Baan Unrak Travels: Singapore & Malaysia!

The Baan Unrak traveling troupe has safely returned home with great stories from their first adventure abroad!

THE JOURNEY:

I was invited to spend the past 3 weeks as a care-taker for 18 kids (ages 7-17 years old) from the Baan Unrak Children's Home. We traveled from Bangkok to Singapore and Malaysia, showcasing yoga and dance performances. I also helped Didi participate in talks and meetings about social welfare development, promoted fundraising for our Home, and helped to sell a range of products from our single mother's project Weaving Center.

Didi Devamala asked me to help lead her children abroad knowing that she would be called away regularly for important meetings and conferences. That left me with a new catch phrase for the kids, 'Who's the boss?!'

More importantly, it left me with 18 passports, 18 invitation letters and important travel documents, endless customs and immigration forms, organizing flights and transfers (with small panic attacks whenever one of the small children left my line of sight), leading sightseeing trips on our free time, setting wake up calls for morning meditation and picking fights with the big children about curfew 'lights out!' each and EVERY night...the days were long, filled with: cooking, cleaning, walking, running, screaming, laughing, and loving (especially for the small children who were homesick nearly every night.)

The journey was incredible but exhausting. We had no money for spare creature comforts, so we traveled humbly. We were invited to sleep in yoga centers in Malaysia and Singapore (on the condition that we vacated each day they had a class scheduled); and we kept a strict regimen of cooking and cleaning so as not to impose on our hosts' hospitality. Sleeping on the hard wood floors every night with only a thin blanket did something funny to my back and shoulders, and I think I've earned a few more grey hairs in my top-bun than I originally expected...For me, traveling in this fashion was a challenge as well. When I travel, I'm used to splurging here and there for a cup of coffee or extravagant meal; however I didn't want to flaunt my money in front of the kids and I didn't want to buy anything I couldn't share with all 20 of us...so I learned a few lessons myself about truly traveling without expense.

However, seeing these kids on a plane for the first time in their lives...was something special for me. I had to teach them how to buckle and unbuckle the plane seat belts; how to use the airplane toilet (they were afraid of the noise!); how to navigate through an airport and find their gate; how to pack and prepare for a trip abroad each travel day; how to 'pop' the pressure from their ears when the pain became too much! On the second flight back from Malaysia to Bangkok, they were seasoned pros already...and I was one proud Care-Takin' Mama.

SINGAPORE:

In Singapore the kids performed for long-time donors and friends of Baan Unrak, and they got to visit some incredible sights: the Merlion, the Discovery Center and Snow City, Singapore Zoo and Night Safari, the Jurong Bird Park, a boat trip around the bay, a cruise down Orchard Street, and a beach day at Sentosa Island complete with a night showing of laser lights, song and dance! These kids were so lucky, on my first trip to Singapore I couldn't do any of these fun things because the entrance fees were too expensive...lucky for them to have such generous sponsors, and lucky for me to get to tag along!

MALAYSIA:

In Malaysia, the kids participated in a yoga and meditation retreat for 3 days and had great audiences for their performances. On their free time they visited the iconic towers of downtown Kuala Lampur, little India, Chinatown and surrounding sights. They spent a total of 11 days abroad, and packed in as many activities as they could!

THE RETREAT:

The retreat was organized by the Ananda Marga community (Margis) who are made up of followers of the Neo-Humanist philosophy worldwide, the very same philosophy backing the Baan Unrak Home and Foundation.

Every year retreats like this are organized in different corners of the world, and the purpose of each retreat is to have a collective gathering to embrace spirituality, and to hold meetings for the Didis and Dadas (nuns and monks of the order) to meet and review each other's volunteer projects and discuss issues and social development plans in the regions they are based in. I was fascinated, meeting these Didis and Dadas and learning more about the philosophy. In my next post I will be sure to load more photos and videos of the retreat and share more about what I have learned of Neo-Humanism over the past few weeks.

AT THE END OF THE DAY...

The most rewarding part of the trip has been seeing a sense of pride develop and evolve in the children as Thai citizens; and as they compared life abroad to their own humble upbringing they felt a renewed sense of appreciation for many of the values they were brought up with at Baan Unrak.

I have also developed a renewed sense of hope in mankind's capacity to give selflessly. So many people came together to support this trip for us and everyday people spent hundreds of dollars making sure we were fed, well taken care of and entertained during our stay. Most of the people who helped us had never met these kids before, and some people only heard a few words about our project before they were inspired to hand over wads of cash for Didi...It was really something else. Our kids truly touched the lives of hundreds of individuals, merely by their presence.

More than once people came to me privately thanking me for the work I was doing...this made me uncomfortable and I felt undeserving to be honest. I never thought of what I was doing here as a truly selfless act; it was very much my own selfish love that brought me here to live with these kids...however, I did feel energized that there were so many people I came into contact with over the past few weeks who were in awe and support of what I was doing with my life... I must admit their words filled my heart with something I must have felt missing and needing right now. Not glorification...but exoneration from my conscious debt to 'modern mass' society.

THANK YOUS:
This trip was the trip of a lifetime for these kids, and none of it would be possible without the generous support of our friends: our friends in Singapore and Malaysia for being such welcoming hosts and sponsoring all the fun activities for our children; Patrick Dering of Bangkok for his generous donation which carried us all the way through our journey; Chusak (aka Taraka Nat, a child from the Baan Unrak Home who had the great task of networking a relationship between the Home and Thai AirAsia); Krittawat and Mother Ladda (who were able to put us in touch directly with AirAsia); and Mr. Tassapon Bijleveld the CEO of Thai AirAsia sponsoring our tickets, for supporting our mission and providing this awesome opportunity for a very special group of children!

If you would like to see more photos from our trip abroad, check out my Picasa Web Album: Baan Unrak Travels!

Namaskar,

Stefanie

Stay tuned for the next post about the ins and outs of an Ananda Marga Meditation Retreat.

AirAsia Gives The Gift of International Travel!

Happy days! 18 of our children were eligible to apply and receive Thai citizenship and passports last month which is a great accomplishment for the Home and the success of our mission! These blessed children will also get the greatest gift of all this holiday season: the gift of international travel to Singapore & Malaysia sponsored generously by AirAsia airlines!

None of this would be possible without the generous support and determination of a few individuals: Chusak (aka Taraka Nat, a child from the Baan Unrak Home who had the great task of networking a relationship between the Home and Thai AirAsia airlines); Krittawat and Mother Ladda (who were able to put us in touch directly with AirAsia); and Mr. Tassapon Bijleveld the CEO of Thai AirAsia for sponsoring our tickets, for supporting our mission and providing this awesome opportunity for a very special group of children!

Enjoy the video of the Baan Unrak Yoga Performance, just one of 12 show pieces our kids will be performing while on the road. Stay tuned for more photos and videos, as we fly to Singapore on Friday Dec.2nd!

STAY CONNECTED: Baan Unrak Facebook (the Baan Unrak Children's Home page) and My Picasa Web Album for more photos, updates, stories and video links during our journey.

Interested in learning more about our program? After the video, keep reading for extra details (including background stories of the kids and the purpose of our travel.)

The proposed travel schedule:

Dec 2nd: Travel to Singapore

Dec 3rd-Dec 6th: Performances and sightseeing in Singapore

Dec 6th-7th: Travel to Malaysia (Kuala Lampur)

Dec 7th-11th: Retreat, performances in Kuala Lampur

Dec 12th-15th: Free Time, Sightseeing &Travel back to Thailand

Children Details: 16 kids + 3 Adult supervisors (Ayati, Taraka Nat, Stefanie) + Didi Devamala, total pax 20

Names of kids: Chamu, Mimi, Kamela, Kushuma, Panarat, Soso, Prema, Janako, Taruni, Darika, Ice, Dream, Fai, Malee, Rambo, Davie

Background of Kids:

These kids are mostly displaced children, born in remote villages along the Thai/Burmese border. Most of them have been abandoned by their parents; the primary reason being poverty and a lack of economic opportunity for families along the border. Some have been abandoned by parents that were HIV positive; because the families had no hope for a future to care for themselves, much less their children.

Mostly these kids have been brought to the Baan Unrak Children's Home as a last resort: a safe place where school, medical care, food and housing is all provided for free. These particular kids traveling are a privileged few, only 10% of the children at the Baan Unrak Childrens Home. After a challenging process, they have been able to gain government approval for Thai IDs and passports for international travel. Most importantly, these kids represent the rest of the children from their Home; the kids who have not yet received national ID cards, may never receive ID cards, and for those who may never be as lucky in the future to receive such a privilege as a Thai passport.

Purpose of the show:

Primarily, the purpose for this traveling troupe is to raise awareness about the Baan Unrak Children's Home and to promote fundraising for a major project: the construction of a new school building for the Home Schooled Teenagers. Equally important for the welfare of these children, is the hope that this trip will promote personal growth and development through international travel. For these kids, travel is a precious opportunity and rarely done outside of Bangkok city since the costs are too enormous and the logistics too difficult. Hopefully these kids will have a memorable experience to cherish in their lives; learn something new about different environments and cultures around the world, and hopefully learn something new within themselves as well.

Performances:

Singing songs---2 songs originally composed/written by Lochoy from the Baan Unrak Home

Indian Dance---5 dances

Yoga Performance---3 performances

Karen Dancing---1 dance

Thai Dancing--- 1 dance

None of this would be possible without the generous support of sponsors and friends of the Baan Unrak Home. Thank you and hope this trip will be the beginning of many more for these wonderful kids!

How To: Khao Lam, Grill Sticky Rice in Bamboo

I should start by saying that this is probably one of the most important blog posts I have written in a long time...I take my food seriously and when it comes to sticky rice, my favorite of favorite dishes, this is EXTREMELY serious business. I have spent hours, carefully considering the recipe for this post so please, savor it if you will!

In Thailand, glutinous rice is known as sticky rice which the locals call 'khao neow.' Sticky rice is a staple food for the people of Central, Northern, and Northeastern Thailand and can be eaten 3 times a day with any meal. It is a type of short-grained rice that becomes extra sticky when cooked, and it has been cultivated throughout Asia for more than 1,000 years.

Fun Fact: It is commonly rumored that sticky rice was used to make the mortar when constructing the Great Wall of China.

So, how to eat sticky rice like a local? Mostly sticky rice is served in a small, woven bamboo basket and accompanies any dish: fried or grilled meats, steamed vegetables, curries and soups. The local technique includes gathering a small amount in your forefingers, and rolling the rice tightly into a small ball (the size of a golf ball.) Then the rice is dipped into sauces or eaten alone to bring down the spice level of any dish.

[After studious care and attention over the years, I have discovered a 2:1 ratio with many of my friends...2 bites of meats or veggies, to 1 bite of sticky rice...and so on, and so on, and so on...But of course, 'alai ga dai' up to you!]

Saturday evening one of the big boys from the Baan Unrak Home put the idea in my head that we should, correction HAD TO, make 'khao lam' sticky rice grilled in bamboo. COOL. I've only seen this dish cooked once before, years ago, high up on a mountain during one of the many trekking trips I used to lead in the Northern mountain ranges outside of Chiang Mai. The cook that time, well she didn't have a clear idea of what she was doing, so the rice was more runny than sticky...not correct my friend!

But alas, a real teacher...allow me to introduce you to Taraka Nat. As the shirt implies this kid is real trouble. He's a sweet talker, a charmer, and overall one overly-confident 20 year old constantly looking for trouble...and somehow he always convinces me to go along for the ride.

OK. Jokes aside Taraka Nat, aka Baby, is a great role model for the boys here; he is one of the special kids from the Baan Unrak Home eligible to study at a university in the capital Bangkok city. Schools across the country have been closed temporarily due to the floods, so he's spent a lot of time around the Home lately looking for entertainment. He's found it, in annoying the heck out of me day in and day out... every morning he gets these whimsical ideas, "let's do this today!", "let's do that!", and sometimes I entertain them...this one however, I have to give it to him, was GENIUS!

How to make 'Khao Lam':

Step 1: Go to the jungle.

Serious. I piled 7 boys into the back of a pick up truck and drove outside Sangkhlaburi village to the mountains surrounding Songkalia River, just a stone's throw from the Burmese border. From there it was a steep climb to the top, to many tops in fact since we got lost and confused about which mountain we were supposed to be climbing!

We were on the hunt for white bamboo, chosen for its size, strength, and extra fragrant insides for the cooking of our rice. Hunting for this bamboo was like hunting for some critically rare species, a mythical beast; it was a journey that lasted hours walking up and down, up and down, up and down through the dense forest....the moment we found our bamboo we posed for a group photo, like pioneers savoring our conquest all wide smiles and crazy eyes: 'This land we discovered on our own!'

Step 2: Chop bamboo into small pipes, each one roughly measuring 1/2 meter long. The trick is to cut the bamboo at an angle, where the knobs meet, so that you can fill each pipe with water and have it not fall out the bottom.

Step 3: Create rice mixture. In one large bowl mix one part sticky rice, two parts coconut milk, and add sugar and salt to taste. The milk should cover the rice completely, and the mixture should be sweet, very sweet, in fact because the cooking process will make the rice more savory and because the children convinced me that in Thailand there was no such thing as tooth decay. 'Only myth!'

Please note: sticky rice must soak for a few hours, preferably overnight, in cold water prior to cooking preparation.

Once the mixture is set, carefully spoon the contents into the bamboo pipes and pack the tops with banana leaves to keep in the steam and heat while cooking.

Step 4: Man makes fire.

A small fire is best for this kind of grilling. Lay the bamboo gently against a rail or fixture. Leave it alone for a while, it can take from 1.5-2 hours of cooking until the rice is ready (depends on the size of the bamboo.)

Step 5: Eat.

Gently peel the bamboo open at the top to check its contents. If the mix is runny, and milk is obvious from the top it is not yet ready. If you don't see any water, and the rice appears solid you're good!

The best part of the whole cooking process is the moment you can take your bamboo and slice it open to reveal the sweet contents inside. This time our khao lam was extra, extra sweet and a perfect midnight snack!

The rice, when properly cooked, should be chewy. It should fold into your fingers easily and be sweet enough to eat alone (and served with fresh fruit if available!) We feasted. Each of us had 2 or 3 pipes that night and stumbled into our beds with swollen bellies and light hearts. A campfire, a feast and good company...what else can you ask for in life?

...I know...MARSHMALLOWS! Mom, Dad? If you're reading this, please include marshmallows in your next care package. The kids (the biggest of which is of course, me) would FLIP for those! Until next time, adieu.

Loy Kratong Weekend at Baan Unrak

'Loy Kratong' has come and gone again here in Thailand. The festival of lights and 'floating flowers' takes place every November, the night of the full moon, and is celebrated to show gratitude to the Goddess of the River. Small boats are fashioned from banana leaves and folded into beautiful shapes, then decorated with flowers, candles, incense and coins before released into the river streams. Before releasing the boats, one prays to the Goddess to remove sorrow and asks her to bring joy and happiness again this coming new year.

This time last year I was dodging smoke bombs and fire crackers on the back of a friend's motorbike, zipping in and out of tourist traffic along the canal roads of bustling, Chiang Mai city. I remember having to fight my way through crowds to get to the Ping river's waterfront...This year's Loy Kratong was a remarkably different experience, as I chose to spend it with a different kind of crowd; I celebrated with the kids at Baan Unrak in the small, quiet village we call HOME.

Our celebrations started well before the night of the full moon. On Wednesday night I suddenly had the urge to make a huge bonfire in the middle of the football field. I bought corn, bananas and taro from the local market while the boys prepared the wood collection; after evening meditation we made a big show of lighting the fire and had a king's feast of roasted goodies. The little kids were dutifully tucked into bed before midnight, but some of the older teens insisted on bringing out their mats and blankets to spend the night 'camping' under the stars. I tended the fire for them, pulled the blankets up tight round their chins and said my 'good-nights' despite their tired moans asking me to stay with them. I told them I was too old to be sleeping on the dirt floor in the freezing cold, and indeed I was looking forward to a quick shower, warm blankets and a comfy bed. I remember laughing at them as I walked away, imagining their bony bodies shivering throughout the night...

...I should have remembered to ask the guard to keep the gates unlocked...by 1 am I forfeited; confirmed that I was indeed locked out of the main house and forced to walk back, tail between my legs, and tuck in with the kids on the ground sharing a flimsy blanket between 6 of us! I didn't sleep a wink...I was kicked and nudged from every direction, sandwiched between a snorer and an enthusiastic farter, and helplessly watched the hours roll away on my cell phone. When dawn finally broke I was up and out of there, running for the doors just as the care mothers woke up to start their day's work!

The next day, tired and grumpy from lack of sleep was FUN. Some of the older girls asked if we could make the 'kratongs' together and I could hardly say no to that! So, we tucked onto a motorbike (3 teens + 1 farang) and went hunting for fresh banana tree stalks and leaves from a neighbor's garden, and decorations from the local market.

An hour later, this is the mess we made:

Here the kids start making 'kratong', cutting banana leaves and folding them into intricate designs like lotus flowers and cones decorated with flowers and ferns.

I feel sorry for whoever was left behind to clean this up!

Once our kratongs were completed we traveled to the main square for some entertainment. All weekend long the kids enjoyed local markets, music performances and carnival-like festivals in the village square, and everyone (myself included) stuffed their faces with limitless sweets.

Finally, late night came and it was time to release our boats into the lake. Here the kids release the kratong into the lake and pray for another good year to come.

Happy Loy Kratong, and I hope next year I will be lucky enough to find myself in another beautiful setting like this again. I'll be posting videos of some of the performances from the main square soon, stay tuned!

Baan Unrak Flood Relief Campaign

The children of Sangkhlaburi held performances this weekend to raise money for the flood victims throughout Thailand. We are so proud of the Baan Unrak kids for their hard work and their desire to share what they do have with those in crisis. They raised over 20,000 Baht!

With the funds we have been raising, the children's organizations in Sangkhlaburi will join together to bring relief and recovery supplies directly to the flood victims in need.

If you would like to aid in our recovery efforts please donate through our website: http://www.baanunrak.org/DonataPP.html.

The weekend's campaign included: a children's parade of poi twirlers and local school marching bands; traditional and modern dance performances; performances by the Baan Unrak yoga troupe; rock performances from the Baan Dada Children's Home; and the children manned tables selling sweet drinks and donations as a fund raising effort for relief supplies.

Enjoy some of my favorite snapshots from the weekend!

Want to see more? Check out the rest of my photos on my Baan Unrak Flood Relief Picasa Web Album.

Arteca Unites Us, Children Dance Project

A couple weeks ago I was introduced to a very handsome man, an Italian with a killer accent named Mauro. He and his friend Fabian recently started a non-profit organization focused on developing creativity and artistic skills for disadvantaged children living in Sangkhlaburi (and throughout SE Asia), appropriately named Arteca.

We met at a small cafe and I admit I was distracted for a while by the way his lips moved when he pronounced the word 'cappuccino'... It took only a few minutes for the small chitchat to idle and the networking to begin. He knew me through a friend of a friend in our small village and was recruiting me as a dance teacher for a few weeks in October while his project was present. He was working out of another children's home in the area, Children of the Forest, and had heard through the wire I had a background in ballet dance.

Here's where I had to laugh a little and put down my coffee...Me, ballet? And teaching? I haven't had a proper ballet class (nor any kind of dance class) in 10 years! He assured me I was more than qualified, saying he planned for just some basic movements at an introductory level, with only a small group of girls interested. OK I said, but on two conditions: one, you allow me to bring my girls from Baan Unrak to also join the class; and two, that the meal served at lunchtime is vegetarian friendly.



So here I am on a shaky bamboo platform, working with a ballet bar made of thick bamboo poles wound tightly together; teaching ballet again after many, many, many, lost years to dance. Another volunteer from Baan Unrak, a German named Steven, also taught a joint hip-hop class with our local dance star Chocolate.

The girls really enjoyed the class, and I'm looking forward to the next sessions. Who knows, maybe it's time to contact some of my old dance friends and convince them to come out here for a few weeks to put on a workshop...hmmmm....sounds pretty good!

I was surprised how easy it was to recall the ballet bar exercises and technique when put on the spot. I guess it's true, the body doesn't forget movement...however, I sure don't remember the pain associated with some of the stretches and I certainly remember being a lot fitter when I was 16 years old!

Baan Unrak Hip Hop Boys Take the Stage!

The Baan Unrak Hip Hop boys are at it again! New dance, new members, new choreography and a new look! [Click here if you missed my last post introducing Taji and Chocolate and their mission to dance to a better future...]

These boys are remarkable and despite their losses (loss of family, loss of home, loss of country) they really stay strong and determined to create something new for themselves.

Enjoy the video!

The Karen minority group invited us to their Christmas celebrations last weekend, timed to celebrate the full moon. There were Christmas songs sung in Thai and Karen dialect, snow cones and frozen juice Popsicles, a bouncing castle for the kids (which we foreigners were denied entrance to due to our 'size'), prayers bestowed by the village leaders, and snacks and presents delivered to the kids by a Karen Santa Clause (chewing beetle nut tobacco and carrying a small machete in his back pocket for extra 'local' charm.)

...Watching them on stage takes me back to the days when I was a competitive dancer. Now almost 8 years since I wore my last pair of ballet slippers. That part of me feels like a past life, rather than the recent history that it is. I almost miss the rehearsals, the nerves and excitement, the costume changes and the pressure of an audience...ALMOST!

Baan Unrak Hip Hop Boys And Their Dreams For A Better Life

The boys at Baan Unrak do regular Hip-Hop shows in and around Sangklaburi and Bangkok (Thailand) to promote the children's home, raise awareness about the issues surrounding children and families living along the Thai/Burmese border and to fund raise every chance they can.

Inspired by the American Hip-Hop group Jabbawockeez, they created their own routine and rehearse themselves every spare moment to get the moves just right! Chocolate, Somchai and Taji all love to dance and have taken to hip hop style and fashion like fiends. (Taji, the smallest one at 13 years old admits he only recently started dancing, less than 1 year ago if you can believe it!)

Chocolate, 14 years old, and the main driving force behind this dance team says he dreams of the day he gets to meet the Jabba boys in person, and even better the day he can perform for them. Talking to Chocolate, I can see the dedication in his eyes and I know he's dreaming of going all the way. Here, keeping the kids inspired for a better life is the most important mission, and to see him stand out and inspire the other children who look up to him is...indescribable.

I'm doing what I can now to help him achieve this dream...at their request they'll be released into the You Tube world soon enough, with polished performances and a number of new dances they're choreographing right now. Maybe someday they will get the fame and attention they're working hard to achieve!

Home Sweet Baan Unrak: Sangkla, Thailand

It’s been two weeks and already it feels like I’ve been back here forever. I’m back at the Baan Unrak Burmese orphanage in the Thai border town of Sangklaburi. You’ve seen the videos and the photos from this region, so you already know the scenery is breathtaking…and soon I'll post videos showing the very best of laughing children, inspiring women and dedicated volunteers who run this home.

I’ve had 10 volunteers under my care these past couple weeks and today is our last day together. Tomorrow morning we have a killer 5 am wake up call and a 7 hour drive through winding mountains to the Bangkok airport where we will say our final goodbyes, and where I pick up my next group. Looking back at our accomplishments we have done some amazing work together! We planted nearly 1000 tomato plants and ladyfinger herbs, we created a paddock for planting 25x35 meters, we spent days repairing the fence work around the home (after we found a hole kids were sneaking out of at night!) and we've cleaned and painted the front of the entire orphanage home, making the face of Baan Unrak brighter and more uplifting for everyone living here.

This place...words are hard to find to describe what this place does to me. Don't get me wrong, it's not all that easy being here. The work is hard: physical hard labor in a burning sun all day; pink eye, stomach bugs and chest infections tend to spread like wildfire; waking up to scorpions in your pillow and poisonous man eating-centipedes on your doorstep is not uncommon; and living for months on end with no meat, no electricity, no hot water, and absolutely no privacy does strange things to your body and soul.

And yet...I swear I have never been happier in my life than the times I have spent here. Maybe the only experience that comes close is when my big brother's first baby born came into this world. So tiny and frail, Cooper looked up at me with eyes full of trust and need...and that is something I continue to see every day from the children here.

When traveling, we realize that it takes time to fall in love. Visiting somewhere once, twice, even three times is not enough to really take it in through the skin. Making connections, understanding your surroundings, and reveling in the rhythm of a place can take years. I've been working with this orphanage for over a year now, but it feels like only recently have I been 'seeing' with a new set of eyes. The day I came back for the first time in many months since being away, I felt my heart swell. My chest physically expanded and I found myself releasing a long slow breath I didn't know I was holding.

Didi, the spiritual leader who runs this home, said the children were waiting for me. As soon as I stepped out of the taxi, I had Zola and Taji in my arms again. The last time I saw Taji was in January, and he was swimming after me as my boat was driving away. He was shouting my name, and trying to keep a strong smile on his face. The day he was finally back in my arms, Taji looked up at me with the biggest grin I've ever seen from him, and said he always knew I would come back. Yeah, I knew it too.

Every morning we start with meditation on the hill at 5 am. We watch the sunrise and chant a mantra the children study every day: Baba Nam Kevalam, which roughly translates to 'love is all around us.' After working hard in the field all day, we break at 3:30pm waiting for the children to come back from school and proceed to play for hours: tug of war, skipping ropes, soccer, and dancing classes (even the big boys want me to teach them ballet!) Evenings we share meals and stories together, and put the little ones to bed before doing a nighttime yoga session. Wake up tomorrow, and do it all again. Weekends are spent doing relief work and bringing medical supplies to the nearby refugee villages, and taking group trips to the local river spot to teach the kids how to swim. No alcohol, no smoking, no meat, no romantic relationships. It's the ultimate detox for life: cleaning your body, cleaning your soul, and filling your day to day life with laughter, happiness and most importantly hope for the future.

Now I'm back, and I'm staying put for at least another 3 months...After that, I don't know. Somehow I'll have to tear myself away. But until then bring on the love, the games, the physical labor and relief work for Burmese women and children who struggle every day in the jungles between Thailand and Burma.

Burmese Refugee Relief Work, Thailand 2010

Posted: Aug.2010, Written: Jan.2010






Well, I have officially survived the high school group. 3 weeks traveling with 22 people, all between the ages of 15-17 years old has me more exhausted than I've ever felt before!

The group was great, a great group of kids who really made me laugh every day. They were naughty and constantly asking a million questions (never waiting for the answer!) but they were inspired by everything they saw and did during their time in Thailand. I'm not a teacher, but I know that I touched the lives of each of these kids in some small way or another...so many of them started to cry as we hugged goodbyes at the airport yesterday, and better yet so many of them swore they were going to come back to volunteer again when they turn 21. Some of them really learned something new about themselves.

The kids were incredibly naive and sheltered, so they were challenged every day and pushed way beyond their comfort zones. In three weeks I could see personalities change, and personal growth from these kids which was amazing since university students rarely go through such a quick transformation. I'm proud of our accomplishments together, and looking forward to spending with with high school groups again...despite the sleepless nights and manic running around 24 hours/day!

Our time together at the orphanage was amazing, nearly 100 meters of fence construction was done in 3 days, we painted the home from head to toe (which is a feat for a 4 story building), we started construction of a new volunteer house, we did two days of gardening planting vegetables and banana trees (not as easy as it sounds!), and we did several sessions of English teaching (maths, vocab, arts)...but the real impact was with the relief work.

Feeling inspired after our New Year's meditation ceremony, I asked Didi to let our group get involved in relief work within the local community. We set out the next 3 days building roofs (grass thatched roofs) for a blind lone grandmother, and delivering rice, clothes and medical care to the Burmese refugee camps. I took small groups of 6 at time in the back of a truck to the Thai/Burmese border. We then set off with our Baan Unrak volunteer nursing staff and headed straight into the jungle. To say villages doesn't quite cut it...we were in camps. Small families and spaces cramped together, in the middle of nowhere. A lot of the babies were born to women younger than the high school kids in my group, and a lot of them having been born in the jungle were seriously malnourished and physically deformed. One young boy, 15 years old got caught in a forest fire...all of his skin from head to toe had melted off only a few days ago, so I got in to help re apply ointment and gauze...

I also watched a man die. He had been lying down for 6 months and his stools were pitch black...internal bleeding. He couldn't move, eat, sleep, or pee. For 6 months in this condition, because as a political refugee from Burma he has no rights, no access to anything! When I was there with the nurse, he took one breath and closed his eyes...then he stopped moving. The nurse said she would come back again tomorrow with a car if she can find one and try to get him to a hospital...but we both knew it was too late.

I can't explain too much more...there was a lot more that I saw and did, but it's still processing I think. Leaving Baan Unrak this time was the hardest time yet, and I still haven't come to terms yet with leaving Thailand in general....Australia is sounding worse and worse every day, and I feel like I'm trying to dig my heels in as hard as I can. How can I go to Australia and leave all this? I'm finally doing something with my life, something meaningful and I've finally found something worth fighting for--the preservation of life.