Yes, I am still here :) - Catch Up Post #1 (from end of Feb 2010)

So it’s been a little too long since the last post, but my excuses are in good form :). Since my last post I have done the following:



1. Watched the super bowl in a Thai bar with every American drunk living in and visiting Chiang Mai. I then won a bet on the winner of the super bowl (WHO DAT!) and had the fearless loser (ahem, Eric) wear my hot pink bikini top outside of his shirt all around the city for one day.



2. Attended the flower festival in Chiang Mai which is similar to the Rose Parade with floats made entirely out of flowers = this new age hippy lady's dream on wheels :)

3. Attempted Thai style karaoke and sang Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On like an absolute champ :)



4. Taught English to 15 Burmese hill-tribe minority kids and loved every minute of it




5. Started a strong daily self practice of yoga and zen

6. Received the most amazing massage from the talented blind masseuse Dio

7. Played model and had a suuuper fun photo shoot with an ever amazing and talented photographer - I am your biggest fan :)



8. Met wonderful life-long friends who have helped guide me on my path - I am very appreciative and I know we will keep in touch



9. Was introduced to the many medicinal wonders of the Thai herbal steam bath of which I have learned to mimic at home (come and visit :)

10. Did an all day bike ride with a friend (Regi!) riding south of Chiang Mai until no sound of cars or buses could be heard



11. Found a really cool thai massage and herbal medicine school to take classes at for one week but ended up going on a meditation retreat from hell instead


12. Moved to Mae Sai and started volunteering with DEPDC. And moved into my first apartment without roommates :).

13. Visited a Thai organic farm and learned how to grow hydrophonic plants (yesssss!)

14. Renamed myself DJ Sweet-T on child voice radio from 9-11 am weekday mornings

15. Finally got back on the horse, or motorbike in this instance, after a minor incident - and going strong!

16. Still learning to sleep on an extra hard mattresses

17. Befriended several fellow farang friends who have the same passion for volunteering and social work as myself

So, I have had a great time and have learned more than I ever thought I could in the four months, life is amazing and is keeping me on my toes!

Say What?!

Arrived in Chiang Mai in the beginning of January after a three week vacation with the family in Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Koh Lanta - an island in the south of Thailand near Phuket. Had an awesome time at each place and very thankful to have the quality time with three of the most important people in my life :). Now starts another adventure! Sadly this one will most likely be void of fancy accomodation and fine dining as in the previous three weeks, but it will definitely be an adventure of an different and interesting light! Brrrring on what you got for me, life! I'm ready and waiting!

I enrolled in a Thai language course at the AUA immediately after arriving in Chiang Mai. Course comes complete with a crazy hilarious Thai teacher and 8 other farang (Thai word for foreigner - spelling is unknown to all). Class fun and intense due to the 5 tones that the Thai language incorporates, which if you hear a Thai person say one word in all 5 tones, every word sounds exactly the same, shit. The kicker to learning a tonal language is where one word has two meanings that are opposites, depending on the tone used. Now who's idea was this? My favorite has to be Suay...if said with rising tone it means beautiful, if said with falling tone it means bad luck. Note to self, dont get that one wrong when speaking about someone's child or mother. Another one is kii (pronounced kee)...if said with low tone means "to ride", and if said with high tone means "to shit". So on any given day depending on my vocal talents, I could either ride a bike or shit a bike. I dont see how Thai people could not enjoy talking to foreigners if only for the reasons mentioned above, but it has been a little difficult befriending Thai people around my age. Aside from the wonderful fellow farang friends I have here, my Thai friends include the hilarious grandfather who owns the guesthouse I stay in and my yoga teacher's wife. Both are wonderful and so much fun to interact with. They help me with my Thai and I help them with their English, fair trade favoring both sides. My new goal is to find a Thai sidekick to experience mid-twenties Thai living . Open to suggestions on methods of finding said sidekick ....(female sidekick preferable and scandalous suggestions are accepted though doubtfully put into action :)

We reach!

Made it safely to Thailand to start a year of philanthropy work with women and children rescued from human trafficking. Here are some links if you would like to learn more about the world-wide black market of human trafficking:

http://www.stopthetraffik.org/humantrafficking/problem.aspx
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,460130,00.html
http://www.onlinesecurityauthority.com/thoughts-on-security/top-10-facts-human-trafficking/
http://www.unodc.org/pdf/gift%20brochure.pdf

And links to organizations committed to helping trafficked victims and to ending the modern day slave trade:

www.depdc.org
www.notforsalecampaign.org
www.ecpat.org
www.restore-nyc.org