Traveling the World

Hey ya'all!! I'm traveling the world! That's right, I'll be traveling until June 7th when I head back to The States! Traveling is going to be a blast, but I can't wait to be home, I miss everyone! Anyways, just wanted to let you know my traveling schedule:

April 27th-May 2nd: Phuket, Thailand
May 3rd- May 5th: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
May 5th- May 8th: Singapore
May 8th- May 14th: Darwin, Australia
May 14th- May 19th: Sydney, Australia
May 19th- May 24th: Wellington, New Zealand
May 24th- May 27th: Greymouth, New Zealand- Hiking the Franz Josef Glacier :)
May 27th- May 29th: Christchurch, New Zealand
May 30th- June 2nd: Angkor Watt, Cambodia
June 2nd- June 7th: Bangkok, Thailand
June 7th: Flying back to good ol' America!
June 8th: Morning flight from Los Angeles to Phoenix!!

Anyways, I'm going to try and write blogs of my travels if I get time, so keep checking every once in a while if you get time :) Can't wait to see you all!!

No more English Camps

The week of April 21-26th marked my last week at Agape and my last English Camp. English Camp was really fun and a great way to finish my English teaching at Agape. It was funny too because we had a visitor to Agape. His name is Don and he is a supporter of Agape. He wanted to speak to the children, but he doesn't speak Thai and he heard that I can speak a little bit of Thai, so he had me translate for him. I think it was really neat for the kids, because they were able to hear my Thai. I actually did a really good job translating, so if anyone needs a translator I'm your girl :) It's hard to believe that I was already down to my last week. My Thailand journey began on July 24th. I arrived at Agape, and had no idea what the next year of my life was going to look like. I trusted God, but when I arrived at Agape at 5:30 in the morning and was asked to go up in front of the kids and introduce myself, I saw 130 faces staring at me, wondering the same thing as me "What is she going to do?" I told them my name was Andrea and that I was so incredibly happy to be able to be there with them and that I was going to teach them English. It was said like I knew what I was doing, but inside I wondered if I would really be able to teach them English and if I would be able to do a good job and if I would be able to reach them. From that day on, I fell in love with those children more and more every day. I trusted God and somehow I always had something to teach them. I had the opportunity to start my day every day with singing songs with my favorite kids and ended it by going into their rooms every night and telling them "Good night, I love you!" My every day started and ended with these children. As I tried to teach them English, they unknowingly taught me so much more. I learned so much about love, about God and about me. About the person God has created me to be. I learned what's important in life, and it wasn't what I was always putting such an importance on. They taught me true joy, true laughter, and true friendship. These children would come into my room every day just to sit and color and fill my room with their laughter and joy. In the beginning of my time at Agape, the sounds that filled my room would only be in the Thai and Karen languages, and as time went on it began to be filled with the English language. The children's English had improved so much and every time I heard them talk, it made my heart jump. I found lasting brothers and sisters and friends at Agape. The children will forever be a part of my heart. I will miss everything about them. I will miss not going into their rooms and telling them good night, not hearing them running around outside as I try and plan my lessons, their hugs, their kisses and most of all their love all the time.

My last night at Agape was filled with celebrations and tears. The children sang songs that theywrote for me, put on a little show, and gave me gifts that filled my arms tooverflowing. Each gift was a hand-made gift from their hearts that willtouch me forever. All three of us (me, my dad, and Cherise) were given a Karen shirt and skirt that were made by Pastor's wife and the children walked out to us and put them on us as they sang a beautiful song, where they stated they would miss us and would pray for us. As this all happened tears couldn't help but have escaped from my eyes and fall down to thebeautiful clothes that were so lovingly placed on me. I was also able to give the children the gifts that I had made for them (I made them picture frames, that I meticulously decorated with the help of Cherise. A penny was glued on each frame to give them a piece of my home. And I gave each of them some American candy bars because they love them so much) andI sang them the song that I wrote for them. I wrote the song and Teep translated it into Thai for me. I attempted to sing the song in Thai and the children all said they could understand everything I sang :) The children wrote me cards and they were written in English, thanking me for the knowledge that I had given them. It was one of the most rewarding things seeing how well they wrote and spoke in English. It was a night that encompassed a year of my life that I will never forget.

He shot me!

Chiang Mai was a blast! We landed and were greeted by Terra and Teep who picked us up at the airport. They laughed at us because we had our squirt guns strapped to our backpacks and were ready for Sonkran. Chiang Mai is the happening place for celebrating Sonkran. Sonkran is the Thai's celebration of their New Year. On Saturday we started our day with visiting the largest temple in Chiang Mai. We had our squirt guns in hand and we were ready to attack. We had a blast squrting people as they passed and bringing smiles to their faces. Sometimes we'd squirt people and they would have no idea where it came from and they would look up into the sky thinking a bird pooped on them. We'd always crack up. After our visit to the temple, Terra and teep picked us up and we all piled into the back of Teep's cousins truck with huge trash cans full of water, small buckets to toss the water, and our squirt guns. We drove along the canal, where there were so many trucks doing the same thing as us. The street was jam packed and we moved so slow. Some people put large ice cubes in their water and were throwing that at us. It was a blast! We squrited people as they drove by, got splashed with ice cold water, and refilled our water when we ran out from the canals. Sometimes Songtaews (the taxi trucks) would drive by and we would see people sitting in the back behind the protection trying not to get wet. So me and Cherise would jump out, run behind their truck and splash everyone who was sitting inside. It was insane! All around everyone was throwing water at each other, whether from a standing position in front of their shops, on the street, or from their slowly moving truck. I've never had so much fun with a squirt gun before. And every time I would get shot from a squirt gun, I would look up and see a very joyful face and then I would lift up my squirt gun and shoot right back at that joyful face :)

Sabai Dee Laos!

Our last day in Laos was wonderful! We spent our last day just relaxing, which was amazing after a long year of working with the best kids in the world!! Me and Cherise went for a 3 hour massage (which was only 15 American dollars....gotta love Asia :)) and my dad cruised around the city, talking with new people, and enjoying a lovely bowl of soup. We did our last bit of shopping so we could finish up buying our souvenirs for all our lovely family and friends, and then we had our last pizza in Laos for dinner. We had to leave our hotel at 11:30 the next day because our plane was leaving for Chiang Mai at 1:10. We did our last little walk abouts of the city and played with our squirt guns one more time. We became good "squirt gun friends" with a couple of guys who had a little store and we would stand in front of their store with them and squirt the passerby's. It was a blast!! We're really going to miss our new buddies :) We piled into our little Tuk-Tuk that we bargained from 50,000 kip to 20,000 kip and putted our way to the airport. Luang Prabang is a small city so we got to the airport in about ten minutes, unloaded our stuff and piled inside to check in. When we got there, they informed us that our flight was delayed and wasn't leaving until 6:10. We arrived there a little before noon, so now we had 6 hours to kill in the airport. Who knew you could play so many games of cards over the span of 6 hours. The plane finally arrived and we piled into it, looking like hi-jackers with our squirt guns strapped to our backs. They even asked us as we stepped on the airplane if we were thinking about hi-jacking it. It was funny! As the plane began the take-off we looked out at the beautiful city of Luang Prabang, said Sabai Dee (that's good-bye in Laos), and looked forward to our landing in Chiang Mai.

Same Same But Different

It was so wonderful just letting myself wake up when my body said it was time to wake up and not getting up at 5:30. Once we were all awake and ready we walked out of our room and we were greeted with a good morning from the guy the day before that told us his guesthouse had the “best price….really”. We made our way to a restaurant that was serving “American Breakfast”. All 3 of us ordered an American breakfast and enjoyed every bit of it. We finished our breakfast and paid our 34,000 kip each (the conversion was 1 dollar to 8,700 kip….it’s good to be American J) and walked out into the beautiful Laos sun. We walked a bit down the road, looking up at the temples that towered over us and our thoughts were interrupted by a couple from Spain asking us if we wanted to go to the waterfalls today. It was a perfect invite because we didn’t really know where our day would take us, and it worked out great for them too because they needed a couple other people to fill up the tuk-tuk (which is what the little truck taxi’s are called) so they could get a better deal per person. We agreed and we found 3 other people who were from Sweden, so we got an even better deal. We decided to go to Kuang Si Falls, which also had a shelter for the endangered Moon Bears. When we arrived, we made our way around with the couple from Spain- their names were Oscar and Racquel. Oscar had already been to the Falls, so we designated him our tour guide. The Falls were tiered with beautiful limestone deposits everywhere. We walked up and stopped at each of the tiers, that became more and more beautiful. As we made our way up to the very top, there were men making steps out of concrete. We asked if we could write our names in the wet cement and they smiled and told us “dai, dai” (which means “can, can”- they also speak Thai in Laos). Each of us wrote our names and the date, so we will forever be a part of Laos. Then we continued our uphill journey to the top. I have decided that Thai flip-flops are not the best thing to hike in. I ended up just taking them off and hiking barefoot because it was easier. As we climbed to the top, we found a little path (well it wasn’t really a path, we just turned it into a path) that took us to a pool at the very top tier. There were hardly and people there because it was off the path. We cannon-bombed off the rocks into the pool and then rested where the water fell over the edge. It was exhilarating as we lay there, the water rushing over us and falling over 5 stories to the bottom.
We decided we couldn’t stay there forever like we wanted, so we got out and made our trek back up trying not to slip on the rocks (they become a lot more slippery when you’re wet) and walked across the top of the falls and then back down. There was a small wooden railing between us and the bottom, so we gripped it as we slowly walked across the top of the falls. As we walked down we passed by the other tiers and we stopped in the pool with the rope swing that I was wanting to stop at since we saw it at first. I climbed up the tree, reached over the edge, grabbed the rope and stepped back to jump. I didn’t realize how scary it was until I was up at the top having to jump. Everyone down in the water kept encouraging me. It took me about 3 minutes and then I finally went for it. It was a blast! I did it 4 more times…..I couldn’t do it anymore after that because my hands were killing me. I never realized how hard it is to hold yourself up on rope. Racquel took videos of me and they were hilarious! One time it even looked like I walked on the water and then biffed it face first. We saw our friends from Sweden and we all joined back together and headed back to our Tuk-Tuk. As we drove back, we were all immersed in conversation about Borat, as we were deep into laughter we got slammed with water. Right now in Laos and in Thailand they are celebrating their New Year. The way they celebrate is by splashing people with water. So by the time we arrived back into town we were soaked, but we had so much fun! We spent that night shopping in the night market, where you can find the best deals ever and barter with the people selling their things. I am pleased to say that I am an amazing barterer (it probably comes from my cheap dad J). We found some really cute shirts that said “Same Same” on the front and “Different” on the back. In Thailand, and in Laos, everyone always says “same, same” when they’re trying to say similar, so it’s a big joke to say “same, same”. So me and Cherise each bought a “same, same” shirt, but we got different colors. We wore them the next day (because we’re so cool) and everybody kept telling us you guys are “same, same…..but different"

Is it Lao or Laos?

We arrived in Chiang Khong about an hour and a half after we left Baan Immanuel. I tried to sleep on the drive, but it was a curvy, bumpy ride that kept forcing my tired head to hit either the chair in front of me, the window next to me, or Cherise’s shoulder. I finally decided to just stay awake and Cherise and I translated the Thai worship songs that were playing on the radio and sang them with passion and the driver and his friend were just smiling as we sang. When we arrived I’m sure the two guys were relieved because they no longer had to listen to our singing, but my dad was still stuck with our lovely voices as we walked to our boat to take us across the Mekong River to get to Laos (or as the Thai people say, Lao). We piled into the long, wooden boat, with many other foreigners from all around the world, and sat as our boat driver tried 3 times to start the boat. He would start it, we’d move a couple feet and then it would stall- exactly what we pictured our boat would be like to get us to Laos. Five minutes later, we were on the Laos side getting our Laos visas, handing our passports to the border patrol and then waiting for our taxi that took us to the 2 day boat that would bring us to Luang Prabang.
We had no idea what to expect for our boat that would drive us to Luang Prabang. It was longer than our first boat, but still wooden and creaky and the fumes that emitted from the engine were enough to make you want to jump over the side for some fresh air. We sat on wooden benches that could barely fit two people, with small cushions on them- which didn’t even help once your butt was completely numb anyways. The first boat ride was 8 hours and had us moving from the seat to the ground to standing to try to get the feeling back into our butts. We stayed that first night in Pakbeng- a small village on the way to Luang Prabang. We had a cute little guesthouse and we spent the night playing card games on our balcony and watching the locals as they went about their normal business. There is a large French influence in Laos, so the architecture was beautiful and at every turn there was a small food stand that sold sandwiches on French baguettes- it was so nice to have an actual sandwich. Our boat left that next morning, and this time we arrived early to try and get good seats. We were so thankful that we did, because this boat actually had seats in the front. There were about ten rows, with two seats on each side. The seats were like bus seats and they reclined. Our butts were very happy that we woke up early. This boat ride was another 8 hours to get us to Luang Prabang where we met really neat people from all around the world (Spain, France, Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Switzerland, England, Germany, Canada, The States, Italy, Ireland, and more), had wonderful conversations, and filled up our time with more card games. Even though our seats were more comfortable, we were so glad when we saw the town of Luang Prabang approaching us. We gathered our backpacks and made our way down the plank, through the water, and up the hill. When we reached the top, there were the Laos people attacking us with “good price on guesthouse…best price, really I have best price”. We walked around the town, backpacks on backs, and ended up really finding “the best price”. We were exhausted but we treated ourselves to some pizza (which actually tasted like pizza), and then enjoyed a wonderful night’s sleep on our first night in Laos….or is it Lao?

Pyboon

“Hello”….running around in circles, laughing, “Hello, Hello, How aw you?”….more running with a huge smile. “What’s his name”, we asked Teenoo- the man who picked us up at the bus station and brought us to the Baan Immanuel orphanage in Chiang Rai- “That’s Pyboon. He has so much energy! He has a physical and learning disability, but he always runs around and always has a smile on his face”. From this first greeting, I was already in love with Baan Immanuel (and Pyboon). We left Agape on April 2 and arrived in Chiang Mai that night. It was a long day with two bus rides to get us to Chiang Rai, but it was worth it. We waited in the station as Teenoo told us it would be about 15 minutes until he arrived. As we sat there, rain fell all around us where there was no shelter. We were luckily under shelter as we waited. He arrived and we rushed with all our backpacks from our shelter to the Baan Immanuel truck. Teenoo educated us on the history of Baan Immanuel. It was started by a man named Ron, from Arizona, and he simply had a heart for the children that are forgotten in Thailand. He started it 15 years ago and has been touching children’s lives ever since. They have 4 homes throughout Chiang Mai and they are able to feed, clothe, and send the children to school. Things they would otherwise not have. They work a lot with the Lawhoo tribe, but there were also Karen, Thai, and Mong children. We went to Baan Immanuel to be able to serve in any way we could. When we arrived, Teenoo took us back to the orphanage and let us get settled in, then he invited us to go to Big C (the large shopping center in Chiang Rai) along with him, his family, and the children. Pyboon was the most excited to go to Big C. He walked around with us the whole time and pushed our cart for us. He had so much energy, so while me and Cherise shopped my dad had to run around the store with Pyboon and our shopping cart. Teenoo bought one snack for each of the kids, and to them that was such a wonderful gift. They all savored their snacks on our drive home, while I had the opportunity to speak Karen (the little that I know) and Thai with the children and some of the staff.
The next day our morning started with a wonderful breakfast with all the children and staff. We loved how everyone ate like a family. Then Teenoo took us on a boat ride along the Rock River and our boat ride ended with a lovely Elephant ride through one of the Lawhoo villages. After we finished lunch, Teenoo took us to another one of Baan Immanuel’s orphanages. This one was beautiful. It was up in the mountains, and was very close to completely being self-sustained. They had their cows, fish pond, chickens, vegetable farms, and the children as well as the staff were responsible for taking care of it all. They were another big family. That night, after dinner, Teenoo took us to the night market. I can’t believe how much there is to sell in Thailand. So many different things and more different kinds of food than I’ve ever seen being sold!
The next morning, we started our day with another enjoyable breakfast, and this time me and Cherise moved to the children’s tables and ate with them. Cherise is learning more and more Thai (from a great teacher, of course) so she was enjoying saying what she could with the children. After breakfast Teenoo took us to Chiang Khong so we could buy our boat tickets to Laos, as we were heading there the next day, and then we were able to visit another one of the Baan Immanuel homes. The people seemed even kinder , if that’s possible, here. We enjoyed a lovely lunch with them and then headed to the Golden Triangle. When you stand at the Golden Triangle, you’re on Thai ground with Laos to your right and Burma to your left. Then we were able to go to Teenoo’s village and visit his home and his Lawhoo people. It was a beautiful village and as we drove down from it, he pointed out the King’s mother’s garden. It was incredibly large and beautiful. As we drove we enjoyed looking at pictures of when Teenoo had visited America. He was in Idaho and it was his first time seeing snow. It was wonderful! That night was family night at Baan Immanuel and we were able to have a BBQ outside for dinner together, play games with the children, do dramas for them, and teach them some songs. Then we all sat down and enjoyed our fresh fruit.
We all were exhausted, so we went back into our room and Pyboon stayed with us asking where we were going and when we were coming back until we were all ready to go to bed and then he happily ran to his room. The next morning we had to leave at 6:00 and Pyboon was right out there waving good-bye to us until he couldn’t see us anymore.