ELEPHANTS!!!

Alright so I'm afraid this is going to be a quick and not very elaborate post because I only have an hour and a half left here in Bangkok and I have stuff I have to do!! So here's the quick, brief scoop:

I ended up spending 4 days with Brin on Phi Phi island/Phuket island on the west side of Thailand. It was SO great to see her, and we had an awesome time catching up, relaxing on the beach, and taking in a few "bückets" (crazy drink composed of local whiskey, red bull, and a can of pop) in the evenings. It was weird though, because when I first saw Brin she didn't look like what I remebered her to look like, and she said she felt the same with me! And that was only 3 months we spent a part! So I'm kinda wondering what it's going to be like seeing the rest of you that I haven't seen in a whole year!

I started a week of volunteer work on Monday the 15th up at the Elephant Nature Park, near Chiang Mai, Thailand. What an amazing place! I'll have to elaborate on it more later, but basically it's a park set up by a Thai woman to help save elephants.

My week here ended up being an exceptionally special week at the park. On the Tuesday evening, my second day at the park, a 2 day old baby elephant was brought to the park. Her mother works at a camp, and had been chained up on a hill, and the owners had not known she was pregnant. She gave birth to the baby during the night, and the baby rolled down the hill. She was brought to the park in very poor condition, and my week at the park ended up being a mixture of work to make the mom and baby more comfortable, and around-the-clock baby ele watch. All of the volunteers were resposible for watching Baby Ele over 2 hour shifts, day and night. It ended up being a VERY exhausting week, but so rewarding. My last shift with Baby Ele was 3-5am this morning, and she was actually starting to get up on her own and walk with way less support than the [previous day.

I could really write on and on about this for hours, but unforunately I have to run. For more info on the park and Baby Ele, check out the par'k's website at http://www.elephantnaturefoundation.org/

The following link goes straight to infor on Baby Ele: http://www.elephantnaturefoundation.org/go/news/entry/43

I really am still in kinda a state of shock over the experience I've had - it was utterly amazing, and I again have all of you to thank who supported me in doing volunteer work in Asia. Thank you so much!

Hard to believe, but it's less than 2 weeks and I'll be home. I'll have more stories to tell in person!

Oh and I'm taking a bus in a couple hours down to the eastern islands of Thailand, and I'll be meeting back up with Brinny - should be good times!

Love you all and can't wait to see you!

Goodbye Cambodia...Hello Thailand!

So I had my last day of volunteering on Friday the 5th, and it was quite a sad day. The 3 weeks I spent there were just enough to let myself get attached to the kids, and knowing that I probably won't see them again was hard. But I decided to make it a fun day instead of a sad one, both for them and me, so we played games and I gave them their present: a photo album of pictures I'd taken of them over the duration of my volunteering. They were absolutly tickled pink, and it wasn't until I saw their excitement that it dawned on me that these kids have probably never had a photo of themselves. So the album was a hit, and I'm glad I took the time to do it.

Saying goodbye to my older students wasn't quite as hard, but it was still sad. I was showered with all kinds of gifts, from carved wooden owls and scarves to photos and keychains. Such sweet kids and so thoughtful! One of the girls (she was a bit of a keener) also asked if she could record my voice! So I talked about my time in Cambodia while she recorded - gave me a chuckle.

After teaching I met up with Sophanit and 3 volunteers from Germany that I'd met my first week in Cambodia for supper. We ate at a place called Queen BBQ - a local hot spot that has all you can eat Cambodian style BBQ. It's kinda hard to explain what a Cambodian BBQ is like, so you'll just have to wait and see pictures!

Saturday afternoon I caught the bus to Phnom Phen, and it was a wondurfully smooth and straight, 6 hour trip. I arrived late enough that there wasn't much time to do anything, so I called it a night early and decided to start my Sunday bright and early at 6.

My first stop was to the Killing Fields - a place outside Phnom Phen where the Khmer Rouge held mass executions. Words can't possibly describe how chilling it was to be there. Thousands of women, children, and men were brought here to be killed and then buried in mass graves. Some of the graves have been dug up, while others have not. As you walk along the paths you can still see clothing poking up from the ground - it was a depressing start to a depressing day.

My next stop was the S-21 prison. A school prior to the Khmer Rouge takeover, it was converted into a prison and held captive 20,000 people, only 7 of whom walked out alive. The classrooms were converted into interrogation rooms and cells, which now hold gruesome photos of tortured prisoners and their mugshots upon arrival to the prison. Just being there is enough to make anyone sick to their stomach - the 30 year old blood stains on the floors and walls topped it off.

So that was how I spent my last day in Cambodia - not exactly what you'd call uplifting.

I caught my flight from Phnom Phen to Bangkok at 4:30, and arrived in Bangkok around 6. After a night in the airport and a 10am flight this morning, I'm now in the town of Krabi awaiting a fairy over to the island of PhiPhi where Brin is waiting for me! I got accepted to volunteer at the Elephant Nature Park for a week starting on the 15th, soI'll have about 6 days with Brin on the islands, and I'm really excited to see her!

Oh and speaking of exciting, you're never going to belive what was at the Phnom Phen airport....a Dairy Queen! I think my jaw almost hit the floor when I sw that red and white sign (for those of you who don't know, the members of my family all have a DQ addiction, and for me I've been giong through some serious whithdrawl these past 11 months!!) So I walk into the DQ and pull out all the money I have left (a measly 73 cents) to see what I can buy. To my dismay, the cheapest thing on the menu was a DQ sandwich, at 80 cents. The woman behind the counter must have seen my dismay, because she said to me " I discount for you", and then took my crumpled cash and exchanged it with a DQ sandwich. Well bless that woman's soul!! I was the happiest girl around!

Well that's all for now...just wanted to end the blog on a happy note!

An Interesting Day

Tonight I attended a talk put on by several monks about Buddism. 90% of the Cambodian population are buddists, so I figured it was about time I learned somthing about the religion. Just a few interesting tid bits:

1. It is very bad to touch a monk - especially if you are a woman.

2. Pointing your feet in the direction of a monk is considered very rude, as the feet are the lowest part of the human body.

3. Buddism is over 2000 years old.

4. Monks only eat two meals a day - breakfast and lunch. Lunch must be eaten before noon.

Sophanit attended the talk with me, and afterward took me to a local restaurant for supper. We had soup, but not any ordinary soup. This soup had pig brain in it! Suprisingly, it didn't taste that bad!

One last thing: for anyone interested in learning more about the Khmer Rouge and their take-over of Cambodian, I just finished a book called " First They Killed My Father", by Loung Ung. It was extremely good, and I highly recommend it.