In the middle of my last day volunteering at the school, the students and I were mid-Michael Jackson dance off, falling over ourselves laughing at it all- and I stopped to ask them if they were happy. Chuwanna doesn't translate everything I say to them, so a lot of times we lose things in translation to each other; but she caught that question and I heard her pose it to the students in Thai. They answered back with a rousing (and laughing) "YEAH!!!" Of course they were having fun- they're Thai!
Thinking about it later, I realized that the greatest gifts of my trip were the tiny moments that I thought to myself, "I'm so happy right now." Actually, I said it out loud a lot. (And usually, it was in regards to food being put in front of me, but I digress.) The actual act of verbalizing my happiness daily- and not in a "fake it 'till you make it" sort of way, but because there genuinely were things to be happy about- was a life-changing principle that I've been questing after for almost a year.
It's called MINDFULNESS, and I can't believe I had to go all the way to Thailand to experience and achieve it, but, I did. And in the most poetic touch, I didn't realize I had even dipped into it until the plane ride home. The exact moment involved a peanut butter and Nutella sandwich, in fact.
I don't handle long plane rides well, so I always pack plenty of things that will make me happy: enter said sandwich. I woke up out of one of my usual hour-long naps and decided the time had come to enjoy that delicious concoction, so I unwrapped it and started chewing. And as I chewed, I became aware of several facts. The first was that my mouth was insanely dry- despite drinking a lot of water. I was also incredibly hot, which was starting to make me uncomfortable.
The problem is, once you've started The List, it's extremely easy for it to grow. And you all know what List I am talking about- The List of Things That Are Wrong In Your Life At This Precise Moment.
Now, I am not usually a maker of this List, but we're all human, and have the ability to slip into it. I count myself lucky to be a natural optimist, and I don't really allow a lot of room in my life for negativity or negative people. I intrinsically don't know what to do with the chronic "List-ers"; making running tallies of the way the universe has wronged you at that moment is kind of....well....bullshit to me. One of the greatest quotes I heard this past year is, "I don't have to co-sign your bullshit." I love it. And this is where I use it. You can list the negativity away all you want, but I don't have to take any of it on. And the amount of time I have to spend listening to it is also minimal. :)
Another great quote I adore is "Small minds discuss people, Average minds discuss events, Great minds discuss ideas." I find that, if one can keep conversations to ideas, one can keep themselves out of the negative aspects that come much more easily with the first and second topics.
But yin cannot exist without yang, and we need the negativity to recognize the positivity, so I draw you back to the dry mouth, the warm plane ride, and my Nutella sandwich.
It dawned on me, clear as day, that I had the choice to pay attention to the dry mouth and warm body temperature, or I could pay attention to the peanut butter and Nutella sandwich. And hello- I HAD that sandwich! Which is a heck of a lot better than NOT having that sandwich! Those two slices of bread, the peanut butter, and the hazelnut between was suddenly the only thing I needed in the world. The enjoyment I was getting from the sandwich far, FAR outweighed the dry mouth and heat! And at that moment, I realized exactly what I was practicing.
Mindfulness.
And in a rush, my entire experience in Thailand came flooding back to me. Being happy in Chuwanna's classroom that last day, and hearing that the children were happy too. The iced coffees and blueberry cheesecakes Chuwanna would treat us to- and the words, "I am so happy right now" coming out of my mouth at first bite. Swimming in the turquoise blue waters off Raileh with Eve, staring up at limestone cliffs and completely disbelieving how far from home I was, and saying, "I am so happy right now." Doing The 100 in morning pilates at dawn and staring up at the star-filled sky, and knowing that even The 100 was enjoyable when you had a sky like that to gaze up at. Riding a tuk-tuk back to homebase just as the sun was rising, having come from giving alms to the monks at daybreak and receiving their blessing while kneeling in the street in Bangkok. And again, saying, "I am SO happy right now!!"
I'm not sure if it's due to their Buddhism, or their general Thai-ness, but the people of Thailand seem to have a fairly good grasp on this concept. They don't fly off the handle in anger or in excitement, either. They have a saying that goes, "Jai yen yen"- a literal translation to "Cool your heart." It isn't acceptable to be seen in extreme emotion, and jai yen yen is a way of telling someone to cool off before they make a fool of themselves. Essentially another way of saying, "You're being very Un-Dude."
I asked the dear neighbor to the homebase, Su (about whom another blog entry should be written), what that meant for falling in love or grieving loss. Was it okay to show emotion then? Her answer was that yes, it was proper to be happy or sad, but also, to let it go. When she fell in love with her husband, she knew to let the happiness go and turn it over. And when she buried him years later, she knew to let the sadness go and turn it over. Jai yen yen.
I had discovered that the secret to happiness laid in keeping a cool heart and looking for the positives in that very MOMENT- I don't need to make a long list of positives to counteract a long list of negatives. I need to look at what is EXACTLY in front of me, and enjoy the smallest, most seemingly insignificant parts of it- but the ones that are causing me pure joy.
It's the most wide-open secret in the world- splashed across hundreds of books, hidden in plain daylight- and you can read it over and over again, but until you experience it in this SIMPLEST FORM, you don't understand it.
So I invite you to try an exercise in this- in mindfulness, gratitude, and ultimately, happiness. Concentrate "not so much on what needs to be changed in the world", but rather, on what is perfect at this exact moment.
It can be as simple as a peanut butter and nutella sandwich.
XO and Kob Khun Ka for reading,
Di
"If I’m anything by a clinical name, I’m a kind of paranoiac in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy."
-J.D. Salinger, "Raise High The Roof Beam, Carpenters"
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Today is Purple Day (On Tuesdays we wear PINK.)
I've only just left Bangkok (this blog has proved a nice added activity to entertain myself with during the 6-hour layover in Taiwan), and already I miss plenty of bits about it. (Noticeably missing from that list: squatting toilets. Thanks.) What I'm missing at the current moment includes the formidable conversion rate (I really am going to regret the first time a bottle of water DOESN'T cost me 30 cents in the States) and the crazy Thai sense of culture and humor- notably, things like the color days.
Saturday is purple day in Thailand, for example- meaning, if you've got a purple shirt, today is the day you should wear it (fifty year old men included.) Each day of the week has its own color, and the Thais really do honor the system- if you know enough to know that Wednesday is Green Day (pun intended), you'll notice hundreds of BK citizens in green that day.
Pink day is, I think, their favorite, because they certainly do ALL turn up in pink on Tuesdays. Coincidentily, pink shirts also show loyalty and love for the king (it used to be yellow, because the king was born on a Monday- have you figured out yet what color Monday is?!)- but a few years ago, one of the political factions seized upon yellow as "its" color, so now yellow shirts either mean loyalty to that party, or, a case of the Mondays.
So, to recap, pink means Tuesday, or, I love the king, or, I'm a fifteen year old girl, or, I'm a forty year old Thai man who just appreciates a little COLOR, thank you very much. Matt Conrad, you've started a revolution.
But we don't HAVE this kind of weekly systematic dressing code fun in America, and thus I will probably end up in black and grey when I'm back at work in two days with a case of the Mondays myself.
The salt in the open wound of my departure from Thailand- or perhaps in this case, the chili pepper in the open wound- is the fact that Robbie Williams was playing on the radio as my taxi driver headed towards the airport. On the RADIO. Man alive, do I love foreign countries.
My final thought in this rambling, mid-plane trips and thus mid-sleeping aids layover, is the realization that the death of JD Salinger marks the third time I've gotten on a plane and someone rather important has died (MJ this past summer, and Reagan in 2004 while I was in Germany.) It's weird catching bits of news via facebook streams and television screens as you pass by them; but I kind of like it more than the constant coverage you're bombarded with while at home. The same for the Haiti situation- I haven't seen a speck of visual coverage of it and have had time to read minimal press surrounding it. I actually like being removed like this- you have time to process the story and its importance without the watering down it receives when the US press has seized upon it, fiending for every minute detail and feeding them to you piecemeal. It makes me laugh, too, and think about the way we've had to feed my sister news in the past during her time in London, or my brother during his years in Dublin. (Dear Chad, You have missed this, but it is important. Please review and get back to me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JMOh-cul6M Love, Dianna.)
At any rate, disasters happen, great people die, and cultural phenomenons continue; even when people go away. I have no idea what this entire Brett Favre "pants on the ground" thing is about, but I'm sure I'll find out in about t-minus 16 hours.
See you back in the land of normal toilets, and where Tuesday is just a regular old clothes day.
XO,
Di
Saturday is purple day in Thailand, for example- meaning, if you've got a purple shirt, today is the day you should wear it (fifty year old men included.) Each day of the week has its own color, and the Thais really do honor the system- if you know enough to know that Wednesday is Green Day (pun intended), you'll notice hundreds of BK citizens in green that day.
Pink day is, I think, their favorite, because they certainly do ALL turn up in pink on Tuesdays. Coincidentily, pink shirts also show loyalty and love for the king (it used to be yellow, because the king was born on a Monday- have you figured out yet what color Monday is?!)- but a few years ago, one of the political factions seized upon yellow as "its" color, so now yellow shirts either mean loyalty to that party, or, a case of the Mondays.
So, to recap, pink means Tuesday, or, I love the king, or, I'm a fifteen year old girl, or, I'm a forty year old Thai man who just appreciates a little COLOR, thank you very much. Matt Conrad, you've started a revolution.
But we don't HAVE this kind of weekly systematic dressing code fun in America, and thus I will probably end up in black and grey when I'm back at work in two days with a case of the Mondays myself.
The salt in the open wound of my departure from Thailand- or perhaps in this case, the chili pepper in the open wound- is the fact that Robbie Williams was playing on the radio as my taxi driver headed towards the airport. On the RADIO. Man alive, do I love foreign countries.
My final thought in this rambling, mid-plane trips and thus mid-sleeping aids layover, is the realization that the death of JD Salinger marks the third time I've gotten on a plane and someone rather important has died (MJ this past summer, and Reagan in 2004 while I was in Germany.) It's weird catching bits of news via facebook streams and television screens as you pass by them; but I kind of like it more than the constant coverage you're bombarded with while at home. The same for the Haiti situation- I haven't seen a speck of visual coverage of it and have had time to read minimal press surrounding it. I actually like being removed like this- you have time to process the story and its importance without the watering down it receives when the US press has seized upon it, fiending for every minute detail and feeding them to you piecemeal. It makes me laugh, too, and think about the way we've had to feed my sister news in the past during her time in London, or my brother during his years in Dublin. (Dear Chad, You have missed this, but it is important. Please review and get back to me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JMOh-cul6M Love, Dianna.)
At any rate, disasters happen, great people die, and cultural phenomenons continue; even when people go away. I have no idea what this entire Brett Favre "pants on the ground" thing is about, but I'm sure I'll find out in about t-minus 16 hours.
See you back in the land of normal toilets, and where Tuesday is just a regular old clothes day.
XO,
Di
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Girl I can thrill you more than any _____________ would ever dare try.
I'm enjoying the quiet of an unexpected day off- immediately following the madness of a day with....well...with kindergarteners :)
My placement has been with the 3rd and 4th graders, so I haven't spent time with any other classes than theirs. They're absolutely the perfect age- although their English is limited, we can communicate with the added help of mime, and Blackberries. (Totally not kidding, either- they have seen pictures of my apartment, pictures of my family and friends, pictures of F. Scott, and a picture of Josh Grissom before he went out on Halloween- luckily they understood the concept of "Halloween" or else I think they would have been purely frightened at Josh's Rocky Horror Picture Show costume. Wait, I think they were STILL frightened of it!!) We have also very kindly dialed a number of people in the states for them to say hello to, including my mother, who reacted very kindly to the 12:30am wake up call. On a schoolnight.
But anyway, yesterday the English teacher I assist was assigned to chaperone a field trip for kindergarteners, so off I went with her.
These children don't often see the likes of the field trip we set off on yesterday- in fact, I believe they don't EVER see the likes of it. A former volunteer through CCS (five years ago) is a man named Bob Geddes, and he is a generous, philanthropic retiree who loves to travel and seems determined to spread the wealth the universe kindly bestowed on him (as he puts it, he was hit by "buckets of good luck" in this life). Bob has managed to find quite a few ways to go about this amazing karmic disposal. This particular adventure was a gift to the school from him- Bob asked them to pick a field trip that they wouldn't normally get to do, and to "send him the bill." (Unfortunately, a little more work was due on Bob's part, as Thais are so kind and submissive that they simply didn't feel it was polite to abundantly spend Bob's money for him.) A little translation and administrative work later, the field trip was arranged and Bob arrived in Bangkok.
In a fortuitious turn of events, I met Bob last Friday, when he arrived at the school in advance of the field trip. Perfect timing- being the other lone farang (the Thai word for "foreigner") at the school, I was invited to join them :)
To say "let's go to the aquarium, take a drive past the beach, and go to the zoo, all before 3pm" sounds like something any school teacher in America would deem an act of complete lunacy- but mai pen rai when in Thailand, so that is actually exactly what we did. This was the first field trip out of Bangkok for the kindergarteners (and out of Bangkok we did go- 80km, in fact) but they behaved like absolute angels. Separated into their three age groups by hat color (red, yellow, and green indicated 3, 4, and 5 year olds, in that order), they were surprisingly easy to keep track of! And they were absolutely enamored with the entire day. We saw eels, we saw white tigers, we saw monkeys, we saw Nemo, we ate ice cream, we ate banana bread and drank orange juice boxes, we rode through a safari, and we were entertained by a tour company who sang songs on a microphone at the front of our unbelievably comfortable double-decker buses. (Bob leaned over to me and said, "I guess these are some sort of Thai version of Jay Leno for kids?!") The entire day was really incredible, especially as it was such a treat to the kids- and they knew it.
At one point, Bob even came across three young boys who had been sent on the field trip without money for ice cream. I'll give you three guesses as to how much longer it took for those children to have ice cream, just like the rest of their classmates.
I can see clearly that there are situations where a person CAN make a clear difference- building a home with Habitat for Humanity, or making a donation to the Breast Cancer Foundation in the name of research- but sometimes, a contribution comes in a much smaller form. I think that sometimes we as Americans want to see the results of our work- and when we can't measure them, it frustrates us. In looking at the work I've done since being here, and hearing other people's experiences as volunteers in foreign countries, it's not quite what we thought it would be. As Bob put it, sometimes we're really just there as goodwill ambassadors. I certainly don't know how much English any of the students I've worked with will take from my three short weeks in their classroom- but I do know they probably take away an overall memory of the steady stream of CCS volunteers and will have a better understanding of the language, having grown up with it in their classrooms. (We certainly didn't have a steady stream of German teachers in Medford- otherwise I might be able to sprecken zie Deutsche a little better. Or at least spell it correctly.) I also have learned that sometimes it's really just about putting a smile on their face. I rode through the safari next to a young girl who was my absolute best friend during the ride- we were pointing out the animals to each other and making the accompanying noises for each one (I have to work on my lion roar) and it warmed my heart when I'd miss something and she would grab my knee and point excitedly. Oh my gosh, the monkey!! How did I almost miss the monkey?! ;)
Sometimes, they're even the ones putting the smile on MY face.
My complete favorite here is a girl named Save- she's in the 4th grade class and we barely understand each other- but yet we totally do. I have her email address, her number programmed into my phone, and her picture attached to the contact entry- not that I have ANY idea how productive our contact can be besides, "Good morning!" To which she (like every well-taught student in Bangkok) will reply, "Good morning, how are you?" When you reply back with, "I'm fine, thank you, and you?" you are inevitably greeted with "I'm fine, thank you, and you?" The hilarious cycle never fails to make me giggle.
Tomorrow is my last day at placement, and really- I could stay another month. Chuwanna has been kind enough to let me teach this week's lesson plans on Michael Jackson- so we're doing an in-depth study of Thriller. For serious. They've got little coloring books and an exercise where they complete the sentences (using Night words- "midnight, dark, moonlight", etc-- for anyone following this blog, I did clearly try to keep the running theme of daytime/nighttime in selecting this lesson plan, haha!) and I've got the CD and DVD to entertain them with as well. Okay, and I'm not gonna lie, at the end of class we totally push the desks back and I'm teaching them the Thriller dance. I figure, at the end of the day, at least they're getting to practice their English counting in the 8 counts.
Hearing thirty little Thai voices go "5,6,7,8!!!" is about the CUTEST thing you've ever heard, in your life. Period. Hands down. End of story.
My placement has been with the 3rd and 4th graders, so I haven't spent time with any other classes than theirs. They're absolutely the perfect age- although their English is limited, we can communicate with the added help of mime, and Blackberries. (Totally not kidding, either- they have seen pictures of my apartment, pictures of my family and friends, pictures of F. Scott, and a picture of Josh Grissom before he went out on Halloween- luckily they understood the concept of "Halloween" or else I think they would have been purely frightened at Josh's Rocky Horror Picture Show costume. Wait, I think they were STILL frightened of it!!) We have also very kindly dialed a number of people in the states for them to say hello to, including my mother, who reacted very kindly to the 12:30am wake up call. On a schoolnight.
But anyway, yesterday the English teacher I assist was assigned to chaperone a field trip for kindergarteners, so off I went with her.
These children don't often see the likes of the field trip we set off on yesterday- in fact, I believe they don't EVER see the likes of it. A former volunteer through CCS (five years ago) is a man named Bob Geddes, and he is a generous, philanthropic retiree who loves to travel and seems determined to spread the wealth the universe kindly bestowed on him (as he puts it, he was hit by "buckets of good luck" in this life). Bob has managed to find quite a few ways to go about this amazing karmic disposal. This particular adventure was a gift to the school from him- Bob asked them to pick a field trip that they wouldn't normally get to do, and to "send him the bill." (Unfortunately, a little more work was due on Bob's part, as Thais are so kind and submissive that they simply didn't feel it was polite to abundantly spend Bob's money for him.) A little translation and administrative work later, the field trip was arranged and Bob arrived in Bangkok.
In a fortuitious turn of events, I met Bob last Friday, when he arrived at the school in advance of the field trip. Perfect timing- being the other lone farang (the Thai word for "foreigner") at the school, I was invited to join them :)
To say "let's go to the aquarium, take a drive past the beach, and go to the zoo, all before 3pm" sounds like something any school teacher in America would deem an act of complete lunacy- but mai pen rai when in Thailand, so that is actually exactly what we did. This was the first field trip out of Bangkok for the kindergarteners (and out of Bangkok we did go- 80km, in fact) but they behaved like absolute angels. Separated into their three age groups by hat color (red, yellow, and green indicated 3, 4, and 5 year olds, in that order), they were surprisingly easy to keep track of! And they were absolutely enamored with the entire day. We saw eels, we saw white tigers, we saw monkeys, we saw Nemo, we ate ice cream, we ate banana bread and drank orange juice boxes, we rode through a safari, and we were entertained by a tour company who sang songs on a microphone at the front of our unbelievably comfortable double-decker buses. (Bob leaned over to me and said, "I guess these are some sort of Thai version of Jay Leno for kids?!") The entire day was really incredible, especially as it was such a treat to the kids- and they knew it.
At one point, Bob even came across three young boys who had been sent on the field trip without money for ice cream. I'll give you three guesses as to how much longer it took for those children to have ice cream, just like the rest of their classmates.
I can see clearly that there are situations where a person CAN make a clear difference- building a home with Habitat for Humanity, or making a donation to the Breast Cancer Foundation in the name of research- but sometimes, a contribution comes in a much smaller form. I think that sometimes we as Americans want to see the results of our work- and when we can't measure them, it frustrates us. In looking at the work I've done since being here, and hearing other people's experiences as volunteers in foreign countries, it's not quite what we thought it would be. As Bob put it, sometimes we're really just there as goodwill ambassadors. I certainly don't know how much English any of the students I've worked with will take from my three short weeks in their classroom- but I do know they probably take away an overall memory of the steady stream of CCS volunteers and will have a better understanding of the language, having grown up with it in their classrooms. (We certainly didn't have a steady stream of German teachers in Medford- otherwise I might be able to sprecken zie Deutsche a little better. Or at least spell it correctly.) I also have learned that sometimes it's really just about putting a smile on their face. I rode through the safari next to a young girl who was my absolute best friend during the ride- we were pointing out the animals to each other and making the accompanying noises for each one (I have to work on my lion roar) and it warmed my heart when I'd miss something and she would grab my knee and point excitedly. Oh my gosh, the monkey!! How did I almost miss the monkey?! ;)
Sometimes, they're even the ones putting the smile on MY face.
My complete favorite here is a girl named Save- she's in the 4th grade class and we barely understand each other- but yet we totally do. I have her email address, her number programmed into my phone, and her picture attached to the contact entry- not that I have ANY idea how productive our contact can be besides, "Good morning!" To which she (like every well-taught student in Bangkok) will reply, "Good morning, how are you?" When you reply back with, "I'm fine, thank you, and you?" you are inevitably greeted with "I'm fine, thank you, and you?" The hilarious cycle never fails to make me giggle.
Tomorrow is my last day at placement, and really- I could stay another month. Chuwanna has been kind enough to let me teach this week's lesson plans on Michael Jackson- so we're doing an in-depth study of Thriller. For serious. They've got little coloring books and an exercise where they complete the sentences (using Night words- "midnight, dark, moonlight", etc-- for anyone following this blog, I did clearly try to keep the running theme of daytime/nighttime in selecting this lesson plan, haha!) and I've got the CD and DVD to entertain them with as well. Okay, and I'm not gonna lie, at the end of class we totally push the desks back and I'm teaching them the Thriller dance. I figure, at the end of the day, at least they're getting to practice their English counting in the 8 counts.
Hearing thirty little Thai voices go "5,6,7,8!!!" is about the CUTEST thing you've ever heard, in your life. Period. Hands down. End of story.
Monday, January 25, 2010
21,000 miles away from home- and that's a long way for Natty to be from home
One of my fellow volunteers (Eve) and I ran away to Rai Leh for a super-quick weekend visit to the beach (twelve hour bus rides there and back for a whopping 1.5 days at the beach)- but it was worth every second. Amongst Thailand's incredible beaches and islands, Rai Leh is widely considered to be the best. Here's a sampling of photos- that don't even begin to do the natural beauty of Southern Thailand justice. We spent $10 each for a bungalow in the Rasta-run Raileh Cabanas- situated in the heart of a legit jungle. We fell asleep to the sounds of the Natty Dread album wafting through the trees (coincidentily, the first reggae album I ever purchased- when I was 14 yrs old) and wild monkeys swinging high above us. I also snorkeled for the very first time- I had no idea how weightless you feel and didn't expect to be as shocked when face-to-face with schools of fish as I was. I loved it. It was a true new degree of experience! :)
I also had no idea how bad reef rash sucks. A new degree of experience I would, ahem, not mind doing without! ;)
Rai Leh beach West
A longtail boat captain, hard at work.
Any place where the main mode of transportation is nautical is just aces in my book :)
I also had no idea how bad reef rash sucks. A new degree of experience I would, ahem, not mind doing without! ;)
Krabi pier at Ao Nang
Rai Leh beach West
Like many of the beaches in Southern Thailand, Rai Leh is accesible only by boat. In a "life imitates art" opportunity, I snapped this photo which reminded me very much of this blog.
One of the stops on our snorkeling trip was this tiny, uninhabited island about a 30min boat ride out from the coast. Many other kayakers and daytrippers had the same idea, and I can't say I blame them. Extending out from the left side of this picture, to the island that appears in the top left corner, is a narrow but long sandbar which connects the two, and sits underneath about 6 inches of water. Imagine how shocked YOU'D be when you saw people literally walking on water....
A longtail boat captain, hard at work.
Sunrise over Ao Nang
Any place where the main mode of transportation is nautical is just aces in my book :)
Monday, January 18, 2010
On Buddhism, and the value of smiling
Let's start with the value of smiling :) I realize I am certainly not the first to write about this subject (those women familar with Eat, Pray, Love may remember the Smiling Meditation Elizabeth Gilbert talks about- and this blog is already eeriely similar to her writings WITHOUT me bringing her up)- but there's truth in the value of a smile. I can't quite put my finger on what it is about the service placement here that produces the feeling it does (half euphoria, and half pure exhaustion!) but for today, I'm settling on the fact that it's pretty easy to be effortlessly happy when you're walking around smiling- and forty Thai children are smiling back at you, for no good reason at all. Add in the service factor, the perfect weather we've had here during their "cold" season (85 and just often enough, a light breeze), or those iced coffees our teacher keeps treating us to- and I'm in heaven. But sincerely- it all starts with the smiling.
If we all went to work and just smiled our way through the day, I know immediately there would be a noticeable difference in workplaces throughout the US.
During our Orientation, Pimsuda (the Country Director for CCS here in Thailand, and an incredible woman in her own right) explained to us the breakdown of "Rules" in Thai society. It goes as such:
1. Fun
2. Food
3. Work
Now there is certainly a dogma I can ascribe to :)
The other topic worth mentioning in this blog is the roundtable talk we were lucky enough to have with Dr. Anil last Thursday. Dr. Anil has been a monk since the age of 14, and is highly respected within the community- he originally served as the secretary to the senior monk at his temple, before attending university and studying abroad in London (Cambridge) to get his PhD. He now lives in the royal temple here- a requirement for all Kings of Thailand is that they serve as a monk at some point in their life, and the temple/university at Mahamakut is where they all come.
Dr. Anil, besides being (of course) a brilliant, centered, calm and gentle soul that you would want to talk to all night (he offered, actually)- is coincidentally also a direct descendant of Siddhartha Gautama, or, Buddha himself. Which he casually dropped into conversation just as a very typical Buddhist would- extremely modestly and without any sort of pomp. Which is a beautiful example for all of us.
What he shared in two hours would take just that amount of time to share with you, but here, in no particular order, are some highlights of the lessons he expressed to us in this beautiful, organic and incredible conversation we were lucky enough to have with him:
*When you see a piece of paper, what do you really see? A piece of paper? Look closer for its reality. The rain had to exist first- to support the forest- that contained the tree- that made the wood- that gave us the paper. THAT is its reality. Life is always SO much bigger than we see at first glance.
*(A little nod to Flaherty)- The nature of the mind is like water. Try not to disturb it for a few minutes or hours- and it will become clear. This is called Insightful Meditation.
*Remember that breath is the cornerstone to all life- that's why it's so productive to meditate focusing only on it. If we do not breathe out, we lose our life. THAT's how precious and fragile our life it.
*Seek the happiness inside of us. We are our own creators. Nothing and noone is responsible for our happiness. We must seek within and care for our minds as we do our bodies. Don't eat terribly and then go to the gym to work it off- eat well and keep the cycle easier; healthier. And do the same with your mind. We must always be seeking to learn and in turn, to educate- and to share the lessons our heads learn with our heart. Communication between those two (head and heart) can be difficult, but is of the most paramount importance.
If I could have any wish for the people I love most in this world, it would be that so many of you would have had this experience to sit arm's length from this man and learn from him the same things I did. It was absolutely one of the most sublime moments of my life- words cannot do it justice. But I imagine that's just the thing about Dr. Anil, and of Buddhism itself. We must realize we cannot hold anything in our hands any more than we can hold water there. This is something I've been working on the past few months- the realization that I have nothing, I own nothing. Even down to the people in my life- I don't HAVE a mother, I don't HAVE a best friend. I am lucky to experience relationships with those people in my life- that's all.
And even more than that- we must share the knowledge we DO have- educate others- as that is the only true way that we can take what we have and make more of it.
Yours (well, not really YOURS, on the heels of THAT conversation- but you know what I mean),
Di
If we all went to work and just smiled our way through the day, I know immediately there would be a noticeable difference in workplaces throughout the US.
During our Orientation, Pimsuda (the Country Director for CCS here in Thailand, and an incredible woman in her own right) explained to us the breakdown of "Rules" in Thai society. It goes as such:
1. Fun
2. Food
3. Work
Now there is certainly a dogma I can ascribe to :)
The other topic worth mentioning in this blog is the roundtable talk we were lucky enough to have with Dr. Anil last Thursday. Dr. Anil has been a monk since the age of 14, and is highly respected within the community- he originally served as the secretary to the senior monk at his temple, before attending university and studying abroad in London (Cambridge) to get his PhD. He now lives in the royal temple here- a requirement for all Kings of Thailand is that they serve as a monk at some point in their life, and the temple/university at Mahamakut is where they all come.
Dr. Anil, besides being (of course) a brilliant, centered, calm and gentle soul that you would want to talk to all night (he offered, actually)- is coincidentally also a direct descendant of Siddhartha Gautama, or, Buddha himself. Which he casually dropped into conversation just as a very typical Buddhist would- extremely modestly and without any sort of pomp. Which is a beautiful example for all of us.
What he shared in two hours would take just that amount of time to share with you, but here, in no particular order, are some highlights of the lessons he expressed to us in this beautiful, organic and incredible conversation we were lucky enough to have with him:
*When you see a piece of paper, what do you really see? A piece of paper? Look closer for its reality. The rain had to exist first- to support the forest- that contained the tree- that made the wood- that gave us the paper. THAT is its reality. Life is always SO much bigger than we see at first glance.
*(A little nod to Flaherty)- The nature of the mind is like water. Try not to disturb it for a few minutes or hours- and it will become clear. This is called Insightful Meditation.
*Remember that breath is the cornerstone to all life- that's why it's so productive to meditate focusing only on it. If we do not breathe out, we lose our life. THAT's how precious and fragile our life it.
*Seek the happiness inside of us. We are our own creators. Nothing and noone is responsible for our happiness. We must seek within and care for our minds as we do our bodies. Don't eat terribly and then go to the gym to work it off- eat well and keep the cycle easier; healthier. And do the same with your mind. We must always be seeking to learn and in turn, to educate- and to share the lessons our heads learn with our heart. Communication between those two (head and heart) can be difficult, but is of the most paramount importance.
If I could have any wish for the people I love most in this world, it would be that so many of you would have had this experience to sit arm's length from this man and learn from him the same things I did. It was absolutely one of the most sublime moments of my life- words cannot do it justice. But I imagine that's just the thing about Dr. Anil, and of Buddhism itself. We must realize we cannot hold anything in our hands any more than we can hold water there. This is something I've been working on the past few months- the realization that I have nothing, I own nothing. Even down to the people in my life- I don't HAVE a mother, I don't HAVE a best friend. I am lucky to experience relationships with those people in my life- that's all.
And even more than that- we must share the knowledge we DO have- educate others- as that is the only true way that we can take what we have and make more of it.
Yours (well, not really YOURS, on the heels of THAT conversation- but you know what I mean),
Di
Life in Bangkok- a pictorial
A couple of favorites- I love these girls!
They were so excited to show off a project they had done with a previous CCS volunteer. What are YOU thankful for?
They warned us....the Thai children get SUPER excited when they see a camera :)
The Marching. We think classes rotate through it- almost like a gym class. If you could only hear the eeriely creepy music that accompanies this, though....
Tom and I after signing the guest book at the hospital the King is being treated in. I'm laughing watching Chuwanna (the teacher we assist) try to figure out my blackberry. Mind you, the phone is actually bigger than SHE is...
There's our little lady now. She takes us on lunchtime field trips and buys us iced coffee and dessert, too. I love her. And have decided that from now on, I'm always eating lunch in- and going for 1pm coffee and dessert breaks. Every day :)
Tom setting up the students for the human clock game.
Thai massage workshop! A-MAZING. So excited to try and become a master of it.
The Thai people really respect and pay homage to their king. He's been in hospital for three months, and there's an entire reception area to sign one of the hundreds of guests books. There's also signs, banners, and don't worry- there's marching children here, too.
Erawan Falls. Somewhere there's pictures of four or five of us actually standing underneath this waterfall.
I go on international trips and immediately start dressing more like Jamie Leithead. It's some weird phenomena, I just don't know.
Bridge over the River Kwai- we had an incredible lunch on a floating restaurant just below here. I paid $1.50 US for the best pineapple shake of my life. And everyone else had pad thai at a whopping $3 American. This country is something else!
Stacey and Tracey. Just riding elephants ;)
Floating market outside of Bangkok. You don't get out of the boat. Brings new meaning to the term "bumper to bumper"....
Paddling through the lotus farm, and below, a view from the docks.
Boat trip down the klongs outside of Bangkok.
Just as I expected to find in Thailand....pashminas, and Philadelphia jerseys.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
'Cause I'm proud to be an AmeriCANNNNN.....and also, I'm not.
Hi all! It's been a really busy, but truly amazing, past few days. We started our service placements, so I've been in a Thai classroom with another volunteer, Tom- and it is truly something else. As you can imagine, the children are SO sweet, and because Thailand is the land of a thousand smiles- they are the HAPPIEST children I've ever seen. The smile factor has also made it super easy for me to bond with them- all you have to do is "smile, smile, smile!" (thanks Jer) and they think you're the greatest thing since sliced bread.
I think Tom and I let our ambitions run away with us- after the first day volunteering, when we mainly observed their teacher with them and then jumped in to lead them through a worksheet (a counting exercise with apples, birds, and cigarettes.) No, REALLY. The highlight was the teacher asking the boys in the class to go to the front of the room and recite the answer for the cigarette question. "How many?!?!" And a rousing chorus from 12 Thai boys, aged 8-9: "ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY ONE CIGARETTES." "HOW MANY??" "ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY ONE CIGARETTES!!!!!!!!!" Oh my gosh. I was dying thinking, "this is soooooooo wrong."
Anyway, Tom and I did have high ambitions after that- we came home and designed what we believed to be one lesson plan for the next day- teaching them evening phrases ("It is eight o'clock. I brush my teeth") and making signs for each phrase, designing a "human clock" game and planning out hand motions to the song "Dream a little dream of me" to teach them. The next day, armed with our visual aids and lots of confidence, we descended upon the classroom. And made it....approximately 10% through our lesson plan. Apparently we had planned enough activities to last four weeks in a Thai classroom. At least we have something to look forward to :)
The most unexpected feeling that has arisen so far came our first day in the school, before we even made it into the classroom and while we were watching one of the classes march in the courtyard. (Marching is very big here.) I started thinking about the idea of being a US citizen and how, quite often, I associate a little bit of shame with that. We drive big cars, we waste food and energy, our leaders can be quite faulty, we are a culture of excess, and we gave the world McDonalds. Gosh- I'm SORRY!!! I always feel apologetic when in other countries, especially around educated people, for the faults of the US. But when I was standing there, about to meet the children, I remembered that I was the example of the US to them- that the steady flow of CCS volunteers they meet form the real crux of their understanding of US citizens. And I know the volunteers who came before me must also be kind, smart, and giving people- so it seems no wonder the children welcome "Americans" with open arms. And where did I learn to be a kind, smart, giving person? In the US. I learned about service, volunteerism, education, and giving back to the world- in the US. We may be a megalith with problems, but we're also a megalith full of positive people striving to make a difference in the world, and use the US power for good. So, for once, I'm not going to apologize for America. Not every country expedites volunteers the way the Peace Corps does- AmeriCorps, CCS, etc! We have a unique opportunity to be of service, and we seize it. I think it's actually quite amazing.
And then- we went to an afternoon briefing on Thailand's universal healthcare system- and immediately I was embarassed to be a US citizen.
The actual briefing was incredible- Thailand's National Health Security Office is housed in a super futuristic building the size of three or four airplane hangars, put together- all done in white, with these soaring ceilings. We were treated impeccably, down to individualized platters of
fruit and tea sandwiches. We met with the Director and Deputy Director of the NHSO, who led us through a presentation about their public health care system. The trend towards universal health care had started in 2000 here in Thailand- by 2002, it was signed into law, and has grown and matured in the 8 years since its passing. The coverage provided is astounding, and like any piece of legislation, it has clearly worked through various kinks and became better over the years. Needless to say, we had plenty to ask during the Q&A period, and I think our entire group really left feeling that the US is dragging its feet in debate and quarrel over something we do sorely need. Part of the discussion with the NHSO, however, did center around the cultural differences between Thailand and the US. Thailand operates under a "mai pen rai" attitude- don't argue, let things go, don't rock the boat- and that translates to their political system. The US was clearly founded on....well, an argument!- and that has clearly set the tone for the two hundred+ years to follow. And thus, our legislation does not get through quite so quickly. Which can often be a disappointment.
I think Tom and I let our ambitions run away with us- after the first day volunteering, when we mainly observed their teacher with them and then jumped in to lead them through a worksheet (a counting exercise with apples, birds, and cigarettes.) No, REALLY. The highlight was the teacher asking the boys in the class to go to the front of the room and recite the answer for the cigarette question. "How many?!?!" And a rousing chorus from 12 Thai boys, aged 8-9: "ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY ONE CIGARETTES." "HOW MANY??" "ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY ONE CIGARETTES!!!!!!!!!" Oh my gosh. I was dying thinking, "this is soooooooo wrong."
Anyway, Tom and I did have high ambitions after that- we came home and designed what we believed to be one lesson plan for the next day- teaching them evening phrases ("It is eight o'clock. I brush my teeth") and making signs for each phrase, designing a "human clock" game and planning out hand motions to the song "Dream a little dream of me" to teach them. The next day, armed with our visual aids and lots of confidence, we descended upon the classroom. And made it....approximately 10% through our lesson plan. Apparently we had planned enough activities to last four weeks in a Thai classroom. At least we have something to look forward to :)
The most unexpected feeling that has arisen so far came our first day in the school, before we even made it into the classroom and while we were watching one of the classes march in the courtyard. (Marching is very big here.) I started thinking about the idea of being a US citizen and how, quite often, I associate a little bit of shame with that. We drive big cars, we waste food and energy, our leaders can be quite faulty, we are a culture of excess, and we gave the world McDonalds. Gosh- I'm SORRY!!! I always feel apologetic when in other countries, especially around educated people, for the faults of the US. But when I was standing there, about to meet the children, I remembered that I was the example of the US to them- that the steady flow of CCS volunteers they meet form the real crux of their understanding of US citizens. And I know the volunteers who came before me must also be kind, smart, and giving people- so it seems no wonder the children welcome "Americans" with open arms. And where did I learn to be a kind, smart, giving person? In the US. I learned about service, volunteerism, education, and giving back to the world- in the US. We may be a megalith with problems, but we're also a megalith full of positive people striving to make a difference in the world, and use the US power for good. So, for once, I'm not going to apologize for America. Not every country expedites volunteers the way the Peace Corps does- AmeriCorps, CCS, etc! We have a unique opportunity to be of service, and we seize it. I think it's actually quite amazing.
And then- we went to an afternoon briefing on Thailand's universal healthcare system- and immediately I was embarassed to be a US citizen.
The actual briefing was incredible- Thailand's National Health Security Office is housed in a super futuristic building the size of three or four airplane hangars, put together- all done in white, with these soaring ceilings. We were treated impeccably, down to individualized platters of
fruit and tea sandwiches. We met with the Director and Deputy Director of the NHSO, who led us through a presentation about their public health care system. The trend towards universal health care had started in 2000 here in Thailand- by 2002, it was signed into law, and has grown and matured in the 8 years since its passing. The coverage provided is astounding, and like any piece of legislation, it has clearly worked through various kinks and became better over the years. Needless to say, we had plenty to ask during the Q&A period, and I think our entire group really left feeling that the US is dragging its feet in debate and quarrel over something we do sorely need. Part of the discussion with the NHSO, however, did center around the cultural differences between Thailand and the US. Thailand operates under a "mai pen rai" attitude- don't argue, let things go, don't rock the boat- and that translates to their political system. The US was clearly founded on....well, an argument!- and that has clearly set the tone for the two hundred+ years to follow. And thus, our legislation does not get through quite so quickly. Which can often be a disappointment.Well, off to our placement sites again! And a lecture with a buddhist monk this afternoon. Really, I'm not kidding when I say I'm not coming home....
xo
Di
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