I have been done with habitat for about a week now. I know I sounded negative towards the end, but I can't help but wish that the group was still together.
I spent a couple if days in Bangkok. I originally stayed in Bangkok just for St. Patrick's day. I verbalized to everyone that I was excited about being on my own. In hindsight this was rude and ignorant of myself. I spent another day with the girls from habitat plus another girl named Ali who is a childhood friend of habitat Alli. Excited to get too my bus I catch a ride to the bus station on the back of a motorcycle. I rush to the ticket counter complementing myself of my independence. I ask for a ticket to Krabi and I'm immediately disappointed to hear that there isn't one for the next two nights. I catch the bus back and contemplate why I was so eager to get rid of three great people. The "girls" we're great company and we each complimented each other well. I thought to myself, "why must I be a salmon swimming upstream, I should just go with the flow." To the girls surprise I was waiting on the doorstep of their hostel. I decided to hang out with them in Bangkok for another two nights and head up to Chaing Mai with them.
After a couple days of wandering around Bangkok on my own, while the girls did their own thing, I was eager to reunite with everyone and get on the night train to Chaing Mai. Yavone smartly grabbed some whiskey and we boarded our delayed train with a healthy buzz and ready for some z's. After a far too comfortable nights sleep we finally arrived in Chaing Mai thrilled to start the next chapter of our adventure.
After scouring the town we find an amazing place that accommodated us extremely well for a low price. After the long train ride and search for a place to sleep we are ready to book tomorrow's adventure and go grab a beer or two. We all let loose that night and enjoyed the company of each other, along with the company of two dashing englishman!!
We slowly woke up the following morning and began our day. The Allies go to a cooking class and Yavone leaves for a day of excitement including guns and snakes. Both options I would have enjoyed, but I was on a stricter budget than the girls and was fine with wandering around Chaing Mai.
After being lost for a bit I decide to follow my Lonely Planet and make my way to the women's prison for my first Thai message! Chaing Mai had a women's prison and part of their rehabilitation was to learn how to give Thai messages. This gave the women a skill that they could take into the world after prison. I was nervous and excited to get this message. I enter the room and even though I don't speak Thai I was well aware of the fact that I was the topic of conversation. The message was filled with laughter and you had to be there moments. The message was very enjoyable and I encourage everyone to go to the women's prison in Chaing Mai for a message!
The following day we are booked for a day of trekking. I am very excited because this trek was the main reason I wanted to go to Chaing Mai. We leave at 8:30 AM and meet the group for the day. The first stop is a disappointing orchard farm, but little to what I imagined the day would turn out to be one of the best!
Next we arrived at a village in which we were surrounded by elephants. My ear instantly perked up in excitement. We walked through the village and continued on to another. On the way we crossed banana trees, rice farms and got a feel for "primitive" life in Thailand. I say "primitive" because of their ways, however I must note that I saw people talking on cell phones. We arrive at the next village and are taken for the much awaited elephant ride!!! It was short and touristy, yet sooooooooooo cooooool!
After a short meal we are on our way for a rafting trip down river. The Allies, myself and our new found friend Jesus decided to go rafting instead of the bug infested bamboo ride. We begin the trip with a few quick rapids and continue our way down river. The stroll down river included a rambunctious Thai kid who decided to join our trip, elephants bathing in the river and the large pieces of elephant poop floating in the river. We are all high on the ride we just took. Next is swimming near a waterfall. Our amazing day comes to an end with Chang beers and a blissful smile on all of or faces.
The next day I borrowed the hostels bicycle to ride and book my train back to Bangkok that night. After another save by the iPhone I return to the hostel with my train ticket to join the girls in a bike ride to a local lake. I am ecstatic about this. We hire bicycles for fifty batt a piece and take off towards the lake. The ride was a bit extreme for our cheap bikes but was yet another adventure. We spend the day relaxing by the water and taking in the day. I find an amazing place in my book and everyone is once again thrilled with the day spent in Chaing Mai.
After the ride home it is time for me to get ready for my train ride. I am sadly forced to say goodbye to the "girls". Throughout our adventures my brotherly instincts took ahold of me and I looked after them as if they were my own. Truth be told I relied on them more than they on me. We laughed together, shared long conversations together and most of all experienced life together. I was finally left on my own like I longed for, yet this time I didn't want to be. I say my goodbyes and have one last adventures ride with Alli to the train station on a bicycle. I depart looking back on my new found friends and tentative about what the future entails for my lonesome self.
I bored my train with a bottle of Sang Som and the last 40 pages of "Into The Wild". I have a layover in Bangkok and then head to Krabi!
I'll finally get to see how I handle on my own.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Dedication!!
This morning I was abruptly woken up by a harsh a loud violent thunderstorm. I headed down to breakfast excited that today is the last day of the build. Being with a group of 16 people constantly will really wear on you. People start to annoy each other and clicks and sub clicks spring up left and right. I load up for the worksite in a negative mood and I am just ready to get it over with and move on. The group dynamic has really gotten to me.
Due to the rain there was very little that could be done. We all waited around to get started with the ceremony. Once the ceremony commenced my attitude abruptly changed to positive. It started with a shortt speech by Jack about how thankful we all were for allowing us come and build these homes. As the dedication continued I realized how special it was that all of us came together and built two houses in just two weeks. You can begin to see tears come down the eyes of both Jack and Mr. E. (homeowner) the whole group is overwhelmed with immediate gratification.
The second dedication was just as emotional as the first. Instead of wanting to rip everyone's head off, I wanted to give them all a hug. We worked as team, played as a team, fought as a team, and most important we finished as a team. There truly are some talented individuals in our team. Afterwards we enjoyed lunch with the family and said our fair well to the town that brought us in with open arms.
The local habitat workers pulled off an amazing two weeks of building. Imp, Jay, Bom, and Gret deserve much credit for organizing the build and managing our team. They interpreted for us and acted as a bridge to the local Thai community. I couldn't have asked for a better staff.
A special thanks also needs to go out to Jack Kingsley. It's amazing that for ten years he has organized a group of volunteers to help build homes across South East Asia. His organizations skill are unmatched. He is so successful in putting on these trips that he has developed an almost cult following. So thank you Jack Kingsley and thank you to "Jack's Team" for letting me into the group. You are all amazing people.
Typical habitat, starts with a bang, stressful in the middle and worth it all in the end. Thank you to all the people who help made this possible.
Off to karaoke with the team!!
Due to the rain there was very little that could be done. We all waited around to get started with the ceremony. Once the ceremony commenced my attitude abruptly changed to positive. It started with a shortt speech by Jack about how thankful we all were for allowing us come and build these homes. As the dedication continued I realized how special it was that all of us came together and built two houses in just two weeks. You can begin to see tears come down the eyes of both Jack and Mr. E. (homeowner) the whole group is overwhelmed with immediate gratification.
The second dedication was just as emotional as the first. Instead of wanting to rip everyone's head off, I wanted to give them all a hug. We worked as team, played as a team, fought as a team, and most important we finished as a team. There truly are some talented individuals in our team. Afterwards we enjoyed lunch with the family and said our fair well to the town that brought us in with open arms.
The local habitat workers pulled off an amazing two weeks of building. Imp, Jay, Bom, and Gret deserve much credit for organizing the build and managing our team. They interpreted for us and acted as a bridge to the local Thai community. I couldn't have asked for a better staff.
A special thanks also needs to go out to Jack Kingsley. It's amazing that for ten years he has organized a group of volunteers to help build homes across South East Asia. His organizations skill are unmatched. He is so successful in putting on these trips that he has developed an almost cult following. So thank you Jack Kingsley and thank you to "Jack's Team" for letting me into the group. You are all amazing people.
Typical habitat, starts with a bang, stressful in the middle and worth it all in the end. Thank you to all the people who help made this possible.
Off to karaoke with the team!!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Journal Entry
Everyday someone writes in our teams journal. Today is my turn and this is my entry!
Through out a construction project you have a influx of workers needed for given days and activities. Today was a day that we needed about half of the volunteers that we had. On site we were plastering and building the bathroom. Plastering requires a great amount of skill. All of the volunteers were eager to help and work hard. However, due to the fact that we are not skilled laborers we were only allowed to apply the first layer of plaster. The skilled labor came through and fixed our sloppy mess and turnd it into a work of art. This process led to the team standing around and waiting for the professionals to do their work. This frustrated most of the group and made people feel anxious to start the next task. I personally enjoyed the plaster work over the brick laying and was quick to volunteer my services. This delicate dance of managing volunteers was something I was familiar with. I have great admiration for our Habitat leaders Gret and Bom. They skillfully translated and put as many people to work as they could. During the day I thought about how a habitat work site is very similar across the world.
similarities amongst my habitat experiences
1. Lunch is my favorite part of the day
2. Habitat "employees" number one job is keeping volunteers happy
3. You will often find me making sexual construction jokes in the corner of the work site
4. People constantly criticize my work ethic
5. Volunteers just want to feel valuable
6. 3 skilled laborers could do the same amount of work as 10 volunteers
7. A habitat team creates their own "habi" family
8. The connections you make with the community, families and other people make it all worth it
In my opinion life isn't about the money you make or the places you see. Life is about the connections you make and experiences you have! Today when I wasn't working I managed to make a few noteworthy connections. While most of the group was tripping over each other to build a bathroom I noticed Bom, a habitat leader, giving a Thai massage to one of the skilled laborers. As soon as I noticed this I sat in front of the lady receiving the massage insinuated that she should simontanisouzly give me one. Even with the language gap she quickly caught on and proceeded to massage my back. I then signaled one of the ladies who makes our lunches to come sit down in front of me. We formed a massage train and I proceed to give her a massage. This causes an up roar of laughter amongst all of us! The Thai people start to take pictures of the "white" boy in the middle of a bunch of Thai people.
Gret, our habitat leader from Thailand, has been a great in bridging the gap between the volunteers and the rest of the Thai people. He is self conscious about his English but without him the entire job site would be lost. Today I asked if I could see the blue prints for the habitat house. I briefly looked over them seeing the common formant amongst the ones in America but I was unable to understand much more then the basics due to the fact that I don't read Thai. Gret has been such a good interpreter for us he even helped negotiate a date for me with his coworker. Tomorrow Bom and I will be going to a movie! Apparently she is picking me up on a motor bike. Just another adventure in Thailand.
Everyone has talked about how great our team is and as a first timer I couldn't agree more. We have our own family that looks out for each other. That being said, two weeks of being confined with the same people has started to show wear amongst us. I find our group dynamic interesting. Most see me as a young naive man who is having the time of his life. People look at me as though I am the lucky one. For me I look at the successful people around me and I can only dream to accomplish what they have. I constantly think how lucky I would be if I was in their position. We have a world class architect, a Canadian prosecutor, a successful restaurant owner, and an independent film producer just to name a few. Everyone is highly educated and has great career and life for themselves back at home. All of us are the lucky ones!
Thai food is amazing and exotic, however after a week and a half I could really go for in-n-out. We have been eating a large amount of seafood and I would be delighted if I never had a steamed fish put in front of me again. People have one by one fell to some type of food illness and I'm just waiting for my turn. Thank goodness we have nurse Jenny!!!
We are now off to another dinner by the ocean. Life couldn't be better!!
Through out a construction project you have a influx of workers needed for given days and activities. Today was a day that we needed about half of the volunteers that we had. On site we were plastering and building the bathroom. Plastering requires a great amount of skill. All of the volunteers were eager to help and work hard. However, due to the fact that we are not skilled laborers we were only allowed to apply the first layer of plaster. The skilled labor came through and fixed our sloppy mess and turnd it into a work of art. This process led to the team standing around and waiting for the professionals to do their work. This frustrated most of the group and made people feel anxious to start the next task. I personally enjoyed the plaster work over the brick laying and was quick to volunteer my services. This delicate dance of managing volunteers was something I was familiar with. I have great admiration for our Habitat leaders Gret and Bom. They skillfully translated and put as many people to work as they could. During the day I thought about how a habitat work site is very similar across the world.
similarities amongst my habitat experiences
1. Lunch is my favorite part of the day
2. Habitat "employees" number one job is keeping volunteers happy
3. You will often find me making sexual construction jokes in the corner of the work site
4. People constantly criticize my work ethic
5. Volunteers just want to feel valuable
6. 3 skilled laborers could do the same amount of work as 10 volunteers
7. A habitat team creates their own "habi" family
8. The connections you make with the community, families and other people make it all worth it
In my opinion life isn't about the money you make or the places you see. Life is about the connections you make and experiences you have! Today when I wasn't working I managed to make a few noteworthy connections. While most of the group was tripping over each other to build a bathroom I noticed Bom, a habitat leader, giving a Thai massage to one of the skilled laborers. As soon as I noticed this I sat in front of the lady receiving the massage insinuated that she should simontanisouzly give me one. Even with the language gap she quickly caught on and proceeded to massage my back. I then signaled one of the ladies who makes our lunches to come sit down in front of me. We formed a massage train and I proceed to give her a massage. This causes an up roar of laughter amongst all of us! The Thai people start to take pictures of the "white" boy in the middle of a bunch of Thai people.
Gret, our habitat leader from Thailand, has been a great in bridging the gap between the volunteers and the rest of the Thai people. He is self conscious about his English but without him the entire job site would be lost. Today I asked if I could see the blue prints for the habitat house. I briefly looked over them seeing the common formant amongst the ones in America but I was unable to understand much more then the basics due to the fact that I don't read Thai. Gret has been such a good interpreter for us he even helped negotiate a date for me with his coworker. Tomorrow Bom and I will be going to a movie! Apparently she is picking me up on a motor bike. Just another adventure in Thailand.
Everyone has talked about how great our team is and as a first timer I couldn't agree more. We have our own family that looks out for each other. That being said, two weeks of being confined with the same people has started to show wear amongst us. I find our group dynamic interesting. Most see me as a young naive man who is having the time of his life. People look at me as though I am the lucky one. For me I look at the successful people around me and I can only dream to accomplish what they have. I constantly think how lucky I would be if I was in their position. We have a world class architect, a Canadian prosecutor, a successful restaurant owner, and an independent film producer just to name a few. Everyone is highly educated and has great career and life for themselves back at home. All of us are the lucky ones!
Thai food is amazing and exotic, however after a week and a half I could really go for in-n-out. We have been eating a large amount of seafood and I would be delighted if I never had a steamed fish put in front of me again. People have one by one fell to some type of food illness and I'm just waiting for my turn. Thank goodness we have nurse Jenny!!!
We are now off to another dinner by the ocean. Life couldn't be better!!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Day One
Today we stared construction on the two houses and it has been everything I hopped for and more!
I arrived in Thailand Saturday morning and spent most of the day aimlessly walking around like a lost puppy dog until six when I met the habitat group. The group is made up of 17 people ranging from 23 (me) to what I'm guessing is 55. Most of the people are in their later middle ages. We are all brought together by the desire to see the world an give back when we can. We are children of Jack London seeking that next adventure. None of us will live up to his legacy but for a couple of weeks out of the year we feel a closer connection. Group leader , Jack, has been a leader for about 10 years and has developed a following. Most people won't believe me that by coincidence I ended up with the happy go lucky party group of habitat. From day one it has been made clear that everyone likes to enjoy themselves.
We left the hotel at 8:30 by sitting in the back of two trucks. We arrived at the first house greeted by the famous Thai smile. We were introduced to the first family and exchanged greetings and a few laughs. Afterwards we walked to the second house and met everyone and saw a finished habitat house. The houses were simple but sufficient. We split into two teams and began the journey.
Proudly wearing my Chico State Habitat shirt I was eager to show what I was made of. We began tying rebar for the foundation. This also symbolic created the foundation for our team. Everyone got along and worked hard throughout the day. After attempting to show off my die hard work ethic I quickly surrendered to the brutal Thai heat. Learning that pacing myself coupled with lots of water was the only way to make it through the day. We left the house with the foundation ready to pour for the next day. On the way to the trucks many of the Thai people were entertained by my lobster complexion!
From Chico to Thailand some things about habitat just don't change. I manage to find my way to the first aid. The simple fact that team work is easily formed with good people and of course lunch is the highlight of the day! Along with the simple fact that a hard days work must be rewarded with a beer.
The time has come and we are off to Thai BBQ and I don't want to be late because of jacks rule. "he who is late buys the first round"
I arrived in Thailand Saturday morning and spent most of the day aimlessly walking around like a lost puppy dog until six when I met the habitat group. The group is made up of 17 people ranging from 23 (me) to what I'm guessing is 55. Most of the people are in their later middle ages. We are all brought together by the desire to see the world an give back when we can. We are children of Jack London seeking that next adventure. None of us will live up to his legacy but for a couple of weeks out of the year we feel a closer connection. Group leader , Jack, has been a leader for about 10 years and has developed a following. Most people won't believe me that by coincidence I ended up with the happy go lucky party group of habitat. From day one it has been made clear that everyone likes to enjoy themselves.
We left the hotel at 8:30 by sitting in the back of two trucks. We arrived at the first house greeted by the famous Thai smile. We were introduced to the first family and exchanged greetings and a few laughs. Afterwards we walked to the second house and met everyone and saw a finished habitat house. The houses were simple but sufficient. We split into two teams and began the journey.
Proudly wearing my Chico State Habitat shirt I was eager to show what I was made of. We began tying rebar for the foundation. This also symbolic created the foundation for our team. Everyone got along and worked hard throughout the day. After attempting to show off my die hard work ethic I quickly surrendered to the brutal Thai heat. Learning that pacing myself coupled with lots of water was the only way to make it through the day. We left the house with the foundation ready to pour for the next day. On the way to the trucks many of the Thai people were entertained by my lobster complexion!
From Chico to Thailand some things about habitat just don't change. I manage to find my way to the first aid. The simple fact that team work is easily formed with good people and of course lunch is the highlight of the day! Along with the simple fact that a hard days work must be rewarded with a beer.
The time has come and we are off to Thai BBQ and I don't want to be late because of jacks rule. "he who is late buys the first round"
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Every trip has that frustrating moment. The moment that you can't believe happened and keep on wishing that it never did. I don't know if it's lucky or not that I had mine in the beginning...
I arrived promptly at the airport at 4:00AM ready to start my adventure. I hit the ground running looking for my airlines to check in! Only finding signs of my airlines but no people to check me in. "Oooh maybe this airline only uses these electronic check-ins" I think to myself. After trying and failing on the first I convince myself that it was broken and try 3 more. Not quite sure what to do I try checking-in on my phone. Nothing, for some reason my confirmation code wasn't working. After taking a good look at my print out I realized that I missed my flight by four hours. "SHIT" I frantically scream while stomping my feet like a two year old.
After calming my nerves I realize there is nothing I can do but wait for the airline's 1 800 number to open up. This just led me to the harsh realization that I would spend a whole 18 hours in the "FUCKING" San Francisco airport. I knew that I didn't like this place ever since I was young and spent 3 hours with my mom looking for our car.
Many short naps and episodes of Grey's Anatomy later I'm finally allowed to check into my new flight. Now I'm waiting at my gate thinking I should be in Thailand. The one big miss step that happens in every trip is now behind me, thank god. It should be smooth sailing from here on out!
Well my long island is almost gone so that means its time for me to end this!! Just remember, if you have a funny feeling about your flight than check your damn ticket!!
I arrived promptly at the airport at 4:00AM ready to start my adventure. I hit the ground running looking for my airlines to check in! Only finding signs of my airlines but no people to check me in. "Oooh maybe this airline only uses these electronic check-ins" I think to myself. After trying and failing on the first I convince myself that it was broken and try 3 more. Not quite sure what to do I try checking-in on my phone. Nothing, for some reason my confirmation code wasn't working. After taking a good look at my print out I realized that I missed my flight by four hours. "SHIT" I frantically scream while stomping my feet like a two year old.
After calming my nerves I realize there is nothing I can do but wait for the airline's 1 800 number to open up. This just led me to the harsh realization that I would spend a whole 18 hours in the "FUCKING" San Francisco airport. I knew that I didn't like this place ever since I was young and spent 3 hours with my mom looking for our car.
Many short naps and episodes of Grey's Anatomy later I'm finally allowed to check into my new flight. Now I'm waiting at my gate thinking I should be in Thailand. The one big miss step that happens in every trip is now behind me, thank god. It should be smooth sailing from here on out!
Well my long island is almost gone so that means its time for me to end this!! Just remember, if you have a funny feeling about your flight than check your damn ticket!!
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