Fa-rang

Koh Phi Phi

2006-07-26T04:17:00.000-07:00

Went to Phi Phi island in the south of Thailand along the Andaman coast for a few days with friends. Im told 'The Beach' was filmed here if you wanna get an inside look. It really was incredible. Even Janice, who is from the Caribbean, agreed it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen. White sand beaches and turquoise waters surrounded by limestone cliffs. Found a local to take us in his old wooden fishing boat to nearby uninhabited islands where we explored caves and were chased by monkeys after trying to feed them pineapple. Stayed in a little bungalow on the mountainside, met backpackers from around the world, and engaged in a serious gluttonous affair with lobster and margaritas.

Mercy Center

2006-07-14T02:24:00.000-07:00

I visited Mercy Center this morning in the Klong Toey slum of Bangkok. It is a hospice center for mothers and children living with HIV/AIDS. I was so taken by this place. It is run like a family; many of the staff are people from the community who are poor, handicapped, or living with HIV/AIDS and exchange their work for food and a place to live. These caregivers are mostly referred to as "mother" and "father" by the children who have lost their parents to AIDS. In spite of the terrible loss of their parents and the discrimination from society, there was a home here, a place where these children could feel safe and loved, and it was evident in their smiles and laughing as they played together and asked to be held. Not only for the children but for the workers, this place was a home. I noticed a man, crippled with polio, as he moved off of his crutches to sit and remove his shoes and replace them with sandles, according to Thai custom, before entering the office to do his work. I saw him in contrast to the many others in his situation who have been abandoned to the streets here to beg for money. He was proud and dignified, giving what he could give. There was a spirit of strength in this place. Harmony in giving and receiving.

Travels in Northern Thailand

2006-07-11T03:22:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the chance to travel to northern Thailand on the borders of Myanmar and Laos to visit hilltribe villiages. UNESCO estimates there are about 1 million people belonging to hilltribe groups in Thailand including Karen, Hmong, Yao, and Akha that I visited. Many hilltribe people, although born in Thailand, do not have citizenship restricting them from education, healthcare, and land ownership.

Lack of legal identity also makes these people at high risk for being trafficked. Efforts are being made and about 75% of hilltribe children now have citizenship and attend public Thai schools. With this come new concerns of assimilation into Thai society and the erosion of traditional ways of life. Even the future generation who wish to continue their cultural lifestyle may find opportunities scarce as hilltribes are being restricted to smaller and smaller plots of land by the Thai government. (Previously they lived as nomads practicing slash and burn farming which was accused of causing a great amount of deforestation in Thailand.) Now they live off of a few acres of land growing a mix of corn, rice, pineapple, bananas, tobacco, and pumpkins with a few cows and chickens.

Opium used to be big here but has been reduced by recent efforts of the Thai government. Women have traditionally grown and chewed beetle nut for medicinal purposes and because it makes the teeth permanently black which was considered beautiful. This is changing as research suggests risks for mouth cancer.

The women also make money by selling their weavings and their own image to tourists who are encouraged to make a donation for the pictures they take. The Karen 'long necks' as they are called have maintained their tradition of wearing metal rings around their necks weighing up to 30 lbs.

Legend says the rings are worn to protect from tiger bites. Few tigers exist in the north now due to deforestation but the rings are still worn to preserve a sense of identity. Animism is a big part of the hilltribe culture. Carvings of a man and woman form the entrance gate to the villiage and serve to protect against evil spirits.

Belief in the spirit world is very prominent in all of Thai culture, even among Buddhists. Houses/shrines are erected for the spirits in homes and shops. Food, incense, and flowers are set out for the spirits daily. I really enjoyed visiting the hilltribes and seeing their rich cultural heritage and simple lifestyle and hope it will be preserved.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4092595.stm

Sanuk

2006-07-11T01:58:00.000-07:00

For whoever is in on reading War + Peace with me this summer, I just got through vol. 1 on the 12 hour train ride to Chiang Mai. I was thinking about the seriousness of Russian literature in contrast to the culture of "Sanuk" = "fun" I am immersed in here. Thailand, the land of smiles. Everything is done with a playful and lighthearted air. Sense of humor is key and confrontation is avoided. Maybe Buddhism plays a role here in the idea that suffering is overcome by avoiding emotional attachment. Fun provides comic relief for life's suffering and allows one to maintain emotional distance/detachment. The less involvement, the less disapointment. My Thai friends have told me not to be so serious, which is refreshing, but too much of this philosophy of fun can start to seem superficial and forgetful. And maybe lead to emotional supression and isolation as my Thai friend Team pointed out. Maybe we need to distinguish between fun and happiness. Or maybe its not such a given that happiness is what we strive for. maybe it is to feel. to love. Sometimes i find i feel more when i am crying than when i am laughing. But not to cry out of cynicism or bitterness like may be lazy or ungrateful. It is more to hurt for people but to hurt out of faith and hope in people/the world/life. Maybe like Alyosha in Brothers Karamozov. I have been disturbed here by an inability to feel. Surrounded in the clinic by people suffering, dying of AIDS and I didnt really feel anything. I 'thought' it was right or just to care for them, and I wouldve done it, but i didnt 'feel' compelled to do it. i suppose it cannot be forced. But sometimes it just comes. by chance. and it is beautiful! (There is a security guard in the dorm where I stay. He sits at the door by his dirtbike everyday. He looks about 18 but could be as old as 28 as it seems all Thai people look younger than their age to me. He is quiet but has friendly eyes. Not just friendly but bright, playful, curious eyes that make him look even more young. We have had no more interaction than the daily 'hello' in the others' language and one time he rummaged through his pockets to find change for my bill so that i could do laundry. The other night, the last night before I left for Chiang Mai, I was coming home and found him in the alley next to the dorm crunched into a ball and crying. The kind of crying that sounds like hiccups from trying to hold it in. And all of a sudden I felt tears welling up in my eyes. i left a bottle of water at his feet and he glanced up at me with a forced smile but looked embarrassed so i went away. I think I was "happy" in that moment that I felt compassion for that person.)

The Anonymous Clinic

2006-06-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

I recently visited the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Center and “Anonymous Clinic”. Striking how the stigma surrounding HIV is evident even in the name of this testing/treatment center. Mr. Patrick Brenny from UNAIDS informed me today that 2/3 of people living with HIV/AIDS in Thailand are unaware of it. The UN is organizing efforts to increase accessability to testing and also to decrease stigma by making it a more universally standardized procedure in which persons will no longer opt to be tested but rather opt out. Hopefully the “Anonymous Clinic” will follow suit and change its name. Still, I found the work at the Red Cross to be very progressive. They have a program called “Treat the parents, prevent orphans” in which an infected mother can receive free ARV treatment, reducing her risk of transmitting HIV to her baby by over 50%. They even continue to provide treatment to the mother after giving birth so that she may remain healthy to raise her child.

Women have become increasingly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS; no longer primarily among sex workers and drug users, the new wave of infection is among married women in the developing world. A recent article in Newsweek reported that “80% of women newly infected with HIV are practicing monogamy in a marriage or long-term relationship.” Women in Thailand are especially vulnerable as cultural norms still promote promiscuity among men dating back to the tradition of having multiple ‘minor wives’ and women are taught to value the ‘kulasatrii’ ideal of submissiveness to their husbands preventing them from questioning their husbands’ promiscuity or suggesting condom use. This gets me kinda fired up, but I am trying to understand what women within this culture actually want to change, if anything. Recently a Woman from the Ministry of Culture made an announcement suggesting that Thai women preserve the tradition of prostrating oneself before her husband every night.

a monk and magic water

2006-06-28T09:04:00.001-07:00

Last week I traveled 3 hours outside of Bangkok to the nearby Lopburi district, famous for its vast monkey population, to visit Wat Pra Baht Nam Phu. This temple serves as a hospice center for AIDS patients. To get here, I tagged along with Dr. Pyorrot and his assistant Kulachad who were going to make observations on their research. I found Dr. Pyorrot to be an eccentric man and he kept the long ride interesting by filling me full of Mangosteins (the ‘Queen of fruit’ in Thailand and my new favorite—tastes a little like rhubarb) and promoting his discovery of MRET water. He spoke of this water in a magical way as though it were going to cure AIDS and told me that if I drink it my skin will look more young and radiant. “Guess how old I am,” he said. I uncomfortably resisted but he insisted so I guessed, “53.” “No! I am much older than that but you wouldn’t know it because I drink MRET water!” I smiled but thought to myself that all Thai people appear younger than their age to me. But I gave into the propoganda and agreed to drink the MRET for the duration of my stay here so we’ll see what happens :). From what I understand the physical structure of the water is altered magnetically, increasing the weight of the proton in the hydrogen atom, making it more efficiently absorbed into the bloodstream. The Doctor has brought this water to the patients at the AIDS temple to observe its therapeutic effects on their immune systems.

While Dr. Pyorrot was collecting his data, I toured the facilities. It was the most devastating picture of AIDS I have ever experienced. There was a building for cremations which Im told is put into use daily, a Buddha image surrounded by the remains of those who have died with AIDS and had no family to claim them, and rows of beds filled with very sick, skinny patients who seemed too weak to move or make a sound.

I met with the monk who started this hospice center about 15 years ago by taking a few abandoned people living with AIDS into the temple and caring for them which has now grown into a 500 bed facility with 10,000 people on the waiting list. He faced a lot of opposition at first; the other monks at the temple left him and the community of Lopburi opposed the center in fear that the “runoff would infect the neighboring fields’ crops with AIDS.” In fact he had only planned on entering the monkhood for a few months, like most Thai Buddhists do at some point in their lives, but ended up staying and persisting with the work caring for thousands of patients and educating the community. It was an inspiring visit.

Yellow

2006-06-19T05:25:00.000-07:00

is the color this month in honor of the King's 60th year on the throne, making him the longest reigning king in the world. (In Thailand, every day of the week has a color. Yellow is the color of monday, the day on which the King was born.) There was recently a five day holiday to celebrate. The city was chaos as swarms of people, including royalty from around the world, flocked to Bangkok for the ceremonies. I stood amongst a sea of yellow t-shirts, underneath a sky of yellow fireworks, with admiration as thousands of Thais lit yellow candles and sang a song for their King. Coming from a country divided by party politics where the leader is viewed by citizens as an equal (if even that), it was of stark contrast to observe this kind of unity and reverence. The monarchy here seems better described as a family institution than a political one. The King is referred to as a father and people love, respect, and feel bound to him as such. The Bangkok Post commented, "Those who have never felt it will find it hard to understand, like those who are orphaned from birth, unfortunately, can never feel and thus cannot understand the love and bond between children and parents."

Forget the NBA Finals...

2006-06-19T04:38:00.000-07:00

I have joined my Thai friends here in World Cup madness. Several of my co-workers stayed up until 4 am on Wednesday night to see Germany defeat Poland. I love the hype! The Director-general of the Religious Affairs Dept announced that Thailand's Buddhist monks are, "allowed to watch the current World Cup matches on television but they should strictly observe serenity - no cheering, and, most importantly, no betting."

Buddhism and palliative care

2006-06-07T01:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend I went to a Buddhist temple with Pantaa, who was good enough to translate, for teaching on meditation and palliative care. The monk conceptualized the body in terms of soil: skin, muscle, and bone; wind: respiration and pulse; fire: temperature; and water: sweat and saliva. He taught that by concentrating in meditation on these aspects of the body and understanding how the pain relates to them, the patient may find relief. He also spent some time with me individually, in english!, teaching meditation through concentration on breathing. I could not seem to clear my mind of anxiety and self consciousness as the monk instructed me to put my finger inside of my nose and feel my breath. I kept thinking to myself, "This isn't working." Ha! Guess I am not quite ready to appreciate this art. But I did appreciate his concepts of training the mind and increasing self awareness. By increasing our awareness and understanding of our perceptions we may affect our experience of the world and thus, our health.
"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake, not by mechanical aids, but by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep. I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by a conscious endeavour. It is something to be able to paint a particular picture, or to carve a statue, and so to make a few objects beautiful; but it is far more glorious to carve and paint the very atmosphere and medium through which we look, which morally we can do. To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts." --from Walden by Thoreau

American cheese

2006-06-07T01:14:00.000-07:00

People are very forthcoming here. This morning P Noot greeted me in the office by saying, "Janel! ...You have a pimple." Later on in the day she caught me a bit off guard as we were chatting while waiting for an appointment by saying, "I have found that American people smell like cheese. What do Thai people smell like?"

First impressions

2006-06-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

This city is so full of life! I read that the famous american silk trader, Jim Thompson, decided to settle here permanently in the 40s after calling New York City "too tame". My first time on the skytrain I was sandwiched between a monk in full garb and a punk rock teenager. Ancient wats are just blocks away from excessively modern skyscrapers (one built to resemble a robot). The traffic, oh the traffic, here is crazy! Cars pack 3 to a 2 lane highway and motorcycles, which outnumber cars 3 to 1, weave in and out sometimes speeding up onto the sidewalk with no mercy for pedestrians. Markets are the thing here: night, day, weekend, and floating, selling everything from extension cords to Buddhist amulets to pets. These people have an endearing obsession with dogs; everyone has a dog, a picture of the King with his dog, or some kind of dog paraphernalia. Unfortunately there are also a lot of stray dogs roaming the streets. The city is also terribly polluted; the heat and humidity increasing the smog factor. There is a canal that runs through downtown and it is literally black. Tourists taking the ferry wrap garbage bags around themselves to protect their clothes from staining splashes. Thai people are very friendly and fun-loving, from what I can tell. They are proud of their culture; even those familiar with the west have been quick to greet me with a wai rather than a handshake. That is not to say that they haven't been accommodating; I was taken out to Pizza Hut for my first meal here and am consistently warned of ordering any Thai food that is spicy. I love the food here; the sweets are sweeter and the spices are spicier. The coffee is 3/4 cream and sugar and the Tom Yum makes my eyes water. Many exotic fruits here and the mangoes are incredible. I tried some intense northern Thai cuisine: fried eggs with larvae and fish egg soup. It seemed a bit Survivoresque at first but actually found it to be good. FYI: no one uses chopsticks here; next time you're at a Thai restaurant go for the fork and spoon. If you're not already convinced to come visit, consider this: 1 hour traditional Thai massage for $5.