Sarnelli House

Today, a group of us went to the Sarnelli House, an orphanage for children with AIDS/HIV, for a couple of hours to play with the kids. They were so fun to be around; just non stop energy. Right when we got out of the truck, this little boy ran straight to Andi, and jumped right into her arms as if he hadn't seen her in a very long time. Some boys followed suite and latched on to a few volunteers, while others (more so the girls) were a little more shy and waited til we started to play a game of Bang. I spent some time spinning one of the boys around in a circle, and got pretty dizzy after a few rounds and had to sit down! And while I was sitting, one of the teenagers braided my hair, and then one of the younger girls borrowed my camera and walked around the grounds, taking pictures of her friends. She had some really good shots! (Unfortunately, I couldn't remember her name :(


pic by Andrew L.








pic by little girl


pic by little girl


here's the little girl herself!

You couldn't tell at all that these kids were any different from any other kids. They were so full of life, so sweet, and eager to play; their energy was totally infectious. It was a little sad when we left, because you can tell how much some of them wanted to go with us. It was one of those drawn out goodbyes, where you both parties really didn't want the other to go. We were only there for a couple hours, but it was such a nice way to spend a time on a Saturday. We were all pretty wiped out by the time we got back home.

Isara - Mekong River Clean-up Campaign: Boat Project

Over the past week, Isara volunteers have been working on a boat built with recycled materials for the Mekong River Clean-up Campaign. The plan is to raise awareness about the Mekong River garbage problem to riverside communities, from areas in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. To get that message across, Kirk will be sailing down the Mekong on a boat built with recycled plastic bottles, recycled wood, solar panels, and electric engine. (I'm sure there are more parts, but I don't know what they are.) I'm pretty sure this is going to surprise a lot of the communities the project will reach out too.

I wish I could be there to see the boat set sail, but I will be in Laos or Cambodia by then. Unless, the days coincide with my dates in whichever area it will be. Either way, I'm cheering this project on from wherever I am. I feel fortunate to have worked on such a project with heart and impact (I'm sure of it).

Here are a few photos of the volunteers sanding and painting the wood. It's progressed a lot more since these photos, so for more photos and information on this project, go here at the Isara website. Please visit! Not only will you find out more about the boat, you will be instantly donating by viewing the webpage.

Food in Thailand - Sweets

What? No post on food yet? Trust me, I have been eating A LOT. But, I don't always remember to take photos of the dishes/snacks; I just jump into eating! I've had some really tasty things, but my menu is limited since I can't read/speak Thai. Some of the volunteers (foreign and local) have taught me names of some dishes, but aside from that, pointing to food items can only get you so far at a food stall. Here are some foods I've sampled, starting with (what else)...sweets!

Guay Boh Chee
Banana, coconut milk, sugar. Very simple and delicious! Made by our lovely manager, Nok.


Roti Sai Mai
This is definitely my favorite Thai treat. It's like Thai cotton candy wrapped in a thin pancake. May, a Thai volunteer, calls it "sugar hair". It's so simple, but so good! You can't really go wrong if you have something dough-related plus sugar. They sell it at food stands in 2 parts: one bag with candy threads and one with crepes. Put it together at your convenience!




Bakery Buns
I fell in love with this bakery! Don't know the name yet, but will find out. The bun is as big as the size of your palm! The bread tastes like a sweet dinner roll, with a heap of filling inside. I've tried the Thai custard (pandan = favorite!), taro, young coconut (there's a slice of fresh coconut inside with the coconut custard), pineapple, and red bean. They also have savory ones that I have yet to try.



Banana Roti (Crepe)
Lauren, one of the first volunteers I met here, introduced me to the plain crepe at a food stall down the street from Isara. It's an egg flour crepe topped with sugar and condensed milk. (Thais order it with an egg inside as well.) It was so good, I thought I'd try to one-up it by adding bananas to my order. Good lord, it is SO sweet. Bananas here have more flavor, so adding that to the roti was amazing. Only downside was the first time I had it with banana, they added mayonnaise on top (I think the Kewpie one; it was a little sweeter). Not really a taste I want on my crepe. The next time I ordered, I requested the cook to not add it.



Other sweets I've had are (but no pictures):
- Glutinous rice balls with yellow bean filling in coconut milk
- Coconut pudding puffs with corn

One note though...Thai chocolate and some cupcakes are not that great. They have "chocolate flavor" items, instead of real chocolate (cocoa). And the cupcakes...I think it's the weather that affects the baking. All the cupcakes I have had are not moist. But it's okay, there are a lot of other sweets to eat!

Stay tuned for a savory foods...

Salakaewkoo - Sculpture Park

The Salakaewkoo (Sculpture Park) is quite a strange, but beautiful place. With its towering, massive sculptures of Buddhist and Hindu figures, it felt surreal to be there. The sculptures were created by Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat, a Laos mystic, whose remains are still in a temple inside the Salakaewkoo. We didn't go inside to see the remains, but I heard it's a little bizarre. (Apparently, they saved all his belongings because they believe(d) he would return from the dead.) It was a beautiful day to be out though. And it was a very good place to just let your mind relax and wander off.

Halloween at Isara

Instead of classes on Friday, Isara threw a Halloween party. It's not a holiday Thailand celebrates, so it was pretty much a DIY deal, from costumes to decorations.The kids had such a blast, they didn't even want to leave.


We had a costume contest for the boys...


...and girls.


Outside on the deck


Pumpkin carving


Jack O'Lanterns and snackies (pumpkins here are not quite like the ones at home)


I was pretty stoked about making some crafts. Made some mouse ears for me and some kids who didn't have costumes.


We played plenty of games. They were going nuts for the Balloon Stomp (above). I'm pretty sure the kids played 10 rounds. (We had A LOT of balloons.)

But overall, it was really fun! Great to see the kids having a good time.

Getting Ready for Halloween

For once, I don't have to think about what am I going to do this year for Halloween in the States. I don't have to look for the best party to spend the night at, or try to think of a super creative costume for one of those nights that is totally hyped up, and usually a let down. But you know, I am a little sad I am going to miss it (especially dressing up! 3 costumes just for last year, aww yeah). Thailand does not celebrate Halloween; but why would they? It's a Buddhist country.

But...Isara is going to celebrate! We are throwing a party on Friday, instead of holding classes. I am more excited for the kids to celebrate it really. It's definitely a children's holiday. We spent a lot of time today decorating the main classroom by making posters, coloring cartoons and blowing up balloons. We only had one class today, but there were a lot of kids helped out. They are very excited for tomorrow.

Here are some photos of everyone getting ready....








I'll post pictures of the actual halloween party when they are ready.

Happy Halloween!!!

First Lessons

Whew, made it through my first classes! On Monday, I taught an English class to six kids who were around 8-11 years old. I had a Thai teacher aide as well (thank goodness). The kids were so quiet in the beginning. I was a little worried that they weren't paying attention or understanding the content. But it turns out they were busy writing down the verbs and looking in their dictionaries to translate them at the same time. By the end of the class, I was able to get each student to (willingly on their own) come up to the board to fill in a blank in a sentence. It was nice to see them eager to show what they learned.

After that class, I feel lot more confident to teach. It was not as scary as I thought. I'm starting to develop my "teaching" voice too (haha..yes, me talking loud!). As much fun as it is, it is a lot of work. (Especially since I don't have a background in teaching at all.) Even planning a just a 1hr lesson takes me while, since I have to do research. Props to all you teachers and your hard work out there (i.e. Patricia)!

*I didn't take any pics of my first class but will try to take some today!

Nong Khai - Week 1

One week down already? I don't feel like I have done a whole lot. But it is definitely much slower here. My day to day so far has been waking up around 10:30am, taking a bike ride out to Tesco (kind of like a Walmart/Target), and then maybe do some miscellaneous things to help out, until the kids come in for class in the afternoon. Pretty chill. I haven't had my own class to teach yet, but will be doing so this coming week.

But here are some random notes on living in Nong Khai:

1. Thai people here think I am Thai.
A lot of Asian people I have met since traveling have a hard time understanding that I am from the US. What usually follows is "but...you look Asian." When I was trying to find vitamins today, I had to do the "I don't speak Thai" statement/gestures, and the salesperson (who was Thai) said, "You look Thai". It's kind of amusing. I was talking to a new Thai friend from the school, who says that even though I am from the US, the way I behave seems very Asian, not American; I agree with that. (Remember this conversation, Rutsu?)

2. Thai language
Some words/sounds are very similar to Cantonese, so it has been a little easier to pick up so far (like "saam" = 3). I have only learned the name of some dishes, drinks, and the numbers 1-10.

3. 7-Eleven in any Asian country is really awesome; Asian food at your convenience!
Speaking of drinks, they sell Thai Ice Tea (Chai Yen) right from the soda dispensers! It's so good! Their fast food options are pretty tasty too. I've had:
- toasties: they use the sandwich-maker machine from the early 90s (remember those?)
- sticky rice burgers: pork patty sandwiched in between two "buns" made of sticky rice patties
- baos: every Asian country I have been in so far has baos in their 7-elevens...love it.

4. Riding a bike is rad for exploring a small town.
You can cover so much more ground, plus any breeze is excellent in this hot weather! (We would bike just a block just because of that. And it's fun.) The landscape here is flat, so my rides are pretty leisurely (that is, when I am not trying to catch up with someone else).

Hmmm...that's all I can write for now. Pictures to come soon, once I have uploaded them all!

Naga Fireball Festival

The Naga Festival is held every year along the Mekong River on the last full moon in October. There is supposed to be a natural phenomenom of Naga (dragon) fireballs appearing at this time, and many towns along the Mekong celebrate this event, including Nong Khai.

While we didn't see any fireballs, there were plenty of lanterns being lit and released to the sky, and smaller ones were sent down sailing on the Mekong River. It was a pretty magical sight.

Nong Khai: Home For The Next 4 Weeks

After traveling for weeks at a time, I'm finally in one place for more than 6 or so days. I'm in Nong Khai, in the northeastern part of Thailand, along the Mekong River, and right across from Laos. I'm volunteering at Isara, a wonderful organization that holds after school English and computer classes for kids. (Visit the website... each visit raises $0.01!) I'll be doing a whole mix of things, from helping out in class rooms, maybe some designing, and pretty much anything the organization might need help with.

On my first day, I pretty much just sat in some classes and watched the other volunteer teachers. I helped one of them out by drawing pictures to accompany some words (that was fun, trying to draw "sky"). Yesterday, I helped out with teaching a computer class, but I didn't feel too confident in it just yet, having it been my first time. I'm sure it will get better as I gain my confidence. A group of kids can be intimidating!

Nong Khai reminds me of when I was in Masaya, Nicaragua. It's small town, not that developed, and the pace of life here is very relaxed, which I am enjoying a lot. Since the new school term does not start until the end of the month, we are not as busy at the moment (but that will pick up). The other volunteers have been great and super nice. I'm staying at the school (upstairs are 4 bedrooms), so part of me feels like I'm back in a college dorm :P

During one of our conversations, my age slipped out, and someone asked if this was where I thought I would be at this age...ha! I would have never ever thought I would be living in Thailand for a month, that's for sure. Pretty amazing. But I'm taking it all in...from the bike rides around town to run errands and to the kids coming in for a class or just to hang out...I can't believe I am here and doing this.