Yogi Excursion

Boat temple on Samui Island.

While I was at the yoga retreat, we spent one of our afternoons on an excursion with about 15 other yogis to explore the island and more specifically explore the Buddhist influence on the island.  Preceding and following are some pictures of that afternoon excursion.  Most notable sights were the amazing views from the temple on the cliff and the last 2 photos of a mummified monk who (as we were told) died in the 1970's in an enlightened meditative state and his body has not decomposed since.  Believe it or not, take it or leave it, it was pretty cool either way.  Enjoy!  More later...

On the way up to the Wat Chedi Laem Sor temple on Samui island

Buddha statue at the Chedi Laem Sor Temple

View from the cliff side temple.

Reclining Buddha on to of the hill at Chedi Laem Sor Temple.

On the top of the world!  Aka, lookout point on Samui Island

The group walking back from our excursion.

Believe it or not, this is a mummified monk--everything is real expect for his eyes.  He even has hair on the back of his head.  People say he died in an enlightened state in the 1970's.  No joke! 

Mummified monk is enclosed in glass and sitting in meditation as he seemlessly passes through this life...

Yoga (Amazing) Thailand

If Thailand wasn't enough of a paradise itself, I somehow found an oasis within this paradise via the Samahita Yoga Retreat on Samui Island in Southern Thailand.  At Samahita, I was fortunate to join in a workshop with one of the world's finest Ashtanga yoga teachers, Chuck Miller at this pristine setting.  Chuck is one of the original founders of YogaWorks (where I got my 200-hr. certification) and also a long-time instructor of my teacher and mentor, Natasha.  As a new yoga instructor,  it's important to continue education as often as possible and what better of an opportunity than to study with Chuck in Thailand?! When the stars aligned I thought, why not?! It was particularly beneficial because the workshop with Chuck provided a lot of much needed reinforcement of the principles and importance of yoga basics that come straight from the source of the YogaWorks method.  Very cool. 

For a couple days, we spent about 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon practicing and studying theory.  I was undoubtedly in the presence of greatness--you can really feel the energy and the wisdom in the room when Chuck is there.  In addition, the ambiance of Samahita was yoga-magical as the place itself was incredibly clean and quiet; the attendees were all like-minded yogis with genuine, earnest interest in yoga, health, well-being, peace, and balanced life. In addition, the food was incredibly healthy, vegetarian, vegan and delicious with 2 buffets twice a day. The theme of our workshop was Sama which, actually means balance or oneness or sameness in Sanskrit.  For 4 days, I tried to let this sameness and balance permeate my thoughts, behavior and actions and I can say with certainty after this retreat, I left feeling more balance, refreshed, rejuvenated, and even more excited about yoga!  It truly was an amazing experience.

This is where the magic of yoga happens...every day! Not to shabby with the sound of the waves to guide your breathing.

Samahita pool and outdoor yoga shala behind the pool.

With Chuck outside the Buddha Shala where we had our workshop

Beachfront land at Samahita...water was super salty but I somehow powered through!

Excursion near the beach.

With my new Thai yogi friends at the retreat.

Eating just one of many delicious and super nutritious meals at Samahita Retreat.

At sunrise from my room on the last day of workshop.

At the Peace Corps Office

Though, I have known other Volunteers to never visit the Peace Corps office after they CoS (close service), I couldn't stay away.  My experience with the Thai staff and all the staff actually was quite

pleasant throughout my time as a Volunteer.  In addition, I attribute a lot of my exposure to and understanding of Thai Culture/Thai Language to Peace Corps Thailand.  Maybe my experience was also a bit shaped by staying in close contact with Administrative Staff while serving on the Project Review Committee---reviewing and submitting grants on behalf of other Volunteers.  In any event,  it wouldn't have been a complete trip to Bangkok without at least one visit to my old stomping grounds.  Even though it's a bit of a pain to get to (within the city) from the sky train to a taxi or bus...once the trek is made and you're within the safety of the Peace Corps compound--the quite/stillness and beautiful landscape grabs you and you forget the trip that preceded. Going from one place to another in Thailand is often like this.

Since my CoS, lots has changed and (as in the village) also stayed the same.  I found that a substantial amount of the previous Thai staff had either retired or moved on--this is typical.  I was surprised at first to learn that in the past 2 years, Peace Corps Thailand has had 2 different Country Directors (American) but, after thinking about it--remembering Dr. John (our old CD who left with our group after 8 years service) it did't shock me so much.  He was a natural at the CD role and so proficient in working with Thais/speaking the language, etc.  I can imagine those are some hard shoes to fill.

On the compound, it was strange to be a visitor and not a PCV but, I adjusted.  The PC lounge is about the same--some new furniture and updated electronics but still the homey feel and nice collection of books in the Peace Corps Library.  It was very nostalgic.  I spent the afternoon mostly in Jaree's office--my previous Program Manager reminiscing, doing a bit of work (I offered!) and enjoying the company.  Around 5 PM, it was all over with no Volunteers around and most of the staff having gone to Pre-Service Training for the newly arrived group 125, I set off with Jaree as she left and returned back to the world of traffic jams, exotic smells, and noise.

With P Jaree at her office-- She was my CBOD (Community Development) Program

Manager.  She has been a great mentor, friend,  and teacher to me

and so many other Volunteers throughout the 7 + years she have been

at Peace Corps Thailand.   She visits each volunteer at least once

(that's over 100 Volunteers a year!)

and always has the time and patience to listen and offer genuine guidance.

She rocks my world! 

With the secretary for the TCCO (Teach Collaboration) program--

I was in CBOD (community based org. development) but I

worked with this woman substantially in my second year

with the Project Review Committee. 

With Khun Supanee in front of Pres. Obama. She is the woman in charge of

financial matters for volunteers--like setting up house/accommodation

rent from the Thai Governement.

With Jaree again at the entranceway to Peace Corps.  She

was kind enough to treat me to lunch and we spent a lovely

afternoon together at the office while I helped proofread some

notes for the new training group 125. 

Demonstrating yoga to the Thai Staff on the lawn in front of

the Peace Corps Office. Here in Sirsasana/Headstand. 

Sy Baat/ Tam Boon--Making Merit.

Honoring tradition, I got up at the wee hours of the morning to feed the monks before I left my village. It is part of what is "making merit" or tam boon in Thai Buddhist culture. This is traditional to do especially when you leave a place and/or go somewhere new.  It is something a lot of villagers do every day.  They wake up at 5 AM to make rice for when the monks make their rounds ( I think some call it the walk of poverty?)  and start chores for the day.  Without fail, the monks will walk just after dawn.  It's part of their daily ritual.  Anyways, you can't see it in the pics below but, what happens is the monks come to your house and if you have rice ready to offer, you stand by the side of the road (have to take you shoes off for respect) And, one by one, you fill their bowls with rice until it's gone.  Then, you sit and bow with your hands in a prayer position and they say a prayer for you in Pali--which is an ancient language similar to Sanskrit.  Usually, it is something like--may good come to you, may you find the right path, may your heart be pure and true...something like that.  It's actually quite lovely. 

Last Day for Site Visit

My last day in Sisaket, I spent a lot of time with Susan's host family (Susan was another volunteer in my group who lived closest to me and I became close with her hosts).  They are a sort of modern-day aristocratic family that have a beautiful "compound"-- small area with a collection of houses masked by trees which feels like a tropical oasis in the heart of rice fields.  Very kind people and super artistic/talented.  One of the girls in the family ("P Yee") is about my age and she was generous enough to pick me up, take me to lunch, then for a Thai massage, and finally an evening of cooking and reminiscing at her home.  It was the perfect closing to my trip back to site.  When I got back to grandma/ yie's house, I sat around with P Gaeo and chatted about the old days and what the future holds...played with the idea of sleeping under the stars but opted for my indoor floor accommodations which after sleeping on for 6 nights already had become almost comfortable.  Pics of the final day ensue...

Susan's old host accommodations--everywhere they have signs
and pictures and artwork--makes you feel like your at some
natural gallery equip with guest houses, tons and tons of flower/plants,
a restaurant (their kitchen is set up like a restaurant) and even an outdoor shower!

Set up for cooking--this particular job was peeling a cutting garlic
and shallots. Garlic and shallots are particularly popular in
Thai food and they grow A LOT of it in Sisaket.

P Yee at the "restaurant"...it's actually just their household kitchen
but set-up like a restaurant. 

Peel & cut.

P Yee and P Gai, their neighbor in the kitchen.

The outdoor bathroom/shower at P Yee's house.

With P Gaeo the evening before I left. 

Lovely ladies.  We're a bunch a goofs--grandma isn't smiling because
her teeth are red from eating too much beetle nut!

Grandpa's rice silo storage area.  He is getting ready to sell
2 bags of rice.  They keep some to eat and sell as they need money.

The Night of Mugata

OK, confession.  For almost a year, I've maintained a happy vegetarian (only eating fish) status and just recently broke back into the world of meat. I was actually planning on eating meat while in Thailand--especially in the village, I figured I wouldn't ask for something special since food is sacred and sometimes not as bountiful.  Most things have meat in them, anyways.  With this in mind, I set foot in the village fully aware my diet would change a little.  Well, for a couple days there, I really went off the meat deep end (I can't deny it was De-licious!) and lived in a sort of meat-fest fairy land. Thai people also know how to cook meat well which is a known fact!  Rationalizing it in my head means I kept telling myself that most meat in the country is much fresher and healthier than factory farm processed meats which is true (it also means more possibility for food sickness? it's a crapshoot).  One of the particularly meaty meals I had was "Mugata" or "Ngua Yang" (Thai BBQ or grilled meat) which consists of a convex grill-type pan with the meat on the grill and a sort of reservoir around the grill that is filled with broth (gets richer as you eat it because the meat juices drip down) and vegetables/ glass noodles.  Often times the blood/fat juices of the meat are poured into the broth as well.  This is all cooked over coals/open flame.  Once "suk" or ready to eat, you use chop sticks to peel the meat off the grill--maybe take some broth/veggies/noodles in a bowl and dip them in the spicy/sweet/garlicy sauce and pop it in your mouth. It is incredible.  And I swear to you...I never crave meat anymore!  But, this is sort of a special ritual, eating mugata is not an every day occurrence for Thais either--it's reserved for celebration.  Once my counterpart suggested having a mugata get-together, it was a no-brainer that we had to do it!  Splendid idea. Unfortunately, my stomach did not approve later which, is another story. 

ANYwho...cease the day, cease the moment, right? When in Thailand... indulge a little. pics below.

With my counterparts daughter--"Nong Bai Dtong" (which means leaf of some fragrant plant)
who is almost exactly the same age as my eldest niece--6.  She has
grown so much since the last time I saw her!

Mugata and all it's glory!

With 2 of the Jaidee village council members and my counterpart,
"P Dtai" to my left.

"P Sayan" to the left--a close friend/old neighbor and the
lady who lives across the street.  I never knew nor probably will
I ever know her name... every time I ask her or someone else, they
just tell me to call her "yie" or Grandma.

To the Left, my original "Grandma" Yie Lamduan--Lamduan is a
flower and "P Dtai" to the right--she was my work counterpart
for 2 years and she was kind enough to organize the Mugata
get-together... she reminds me a lot of my real sister--even the
same age. She's very grounded, kind... practical.  

"P Gaeo" whose real name is Suban but everyone in Thailand
has a nickname, it is customary.  She is a single woman who ate dinner with
 grandma & grandpa & I almost every night for 2 years--I think of her as an older
sister.  Often I would walk to her little, little convenience store just
a block from my house and sit for literally hours at a time--sometimes talking,
sometimes we would sit quietly, watch T.V., study, gossip...whatever.
 It was nice to have a friend like that.  

The Village Times

Dear friends,

I am actually writing from an island in the South of Thailand where I traveled to today as part of a wellness/yoga retreat. While I told myself I would use most of the retreat time for quiet reflection, I am also going to try to update the blog a little since I have been in transition and/or with intermittent Internet service throughout my whole trip.  And, I can't help but take a little advantage of the wifi here. It is excellent!  

So, back to the village re-enter experience. 

I have started to enclose some pictures (below) from that trip and you can begin to see all the social activity I crammed in while I was there. It was exhausting, fun, happy, and with only minimal tong sia (upset stomach or diarrhea--sorry if that grosses you out, it's actually worse to experience... turns out my stomach has not been around fermented fish, real Thai chili and semi-raw oysters in a while and of course I had to indulge.) Pictured immediately below are 'yie' & 'dta'--or you see me refer to them as "grandma" & "grandpa" this is more or less a generic term used to address an older person/person of a certain phase in life--but these 2 are my original 'yie' & 'dta'--even though younger than my actual parents they were (more or less) the family that took care of me most while I lived in Jaidee village for 2 years.  I stayed at their house. 

From there, you can read the captions on other pics for more detail. It was really nice to see my previous co-workers, especially the old counterpart who ended up lifting me a ride to the provincial city where I caught my bus back to Bangkok--not to mention treating a huge feast my 3rd night there.  It's weird, you kind of expect to leave a bit of a legacy behind when leaving a Peace Corps site but you don't really know how it will happen until you're gone for a while.  

It warmed my heart to see pictures I had given to people still posted around and people in the village calling out my Thai name "Chomphu!" as a rode my bike by like a day hadn't passed since I left.  I suspect for many villagers,  I am the only Westerner they have really known in the flesh for a period of time so it's easy for them to remember. Many people still think I am French.  which, I guess is something that can't be helped at this point!  If they don't know I'm American by now...

I was also happy to see the daycare water project still in tact. What is more, sustainable agriculture practices have really improved.  A lot.  There is now an Ag. resource learning center at my old office (which I am soooooo proud of!--that it happened, not that I'm taking credit for it or anything ;) It seems like everyone is doing more of their own raising of small animals and has their own vegetable garden and composts more often. It really made my trip to see all that!

The health clinic has grown in structure as well and school curriculum is changing to better align with ASEAN goals--becoming more progressive (I hope)

Other things that I was not too excited to see were...

--Garbage burning--still happens and the air pollution is evident and pervasive

--HIV/AIDS # of infected cases has actually gone up quite a bit in the last 2 years.  I didn't have a chance to see the Hope group in the District--the PHA (person's having HIV/AIDS) group I worked with. 

--Young persons dropping out of primary school as early as 10, 11, 12, to work, marry, whatnot.

All in all, it was good and I was very glad to have the opportunity to visit again. It was a strange feeling like I didn't have enough time there and on the other hand...I had too much time!  Village time tends to move reeeeeealllllllly slow.  Particularly, when just coming from a fast-paced place like Bangkok.  

Tis a bit hard to explain--the time balance of village visits.  

~More pics/posts shortly!

"Grandma" sitting with the assistant village headman and "Grandpa"
pictures without a shirt. This is business as usual, their house is a hotspot
for information and gossip.  Behind "grandpa' lies their little convenience
shop.  Sadly, "grandma" no longer has to noodle stand.

My sleeping quarters for 6 nights while I stayed at Yie & Dta's
"Grandpa & grandma" house. It's amazing how quickly my body
forgot the hardness of sleeping on a floor when I returned stateside...

My buffalo friends were replaced with ducks...seriously...
my neighbors buffalo are all gone.  Sad, but I can jive with duck I guess.

Sitting with my old supervisor (P Che) and his wife.  He's a fan
of tea so I brought him some Tazo from America.

At lunch my 2nd day back with many of my old co-workers from
the local government office--some not pictures. My old supervisor
treated everyone.

View for the lake where we ate dinner. 

Eating (again) with a good teacher friend of mine (to the left of me)
and her fellow teachers--second time in one day I ate fish dishes
 under a bamboo hut on a lake!

Change & Muun Duum (same same)

Hello & Sawadeee Tuk Kon! 

Just a little update to wet your whistle and more later.

Well I’ve been out to the “Chon A Boat” (country) pretty much since I arrived in Thailand—less a lag day in Bangkok—and out there, as reunions of the sort go, I was limited on time and access to the Internet.  I just made my trek back from my site village in Sisaket Province last night where I spent the last 6 nights.  It was a whirlwind of hugs (no kisses), reunions/get-togethers, many huge meals, Thai massage with friends, small visits, and some of the usual activity—i.e. riding my bike around the village like in the old days. 

It’s a strange phenomenon how things change and still, some things stay eerily the same.  The most obvious changes are evident in building and structural development in addition to people “growing-up”, having babies, getting married, getting divorced, moving, etc.  What’s remained the same is how people interact and relate.  Upon arrival, I was reminded instantly of the formalities that must take place.  For instance, it was better for me to stay with my old neighbors (remember Grandpa and Grandma?!) than my old landlord because of the relationship we had when I lived there—who I was closest to, etc. Also, these two parties even though neighbors do no communicate with one another and had I stayed with the old landlord, I would have been limited to what social activity was appropriate and with whom.  It’s all very complicated but very much the same as I remember it.  People still ask me right away...”how old are you now”...”why aren’t you married”...”when are you going to get married and have children”...”how much money do you make”...then there’s the...”you look skinnier, you look fatter, younger, older, taller, different, prettier...all the physical changes that people like to point out in Thai Culture...etc. etc. –Those taboo questions and remarks that are rarely asked in American culture, especially right off the bat. 

So, that’s my little update for now!  Will have more soon~Pics of new house structure (my old rental) are forthcoming, have been having some trouble uploading. 

My old house structure where I lived as a PCV for 2 years
in Sisaket Province.

The new house structure (same house pictured above) that was
erected just after I left in 2011. 

New hallway--addition to the old house where I used to live.
You can see the old structure in the back.

With an "old friend"--dog at the guest house  in Bangkok I used to
frequent as a Peace Corps Volunteer--the owners still
remember me from 2011!

With RPCV and Thai friends in Bangkok