When the exciting becomes routine, the routine changes!

Hello again! So, as a review... in a typical Monday through Thursday day, I get up around 6:45, shower and eat breakfast (usually a pre-packaged pastry/croissant), and head off for school around 7:45, socialize for a while at University, and then classes are from 8:30-10 and 10:30-12 (either Thai language, Thai Culture, Thai Writing, or occasionally Art lecture). Then we have lunch on campus at the canteen... usually a yummy rice dish and a fruit smoothie. Then, around 1 pm we gather into our rotdengs (literally translated "red cars," red trucks with 2 benches in the back that we squeeze about 10 or so people into) to head to our internships. So, at my internship, the Buddhist University which I've told you a lot about, I usually sit in a 2 hour class of 3rd or 4th year students while they give presentations, that we grade, in either Contrastive Studies of English and Thai or a social science topic. Then, from 3-5, we sit on a nice shady patio at the wat where we hold "Farang Chat" (foreigner) with the monks who want to come and talk to us. At the beginning we would see maybe 1 or 2 monks and they wouldn't show up before 4, but by last week, they were there waiting for us at 3! Then, I walk to campus and take a tram to the other side of campus and walk home. Dinner at home is usually between 6:30 and 8 and then I chill, read, blog, and go to bed fairly early... Thailand's enchantment gets exhausting!

Unfortunately, last week was the last week of normal classes for the Buddhist University and they are taking finals this week. So, some from our group will continue to go to the university since some monks will still be there for chat. I have the opportunity to go to one of the other internships for the rest of the time. There is an acting project that some of our students are a part of in which they will put on a huge production with thai actors with down syndrome or other disabilities--don't worry I won't be helping with that! Only one from our group has been working consistently with the project, but three others are going to join to help sing.... so they need substitutes at their internships since some of them are team teaching English at a temple school. So, I will be trying my hand at teaching (more like just playing with adorable kiddos) these coming weeks!! I visited Monday and Tuesday, and the schools are definitely more low-key than our schools, but the kids are kids and I had a blast starting to get to know them =) Today, (Wednesday) I helped out at another organization with one of the people working there who needs computer help (I'm no expert, but I figured I'd offer what little knowledge I have!). It's exciting doing something different everyday.... routines get boring ;)

The really crazy thing is, we only have about 3 more weeks (including this one that's now half gone!) of normal classes!! The time has flown by... this daily schedule that's just starting to feel 'normal' and 'routine' is soon to change... makes embracing the Buddhist principle of impermanence (everything changes) very important to my survival! As we start to wrap up, we are preparing for our Thai Language final next Monday. It has 2 parts (both oral!) The first is an individual part in which we have to talk (about basically anything, but in Thai, obviously) for about 4-5 minutes. For the second part, we are performing skits with a group for our professors. After that, we only have the rest of that week and one more week of wrapping up our other classes (including writing fun papers). We will have a farewell dinner for our families and internship supervisors sometime during the second week of March and then on March 13th we move out of our homes and head out on a week long field trip! It's hard to believe that things are ending already when I feel both like I just got here and like I've been here forever.

I also have been thoroughly enjoying my Fridays which usually consist of internship seminar from 8:30-10 and then art from 10:30-12 and 1:30-4... We have done watercolor paintings, pencil sketches, made and used stencils, painted pottery and carved pottery! I'm not great at it, but I welcome the opportunity to learn more about Thai culture in a completely different way! So far, I only have pictures of some of my watercolor paintings, so enjoy: =)

That's all for now... I should have a few more interesting posts this week if the potential planned events come to fruition!! Also, I just posted my first photo album of pictures from Thailand on Facebook, here's the link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=291467&id=563504756&l=48d74466c8

Thanks for reading, have a lovely day!

Best weekend yet!

Last weekend (Feb 12-13) was probably two of my favorite few days since coming to Thailand (it’s hard to say that though, because I try to make everyday my favorite!) We left Saturday morning around 9 and travelled to a temple in the next district over, toured the temple (I’ll admit they’re starting to look the same, but I still enjoy the peacefulness one can find at any temple) and then had lunch. Then we travelled to ANOTHER temple, but this one was high on a mountain and there was a staircase that about 10 or 12 of us climbed down and then back up. On the way back up, I decided to count the steps!! 474… whew, and it was HOT that day!

Long way down.... and I didn't want the extra weight so I didn't carry my camera to the bottom to take a pic before coming up, oops!

Then, we travelled to ANOTH-, no, just kidding ;) …. we stopped at a cave and climbed all in and through it and cooled off, it was really neat! I chose not to go in the bat cave part because the smell of it hit me like a hot, steamy brick wall, but the rest of it was awesome and refreshing!

Thai lanterns in the cave... there are a few Buddha images and a place for worship inside.

Later that evening, we finally arrived at our final destination, a forest wat known for its meditation center. That night, we had a meditation session… it was definitely a challenge to attempt to sit still and meditate, but I could tell they were pros at teaching and I enjoyed clearing my mind for a while. The next morning, we left at 5:45 to follow the monks down to the village to collect alms from the people. When we got back to the temple, we enjoyed the most breathtaking sunrise I have ever seen! After breakfast we had another meditation session, which was much more successful for me and most of our group, I think. O, and the forest the temple was located in was also the home of some wildlife, including some pretty peacocks… enjoy some pictures!!

Giving alms

One of the monks during the alms ceremony that occured when we got back from collecting alms



Did I mention it was breathtaking?

 Overall, the weekend was a rewarding retreat from the busy city and I wish it were longer! I can't show in these meager pictures or describe in my own words the peace it brought me being out in the middle of gorgeous Thailand at a Buddhist wat enjoying God's creation in a new light.

I pray you all have a great week! I have another post in the works that is just sort of an update on life here and the things we are all starting to look forward to in the coming weeks.

Be blessed my friends!

Buddhism through my eyes

Everyday around 6 am, if you’re in the right part of the Thailand at the right time, you can hear monks chanting as they head down the street to collect alms. Collecting alms is their way of being fed for the day, as faithful Buddhists meet them as they walk and offer them food. Being a monk is not exactly what you all may be picturing. It is customary for all Buddhist men to be ordained as a monk for at least 3 months in order to gain merit for his mother, who cannot generally be ordained. There are some cases of female ordination in parts of Asia, but not currently in Thailand. Any monk can disrobe at any time. Also, as young as the age of 11 or 12, a young boy can be ordained as a novice. He only has to keep 7 precepts compared to the 227 of a monk! Most novices are either ordained as monks around the age of 20 or they can stay novices a little longer to finish their education and then disrobe.

Typical monk in his bright orange robe (not actually a monk from my internship though)

This is the case of many of the monks and novices, at Mahachulalongkornrajavidayalaya (yes, I spelled that from memory, and no, spell check does not approve!) University at Wat (Temple) Suan Dok… the location of my internship. They have fascinating stories, and I have been having a blast getting to know them and learning about their lives both as monks and just as people of a different culture. A lot of the monks at this university are technically international students as many are from Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Burma. From what I hear, most of those attending the university are doing so because they would be unable to receive an education otherwise. My professor explained it to me by saying it’s like one big social work program because these are the poor tribal and immigrant boys who would otherwise live lives of servitude working in fields or other low-to-no-paying jobs. This way, they are educated and able to return to their country or hill-tribe of origin and give back, aid in development, help educate future generations, etc., and from talking to them I can tell they have huge visions about how they can change the world—inspiring!

So here’s a little bit about Buddhism. In Thailand, Theravada Buddhism is practiced. The Buddha, along with his teachings (called the Dhamma), and the community of monks (called the Sangha) are worshipped by some, and referred to as ‘The Triple Gem.’ Since the Buddha is no longer living, but is in Nirvana (a Buddhist version of heaven), symbols—relics, images, Bo trees and foot prints—are worshipped. As Buddhism is a very tolerant and open religion, people also worship spirits and gods of other religions, mainly Hinduism, to find more religious fulfillment.

This is a jedi (they look different at every temple) it holds relics of either the Buddha or of prominent monks.

Buddhists believe in the law of Karma, a sort of energy that is stored up in the brain that occurs naturally and spontaneously based on a person’s mental impulses, intention, action, and the results of the action. The purpose of Karma is to encourage people to repeat positive, karma-producing actions, cause rebirth, and determine the future conditions of life, currently and in the next life.  That brings me to another core belief of Buddhism, that of rebirth. With this belief comes a lack of fear of death, since this life is one of millions before and yet to come. At death, the Karmic energy produces a mass of psychic energy to contain a person’s traits to link them to the next life.

In general, there are three basic truths (called the 3 ‘im’s):

1.       Impermanence, meaning everything changes and nothing is permanent. This belief makes facing the challenges in life easierand the mind is freed from attachment to things.

2.       Impersonality, this means that there is no self, I and my body are not mine, but a part of the life process. There is no immortal soul.

3.       Imperfection, or more commonly known as suffering. Buddhists believe that all of life is suffering, and this makes handling struggles a little easier. Also, this makes people more compassionate toward others who are also suffering.

A few practices some Buddhists:-worship the triple gem
-observe the five precepts: not to kill, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to lie, and not to take intoxicants
-give food alms to monks from time to time
-visit temple and donate money to temple
-practice meditation

This is just a little intro, and I am by no means an expert on Buddhism! If you have questions about Buddhism, I’d be happy to try and answer them or find some answers for you (either from my professors or by asking some of the monks!)

Quick Update!

I know, I know it's been forever since I blogged!! I have a blog about buddhism/ my internship that is in process, so I will post it next week after our stay at a wat (temple) this weekend for our meditation retreat, which I am super-excited for!!

So, let's see, last week was a typical week and finally included an art class in which we did art (what a concept!), which was on Friday. Also, sometime last week we received our grade from our first Thai language oral exam--I got an A! What a relief...

This weekend, 7 or 8 of the girls in our group competed in the Chiang Mai Flower Festival's Miss International Flower Bloom Beauty Contest 2011. They had to arrive at the hotel to be dolled up in too much makeup, traditional Thai outfits, and lots of flowers in their hair at 3 pm. However, they didn't get on stage for the contest until 10:30!! O well, we're on Thai time here ;) Anyway, they did well, everyone introduced themselves in Thai (not a requirement) and did a little talent (singing, nursery rhymes, dance, etc.). Nobody from our group won, but overall it was a fun, but late, night! The next morning we went back to the Festival to attempt to see the parade. We were a little bit confused about where to actually see the parade itself, but we did finally see some of the beautiful, fower covered floats! They were more like flower art! Unfortunately, the heat of the day must have gotten to me, so I completely forgot to take pictures, and my pictures from the beauty contest are horrible because my camera doesn't like to work at night.... ah, may pen ray (it doesn't matter)... right?

Anyway, that's all for now! We have our midterm for our Thai culture class next Monday, right after we return from our wat stay.... so I have to work on the take home part of the exam now. Can't wait to tell you all about the meditation retreat.

Peace to you my friends!