And the time just flies by...

Wow!!  The last couple week have been crazy, but it's finally Songkran and I have the rest of the week off to celebrate!  So here's a quick recap:

March 25-April 1
On Friday we arrived back from practicum around noon.  We had just enough time to eat, clean up, and repack before heading down to Khao Lak (just north of Phuket) for a week of vacationing.  We were hoping for hot, sunny weather so we could spend all our time at the beach.  It rained.  Almost all day, everyday.  But it was ok, we made the best of it and watched a lot of movies and played games.  I was able to spend a couple mornings at the beach and I went one night, too.  I also found out, by accident, that the area around Khao Lak has bio-luminescent organisms!  It's kind of like fireflies in the water.  When you move around they light up in response...it's so cool!!  The whole week was just a good time to get back together and refresh between practicum and our classes.

April 4-7
Just regular classes everyday.  We finished up our class on the Exclusion and Exploitation of Marginalized People of the Greater Mekong Subregion (a mouthful I know) with a group project.  Mine was on the issues of labor migration and exploitation.  On Tuesday we did two temple visits for our class on History, Religion, and Society.  We were able to visit two of the major temples here in Chiang Mai.  One was the temple where the leader of the Buddhism in the northern part of Thailand is, and the other is the head of Buddhism in Chiang Mai.  Sorry, I cannot remember their names at the moment.  It was neat to learn about the symbolism and the different parts of the temples.  I have been seeing them everywhere for the past 3 months, but never knew much about them.

April 8-10
Over the weekend we went up to Mae Sai (Thai city at the borders of Burma and Laos) for a combined field trip for our two classes.  On Friday afternoon we visited two NGOs in the area.  One, DEPDC, has a lot of different programs, but works mainly to combat trafficking in Southeast Asia.  It has a lot of money and is very well organized.  They reach a ton of people through their school, classes, and a radio station.  It is amazing to see an organization that is able to have so much of an impact.  The other place we visited was a home for Burmese children.  It was started by a guy who was never planning on starting anything of the sort or even working with kids, but when he saw the need he knew he needed to do something.  He has put everything he has into it, even sacrificing trips to visit his family down south because he needed the money to buy food for the children.  When he started the project he was a Buddhist, but many of the kids he took in were Christian.  He said that the kids kept talking to him and praying for him, and over the course of a few years he felt God stirring in his heart.  Now he is a Christian as well and hold church services for the kids.  He has an amazing story, and I wish I could remember it all to tell you!
On Saturday morning we went to the city just on the other side of the Burmese border.  The difference between the cities is such a stark contrast that I can easily understand why the Burmese want to cross into Thailand so badly.  Mae Sai is a beautiful, developed city with huge concrete buildings, and a ton of cars.  The road leading up to the border is a 6 lane highway.  Just across the border is Tachileik, a city of old buildings and tin shacks, and few cars.  The road that was 6 lanes in Thailand is now barely two, and not even the greatest condition at that.  The city, even though it is in Burma, does not even use Burmese currency.  Even at the border crossing they only take Baht and US dollar.  It's crazy.  Even though life isn't great for Burmese in Thailand, I can see even more why they want to leave their country now.  I can't imagine living in a place like that, on the low side of such a contrast.
In the afternoon we visited the Hall of Opium.  It was created to educate Thais about the risks and dangers of producing and using opium and heroin.  It was more interesting than I expected.  It talked about the history, production, victims, and how they are combating opium production and use.

This past week we have had class as normal for two days, but now we are celebrating Songkran.  Traditionally it is a holiday for respecting your elders, but not it is a giant waterfight all over the country, and especially in Chiang Mai.  I'll put up another post with pictures about it this weekend.