyday. God calls us to take up our cross and follow him. The cross is a symbol of suffering. Something that is heavy and hard to bear, and yet, we are supposed to pick up our heavy cross, each day and follow Him. Experience a life that isn’t easy. That isn’t comfortable, that isn’t always filled with success and prosperity. Sucks, huh?! Well at least that is how I felt about it this week. God was asking me to pick up my cross and continue to serve the people of Thailand, and I was stuck thinking of ways to make myself more comfortable. Ways that I could serve myself and feel good about myself. It was a fight…and when you’re already tired. It is a battle you are bound to lose. I broke, I surrendered my desires, my wants, my hopes, and dreams all to God. Told Him to take it all and I would follow Him. I would be willing to bear my cross and continuing serving the people here. Don’t get me wrong, it is the farthest thing from easy to surrender, but the joy, the hope, the peace amidst the rough week seemed to settle in. I started to realize what it meant when my pastor said that we are to rest with God through the storm…..Life will rarely be easy….how will you react to your lack of comfort, your lack ease?...

The Bars this week felt heavy and it took everything in my not to go and yell at the foreign men I see in them weekly. To tell them how destructive they are being to themselves, these girls, and their families at home. I have to restrain myself sometimes….bite my lip and pray that I don’t punch someone. It’s awful. I am there to love the ladies in the bars. To talk with them about their families and portray the care that Rahab as an organization has for them. This week, maybe it was the exhaustion, maybe the heaviness I felt, I’m not really sure, but I cringed at every man in the place. All touching the women in horrifying ways, asking favors of them that I had never in my life seen or heard of, asking them to really work for the money they were about to spend on them. Ahhh!! It is killer to hear…especially when you recognize it as an American accent. The reminder that I live in the country and love the country that these men come from. It is a harsh reality.

I was feeling the heat and anger build towards these men, and I realized that I had forgotten to pay attention to the women there. I was sitting with 3 women that spoke a few phrases of English and they were all so beautiful. When the women of Patpong smile, and I mean really smile…not the seductive smile they use on the customers, but smile from deep within, it is the most beautiful thing. One of them was having a deep conversation with my Thai outreach partner. Now, I wish that you all could know what it is like to see emptiness in someone’s eyes, maybe some of you do, but this girl…she started the conversation with the same blank stare you get from all of them…and then a spark lit. I am not kidding. Something had grabbed hold of her attention. Something that made her feel. Feel emotions she hadn’t felt in a very long time. I don’t know a word of what was being said, but I could tell, something was said that began breaking down the wall she had built up for herself. The wall that had created a numbness in the midst of intense pain and suffering. She had to leave us to go up and dance for her 15min shift. I watched as she barely moved. Her mind was elsewhere….feeling, thinking about the things that had been said. The spark in her eye was so evident though…something made her different from the other girls now. It was awe-inspiring…we hope to return and see what continues with her.

The rest of my week was a blur of craziness and so much multi-tasking I thought my head was going to explode, but I made it through. I even picked up an accounting duty where I get to organize all of the donations into excel spreadsheets. Funny thing is, I actually enjoy it. I guess I just like a little variety.

My hair class went well this week. I can’t believe I have only 3 weeks left. It is insane. Where did time go? I love seeing the ladies grow in their confidence and I challenge them to help each other learn as well as try to broaden their skill set with my own knowledge of updos and makeup. It is fun to see them being creative. Thai culture teaches you to not be creative. You are only there to soak in knowledge, to soak in your surroundings…you don’t really create anything on your own. Not saying that never happens here, it is just that they have been brought up believing that they can’t be creative or really think for themselves. It is sad. I have to say hairdressers can’t be like that though…that is why I am trying with all my might to get them thinking again. To allow them to figure out the way they think they would do things. It is really fun to watch.

My exhaustion leaves me with not a lot to say…I don’t remember a lot of the week. It was jam-packed and I was tired. I spent the majority of the weekend resting though…ready to conquer another week…or at least I hope…..

Fan Death and Cockroaches...

Today a mixture of Korean and Thai Facts:

1. I just can't get over this one, so I have to share it. Koreans believe that if you are in a room with no windows or sealed windows and a fan is on, you will die. Funny huh? They have warnings on the tags of fans that you can die from Fan Death. Jackie even showed me a video of an English teacher in Korea trying to prove that it was impossible to die from a fan, no matter what the case. They think that it will suck all the oxygen out of the room and then create enough carbon dioxide to kill you. The other way you can die of Fan Death is the fan apparently creates enough coolness to get your body temperature down to a state where you can die of hypothermia. haha...I am sorry, but it was so funny. They even have timers on their fans to prevent either case from happening. Look it up on Wikipedia or You Tube if you want to know more.

2. Koreans don't steal things...at least not like in Thailand. Jackie and I could leave our purses at the table and go and get our food, that isn't a possibility in Thailand. In fact today, I sat in a bus seat with a stab mark in it. No joke. Sarah said that one time, on the bus, she felt someone tug at her bag. Once she got off she realized that someone had tried to cut it open. There was a gash in the back. I mean, seriously people! It was so odd to be able to leave my things around in Korea. In Thailand I have to hug my bag tight to my body. It is a necessity!

3. I have no idea how to explain this, and I may have said something like it before, but it is a daily problem, so I will state it again. Thais and Koreans...maybe other Asian cultures as well, they just have no concept of thinking about anyone but themselves. It is so odd. I go up to pay for something at the cashier, and no joke, I am 2 feet behind the person in front of me, and two people jump right in front of me. Not like slide in front of you smoothly or anything, they literally push me out of the way, so they can pay first. What the heck people!? I was struggling to not get frustrated to say the least. They also frequently stop in front of you while you are walking in a mall and such and look over in the window and start doing their hair and makeup and stuff. Men too! It is the craziest thing. You have to be on full alert all the time or you run into them. It is psychotic!

This week, I was a walking Zombie. I came back from Korea and realized that I may have stayed up too late every night. Haha, but you know what, it was worth every minute! My friend Jackie and I got to poke fun at Korean and Thai culture and reminisce about the time we have been in Asia so far. We shared conversations with depth we hadn't had in months. Made us both realize how valuable that is to have in our lives. It was so fun to just hand out and reconnect. God obviously knew we both needed it!

Although I was a zombie I managed to make it through the week. I didn't end up going to the bars this week, Sarah took my place, but she said that it went very well and a lot of the girls are starting to remember us and relationships are really being built! Yay! Yay for that. It is such a neat experience when you see one of them on their way to work and you can say hi and ask how they are doing and they remember you! It is amazing to see the impact that Rahab is able to make in the area of Patpong.

We had another Thai Craft fair on Saturday. It felt like the longest day ever, but I managed to make it through. We sold a lot of jewelry and the girls I went with are really growing in their confidence. They were able to help the customers and talk with them without my help. I was impressed with them. I sat back and watched for a lot of it. That is a good thing, you see, because they need to be able to do it on their own. If I chime in, they immediately give the whole conversation to me and they won't try, so I am learning to just answer questions and be there, only when necessary.

After the fair we went and dropped off all the jewelry back at Rahab. It was pouring so hard. There was 5 inches of water on the streets. It was the heaviest rain I had seen so far. We decided to brave it and walked out onto the sidewalk. It was almost covered in water as well.

I had always heard stories of the things that crawl up out of the drains when it rains, but this was my first experience. I looked down at one point and there were hundreds of cockroaches. Everywhere!!! Ahhh....I hate those things. Maybe it is the fact that they are so hard to kill, I dunno, but they totally make me freak out. When I was in Uganda I used to wake up with them laying on me, sitting on my pillow, or crawling across me. It was horrifying, to say the least. Now I just have an inability to cope with the creatures, so I started running. The girls thought I was hysterical until one of them realized that one had crawled up her pant leg. She freaked out worse than I did. It was good times. We just laughed at each other after that.

I enjoy every moment I get to spend with the girls. Even though there is such a language barrier, I just can't get over how unique and special each and every one of them are. They all care for me in different ways and know how to show it in a way that I totally understand. I have even gotten to the point where they can speak Thai to me the whole time and motion with their hands and I can speak English and it is like we are on the same page. This mutual understanding of each other has developed. I love it. It is such a special thing. I even sat with a 3 yr old tonight and we talked about superman for 30 min. Him in Thai, I in English. It was so cute. I honestly have no idea what he was really saying, but he uses sound effects and motions and occasionally says my name just to make sure I am listening. It is so amazing. He recently got a spiderman outfit, so he is all about the super heros. We have daily fights we he runs at us and stabs us with plastic swords and such. It is so funny. I have finally gotten down how to really act like I am dying when he stabs me. He takes his fights very seriously!

I ended up having one of the girls teach hair this week. It was an idea that stemmed from the fact that my shoulder was hurting me one day and that she is very talented and I felt they need to see that they can learn from each other to. I am not going to be "the foreigner that is the only one that can teach hair," nope, not having it. So, I asked her to teach, and although she hesitated for a bit, she finally caved.

The girls did better than ever with it. She could talk to them in thai and help them really understand how to twist the hair and make it work the way they needed it to. That is something that I can only show, I can't describe it well enough because the translator doesn't do hair...she has no clue what my terminology means. I loved watching her teach, she did a wonderful job. She hopes to own her own salon one day and I think that she would be really good at it.

Well, another week. I have 4 left...geez time flies. I am learning to live each day in the moment. Not think too far ahead. Enjoy the time that I have with them and not think too much about the future. Until next week.....

Frozen Fog and Lost in Korea....

Well I just arrived in Beijing. It was frigid! I think I slept 2 hours on the plane and they tried to feed us a meal at 2 this morning. Ahhh! I know that they want to break the flight up, but come on, who needs food at that time in the morning, let alone a whole dinner. I picked at my roll and my fruit and drifted off into sleep. I woke up to the loudspeaker informing us we were about to land. My neck had a serious crick in it. I was struggling to wake my mind up. Everything was fuzzy and I must have missed the whole part of the flight where you fill out those crazy forms for immigration purposes. I got off the plane to the shock of the 30 degrees. This was the first time I have worn a sweatshirt since I left Colorado. It definitely wasn’t enough. I was shaking, thinking all about Colorado and the recent blizzards and snowstorms they have been having. I might have said something about how I wasn’t sure I could go back! Seriously, after living in 90 degrees everyday, you start to feel cool even if the breeze blows your way. It is a bit ridiculous I know, but oh dear, I don’t know if I am looking forward to the chill of Colorado.

I should fill you in, I guess now that I think about it, not many of you know that I am traveling to South Korea today to visit a friend from Colorado. She is teaching English in Seoul and I was totally blown away that the opportunity to visit her presented itself. My visa for Thailand expires next week, so I had to leave the country no matter what, but I just happened to find a ticket that I could swing. It will be a treat for the both of us. To talk to a first language English speaker and someone that knows me. Let’s just say, I am beyond excited.

So after getting off the plane, I realized the airport was going to be a similar temperature. I am wearing sweat capris and the airline attendant point out to me that I was going to freeze. Too funny. I thought I would be fine, yeah, maybe not so much. Now, I am just typing in the cold. Brr…. So, I went through a series of customs, the usual. You all know probably a bit about airports, so I will spare you those details. Then, I notice that I have no gate number. No problem, this has happened before. So, I walk up to the desk and ask what my gate number is and the man proceeds to flip my ticket upside down and point to a series of letters and say “yeah, here.” huh? What?, those are all letter things, and all gates are a combination a letter and numbers(in the terminal I am in they all start with E). All I see is an I, backwards C, and upside down T. Oh right, yeah, makes complete sense. What language is that by the way. I was starting to wonder if they had a new way of writing Chinese characters. Okay, I said to the man. I felt beyond confused. I think he could tell, so he just pointed. Yeah, sure, pointing helps a lot there are only 60 gates, one of those has to be mine.

I decided at that point to find the screens that tell you departure times and arrivals. I at least had a flight number and a time it was leaving. I finally found one after wandering aimlessly for 15min. Yeah, so the direction he so politely pointed me in, not correct in any way. I was on the opposite side of the terminal. So, obviously the boarding pass turned upside down was an attempt that was no better than my own knowledge of where my gate was. I think I might have rolled my eyes a couple times, then proceeded to my gate.

This week was busy. I know, I know, I say that a lot, but it is crazy how busy you can stay all the time. I went to Loy Krathong on Monday. There were thousands of people worshipping the river. It was neat to see and a bit, well, it made you wonder who created this idea of a river god. They were bowing down at the edge of the river, offering it money and beautiful Krathongs, the little boat things with flowers and leaves woven into a small masterpiece. I will post pictures on facebook soon. Man, to see thousands of people though, thinking that this river would destroy them all if they didn’t offer up their money and Krathongs. I guess I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what kind of person could concoct such an idea. I mean that would take a lot of time, and what kind of power would you need to make everyone believe it. Weird, to say the least. They also offered different kinds of river animals to give back to the river. Turtles, eels, various fish, snakes, whatever they spent their whole week before fishing out, just to return. Now, I have to say what got me the most is, in the area I was in, there were men in the river taking the money off the Krathongs that people had just put in. They would literally shred these masterpieces searching for the money. Now, don’t get me wrong, they were probably making some serious money doing this, but it made me wonder, so if these people think this river god exists, then how does this make the river god feel. They are stealing the money that was an offering to him. I mean imagine, your sitting in church and the offering is being taken, and the guy next to you takes your offering out instead of putting it in. He isn’t even secretive about it. He practically is screaming and tearing the offering basket to pieces. What would you think? Just made me think a bit. Apparently these gods they so easily give their souls to seem to mean less to them than you would think.

Well, enough of that thought, the bars were good this week. As good as brothels go. I met a girl whose mother was the mama san. It caught me off guard. She introduced me too willingly. I had to hide the shock on my face. I mean, your own mother is the one who encouraged you to this life. Wow! I had some really good conversations though. Girls commented on the jewelry I was wearing and we were able to talk with them a bit about Rahab. They gave us their numbers and we, ours and we hope and pray that they will feel like there is hope for them. There were 3 girls, all had been there less than 6 months. One even had a 6 month old and was telling us she was only working there to provide for her family. Gosh, it is really heart breaking. You can feel the desperation. Hopefully a seed was planted, we will go back and visit again and see how they are doing.

I don’t know if I have mentioned before or not, but we have 6 new girls at Rahab that have joined us in the past 3 months. Other than the one I mentioned last time, they are doing really well. One of the new girls has found her niche in teaching the other girls how to crochet. She makes some incredible scarves and bags. She has been teaching the other girls how to do it and they are all doing really well! It is so neat to see them do really well at something and then thrive because of it. It builds their confidence in amazing ways.

Well, I just got lost in Korea for 3 hours. I am amazing I tell you. My friend Jackie even gave me great directions. I was within a block of her place the whole time…oh man! I am beat though, going to go catch her at the school she works at and enjoy a night on the town, so I have to end this for the day. I will catch you up on more soon. Hope you all have a good week!

Laura

1. Halloween in Thailand is a crack up! Okay so you know how kids in the states are always complaining when someone gives them pretzels or something healthy when they go trick or treating, well how bout a nice dose of Nori Seaweed! Not kidding. We had Thai Craft Fair yesterday and at the end, they handed out halloween bags. A piece of chocolate, two chewy candy things, some biscuits (butter crackers), and Nori Seaweed (individually wrapped slices of it). I wouldn't complain too much anymore kids, at least you don't have a bag full of seaweed when you were expecting candy!

2. Thai people always ask where are you going and where have you been. In the western countries we don't ask that. It is personal, and the only time is if we need something and think they may be headed that way or need to let them know about something coming up. More for care than butting into your business. Here, it is "where are you going?" every time you pick up your purse/bag. Even if you are just headed to the restroom..."where are you going?" It is so weird. I am not used to that question all the time. As soon as I get home "Lala, where you been?" You just have to know that it is a Thai thing and you should go along with it. It is the weirdest, nosiest way of life. Nothing is private. Your every moved is watched and talked about!

3.When Thai people want to get together with you, they say okay this day...no time...no place. Nothing. You have a day. Alright, so you might have another piece of info like that you are going shopping or to see a movie, but don't get your hopes up too much, it might not work out the way you think it will. They fly by the seat of their pants...way more than the most spontaneous person I know. They say they'll call you. Oh right okay, so you'll call me and we can chat, but wait, you don't speak any English, and I don't speak Thai, how is that going to work? Life in Thailand is an adventure to say the least.

I will break off from my weekly facts at this point to share a funny story. Although it is way funnier to tell in person, hopefully, you'll get a taste of what adventure in Thailand means....

I was supposed to hang out with one of the ladies today. She is a sweet lady, but only speaks a little English, so my conversations with her have been random English words that I form into my own interpretations and hope for the best.

So we were going shopping today. Shopping with the ladies is fun because they take you to all the markets where things are extra cheap and there are many things to look at and choose from. The head of Rahab, Prai made sure that this lady knew that foreigners need a time and a place in order to meet. We just can't function like Thais. haha. So, Sunday at noon at the CentralWorld/Bts stop...don't worry about what all that means, I understand and that was all that was important. See she had just said that she wanted me to call her when I got to the area and she would tell me where to go. Not much English, remember. I tried to imagine the phone conversation. Nothing good would ever come from that.

So, today after church I made my way to the area I needed to be at. I arrived a little early, so I just wandered around the area until the time came. I went back to the spot and this lady called me. She asked me where I was? I said the meeting spot bts/centralworld. Then, since I was there and she was no where to be seen, I asked where she was. She said Chit Lom. This is an area up the way from where I was, so I said okay I will walk up there. You stay there okay. okay. Simple enough. Yeah, well, I ended up walking back and forth from the area she said she was to the spot we were supposed to meet at 3 times, before I realized that no matter how many times I talked to her on the phone, she wasn't where she was communicating she was. I ended up back at the spot I was originally and sat down. I called her again and said I can't find you, can you come to Centralworld. She said, all of a sudden, oh I am here. I was like oh ok. Where? This place CentralWorld has more than 7 entrances. It is a huge 5 story mall. Our meeting spot is a good place to meet, but get inside the mall and try to find people, it is just hopeless. She said that she was in this store Zen. Luckily, I knew where that was. *It has been 45min at this point!

So, I went to Zen and tried to tell her to go to level 3. She said okay...I am at level 3. Okay where? You have to realize at this point the amount of Thai I can speak and the amount of English that she can speak is very limited. We obviously have had communication problems thusfar. I started to get excited that we would finally find each other. I try to describe where I am and I get out of my element quickly. I end up begging people in the store to help me speak Thai to her. Finally someone takes the phone and tells her where I am. Phew, a sigh of relief. Then, something changes...I understand just enough Thai now to know when things aren't okay. She hands the phone back to me and says that she is somewhere else. She will come here now. What? So, we had been in the same store a second ago. She also says that she is coming here now. Okay, well, that is great, but this place is huge, how am I ever going to find her.

I literally walk out of the store and sit on the floor and want to cry. I have been trying to meet up with her for over an hour now and we can't find each other. I just wanted to go home.

In my moment of no hope I randomly looked up and saw Prai. She was waving at me and coming towards me to say hello. She immediately senses my stress and asks if I am okay. I told her the situation and she immediately calls the lady and fixes it like it was never a problem. The lady had been at another mall down the way called Central as well. Of course, why wouldn't you name all the malls in Thailand central. Please make it easy on all of us.

We finally see each other and I apologize that is was so difficult. She immediately says that she has been waiting for me and hour and a half. All I could say was it was my fault and I was sorry.

So shopping. She drags me to the area where the market is and sees a bag she wants. I'm looking around and she buys the bag and then drags me forward out of the area. Alright, so we won't be shopping there. haha. She asks me what I want to look for. My purse broke yesterday, so I point at it and show her the damage and say "new bag." Okay Okay is her response. Then, her phone rings. She hangs up and starts going on about what I am wearing. All of a sudden she says we go see buddha. What? okay. I assume a temple. Then, she says I need skirt. Oh no, and my shoes aren't good either. Okay, wait, what?, why are we going to see buddha? She takes my hand and off we go. In Thailand it is best to just go with the flow, you pretty much have to, so be relaxed about it. We get across the next street and she looks at me. "okay, we see my apartment," o...kay?! I seriously thought she wanted to take me to her apartment to get some clothing to go see buddha. She is tiny, not like me at all. There would be no way, but remember go with the flow(at least that's what I tell myself all the time). We get to the apartment and she tells me to sit. She pops some food in the microwave and turns on the tv. Now, understand this, my mind is going a million miles an hour trying to figure out what just happened and how our shopping trip just turned into a buddha visit and what are we doing now. I am about to crack from all the stress of the day and she sets a plate of food in front of me. "We eat now," she says. Okay, so we ate and watched tv. She asks what time I need to leave, I don't really have a set time, but I throw out a number to see why she wants to know. "Ok, I show you the way home;" "Okay, we go" she says as she is shaking her hand implying that I come now. Ok, now!?, alright. So she shows me the way and then says that we will go shopping another time and tells me goodnight. haha. I am at a complete loss for words. A day in the life..huh!

I got home and laughed so hard I cried. I couldn't believe the day I had. It was amazing! Only in Thailand would something like that happen. Even though it was nuts, I know that it meant a lot to her that I wanted to do something with her, so I just tried to think of it as a gift to her.

I know this is long, but I just wanted you to experience a real day with Thai people...I have to say it is incredibly stretching. You have to challenge yourself to not get stressed out and freak on them. You have to stay calm and deny every desire you have for the day.

This week was incredibly busy. It wasn't supposed to be, but like I said, you just don't know what to expect. My hair class went really well this week and they got to practice on each other and there were a few gone this week, so I got to work a little more one on one which is always fun. You can really see growth and confidence that way. It was neat.

I spoke of a lady in my last post who was in some trouble and I had seen her at the bar. I found out tuesday night that she is officially working for the bars again. She came up right before we headed out to the bars and said that she was in trouble and needed prayer. I am proud of her for that. That takes a lot in this culture. Thais are all about "saving face." They keep everything bad hidden so they always look good. They won't even ask for help because that would be considered losing face. It would be disgraceful to sink so low as to ask for help. So, she ended up telling us she was working for the bar again and then we all prayed for her. It is so heart breaking to have them go back to the bars. She was actually doing really well at Rahab and we all had high hopes for her, not that we don't still, it is just a fresh wound to us. She is young, only 22, and she has incredible potential, but transitioning out of the bars and the money they make there is difficult. They are willing to sacrifice anything for a little more comfortable life. I now see her sitting outside the bar everyday when I pass. I say hi and ask her how she is, but it is so hard to see her there, knowing what happens to her every night. It makes you sick to your stomach. I still have hope though, I believe that she could get out again!

The rest of my week was showing people around, answering emails and doing lots of hair. I was full everyday working on updating things on the computer and figuring out orders, then I had random hair appointments with foreigners who want a foreign hair dresser. It makes for a large variety every week.

Tomorrow is Loy Krathong. A day where people worship the river god/goddess(I don't remember which). I am going to go see some of the action. They put these elaborate floating creations with flowers and everything on the river as an offering to the river god/goddess. They are really beautiful. A lot have candles. It should be quite a sight apparently thousands participate. Hopefully I can post pictures soon!

Talk to you soon!

Chinatown and Dragons...

Another week in Thailand....

Facts for the week:

1. Thais think it is super sexy to have their picture taken while they are eating. It makes for the funniest and most awkward pictures I have ever seen. They love having their picture taken anyway, but if food is around, they will yell "wait, wait" and grab a spoon and dish up some food and eat it right as you snap the picture. They are so weird. haha It is really funny though. If you show them the picture, they will just say "oh yeah, sexy!" haha....wow, in my opinion it is the least attractive I have ever seen them, but that is just my opinion.

2. Thais will write 2 prices on things. One in Thai and one in English. The trick is that the English one is normally much higher than the Thai one. I have learned that it is wise to take a Thai along when I go to the market. They know that foreigners are east to rip off here, so they look at you and smile while they take your money. You would never know that you just paid double if not more for the product.

3. Chulalongkorn Day: This past friday was the celebration of one of Thailand's most revered Kings. They celebrate on the anniversary of his death. It is interesting because they have some celebrations, but it is more of a day to go and worship and bow down to a statue of him. You can travel and watch the ceremony take place, supposedly thousands go to take part in this worship. I didn't go to watch, but I got a nice day off because of it.

This week was a rush. We had many people come to visit and hear more about Rahab. I ended up helping Alex with the powerpoint and answering questions about the organization when each team came in. It is really interesting to hear what people want to know about the industry and what we are doing.

This week, when I went to the bars I took along some of a team that came to visit. It was an interesting experience. Before they were allowed to go with me, I had to make them sign this form stating that they wouldn't get up on the poles and dance and they wouldn't buy alcohol and other such things. It seems funny, but these things have actually happened. It is hard for me to believe. I mean the music is may make you want to sway a bit, but to get up on the stage with all these half-naked women and dance around for fun isn't really the first thing that pops into my head as to what I should be doing when I am there. Unfortunately, a girl that came to visit Rahab decided to get drunk and ended up getting up on the bar stage and dancing on the pole. No joke! At the time there was no standard in place for what could and couldn't happen at the bars, but that soon changed. She couldn't be controlled, so the bar owner had to drag her out. It put a bad rep on Rahab for awhile. Now, everyone, including myself has to sign this form.

This team that came on bar night was really interesting because they were more mature men and women (in their 50s and 60s) and they just didn't listen very well. They tested my patience by continuously asking if the men of the team could come with us to the bars, just to have a look, see what it was like. Now, my thoughts are first 'no absolutely not, Rahab will not allow it, it will jeopardize every bit of trust we have finally rebuilt after the incident above', and second, 'why on earth would you want to put those images in your head.' I mean it is hard enough just walking down the step with all the bouncers shoving pictures in your face, but to actually go into the bars, I just couldn't believe it. So after I finally got things straight, or so I thought, a guy jumps up and ask to sign the form that I told you about above, so he can go to the bars. I mean really people. I have to say I was extremely nervous to take any of their team into the bars at this point. Finally there was an understanding that only the women could go and we would all meet up afterwards. It ended up going pretty well.

I went with some Thai girls that spoke English from the team, which was really neat because they would translate my conversations and really go in depth with the women. These women were pretty solid in their faith, so they eased my mind once we got into the bars. We chatted with a few girls that now recognize me when I come in and I got to know them a little better. We ended up getting to know 5 girls pretty well. It was an exciting night! I hope someday that Rahab can help them get out. They are continuously in my prayers.

Besides lots of teams, we had orders coming in and worked on sorting through lots of things that need to be updated. I began writing a profile for one of the girls and had almost finished when I was asked to go to the bars for our afternoon visit. I saved what I had so far, and went out with the outreach team. Along the way, I saw the girl I was writing about, only, she was working at the bar we were at. I thought it was strange, but some girls have to finish out a month with a bar before they are completely free to leave. I figured this was such a case and dismissed it. I went back and began finishing up on this girl's profile and I realized I needed a conclusion. Before I would write "she is now out of the bars," I decided to ask what was going on with her. To my surprise, Prai immediately said she didn't know that she was back in the bars. I guess that her time with the bars was over and they had let her free. So, why was she back there. I asked Prai if she knew anything about the situation. She said that the girl had called her up the past week and said that she needed to take care of things. Prai asked what and she just said it was a secret and she couldn't tell her, but she would be back to Rahab as soon as she could. None of us know what is going on with her, but I am praying that she will open up about it and get some help. She is taking on something all alone and to be back in the bars is the worst situation she could put herself in. I will keep you all updated, but in the meantime please pray with me that she will come back and receive help! We never want to see our girls go back to those awful places.

It is heartbreaking to watch one of the girls that you were just getting to know, end up back in the bars. It made the week hard to bear. I see her daily hanging outside the bar that she is now working for.

We ended our week with a 3-day weekend. It was so wonderful! After a tough week you feel so drained. All you want to do is sleep and not talk to anyone. The other girls in the house were away at church camp, so it made for a nice weekend alone. Not that I don't want to be with them, but it is nice to relax and not worry about having to spend time with them. So, I ended my week with a relaxing weekend of reading a book on Friday, talking with friends back home, and a little bit of adventure in Bangkok.

On Saturday, I ventured out to Chinatown. It is a river boat ride up a few stops. It was my first time on the river. It was very beautiful and refreshing to be out of the city for a bit. Chinatown is a place that is constantly filled with crowds because Chinese vendors come down and sell merchandise that may only be there once. Everything from pearls to auto parts and tools. It is an extremely inexpensive place to find anything you could ever want. You only need to fight the crowds and slowly walk your way through the many markets. It is a bit of a hassel because there is absolutely no personal space. People are constantly touching you and almost hitting you with the goods they have just purchased. Although I enjoyed seeing all the goods and things it had to offer, it was a bit more like an obstacle course than a shopping experience. Once I finally got back onto the boat to head home I was informed that this was a slow weekend and that that was less than half the people you would normally see there. I can't even begin to imagine what it is really like.

Today, I went to a nearby park. It is a huge area right in the midst of the city that is filled with the cleanest air I have breathed since I left Colorado. It is absolutely stunning, with 3 lakes filled with catfish and coy fish, many gazebos of various Asian architecture, flower gardens, and works of art. It was an escape from the city life, if only for a day. I spent the better part of the afternoon searching for the giant lizards I had heard about. I was about to give up and wasn't paying attention and almost stepped on one. The funny thing was they aren't just giant lizards, they are Komodo dragons. It hissed at me before I smashed part of its tail and I immediately backed off. It wasn't just giant it was 4 feet in length. I was kinda prepared for more like 1 or 2 feet. I ended up walking down the path with it for awhile. They are quite fascinating creatures. They don't even seem to mind that people are right up near them in their living space. He finally veered off the path and I decided to let him be. I walked along for awhile and stumbled upon another one. This one was at least 5 feet and much bigger around than the one before. I snapped a few pics and realized a man was trying to get my attention. Once I looked at him, he pointed behind me. About 10 feet from me was a huge one that was almost 8 feet long. I was absolutely amazed because about 5 feet from him was a family sitting and sunbathing next to the lake. He didn't seem to mind and neither did they. Odd, but I ended up sitting near him myself just curious about what he would do as the day progressed. Not much, unfortunately, he just laid there, soaking up the sun. I left after awhile, it had been a really hot day, and looked like it might pour at any minute, so I figured it was time to head home. I made it just in time for the downpour. When it rains here is isn't gentle by any means, and no amount of rain covering can protect you from the fierce drops.... I ended up settling in for the night with dinner and a movie....

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Laura

Pet Squirrels and Foreign Men...

1. Ambulances are worthless here. First of all, the traffic doesn't get out of the way for them no matter how loud the siren is. If you are injured it is best to take a motorbike. Tricky, but the fastest way to the hospital. You could take a taxi, but if they think that you are hurt pretty bad and could potentially die in their taxi, then absolutely NOT! They believe that your spirit will haunt their taxi forever if you die in it, so they avoid that at all cost. So, even if your unconscious, a motorbike is the way to go!

2. Thais believe that killing an animal is bad luck, so there are stray dogs and cats everywhere. They take over the foot paths and wander around all day looking for things to eat. Bangkok is pretty dirty, so they normally find something and then they shred it all across the foot path. It is lovely! On friday, on the way home from work, I watched a dog finish a whole chicken off. There was a trail of bones including the feet for about 15 feet. Then, once you got up to the dog, he had the head, beak and al in his mouth. YUM YUM! Thais will not even kill rats and mice. They will set up traps though to just catch them and then they put them outside or keep them as pets. It is pretty disturbing. Although, our next door neighbor found a squirrel living in his house and now it is his house pet. haha It stays in a cage and he feeds it every morning while we walk to the bus. It's pretty cute, and it is funny that anyone would have a pet squirrel.

3. Really random...fleas like to live in showers here. There are a couple hundred in mine! I know you are starting to itch, but it is really gross. They constantly bite me whenever I shower, and I just don't really like bugs much anyways, so dealing with a new variety of them, isn't going over well! We're working on the flea problem.... A lot of houses in Bangkok don't have walls in the entrance. I am not sure if I am describing this right, but they have a solid door and then the rest of the front is a grated-kind-of wall. It isn't solid, although there is a wall. It is just too hot to ever worry about needing a solid wall, but this allows animals to get in, and since we can't kill them, they bring in fleas and other lovely bugs!

First off, I want to say that I picked out that thermometer thing on the right of the screen so that you all can see what the temp is here in Bangkok, unfortunately, the thing won't stay on Bangkok. I guess I am in New York now. haha If you type in Bangkok you can see how much I am sweating!

This morning I woke up thinking about what I would do with my day off. I have been really looking forward to going to this park near where I work. It is quite exotic with huge lizards wandering around and such, but things never seem to go as planned here. I walked over to the kitchen and grabbed made some toast and sat on the floor with Cal, one of the Rahab ladies, and her son, De-jour, who is 3, and joined in on a conversation she was having with Alex about the confusions of foreign men. haha Sounds funny huh? Unfortunately, the funniness of the conversation didn't last long.

You see, what I have learned about foreign men here, Americans, Germans, Canadians, men from all over the world, is that the majority of them that come to Patpong for the prostitution, say to these women that they want to be their boyfriend. It really doesn't make sense to me, so if you understand please shed some light, but why would you want to be the boyfriend of a woman that is selling her body to other men on a nightly basis. She really isn't yours. Weird!, well, these men sometimes emotionally commit to these women and email them while they are away from Thailand, and always stay with them when they come to Thailand, and sometimes send them money. They play with the heart of these women in unusal ways. I get this part though. These men play with their hearts just enough, so that every time they come to Thailand the woman is willing to do anything for the man just because she believes that he loves her or that he wants to marry her. It is really sad. Cal is involved in a situation like this. She has this guy, we'll call him Jack, and Jack and Cal have a son together, De-jour. So, Jack is connected to Cal in a big way and comes to visit her and their son once a year. The tricky part is that Jack never tells Cal that he loves her unless she tries to start seeing someone else. Then, all of sudden, "Oh Cal I care about you so much and I want to be with you." and so on... So, she drops everything and starts to stay in constant communication with Jack again and starts to fall for him again. So, today, i asked her if he was going to marry her, because this situation seems odd. She said that he didn't want to marry her because he has been married before and he doesn't like marriage. Alright, so he's selfish. At least that was my conclusion. I told her and Alex agreed that if a guy loves you he will do pretty much anything to be with you and he most likely will marry you or at least head in that direction. She said "oh, no, Jack just likes to have time to himself and travel and go to casinos to gamble." Great, so he gambles too, I soon found out that he has never even financially supported their child and that he has left her to fend for herself and yet, expects her to drop everything when he comes to Thailand and stay with him. It is a sad story. We talked it out quite a bit, and she said that she understood and had a lot to think about. We suggested that she lay it out for Jack. Tell him that he can come and visit De-jour, but she wasn't going to be part of his life anymore. He is dragging her along and he probably knows it, so she needs to stand up for herself and drop him fast! He will be here in December, so she has some time to think about it, so hopefully she realizes that she is worth much more than Jack!

Well, all that to say, near the end of our conversation, she bounced up and said "okay, we must go." Okay...I thought! Where? So, she took my hand and said grab your purse we are going to a party. Party here means like a dinner party, but for lunch. We all go to someone's house and eat and eat some more. Nice! So, off we went and I was treated to an extravagant lunch of lobster, prawns, clams, octopus, and fish. I must say it was pretty dang amazing! Here when you have a special meal, you normally are served a bunch of different lettuces, some cold sticky noodles, seafood, and super hot chili sauce (it is like salsa). So you combine the ingredients and wrap them in your leaves. It is really good. After an amazing lunch we all watch a thai animated film about elephants and their place in thai history. I got really in to it, even though I had no idea what was being said!! haha I was sitting with Cal's son, so I couldn't help, but get into the story, since he would randomly laugh like the evil character in a deep "ha ha ha" and stab me with an imaginary sword whenever the same bad guy came on the screen. He is so funny!

About 4 we all headed home and well, there went my day in the park. No worries, there are always other days. haha It really turned out to be a nice day!

THIS WEEK:

I finally got to teach hair this week! It was a blast. I had six students and I taught them to curl hair. Seems easy, i know, but they don't know how. They are amazing at making it straight,but otherwise, not so much! So, we curled each others hair until we had it down pat. Everyone looked very pretty when we finished. I also showed them how to cut layers into a longer hair cut. They can cut the length and frame the face, but have never had training in cutting more into the haircut. They can learn these things in school, but it is weird here because they have four 3 month schools for different things and in order to get started in a salon, you only have to do one. So, when you enter a salon you don't even really have much of the basics down.

One of my girls, got a job this week in a really nice salon. She will be making a really good amount of money and working decent hours. I am so excited for her because in a salon she can really get a lot of practice and learn new things on a daily basis. Rahab hopes that all of their hairstyling girls are able to get their foot in the door of a salon. Then, Rahab will support them financially if they want to take more classes in hairstyling and may even help them open their own salon if they show enough confidence, have had enough training, and are doing well at the salon they are currently in. It is neat how they work to provide for this women by using the woman's talents and making them better.

It was a busy week, but really good. I am adjusting more and more each week! I feel confident getting places now and being a little more independent than when I first came.

Oh and our bar visit this week went well, other than that I was asked if I liked women or shopping better? Yeah....About that! Umm, I spent the majority of my night explaining that I was there to just be friends with the bar girls and that I like men. It was funny and a bit awkward, but the girl just couldn't understand why I would want to be friends with her. It was kind of neat in a way. Hopefully, I will see her again, now on the terms that I am only there to be a friend, not for other reasons! She spoke quite a bit of English, so hopefully she will be able to share with all the girls that work there why we were there and that we want to help them.

Laura

Food Poisoning and Thai Craft Fairs....

Facts for the Week:

1. Thais love to watch Chinese Soap Operas. They are the most dramatic shows I have ever seen. People crying all the time, screaming at each other, slamming each other into things, and then pouf turning into a magic wizard. Let me tell you, if life isn't exciting, then watch a Chinese Soap Opera. No translation is needed to throw you full force into emotion and excitement. The funniest part is that it is translated into Thai and so everything is on a delay and the drama just gets better that way!

2. The feet are the lowest part of the body. This means they are the most disgusting, horrible and disgraceful part of our bodies. Okay maybe not quite that extreme, but close. All shoes are removed the minute you enter a home and you are never to point at anyone with your feet. It is great disrespect. If you sit on the floor you either tuck your feet beneath you or you put them off the the side of you like you would sit if you were wearing a skirt (guys just imagine). Thankfully Thais know that us "Farangs," foreigners, use our feet for a lot of things, so they just invented a phrase for the disgusting use of our feet. I don't know it yet, sorry! haha, but I know that it has the word farang in it. So, even though my fan turns on by pushing a switch on the floor, I am not supposed to use my feet! It is difficult to get used to.

3. Thais eat so many times a day. Like 6 or 7! It is crazy! Not all of them do this, but I swear snacking is like an art in this country. I guess that it would have to be with food vendors on every street corner. I feel like I have settled into this daily routine of constantly thinking about my next meal. They are always talking about food, making food, or eating food! It is, WOW, I dunno! They are all pretty tiny too...I guess with all those little meals you have a high metabolism or something!

Okay, enough for today!

So, this week was a crazy week of happenings and learning how to communicate better and planning things. You see, Sarah, the lady missionary from New Zealand, if you don't remember from my previous posts, set off for New Zealand on Tues. Now, We all found our she was leaving Monday night. It was a Shocker for sure! Her mom fell last Saturday and she broke her Femur. She is 80, I believe, so she needed help, and she was living alone, so that isn't good! So, Sarah decided that she needed to go home and help her and maybe move her somewhere where she could be taken care of! Since this is a task as with most older parents, she decided to go for a month. So, on Monday she officially taught me how to take all the jewelry orders and make sure that everything was in the right place, as well as how to respond to various types of emails. I have been doing some of this work, but mostly with her assistance. So, tues I was on my own! Alex, her husband stayed behind, so he is here working with me in the office, but I know that he would love to be with Sarah. He stayed because he knew that I couldn't handle it all on my own, and his assumptions were correct. I am grateful that he is helping me learn the ropes, hopefully I will be efficient within the next week!

So, I was supposed to start teaching this week, but because of the happenings, I was needed in the office, but I will get to teach. I will be holding class on Wed after lunch with a translator, which is so nice! I have 4 students, and I have been brain storming with Prai, the director/head of Rahab, and we are going to have a catwalk show the week before I leave. My job is to inspire the girls to be creative and put themselves out there. I am really excited! It should be fun to see what they come up with and how they work with what I teach them each week. I will be teaching updos/formal styles, just in case I didn't say that before. Basically, the girls are awesome at straightening hair, but that is the only style they can do! Thais love that, but I am going to challenge them to learn some other stuff!

So, besides working in the office, international school, and teaching some hair stuff, I also get to be the English Speaker at the Thai Craft Fairs where we sell jewelry two Saturdays a month. Today was my first one and it was a long day. You leave at 7:15, get to the hotel, set up, sell jewelry till 5, tear down, and head home. I got home at 6, so ,wow, long day! It was neat though, the fair is mostly for foreigners, with a huge appeal to Japanese. I guess it used to be more westerners, but now it has become primarily Japanese, which is still great, but they don't really speak thai and they don't really speak English, so that can be tough! Yukie, I could use some japanese lessons! haha Anywho, so we had a great day, sold almost a 1,000 US$ worth of jewelry, better than we have done in months. It was totally worth the long day!! Our record is $1,200, so we did pretty good! I have learned a lot about precious stones and pearls, I feel very educated in foreign jewelry right now! haha, I guess that will be a new skill I can bring home! haha

Life overall is good here, I do have to tell you all that I had my first bout of food poisoning. It wasn't fun! After 24 hours of feeling pretty miserable and puking my guts out, I was feeling back to normal! I will say that the thought of the last thing I ate before it all happened makes me nauseous, but I have a feeling that is pretty normal for food poisoning.

Oh and I went to the bars again on tues night, that was good. As good as it can be in a prostitution bar. I am learning how to relax and try and talk to the girls, even when they don't speak much english. I met a girl that had only been in there 4 months and she was the same age as me. It made me think about how different my life could be if I had grown up in Thailand. Not saying that I would end up the same way, but I am grateful for my life to say the least. I am very privileged! I am hoping that we can continue to build a relationship with her and maybe help her get out. For now, just planting a seed. The mama san was cool though, she sat with us for an hour, she speaks English pretty well, just chatting about life and her kids and working in the bars. She was a really nice lady, I am curious how she ended up a mama san. Maybe I will get to know her more too.

It has been a crazy busy week, but all is good in Thailand! Hope you all are doing well!

Laura

Cracked Lips and Annoying People....

Haha...I have to say that title sounds a bit harsh, but I will get to an explanation!

Thailand is getting better all the time. It is nice to feel more comfortable in my surroundings. I can now take the bus by myself and say where I am going. Well, at least 3 of the places I go, and I learned how to write my name today in Thai. That was neat! Too bad I have no idea how to do that on here. I guess I just have to do it for you when I get back, or take a picture of my new skill!

Well, back to the weekly facts: (these may run out at some point, then again, maybe not)

1. It is proper to eat with your spoon (shelley this one is for Dick), you use your fork to place things or scoop things onto the spoon, but never eat with your fork. It isn't polite. Chopsticks are still in here, but most people use spoons. (I am not going to lie, I felt ridiculous for the 1st week trying to adjust to eating everything, noodles, eggs, cutting things with a spoon. Somehow it just doesn't work out the same. I have adjusted though, I just have to not forget!)

2. Thais don't walk very well. I am not trying to offend any thais that are reading this, it is just that, in America we stay out of other peoples' way. We hoover to the right so that anyone can pass. The moment I stepped in the Bangkok Airport people were always walking as if on a leisurely nature walk and weaving about, so that no matter how close you got to them and tried to pass them, it wasn't happening. Even on the moving walkways, people would hang out in the middle, completely stopped with their baggage placed all the way across the walkway. Come on! Really!? haha, it is really annoying! Really my only complaint so far. It has actually gotten so out of hand in Bangkok that there are now lines down the middle of walkways so that people know to stay on their side of the line. Even in schools! It is funny! It still doesn't solve the problem.

3. Never pat a child on the head. It is a sign of great disrespect. I never realized how much I always touched kids' heads until I had to be conscious of it. Sometimes I go to do it and realize what I am doing and end up stoking the side of their heads...it is weird and funny at the same time. (we have two little boys living in the house...they are pretty cute!)

That's all I can remember for today.

My second week was busy busy busy. I have been doing various tasks for the office at Rahab. Putting together bulletin boards, writing thank yous to supporters, helping with the website, answering emails, teaching Alex how to use facebook. Oh facebook, the world is on facebook now! It is wonderful. Such a great way to connect!

Anywho, so first I should update you and say that WOW did come back! I am so excited. I give her a hug everyday and tell her that I am so happy to see her! I was so nervous that she wouldn't be back. Apparently, she was a prostitute for 11yrs and just got out last month. That would be intense. They say that after you have been in the industry that long, it really isn't that hopeful that you will get out because you are so used to it, numb to it, and it is such a part of your life that it becomes like a drug to you. Most girls are also making so much money by that point that to leave would mean a tremendous cut in pay! It's so horrible!

I went back to the international school this week to teach more jewelry. I had to share a powerpoint on prostitution statistics in Thailand. All of the statistics come from the United Nations, and it was funny, to me at least, because at the end we had a discussion time, and all the girls(they're 14) said they didn't believe any of it. It is really interesting because in Thailand, if it is considered "bad" you don't talk about it. That was really made apparent to me talking to these girls. They didn't even know what prostitution was. Their parents shelter them because it is customary to not speak of things like prostitution. Most prostitutes even lie to their families about what they do because it isn't okay to talk about it.

I have learned a lot about prostitution this week. I went to the bars on Tuesday night and the streets that I work on became a different world at night. Three of us, from Rahab, went to the Thigh Bar. Inside is a platform of girls with 12 poles that they all dance around. They are squished so tight, it is hard to believe they can dance. Every 15 min they all come down and chat with customers and the next 11-12 girls go up and dance. They trade off every 15min all night long, that is, unless they are purchased. When you first walk in it is a bit disturbing, especially seeing the men around staring at the girls deciding which one they are going to take for the night. It was especially weird to see several couples come in and sit and watch. I wasn't sure what to think of that. We stayed for an hour chatting with 4 different girls about their kids and where they were from and the various tv shows that were playing in the bar. They don't mind sitting with us because they make commission off every drink they sell, so they are still making money while we sit and talk. All 4 of the girls were from Isan, a northeast region of Thailand.....

Isan is the poorest region of Thailand. The majority of the girls working in the bars are from there. The problem is that because of the lack of money, you struggle with having enough to get a real education. Education here is only free until 9th grade, so 14 or 15. If you have high marks/grades, then you might be able to get a scholarship, but if you don't and you weren't able to pay for a tutor to help you, then you won't be able to continue your education. (money makes the difference unfortunately) Most girls come to Bangkok hoping to find a job where they can make some money, unfortunately, they are poorly educated and most have no real skills, so they end up in the bars. They normally get invited by a friend who says that she makes lots of money and it isn't hard work, the sad thing is that she gets trapped by loans and getting pregnant and then having to provide even more for children and sometimes even spouses. It is a crazy cycle that leads them to a life where they have to sell themselves and all their innocence to just provide for their families.

....So we chatted with the girls for awhile, and every once in awhile, while a switch was happening. I would look up at the girls and look into their eyes. I never knew what people meant by emptiness until I saw these girls. If you really pay attention to them you'll see that when there are no customers in the bar they never smile, they practically crumple over with sadness. They lean against their poles and won't even look at you. Then, a customer comes in and it is an immediate silent fight to win the man over. That man could be their food for the next day. It is a battle for me and Sarah said this as well, but you don't want them to get a man because they will have to sell themselves and do horrible things, but if they don't they won't be able to survive. It is tough to see what a lose-lose situation it can be.

I must say that the up to the experience was the bar manager. Apparently, she really likes Rahab and she always welcomes our team in. She even introduces us to girls. Very interesting I must say!

It is really neat to come back to Rahab the next day and know where these ladies have come from and how much their situation has changed for the better! It is cool to see them smile and know that it is genuine joy and not just a smile to get attention like it was in the bars. They are all incredible women!

On a lighter note, today I ate so much spicy food that my lips cracked and starting bleeding. It was brutal. Haha, but I deserved it. They told me that I should try their spicy Papaya salad and it was hotter than normal, then I picked something spicy for lunch, and then again for dinner. It is no wonder they cracked! Good thing I brought my burt's bees.

Well, I'll talk to you all later!

Laura

Communication minus English....

I posted pictures on facebook...if you aren't a member you should become one for sure, if only for pictures, if you can't let me know and I will try and figure out how to post some on here.

A few more facts about Thailand:

1. Any display of affection isn't appropriate in public. Husbands and wives do not hold hands, or kiss, or even touch each other much. The only display of affection that is okay is for girls to hold hands. This is only a meaning of care and friendship, so is deemed appropriate. Everywhere you walk there are girls holding hands. It is different to get used to for sure!

2. Thais are totally okay with piracy, so okay that companies like Apple have refused to allow the purchase of their music, movies, and tv shows in Thailand. You can buy movies and music on the street for 50 cents to 1 dollar. Most are pirated.

Drug/Pharmaceutical companies are also upset with Thailand because it makes so many generic drugs. It is similar to piracy just a different form; they copy other drugs and prescriptions and sell them for much cheaper.

3.Crosswalks don't mean anything. Cars do not stop for people. Cars rule the road and they aren't about to even slow down for you! It's crazy!

4. Thais eat out way more than they ever cook. Of course, eating out to them is a meal that is cooked right in front of you. They eat breakfast on the way to work (there are street vendors everywhere). Then, because of traffic, they normally grab something for on the way home too. This week I had fried pork and sticky rice, pork liver, a kind of peanut mixture grilled in tapioca beads, and beef jerky with a pork and onion roll thing. haha it is hard to describe. The food is really good. Breakfast is definitely my favorite. Normally they will get some meat and sticky rice and then get a hot chili mixture to dip it into. They also have soups and porridge and other such things. You also share everything. We all sit down at work and lay out everything we bought and pick at everyone else's food until it is all gone. It is nice for me because I have been able to try a lot of things.

I actually made it through. I made it through a week being the only one who spoke fluent English. It was interesting for sure. Some communication was lost in translation, but I think we all did all right.

This week I was in charge. It's funny how any one can trust you to be in charge of an organization for a week after only being there for two days! There are two girls who pretty a little English and the others only know a few words. I am learning to speak very slowly and use words that everyone would know. They are constantly looking at me like I am crazy, but I eventually am able to get out a few sentences that they understand. It was so sweet though, they all tried so hard to speak English with me. They are wanted me to not feel "lonely" as they put in, and for that I would take any random phrase that they would say in English. I know that I said this before, but I am really learning a lot about how the English language doesn't make sense to other countries. We say so many words that mean many different things. Or we use words that don't really mean anything such as: am, the, a, etc. How do you describe "a?" Yeah not easy, huh? So, for them, they just choose to leave those out.

The girls made sure that I got to work and home everyday. They even held my arm as I crossed the street, which is rather scary here as you can probably tell by fact number 3 above.

I did quite a few girls' hair. That was fun. cutting hair with no fluent English is pretty interesting. It is a lot of point and waving your arms about and really just going for it. I have definitely been a little freaked out a couple times this week, because I want to make sure that they like it, but there is no way to communicated exactly what they want or how i will do it. It has been a challenge, but so far so good!

Being the only fluent English speaker for the week, I actually got to learn some Thai. I have learned some numbers, how to say what is your name, how old are you, and where are you from. They have also taught me how to say I love you, I like you, and you are my sister. I have gotten to share some pictures with them, and they have shown me theirs. Each one of these girls are so precious. Most of them are older than me, but I already care for them so much.

I went to a bible study on wednesday night with two of the girls from Rahab. We met up with three other ladies who were leading it at the Christian Hospital in Bangkok. It is only a few minutes walk from where we work.

At the bible study one girl, Wow(that is how you say it), confessed that she was talking with an old friend and her friend told her she should go back to work in the bars as a prostitute. The friend was raving about how much money she had and how a foreigner was now her boyfriend and was taking care of her. Now, Wow is in her 40s and wants to be taken care of. She has been providing for her family her whole life and just wants someone to care and provide for her. It is sad, I understand it, but hearing that just to be taken care of she would be willing to sell herself again broke my heart. She knew that it would be a more "honest" job, as she put it, to stay at Rahab, but she would be more comfortable in life, if she had more money. She is a new Christian, so I reminded her that God never said that following him would be easy. He doesn't say that once we become Christians we will have comfortable lives and never have to worry about anything, but He does say that he will be with us through ever high and low in our lives. I also reminded her that he says that we are to take up our cross daily and follow Him. He asks us to die to our desires, our own wants and follow Him. Yeah that is hard! We all want to do what we want, but how much better is life to have someone by your side that not only created you and gave you free will, but also took everything that you have ever done upon himself and died for you just so he could be in relationship with you. The other ladies also encouraged her and reminded her that we will never have any temptation that we cannot handle. At the end of the meeting, she was still undecided, but took home some readings the ladies gave her and we all prayed for strength for her. You should also know that she said that she was planning on getting her paycheck on Friday, today or yesterday for some of us, and leave Rahab.

So, I waited to see what would happen. She came on friday and paychecks were handed out, I looked at her and she smiled. I said "see you monday?" She said "yes." I am so hopeful that she will come back on Monday.

Last night I had my first ride in a Tuk Tuk, hopefully I can get a picture soon, but they are like motorbikes with a seat for the driver and a bigger seat in the back for passengers and a metal carriage has been built around it. Then, there is a small front window and the top is covered. The rest is open. It was a crazy ride. They drive with all the cars and buses and they are equally as crazy, if not more, because they are smaller so they squeeze between cars when they can't stop in time...ahhh!! I am learning to not have panic attacks and just trust that we will probably survive! haha

Well that was a taste of my week!

I miss you all!!

Hot Hot Hot...

It is a million degrees! Okay, so I may be exaggerating a bit, but it was 92 today and that isn't Colorado 92 that is like humidity worse than Florida 92. Whew...I have a constant line of sweat above my upper lip. It is super attractive! haha

So, since I have been here I have learned some interesting things about Thais. Here is a few:

1. Thais hate rain. It freaks them out. They spend most of their day worrying about when it will rain on them. It is rather ridiculous if you ask me since the average rainfall in this month alone is the same as a whole year in Colorado. And even though they live in this constant daily rain, they don't know how to drive in it and it makes an hour traffic jam turn into 2 or 3hrs.

2. Picking your nose is totally acceptable in public and everyone does it, but picking your teeth or using a toothpick is totally unacceptable and rude. In fact most people even cover their mouths when they talk on the phone. So, have a good dig, but don't touch those pearly whites.

3. Thais think that Fa-rangs (or foreigners) can't handle spicy and they deem you "good" if you try spicy things and don't freak out from the heat of them. It is funny. Today, I officially got the "good farang" title

4. Modesty is huge in Thai culture. So huge that prostitutes are more looked down upon because of their lack of clothing than the work they are doing. Also, when you go to the beach or swim you wear all your clothes. Swim suits are considered to have too much skin showing.

5. Thai women want to be white. haha that is a weird way to say it, but they think the whiter/paler you are the prettier you are. They use bleaching creams, bleaching deodorants-what?, and tons of makeup to make themselves look paler. I did a wedding on Saturday and after putting two layers of ivory foundation on the bride, they told me it was not enough and started helping me layer it on. We even coated her arms. Wow! They are so keen on this that the beaches are lined with umbrellas all the way to the water line, so that no sun touches them while they lie in the sand.

OK that's enough facts for today!

The wedding on saturday was very nice. Small and supposedly not like the normal Thai wedding, but it was quaint and sweet. The woman getting married was an ex-prostitute that is part of Rahab's program. She makes jewelry and met a Christian Taxi driver, who is now her husband. I don't know her whole story yet, but she has an amazing smile, and laughs and jokes so much! She makes you feel happy when you are around her. When I know the story...I will let you know.

Yesterday I went to an English speaking church, the pastor is from Texas. It was very refreshing to hear a familiar accent. It is just nice to not always have to be trying to figure out what people are trying to say. Then, we hung out with some ladies we met there. One other from New Zealand and one from Tennessee. We had them over for lunch and a cup of tea. Yes, we drink boiling hot tea while we are melting in the heat! Anywho, We all chatted about differences in cultures and the funny things that Thais do. Yesterday was also blazing hot. I was lying in my room, dreaming of a bath in a tub of ice!

Today I really got to be submerged in the culture. Nan, one of the girls was in charge of making sure I got to Rahab ok since all the staff are away and the city is huge, and I have no clue how to get many places yet. She can speak quite a bit of English and she took me through an amazing shopping area on our way to work. The markets they have here have the craziest variety of things and for incredibly cheap! She then treated me to a traditional thai breakfast of fried pork and sticky rice. Their rice is stickier than any rice I have ever had in the states. We headed to Rahab and I did a client. She is a wonderful lady here from Austrailia. Her family has been here 2.5 yrs and they help establish economy within communities. She told me that recently they went to check on the organization's in Bangladesh and the community has a group of small economies that are run by 1. children, 2. women, and 3. men. Within these economies they are able to establish government, banking systems and other programs that help communities grow and know how to help each other prosper. The kids can add money to a bank account daily and they will earn interest on it (interest provided by the organization). This will teach them that it is good and worth it to invest money and save. The women can go to the small government and ask for a loan to open say a hair salon for the community. They can all decide if the opportunity is worth it and will benefit the community and they can loan her money to open a business. It is really neat and teaches people the importance of managing your resources well!

After her appointment I went with Aum, another girl in the program, to an international school in the area. We went to teach 15-16yr old girls how to make earrings and a bracelet. Now, I just learned to make these earrings on Friday. So, these girls are fluent in English and most speak Thai as well, so teaching them was a lot easier than I thought it would be. They all did so well and it was neat that they were able to do this with one of the girls from the program. Aum, is incredibly talented at making jewelry and a really good teacher. These girls take this jewelry class as an extra-curricular activity and they are able to not only make jewelry for us and themselves, but they also are able to learn about the organization and how they are helping change a part of the city in a fun and creative way.

On the way home Aum told me her story...

Aum is 27 and she has been with Rahab for 2 yrs. She worked in the bars for 3 yrs before that. She is married to a Danish guy who speaks fluent Thai, English, and Danish. They met in the bars, but he became a Christian and once she was able to get out and start at Rahab, they got married. He unfortunately was a regular customer to the bars for years and years. He would come while he was traveling for work and eventually got another Thai girl pregnant. He has an 11yr old son, whom Aum loves and treats like her own. She said working in the bars was miserable and she was so happy that another one of the girls she worked with heard about Rahab and they both decided to leave.

The things that they make the girls do in the bars is horrendous. I have only heard stories thusfar, but I will be visiting this week and will get a real taste of where these girls are coming from.

More to come....pictures soon too!

Laura