Trip in Review: Part 2A- Southeast Asia

After one night in Bangkok, literally, we headed off to Chaing Mai, where Nong, our new best friend, met us at the airport. Nong is the wife of Seth, our HFH team leader. Nong currently lives in Lampang, Thailand but she's gearing up for a move to the US. Kris and I were so lucky to not only have the best tour guide we could ask for, but meet someone as kind and funny as Nong.

Chaing Mai is full of beautiful mountains, ornate temples and friendly people. Nong took us into the mountains to see some Hmong villages.

















The Chaing Mai night market was full of excitement. Kris and I got caught up in a shopping/bargaining frenzy, then were introduced to Rotee the delicious pancake/funnel cake dessert, and we all rounded out the evening with a run-in with an elephant.














One of the many great things about traveling with Nong in Thailand, was her interest and knowledge of Buddhism. We went to a slew of Temples and Nong was able to tell us about the details and symbolism behind everything. At one Temple, there were slates that, for a small donation, you could write a message on, and then make a wish for one of the families that attend that Temple. Here's Kris and I making our wishes.















The highlight of our time with Nong, was the visit to her family's house. Nong's parents don't speak much English but it didn't really matter. We had a great time visiting with them, sharing in the delicious meal they cooked up, and getting to know each other without all that pesky language stuff. Here I am with Nong, her sister Mai, and her parents.














After Nong's whole family sent us off at the bus station, Kris and I headed back to Bangkok. We did an afternoon of touristy stuff in Bangkok and it because of gentlemen like this one, that I rank people watching among my favorite activities.















Just when I felt out of my element and overwhelmed with cultural differences, I'd spot a 7-11 and remember that the world is sometimes smaller than I think. It was at the Bangkok bus station (which is bigger and brighter than I could have ever imagined a bus station to be) that we spotted the one and only Dunkin Donuts of the trip. Kris and I have great friends, Andrew and Danny, who once drove overnight from San Francisco to Eugene, Oregon just to get some Dunkin Donuts for their staff meeting. This one's for you, guys!













And in the "it's impossible to resist taking a picture of this" category...

















From Bangkok, we took the overnight bus to Khao Lak (we got good at those overnight buses. Not too shabby an experience especially when they didn't blast Chinese movies with Thai subtitles). Khao Lak is home of the Tsumani Volunteer Center, and what quickly turned into one of the best towns I've ever visited. There's more details on our experiences in Khao Lak in earlier posts but I'll just summarize by saying it was a magical two weeks. We met such amazing people, both locals and volunteers, and really felt like part of the community. Plus, it's a beach town and I can't emphasis enough how beautiful the beaches in Thailand are.

Some highlights of Khao Lak...

Kids from the English Camp we taught:













The Volunteer party where we all dressed in traditional Thai clothes:


















John, Goi and Ken at the Volunteer party. Ken now runs Volunteer Teacher Thailand, an off shoot of the Tsunami Volunteer Center. If you have even the slightest hankering to travel to Thailand and help out a great cause, contact Ken. He's a great guy and is doing excellent work. You will not regret it.













Kris coloring with the kids at Home and Life orphanage:














David and I attempting to teach the kids animals in English. THIS IS A BEAR! (I recommend checking out the Home and Life blog. It's a really well-run, homey atmosphere, and Root and Rasa who run Home and Life are a great inspiration. There's a wish list on their blog if you're in the mood to send holiday packages overseas!)














And here's Kris and I with some of our volunteer pals, taking part in one of John's photo shoots. John, also a volunteer, works on a number of websites in Khao Lak. John is yet another amazing guy we were so lucky to get to know. His art knows no bounds. In order to take this picture, he stook on a chair in the middle of the street.













While in Khao Lak, John took Sophie, David, Kris and I on an outing to Phangna Bay, home of "James Bond Island." Apparently they filmed a scene there for one of those old Bond movies (I'm clueless on the Bond front). Here's John and Kris with Bao, our boat driver.














On the way back, we stopped at a Muslim fishing village. These folks have an entire village on stilts. Fascinating stuff.














Another outing involved a stop at a Temple that was built out of a boat.


















After our volunteer stint in Khao Lak finished, Kris, Sophie (a fantastic gal from England who also volunteered in Khao Lak) and I spent a weird and fun night in Panang (Ladyboy central).













From there, we headed out to Railey, where we watched the best sunset ever. That's right. Ever.

The Trip in Review: Part 1- Eastern Europe

The big voluntouring trip is officially done. We didn't post as much to this blog as we would've liked. From the sights we saw to the volunteer work we did, to the amazing people we met, it's hard to know where to begin. For now, I'll do a little trip overview using just a fraction of our zillions of pictures.

Our first stop was Prague. Prague seemed like it was straight out of a Disney movie. I'm sure Disney bases their movies on places like Prague, rather than the reverse but I saw Disney first so c'est la vie. Prague is an adorable city that is easy to get lost in. We never grew tired of making up stupid Czech puns. Czech me out. Czech mates. What's the Praguenosis.

Miles, a friend of Kristen's from SF, was on his own round the world adventure, and met us on our very first stop. Here's Miles and Kris taking in some of the tasty Czech beer, on a midday stop at a skate park.












After Prague, the three of us headed south to Cesky Krumlov, the cutest town on the planet. Ok, maybe that's extreme, but I recommend that everyone goes to CK if they get the chance. It's even more homey and beautiful and quaint than the name would suggest.





I'm sure that Slovakia is beautiful. Our experience of Slovakia was limited to a couple days in Bratislava. We stayed at an old dorm that is also used as a hostel in the summers. We found a certain sterility in Slovakia. This train, and Kristen's expression, sum it up.













People often ask what types of places we stayed in along the way. Because of our tight budget, some of the locations were less than stellar. This place in Lake Balatan, Hungary was pretty decent aside from the terrifying artwork.


We both loved Budapest despite getting unncessarily fined on the train, ripped off by a cab driver, and assaulted by a gypsy. The energy, architecture, and general vibe of the city made it a place I'd love to go back to. Budapest is where we met up with our fellow Habitat for Humanity volunteers. After a day in the big city, our group headed off to the HFH affiliate in the small town of Hajduboszormeny.

Our volunteer work involved a variety of tasks. Here's some of the crew working on the roof and insulation.













Much of the success of that experience can be attributed to the Habitat leadership. Here's Kris and I with Seth, the leader of our volunteer crew who's a staff member at HFH, and Pisti, who is the construction manager at the Hajdu HFH affiliate. Both of them are patient, hilarious, and generous beyond belief.














Throughout the two weeks, we became close with the other volunteers. One of our fellow volunteers, Danica, celebrated a birthday during our time in Hadju. Here's Danica and the vegan birthday feast that Robin so artistically arranged.














And, updates on the houses! In the few months since our group was in Hajdu, the houses have been finished, dedicated, and the families moved in! Here's the Toth family. The boys all look very intense here, but they're a happy, fun crew. Dani, the oldest son, is a senior in high school, and spent his entire summer working on site. Dani got to the work site at 7am every day and would be the last one working. Dani was a great teacher when it came to all things roofing. I'm so excited that he and his family have a home to call their own. I couldn't think of a more well deserving group of people.

And here's a look at the finished houses from the outside.


I can't talk about HFH Hajdu without a mention of Sandor, the Project Supervisor. Sandor was not only the supervisor of the worksite, he coordinated the volunteers and always made sure we had everything we needed. HFH Hajdu is really lucky to have him.





After we finished our work in Hajdu, we headed back to Budapest for a few days of touristy stuff. Here's the whole group.














The world is jam packed with interesting food, and new and interesting ways to prepare food. Unfortunately, I never got around to trying one of these giant tubes of bread stuffed with something or other, that we kept seeing in Budapest.













After a sad farewell to our new friends from HFH, Kris and I spent a couple more days in Budapest and then headed out to Turkey. It's hard to sum up Turkey. Istanbul is gigantic and overwhelming and fascinating. Us silly Americans think a house that is 100 years old is old. The Aya Sofya was built in 537. That's right, folks. 537.

Here's the world famous Blue Mosque.














Kris at the Spice Bazaar.


















Busy streets in Istanbul.














After a few days in Istanbul, we did a bit more touring in Western Turkey. First we headed off to the island of Bozcaada. Beautiful and relaxing. Thanks for the suggestion, Dinah!














We saw very impressive ruins in Bergama. Here's the Acropolis.














Then to Pamukkale, home of these crazy calcium deposits and thermal waters. It was a ridiculously hot day so I attempted to cool off in the waters. It was probably heat stroke at work.


















I leave you with this important message from this gentleman we saw at the Ephesus ruins.

















Stay tuned for Part 2: Southeast Asia.

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Itsy Bitsy Spider
Originally uploaded by mc973

Teaching English in Cambodia turned out to involve a lot of singing. Here's video of some of the kids singing one of the many songs we taught them.

Bats, and scorpions and lizards...oh my.

Greetings friends, family and random internet stalkers. We apologize for the delay in posting. It's tricky to update the blog when you're in a jungle with no internet. But alas, we are now back in the USA (New Orleans to be exact) and are here to tell you about our volunteer stint at Purasuerte in Costa Rica.

Kris and I arrived in San Isidro, and after an unsuccessful attempt to get in touch with our contact at Purasuerte, trusted a cab driver who claimed he knew how to get there. The farm was about an hour out of town, via many long and windy mountain roads. Our driver, as one would expect from a native Costa Rican, only spoke Spanish. Kris and I have limited Spanish. Yet we chatted all the way there. I'm not sure how that got accomplished but the three of us laughed a lot. We finally, after some confusing twists and turns, arrived, in the dark, at a sign that said Purasuerte. The driver turned off the car and said, "Purasuerte!" There was nothing around. Uh...we're not getting out right here, amigo. Thankfully, our next attempt to call Drennan was successful and he picked us up.

Drennan dropped us off at the volunteer house where we met Mud Flap, the friendly dreaded chap who ran the gardens, and John, the only other volunteer. In "it's a small world" news, John is a native Jerseyite now living in Philly. So, the four of us got to chatting right away, and started chopping up the ingredients for some fresh salsa.

Before I get to the details on our volunteer work, let me just tell you about my nemesis (plural nemeneaux?). The bats living above my bed. Meet Beatrice and Nadia!

If they just hung there quietly, I may've been able to adjust, but the loud swooping at night a)scheeved me out b)was just so rude and distracting for those of us who are NOT NOCTURAL. I turned into Bill Murray a la Caddyshack when it came to trying to get rid of these gals. If I wasn't on an organic farm, I may've just stabbed or punched them or both. But, alas, we're all about not killing stuff and being au natural...so I took the Flap's advice and gathered up some fresh citronella.

Here I am, working on that important project.

I tied it up in bundles all over the ceiling and alas, they found a new place to live! They still swooped through the room now and then, but I think it was clear who was boss.

So...the farm. PS, as I'll refer to it, is located in the Costa Rican jungle, in the tiny town of La Florida. There are 30 acres of beautiful, lush with flowers and plants land. There's a big 'ol greenhouse with lots of veggies and fruit. This is Mud Flap's pride and joy. Our work involved helping out in the greenhouse with watering and weeding and trimming, cleaning up dead plants and flowers throughout the property, replanting beds of spinach and cayote (This is not how you spell it. Whatever it's called, it's a tuber), and cleaning the volunteer house.

Here's Kris and I after some replanting in Mara's Garden:















Kris developing her machete weilding skills:



















And here I am, with one of the many mysteries we uncovered while cleaning:

This nasty substance was on many of the books I pulled out of the bookcase. I later learned that it's larvae from the infamous Goo Bug. Just what I wanted to hear. The Goo Bug leaves this sticky, nasty substance, which is something akin to rusty honey. In short, it's disgusting.






But it wasn't all Goo Bugs and Scorpions (oh yes, found one of those crawling out of the bookcase too!). Here's one of the many types of beautiful flora that we came upon. I forget the name but let's just call it Prettyalia, or something like that.



















And then we have our four-legged pals. Wuli, the cat that thinks she's a dog, loved reading American Pastoral. That's right Matt- she might be smarter than Don.















And, meet the new love of my life, Mana. If I was dognapping sort of gal, she'd be with me now. She's even cooler than this picture would suggest, if that's even possible.















Lots of down time was spent hanging out on the porch, listening to the sounds of the jungle, and contemplating life's mysteries. I swear it was more exciting than this picture of John and I would suggest.















When the sun goes down at 5:20 every day, it means nights are all about dinner and games. Here's Mud Flap, sorting out the rules for Cranium.



















And here I am, cooking up some banana pancakes, next to that oh so lovely fridge.















So, there ya have it. Life in the Costa Rican jungle had it's up and downs but overall, it was a beautiful place. It was nice to wind down our big trip with lots of natural beauty, gardening, reflecting on the porch, meeting new friends, and eating the tastiest fresh pineapple I've ever had.















And, now, we're off to check out New Orleans and see what's changed since we were here about two years ago. Stay tuned for a report!

Milton

Milton
Originally uploaded by kristenkk2

Here is a picture of that toothy smile...

Dangriga Days

kristen 037
Originally uploaded by kristenkk2

We've been in Dangriga, Belize for a week. Our contact for volunteering here was a man named Dennis and The Jungle Huts was the guesthouse I was told to check out. These were boh passed on from The University of San Franciso and were their contacts for student volunteer groups. My conversation with Dennis before we arrived went something like, "Yes, we will find a place for you to volunteer when you arrive. We'll meet and discuss it when you come." A few months ago I might have questioned his lax response and wondered where, how, or when we would meet. But, I've begun to trust and go with it.

And trusting worked. We showed up at The Jungle Huts and met Phil, the owner. While we were waiting for a room to be fixed up, I figured it would be worth an ask if Phil knew where we might find Dennis. Phil said, "Oh yeah, I can take you over to see Dennis right now." Uh, OK. Then Phil also offered us a discount on our room since we were going to be volunteers.

With no warning, but a beep of Phil's horn, we show up to Dennis' front door. He said, "Oh, I was just on my way out." We offered to come back at a more convienent time and he assured us now was great. I laughed and thought in America he'd be like, "Um, yes, looks like I can pencil you from 2:00 - 2:04 tomorrow." But, instead he sat down and chatted with us for about an hour. We agreed to meet him the next day and he'd show us to Holy Ghost, the school we'd be helping out at.

Holy Ghost didn't seem to know excatly what to do with us, but we found our way to a classroom where a teacher was absent and the vice-principal was filling in. The school was much different then what we became accustomed to in Asia. It was much more "American" in it's sturcture and style. The kids are much like kids everywhere...they are interested in you or at least interested in that you pay attention to them, say hysterical things, and love to get their picture taken. After our brief afternoon there, we assured them we'd be back on Tuesday because Monday was a holiday.

On Tuesday, a third grade teacher was absent and we got thrown in there without much direction. We had a good time and got to know some of the students, who of course cracked up us...There was Milton who took our name tag exmples right to heart and wrote Milton Kristen Mary on his tag. So, we called him Milton Kristen Mary all day and were given a huge toothy smile in return. There was Howard who was the first kid's name you learn because you have to. He was obsessed with the dried fruit his teacher gave out despite the fact we told him he'd have to wait until she got back. Howard couldn't stop thinking of it. And there was Latrice who we thought looked like a 70 year old Price is Right contestant. She went to the board with her long sleeve tied around her neck so she didn't catch a chill and was erasing her answer and rewriting it like she was about to win a new car!

On Wednesday we subbed in that class again in the morning and then did some small group work in another class in the afternoon. A note got passed around saying school was closing early because of a tropical storm warning. School actually closed for the next two days. We don't think the storm was so bad, but they were worried about the river flooding. More next week...