The summer begins - Blogabond

So, here i am, about a week into the summer. Things are going great so far. Before all the students came, my friend Kevin and I ran up to Laos for a few days to get a longer visa to stay in Thailand. We just went to Vientiane, which is the capitol city of Laos and is right on the border. We spent most of our time at the Thai embassy, but it wasn't a bad trip. Nice and relaxing. We also got to check out the sights in the city. I can't wait to get back to Laos and see more of the countryside. I have a few Lao friends now that will take me all around when I get some free time. I hear that the countryside of Laos is really beautiful.

Karen style house at the orphanage

Now, I am in a small town called Mae Sariang, very close to the Thai-Burma border. This are is mostly Karen people orginally from Burma. It is very different than being in the rest of Thailand. There are not a lot of Thai ethic people here so the culture and traditions here are very different. I like the Karen people and I am trying to learn to speak their language, although most of them speak Thai so communication is not an issue. The house in the picture is the house that I live in, along with the other staff and 8 Karen boys who go to the local school. They are all around 17 years old. This is where I will be spending most of my summer. I am here for another two weeks, then I leave to lead another trip all over the north of Thailand for 3 weeks and then I am back here for the last 4 weeks. It is really amazing here and I really like the project here. We have american kids coming to stay with us here. so far this week, we have painted the school, prepared a new vegtable garden on our property, visited a Karen Longneck village, visited many temples, cleaned up trash at a temple, planted rice, adopted 2 puppies, visited a cave, and learned to weave. This part of Thailand has so much to offer. Especially the culture of the Karen people. We also live with Karen people, so the students and I really get to be a part of their lives and learn from them.

The big house at the orphanage

This project is a really big project that is just in the beginning phases. I have already written alot about this project in past blogs so I won't repeat myself, but this is a picture of the big house. This is part of what will be the orphan's dorms and the guesthouse. The roof and the walls are temporary for right now just to house the students for the summer. this building is huge though and dominates the skyline. Everyone in the area knows about this house. In the future it is going to be so beautiful . Below the house, there are rice fields leading all the way down to the river, and there is a beautiful view of the mountians leading into Burma. This town is situated in a beautiful valley with mountains on either side and a river and rice fields occuping the valley floor.

My first batch of students have been great. 6 girls that are all 16 or 17. It has been an adventure, but they are all loving the trip and have been doing great. They love to make fun of me all the time. Next week, I get one guy, so i am really excited about that. He will have a lot of fun hanging out with me and all the Thai and Karen staff. We have some great guys here.

That is about all I have for now. Not much time for using the internet either. I hope everyone is doing well and I will updat esoon.

written by

jasonreevesmiller on June 17, 2008 from Mae Hong Son, Thailand

from the travel blog: Thailand Summer 2008

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