nothing surprises me anymore.

The photocopy shop our school uses has had a broken photocopier for the past 2 weeks so we have had to outsource our copies to other shops in town.

The first one I went to took 1/2 and hour to make one class sets of copies because the shopkeepers were so talkative and when they heard I played soccer the conversation just kept on rolling...I was pretty excited to find this place and one of the guys who works there now plays on my team.

I went back 2 days later and their only photocopier was broken and I had to go find another shop.

I was looking around the neighborhood for another shop that was close but was unable to find one. I asked one of the staff at the school and he said there was one real close and he offered to take me there on the school's motorbike. As we were driving there I was telling him how I allready looked and hadn't see one anywhere. As I was explaining this we pull up to the store that sells Thai-style coffins....they also make photocopies.

Of course they do.

Why hadn't I made that connection is beyond me, I mean, it's such a logical choice: if you are alive you need to make photocopies and if you are dead...well, you need a box. This is the definition of monopolizing diverse markets.

Since then I've made note of all the shops that sell things I would never associate together:

A butcher shop that sells football jerseys

A restaurant that also sells jewelry

A women's clothing store that will also sell you fresh fruit

Life is full of surprises.

baskets are for flowers.

I made this video when I arrived back in Thailand, the school neighborhood is still flooded in some spots... specifically my street.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdq3fJWn3uE&feature=email&email=comment_received

Wrist Tying.

Yesterday our school celebrated the Karen Wrist-Tying Ceremony – an event dedicated to remembering and giving respect to the ancestors of the Karen people. The students at the school represent many different ethnicities from Burma, but yesterday all the students and staff wore traditional Karen clothing as we went to a monastery to celebrate with the Karen community. We all met at the school and piled into what looked like a prisoner transport bus and headed off to the monastery. Upon arriving I was overwhelmed by the amount of colours and the amount of people.

Almost as soon as we arrived people came up to us and began to tie pieces of thread around our wrists, say a blessing and then take the remaining thread from the piece and put it on our heads. I quickly realized that myself and the two other teachers from school were getting a lot more attention than the students...by the end of the day I think the three of us had more threads then all the students combined.

You could buy thread from vendors or there were people distributing it at the monastery, but my favourite thing to do was take a thread off my shirt and tie it on to friends I saw at the event. Karen shirts have a lot of loose threads dangling from them and traditionally this was the only thread used to tie wrists. You would take a thread from your shirt, break it off and tie another`s wrist in memory of lost ancestors, family and to embrace your heritage. Think of it as tying a thread around your finger to remember something important.

Now all the young generation wasn`t just wearing traditional clothes...they modernized them with bling like belts, jewellery, hats and...jeans. I was really only me and old men who were wearing the Karen longi. All the other dudes were wearing Karen shirts with tight jeans and hipster shoes.

Whatever. We looked great.

The other thing I soon realized is that this is a great event for the young generation to meet people. Students would joke about finding some attractive guys and girls and making sure that they tied their wrists...some things are universal!

After we celebrated we went to a local park and took lots of pictures of all the students looking Karen-trendy and made our way back to the school.

It was amazing to see people of different ethnicities embracing each other`s culture and celebrating together – something I also think Canada invests a lot of time in.

dusting off the blog.

It's hard to believe that it has been about 4 months since the last blog post. I actually really enjoy writing a blog - it gives me time to reflect and internalize the lessons learned being a teacher. Life has been moving at a fast pace these past few months - so here's a time lapse of stories that stick out in my mind.

I am teaching math and science and so far things are going great. The school comes well equipped with science resources.

One of the coolest things we got to do was teach about static electricity using an old van-der graff generator that was in the science room. It didn’t work when I pulled it out of storage but yet again google proved to have all the answers. I typed in “how to fix a van der graff generator” thinking this was a longshot and found a website from a company that makes them with all the common problems they encounter...crazy.

As I demonstrated last year, teacher/student relationships are slightly different here: I had all the students stay over at my place for their first new years...probably will never get a job anywhere else in the world if that gets out...this weekend is the Queen’s birthday here (also Mother’s Day) and we asked the students if they wanted to do something special to celebrate the holiday:

They responded that they wanted to dance and watch scary movies...needless to say we watched a scary movie and had a “dance off” in my living room.

Chances of me getting another job...well I probably have a better chance of playing in the NBA at this point..

This is my first Thai rainy season which has definitely kept me on my toes.

Literally.

The street my house is one has no drainage. Boys come and go fishing on the street and show me their "prizes" before they head off to the next street. Small fish, eels, crabs...no big deal.

Rainy season forces everyone to adjust their lifestyle to the environment - something I rarely do when I am back in Canada: when it's hot, I turn on the AC; when it snows I put down salt. Now that it rains most days it is difficult to dry wet clothes, and keep the mold from creeping in the house. At school, there is a team effort to move all the clothes on the drying racks in and out of the sun during the day when the rain stops to get everything dry.

It has been tricky to play football with the students because our fields are flooded - and yes, we have tried and it was a lot of fun...hard to run when the mud sucks the shoes off your feet though...

Every Friday the two schools in our neighborhood join forces and run electives (run by teachers and staff to let the students try something different. Other teachers are running some great programs: Yoga, cooking, guitar, sewing, puzzles....myself, on the other hand, look for any opportunity to yell at kids and pump dance music so I run a fitness bootcamp elective. The only word that I can use to describe it is Hardcore. All of the classrooms are being used so we go outside and do fitness in the rain. By the end of the hour everyone is soaked and covered in mud.

We don't have a lot of resources so I try to do exercises that don't require a lot of set up or equipment so the students could do it themselves if they wanted to. Some of my favourites:

A tire pull with old tires

Ladder/ quickfeet drills using scraps of wood and rope

Shoulder exercises with textbooks

The last day is “the gauntlet” – a fitness obstacle course through the neighbourhood. Most unexpected obstacle: having street dogs chase you down – the students finished much faster than I expected.

Life is has been busy these last 3 months but I am constantly reminded that each day is a gift and there is a lot to be thankful for.

Next blog will not take 4 months to post...

Sorry about the Silence

A lot has happened in the past 2 weeks, again I dropped the ball with the blog...

1. I got to be a model at a fashion show.

Let me explain. I met a friend who NEEDED foreigners to model new clothes made by local women. The clothes are being marketed towards people from other countries so, they needed foreigners to wear the clothes to make the products look legit. I got to wear a fanny pack, a weaved bracelet and a bucket hat. The pinnacle of style. Maybe this whole teaching gig is over-rated...I think I have found my true calling...

2. I got a full time teaching job starting in June. I will be teaching math and science at an amazing school. The school gets around 600+ applicants from all the refugee camps, tests them all and accepts the top 24 students. The program’s focus is getting these students to write and pass the American GED highschool equivalency test and get into university. While learning, the students learn how to write scholarship applications and apply to different universities. I will be responsible for teaching them math and science. So far the school has sent many students to university who would never have the opportunity otherwise. I’m stoked that I get the privilege to work at such an influential place.

3. Right now it is Sonkran, the Buddhist New Year Water Festival. It is a 4 day water fight and I have been soaking wet for at least 8 hours a day...On Monday there was no class so I went to a plumbing store and bought PVC pipe and the students and I made hydraulic water guns to use for the festival, however, now I am seriously having second thoughts that that was a good idea... The next day we made a stage out of bamboo and Co

4. I am coming back to Canada for the month of May and am looking forward to connecting with everyone again...and not eating rice...

Earthquakes and Gardening.

This past weekend I worked as a landscaper. It felt great to use my hands and help a friend who has been working to make an artistic garden for a new art co-op center in town. The garden opening party was scheduled for Sunday but it rained hard the entire week so some extra help was needed to complete this unique project. I remember being woken up by my Dad earlier Saturday mornings to work outside around the house, the strange thing is that I actually enjoy that kind of work and it was kind of relaxing to just shovel and not have to think too much...

This past week I had to travel to the to boarder (12h each way...) to renew my VISA. Most visitors to Thailand need to do this every 2 months, this was my second time and I definitely did not look forward to it. I went to Tachileik, Burma to get my visa renewed. It was interesting being inside Burma and when I was eating my lunch a random dude who spoke English came and sat down with me and told me all about his life (which I feel would make a great biography...) and the situation in Burma. It made the trip worthwhile to have a great conversation.

I got a call from him today because the earthquake that struck Thailand and Burma was most devastating where I had been just 10 hours earlier...Him and his family are alright but the damage and death count are enormous. Almost nothing about the impact of the earthquake in Burma has made it to national news and hardly anyone knows the extent of the damage. This is a prime example of how news is edited and manipulated by the government so that the truth is rarely heard by the international community. My thoughts and prayers go out to the people from a country who oppresses their own voices and needs.

Teacher Training.

This we the teacher training program begun. So far it has been great. Myself and another teacher got to design the program; choosing what activities and lessons would be the most beneficial for our students. It is crazy that I got to do this considering that people who do this in Canada have Ph.D's...hmm. We combined the curriculum from 2 different teacher training programs and added our own ideas - I'm excited about the result. I think it has made me a more aware teacher because now when I teach all I can think about is all the educational theories that I am following (or neglecting...). The course is very much discussion based and we dialogue a lot about the student's previous experiences. We made full body cut-outs of the students and they got and groups and wrote about effective and ineffective teachers they have had on the bodies. It was humbling to see how many of them grew up fearing their teachers because if they acted out they would get hit with a stick or made to stand isolated in an awkward position for a long period of time. Teachers would come to their classes drunk, embarrass and harass the students and teach using wrote memorization. It has made me even more thankful for the education I had - one where teachers were encouraging, where students were challenged to critically think, and one where the classroom was a place I (mostly) looked forward to going to.

Right now the students are in class with us for 2 hours a day. Next week the students will also be doing classroom observations at our school.

In other news, I have made a gym underneath my house using waterjugs that are delivered to the house. It's been my project for a few days now and I am loving being able to work out at my own place. (Movie to come soon...)

Getting back to my roots.

This past weekend I competed in the Mae Sot Marathon. It was an intense race for all 5 competitors...

So it wasn't one of the well-orchestrated, chip timed, podium finishing races like back home, but I had a great time. We had a water crew that biked ahead on a scooter and stopped to give us directions and beverages along the way and everyone finished a true champion. I could wring out my shorts by the end I had sweat so much...My time was 1:54. Not quite like back in my glory days of running but for no training I'll take it (and I didn't get injured!). Running is not too popular here (you probably figured that out already) and we got some great motivation from all the local people we passed. They looked at us like we were absolutely crazy and asked the age old question you here almost everyday here:

"Hey! Where you go?"

A great day.

I'm feeling especially Greek these days - I mean the marathon was created in Greece and on Monday at 9:30 I got told that I had been scheduled to teach grammar at 11 each day. Hmm. So I did what any good Greek would do: I looked up Greek myths on Youtube and we watched stories and did presentations on some of the big questions the myths raised like,

If you had shoes with wings on them where would you fly to?

If you had a cap of invisibility where would you go?

If you were Daedalus, what would you do after King Minas forced you to run for your life?

We also drew pictures of minotaurs and Gorgons from a written description to see what some of the students could come up with...Not the most quality teaching I have done, but it was fun and the students got a lot of opportunity to present and share ideas.

What will happen this week at school...only time will tell.

Goodbyes and scars.

Now that the previous school year is over, some students have had to head back to the places they have come from (although they don't want to). One of my students had to leave quite quickly and unexpectedly so I invited him and some other students over to my place for dinner. We played guitar, made some popcorn, drank chocolate milk and talked about what lies ahead. It was one of my favorite nights so far. When it got late and it was time to go we all biked our friend back to his place. Before we said our goodbyes he ran inside and came back with a brand new shirt that he said he had just got. He came out and gave it to me as a parting gift. I was floored and I wanted to give him something of mine in return. At this time I actually had nothing so I gave him the shirt I was wearing...

When I gave it to him the first thing he did was told me that it smelled bad.

...I mean, I had been wearing it all day and it's freakin' hot here...what did he expect? A lot of my students are very conscious of their appearance and it it common for them to have multiple showers during a school day and change their clothes each time. I have no idea what they think of me (wearing the same clothes all day and sweating about 345x more than them..)

The shirt he gave me is skin tight and I don't think I'll ever be able to wear it in public, but regardless I put it on and wore it home...and then peeled it off. I am very grateful: it's a beautiful gesture.

Playing soccer with the students is aggressive. I love it. Everyone goes in hard and no one complains, it's all for fun. Last week I went up for a header against one student and hit the ground hard. Our heads collided and I didn't think too much of it but as I getting up to get the ball the guys were all yelling at me, " Greg your face!" I had my eyebrow split open and there was blood all over the place.

I got on a motor bike to the hospital and got 5 stitches. The crazy thing was that earlier that morning I was talking to my friend Andrew back home and he was saying how I always get sick or hurt when I go to a new place...I blame him for the whole thing.

The stitches came out after 4 days and now I have a constant reminder of my time here. It has actually healed very well. I went to the hospital with one of the managers from the school and he got to watch the doctors fix me up. When it came time to pay the total cost was $65 - which is a lot here. When he saw the price he responded:

"Phew, lot of money! That's ok, the doctors did a really good job - they only used new materials on you - everything out of a new package!"

This made we think about what healthcare must be like in Burma...

Also,

We now have a cat. Her name is Juliet and she is a psychopath. She was formerly the school cat but after the students finished she needed someone to take care of her. Since Iona was supporting all the food for her, we brought her here. Sometimes she is adorable. Most of the time she is literally an animal. She wants to go outside all the time, but she is so small that the street dogs and cats would probably eat her. She has had a few encounters with the soi animals, and, lets just say shes getting better at sticking close to home...

Back to School.

The new Intensive English Program has begun at our school. I am teaching math and physics...my specialties! It has actually been a lot of fun creating lesson plans and being outside of my academic comfort zone. The students have quite a diverse level of English comprehension ranging from fairly strong to almost none. I think the most challenging part is designing activities/games/assignments that will engage and challenge the students. I think my drawing ability has gotten significantly better since I have got here as I use pictures to describe everything! This week we learned the parts of a science lab report and we going to make one of my favorite dishes: tea leaf salad. Hopefully this will demonstrate how to write a method, list of materials and make conclusions...and, more importantly, I really like eating tea leaf salad.

It is starting to heat up over here with daily temps around 33-35 degrees. I play soccer most days with my students and I don't quite understand why the students don't seem to sweat anywhere near as much as their Canadian teacher. I mean, I can wring out my shorts after we play. Yesterday after playing the first game I had a shower with my clothes on and then continued to play. hot.

For the past month I have been playing soccer Friday nights at the Mae Sot turf field, which is a dream. The ground is level and I don't have to worry about blowing out my ankles in massive potholes.

Next Saturday I have signed up for the Mae Sot half Marathon. I figure I play soccer almost everyday so I should be in shape to giver'. If you don't hear from me for a while, just assume that I have passed out from heat exhaustion...Mom, I'll drink lots of water.

This week I volunteered to help out at an English camp for Thai children, so each morning I went to a Thai elementary school and lead games for 100+ kids. It was a great experience because the camp partnered with migrant schools to help teach English. Rarely is there ever a bond between the migrant schools and the Thai schools, so it was great to be a part of the relationship building process. We basically showed up and the director came over to us and said,

"Welcome, thank you for coming! Now, can you lead the children English games for 2 hours?"

We had no idea that was coming.... so played huckle buckle, beaver Sam, atoms, sang some songs: right up my alley. It brought back a lot of great SFS memories and I have never been so thankful my mom is a kindergarten teacher.

Lastly, we have started up a review class for the graduated students who want to prepare for their next level of education (which is pre-university). It has been great to see the students again and know how they are doing. A lot of them are doing their best to study but the reality is that there are not a lot of options for them. Everyone here will continue to do our best to stay in contact with the students and help them in any way we can.

family.

Front page news: Canada won the World cup with a come-from-behind Cinderella story of a victory. The tournament was a great day. We had 8 boys teams and most of the girls played - an afternoon of intense competition. We had to take breaks to water down the dusty field because the neighbors where complaining of the giant cloud that continually grew as we played...

Graduation was great. I have learned quickly that every special event in the Burmese community consists of 4 fundamental things: speeches, singing songs, eating and speeches. This one did not disappoint. It was great to talk with the students and meet some of their parents. The teachers conducted exit interviews to help the students with future choices and stay connected with them in the coming months as they go their separate ways. In Burmese culture a teacher is a highly respected member of society and students view their teachers similar to how they view their own parents. The students kneeled on the ground and prayed for us as a parting gift. Kind of overwhelming...just like the students back home...

I think everyone strives to be part of something bigger than themselves - A community where they are valued, loved and respected by others. One of the most powerful things I have noticed about the students and the community surrounding the school is their sense of commitment to one another. They are one giant family. Almost everything is shared. A new shirt was bought by one of the boys in the market and for the next 2 weeks following I think it was worn by a different boy each day. Everyday the boys and girls wear a combination of each others' clothes, shoes and jewelery.

When the students are sent money from their parents the teachers are usually the first to know. I have been treated to special meals and delicacies without ever asking. Last week I was given an ice dessert consisting of a bright green sugary syrup, red beans, bean jelly and peanuts all mixed together...it was so sweet I almost couldn't eat it. When I asked why, the student responded that he was given some money by his dad and he wanted to "appreciate his teachers".

This was the first thing he did with his gift.

I have started to learn Burmese and one phrase I love is "Saw bi bi la?" which means, "have you eaten yet?". Instead of asking "how are you" it is customary to ask if people have eaten..and if they say no, you have a meal together. No one goes hungry.

The sense of family here is unreal. The school consists of students from a lot of different ethnic groups who previously have been taught to shun ethnicities different from theirs. The school has all the students live, cook, and learn together in very close proximity - almost having no personal space. I think this has broken a lot of the animosity and given the students a different perspective.

Like a river.

So I have been slacking on my posting which could mean a number of things:

1. I'm getting lazy (most likely true)

2. My life is dull and uninspiring (...I personally definately don't think so)

3. I guess you could say I'm getting settled...

I think it is a combo of #1 and 3. Most people have told me that it takes around 3 months to start to get used to a new culture and although I am still learning new things about Thai and Burmese culture everyday (today I learned that it's better to slow down when street dogs come chasing after you on your bike rather than speed up (which makes them chase you longer and bark more...)) I think I am beginning to feel like this place is not a just new experience, but rather a new "home". There are so many things I love about this place and so many things that this place has made me appreciate more about my home in Canada.

School is coming to an end this week. I just finished marking the math exams and have submitted final grades. Friday is graduation. Where has 3 months gone? The new students arrive next week and a new semester begins. I will be teaching math and science as well as running a teacher-training program for graduated students alongside 2 other teachers here (Because of all my teaching experience...). I am really excited about the teacher training vocational program because it gives concrete, transferable skills to graduated students who want to become teachers. They will be doing a "practicum" with me and the other teachers and hopefully we can give them the skills to get a position teaching in the Burmese community. Currently we are designing the program and figuring out all the logistics. It will begin in a month.

I'm not sure if you've seen this on the news, but tomorrow our school is hosting the 2011 World Cup. Big Deal. We have a trophy and everything. There is mens and womens tournament, each with teams of 4. I'm on team Canada...Canada is the best country in the world, just not at soccer.

We are going to change that.

I read that it was a snow day in Southern Ontario today. I wish I could be at home to shovel and get in car accidents...I actually miss the cold weather like crazy. There are no runs open on the Thai ski hills at the moment...

Some Background to the Current Situation

It has been humbling to get to know the students and listen to them share their stories of life inside Burma. Each one unique. Each one involving blocked goals, hardship and oppression. Before coming here I thought I had a fairly good idea of the situation, but the more the students share the more I realize that I have so much to learn (and so much to be thankful for). If you want a real look inside Burma and to see some of the terrible conditions that are a reality for the people living there watch a movie called "Burma VJ". It was filmed by incredibly brave people inside Burma during the Saffron Revolution. They risked their lives to show the world what was happening and "Burma VJ" is a movie that complies all of their footage.

United by Hardships

Today the students visiting from Korea headed out. Last night the students organized a talent show in the school to see off their new friends. It was amazing. The students are more talented than I'll ever be.

At the end of the event the Korean students shared how they feel very much apart of the Burmese student's struggle and there was a lot tears. They lit candles and placed them in a line in front of the school to represent unity between the students.

It's interesting to think that 3 generations ago Korea was in much in much the same situation as present-day Burma. The students, although from very different cultures and places, connected through the hardships they each face and have faced.

a short video

turn the volume up to hear the wedding karaoke in the background....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2HSnnMK11Y

Week in Review

Vibrant. Confusing. Holistic. Electric.

These are just some of the words I could use to describe a week here. Plans are always changing. A teacher has to be flexible, quick on their feet and creative to keep up. There is no printer or photocopier at the school so the teachers have to email the office to print off all our notes and copies in advance. Sometimes they don't quite make it in time... which makes for the best kind of lessons. It's challenging, but that's life. Sometimes the school has no power, sometimes the internet is down so that sweet interactive lesson you planned becomes, well, the best you can do.

This week 20 students from a Korean school are staying at our school and seeing what the situation is like in Mae Sot. They are doing events with our students and helping in various way in the community. It's a really cool partnership. I hope I can get something like this going one day.

Last night I went to my first Burmese concert and ....Amazing. A Burmese rapper named Sai Sai dropped some sick beats (actually they were the same beats ripped off from western songs but sung with Burmese lyrics) and a Burmese pop singer, named R Zani, who is a big deal across the boarder, here's a link to one of his songs (guess which song is used to make this one). The concert was amazing, the crowd went crazy and was dancing (and fighting) the entire time. We blamed the fight on my tall friends because their was a gap behind us because no one could see if they stood behind...which created an arena for a fight to break out in. A great night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnW1FkEeL5g&feature=related

New years.

So I realize that by saying that I had the students over for a sleepover party that I must sound like

The sketchiest teacher on the planet.

That's fair. It sounds creepy to me to! Before jumping to some outrageous conclusions let me tell you the context.

It was one of my most memorable and fun experiences here. The students rarely get to leave the area close to the school and to ring in the New Years the right way you need to escape to a place you can relax and have a good time.

So I told the students to come to my house at 7:30, bring all the food and drinks and enjoy a night out. They told me that a few of them were going to show up at 4:30 to start cooking food.

At 4:30 eveyone shows up.

I had cleaned and set up the living room of the house for them, organized the kitchen indoors and thought I had everything ready. When they show up they start sweeping and cleaning up under my house where I store all the extra furniture and do my laundry and cleaning. I was like "guys, inside is all clean and set up for you", they respond with: "But down here is so nice, we want to stay here!" Before I know it they are making noodles in my laundry tub, using an old piece of plywood as a cutting board, and washing the fruit and vegetables with my garden hose. It was like clockwork - everyone working at something.

Then when I thought it was time to eat the feast they had prepared, they told me that now they were all going to have showers to get ready. 30 students.

About 1.5 hours later we sat down and ate more food than any of us could eat. It was so awesome to sit back and watch them having a great time.

I was telling a friend that here, it's easy to make big deals. It's easy to put on an event that the students will love. All you have to do is treat them the way you want to be treated and give access to some of the benefits of the lifestyle I take for granted at home.

I had some mattresses and sleeping pads and the boys took one room and the girls the other. In the morning we had a breakfast of leftover stir fry.

The funniest thing was that they kept asking me all night "teacher, at 12 o'clock can we shout?"

I was like, "yeah, that's what people do to celebrate." Shouting and creating a loud scene is something that the student's don't really get to do. So when the clock counted down to 12

we shouted at the top of our lungs.

Christmas Vacation.

On the school's holiday Myself and my friend Joanna went up to Um Phang - A beautiful town up in the mountains with the famous Theelorsu waterfall. We went on a tour with a Thai Travel group and got to go rafting and camp overnight near the falls. The water level is low this time of year, which means that the falls (to the local eye) are not as stunning. To me they were breath-taking and because the water is lower everyone can swim - good deal I think. The tour was all well and good but my favorite part was 5 hour tsung tow (a pick up truck with bench seats in the back and a roof over the back) there and back.... let me explain.

1. When we first got on there was only 4 people in the back and we were laughing at how much room there was...stupid foreigners...

2. We drive away only to stop around the corner at a Honda dealership and a brand new motor bike is tied standing up between the seats...getting a little cramped.

3. We stop as we are leaving the town and pick up another 4 people...then another 5...then another 4.

4. The truck is so full that the driver says that some people will have to sit on the roof.

5. Are you kidding me? Yeah we did.

6. 5 hours holding onto a bar with one hand (for my life) and taking photos with the other. The drive there is called "death road", one of the reasons being that it is a rollercoaster ride through the mountains: 1219 curves, mountains, jungle, rice paddies. Thailand. The crazy thing was there was 5 of us on the roof along with everyone's bags.

More and more I'm realizing that I don't like the tourist experiences you read about in magazines and see on tv - the tours, hotels, the manicured scenery and experiences that really have nothing to do with the culture. I love the people, the relationships and living like the locals live. My Thai is basically nonexistent but a bunch of us were laughing and enjoying life on the roof of a truck. I loved it. As other trucks and cars passed we were getting looks and honks that said, "What the heck are those white kids doing on the roof?".

Here's a few pics from the trip