Merry Christmas!

To ring in the holiday, here's Dad in a welding mask while cutting onions on Christmas Eve. He says it works and he didn't shed a tear. If you know him, you don't find this odd or surprising at all :) Hope everyone's holidays are just as weird and full of love.

-Evitorial Page

Email from my friend Simon

From: Simon
To: Evvie
Date: December 13, 2010

I just checked the Evitorial, and there hasn't been an update since July.

what the f*** evvie?

I'm in the middle of final exams, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait a few more weeks for an update, but I promise it will be full of a recap of my Thailand trip, and life in Boston.


Happy Holidays, everyone!!


Evvie


P.S. The Evitorial Page responds to all email inquiries. We reserve the right to publish them on this blog. With love.

My first climbing expedition! Hiking Doi Luang Chiang Dao

Looking at the hundreds of mountains that surround our valley, the ranges that seem to go on forever.  None of the mountains stand out from each other, except for one -- Doi Luang Chiang Dao, Thailand's third-largest mountain. It is dark and foreboding; begging to be sought after. Several of us interns took note of it, and instantly wanted to figure out how to get to it -- and how to get to the top.

It seemed easy enough after we found out the base was only an hour away by car.  But to add the intrigue, we found out that it closed during the rainy season from March - September and it was illegal to climb during that time... so if were were to climb it, we would have to sneak into a national park, use a machete to retrace the closed trail, and risk getting caught.  We made several recon trips to see if it could be done - and we decided it could.

The trip started wonderfully as we realized our bungalows had amenities we weren't used to: comfortable beds, soft sheets and flush toilets, to name a few.

Katie and my bungalow at "The Nest 2", at the base of a low part of the mountain.

Incredibly comfy beds! And robes!

We prepared the night before by eating a delicious gourmet dinner with wine under the stars, courtesy of our friend "Uncle" Ray.

The morning of the hike, we ate bright and early at 5:00 in order to get into the park area before the rangers arrived at 6 am.  We packed our bags, hid the car and were on the trail by 6:15.

It started easily enough, but we came upon our first trailmarkers - and realized that they were all in Thai.

Which way, Ray?

Our only map was a crude picture of the mountain from Google maps - and in the rainy season downpour, it got soaked.

Next time, bring a real map. And laminate it.

As a result, we got lost several times, but always managed to find the trail.  Finally, at 2:00 pm, eight hours after setting out, we summited Doi Luang Chiang Dao!

Fellow Warm Heart intern, Katie, and myself

We hoped we could see our sleepy town of Phrao in the next valley, but clouds on the leeward side of the mountain completely blocked our view.

Looking along the ridge, you can see clouds forming on only one side of the mountain (in the direction of our valley).

However, the view toward the back of the mountain was just as breathtaking.

View from the summit.

Since it took far too long to climb up, we were at high risk for getting stuck in the jungle after nightfall. We were moving as quickly as possible after we summited, so I have no photos of the descent. It rained the entire way down, which made for slippery, muddy and cold walking for another six hours. We walked back out of the trail head at about 8 pm: 14 hours after we started, and about 30 minutes after sundown.

We were exhausted, and so soaked with mud, clay and water that we had to throw away most of the clothes we were wearing, had scratches and bruises from the overgrown jungle, and one hiker even had to remove a few leeches.

But the view and the experience was completely worth it to make my first summit, and I am looking forward to taking up this hobby when I get back to the States!

You know you're living in Thailand when...

You find yourself in the back of a pick-up on your way to immigration.

Qiao, Michelle and Katie (fellow interns from UCSD IRPS)

Qiao and me

After three hours' travel time in the bed of the truck, I not only got my working papers, but also a slight sunburn which will make for a nice base tan for Phuket this weekend :)

You know you're living in Phrao when...

This sight is outside your office.

The legs sticking out of the snake's mouth are all that's left of the frog he is in the process of swallowing.

You know you're living in Phrao when...

• You are at your landlord's for a few drinks, and the ice runs out. Her son busts out his farming machete to more off of a large block frozen inside of a 7-11 bag.
• You are driving down the road and a man has two other people on his motorbike plus one child and driving 40 pmh... and is talking on his cell phone.
• You are driving down the road and another motorbike goes by, with a man on it who is dragging a large (dead) python by the tail with a huge grin on his face. 
• People on bikes, on foot and motorbikes make you stop driving in the middle of the road, just to say "Hello!" in English because you stand out that much. (It's very sweet and has happened at least 3-4 times).

More coming... this section could also be titled "Interesting things that happened when I didn't have a camera".

How to Plow

As the few westerners in a close-knit valley, we are often invited to participate in ceremonies and events that have nothing to do with our work here.  This week, for example, we attended an event dedicated to encouraging local farmers to use buffalo instead of tractors to till their rice fields (the issue is that, while using a tractor saves a lot of time, the profit from rice isn't enough to cover the expensive costs of rent and gas. Farmers do it all the time even though it makes no economic sense).

So this is how I found myself pushing a plow behind a buffalo, along with my colleagues and a brave state senator, to show how wonderful this method is.  No doubt my technique wowed the locals and will revolutionize Thai agriculture as we know it.  This is going on my resume:

I started plowing in borrowed boots, but they were too big, so if you look closely you can see that I went barefoot, as many farmers do (when in Rome).  The flowered necklace was a gift as part of the ceremony, and it smelled amazing.

Buffalo cooling off in the mud.

"Organic fertilizer" on our feet after plowing.  Conjure this image the next time you eat some tasty rice!

First day in the field

"Field work" has begun.  We have spent a month creating a questionnaire to survey those with disabilities, and we began conducting interviews this past weekend.  I guess that means I should tell you what it is I am doing here... 

As a bit of background, I am in a very rural area (if you couldn't tell by the bug video!), where many families have no income and have never attended school. They feed their families with what they can farm from the land, so having a family member born with a disability that requires attention or removes a member from the workforce, is devastating.  With no other option, some disabled are left to languish at home alone, or are abandoned to older relatives. Those who are more able-bodied try to find work, but either don't receive it for simple discrimination, or must work for less.

Further complicating their situation is the fact that those in Northern Thailand receive less support, representation and general attention from the central government, simply because of their background (lots don't even have Thai citizenship yet). 

So what are we hoping to do? Warm Heart is hoping to build a program through which those who are disabled can be given a chance. They may be taught a craft or skill, and provided with an accommodating workplace and transportation, and help selling their craft. The program would be supported by a portion of their wages. My role is to manage the research collection process: to find out what population we are dealing with, what their capabilities are, what they want and what they can do.  Because the government has no services available for those with disabilities, there is no data on the books.  We are here to collect it.

This process of interviewing the disabled, to say the least, is humbling. We have met farmers who are partially lame, missing limbs or are blind. But they work twice as hard to produce as much as their able-bodied neighbors.  This project is close to my heart not only because it addresses a major public health need, but because both of my grandfathers had disabilities from a young age that are very similar to the most common ailments here. One had no use of his right arm from birth, but became a successful lawyer (and avid chess player and golfer) and the other was blind in one eye, but served in the US military stateside during WWII, and went on to become a business owner and public servant. They inspired, mentored and intimidated us grandkids with their no-excuse attitude, and I see their spirit in these people every day.

I will continue to keep you posted on our progress. Here are a few photos from our first day in the field on Saturday.

Interviewing a 12-year-old with developmental and physical disabilities. His family is showing off his good grades in school.

P.S. it should be noted that the Lanna people (northern Thai) and hill tribes are by nature indescribably hospitable, kind and love to laugh, so it has been incredibly fun to conduct these interviews. And because a few westerners tend to be a spectacle, the entire village gathers 'round to take stare as we collect data... we are at the least a source for entertainment! 

Lisu women in traditional dress.

Interviewing a man whose botched spinal surgery left him unable to walk (and farm).

Warm Heart team takes a lunch break! (I passed on the grilled liver P'John is about to bite into)

Computer problems

I apologize the lack of updates lately, especially lack of photo and video. I have been having computer problems, and the motherboard finally went. So it may be a while, but I'll get photos, video and stories from Thailand and Cambodia on here ASAP.  Travels, nature, Angkor Wat at sunrise, traditional Cambodian dance... they are trapped in hardware for the moment, but I can't wait to share with all of you!

You know you're hitting the wall on living rural Thai life when...

You are looking forward to a few days in CAMBODIA so as to have modern amenities, air conditioning and fewer bugs at night.

Rain

It's raining. Again. Storms like these make me wish we had walls on all four sides of our office.

Views in the Valley

I am starting my second week of work with Warm Heart, of living in this beautiful rural place and getting to know my neighbors.  Nature's power is not lost on anyone who lives here, many of whom eat or starve by the rain, and work endless hours under the beating sun. The geography and weather of the place had an immediate impact on me, and continue to leave different impressions on me each and every day.

I have never seen anything like it: we are in a flat valley that runs into cool blue mountains on all sides. Rice fields and lam-yai trees cover the land like wall-to-wall carpeting, and when one looks out, you can truly see everything - a diorama of village life, with clouds bobbing about, oxen moving and people coming and going.  It is on my commute to and from work that I get to know these scenes.  I ride my early-90s model Honda Dream motorbike to the "office," which takes 30 minutes each way.  In the morning, the sun has risen and the sky is clear and still, but it is still cool. It is my favorite time to ride.

Throughout the day the sky slowly comes to life. Mini-stormsystems develop across the valley and move around in a game of high altitude musical chairs. Some stop to leave the blessing of water for a section of fields, and other times they only tease the farmers with gusts of wind and their promising damp chill before dissipating as if they changed their minds.

On the way home at 5:30 pm, the sun is setting behind the western ridge, and the "rainy season" makes itself known. The clouds seem to have reached critical mass so they cannot help but take over the sky. Growing up, I remember a few occasions when an ominous storm would announce itself well ahead of its arrival, sending forth messengers in the form of leaves twirling in unnatural patterns, garbage cans being knocked over, and curtains being sucked violently out of their docile swaying. Here, this happens almost every day, and while it doesn't scare me as much as it once did, I try to avoid being caught out in it on my bike if I can.

But despite the gusto with which it arrives, it only storms for a short period of time, and the commute home is indescribably beautiful. As the cliques of clouds, now relieved of their weight, pass through the glen, they create dancing light patterns against the changing colors of the mountains, and the golden temples sparkle with the last rays of the day. The sky is once again quiet as everyone goes home for dinner and rest. It feels as if we are being watched, and the entire valley is being tended by an invisible hand at the end of the day

Photo credit: Warm Heart Thailand

Thai word for "ants"

I have gotten used to co-habitating with creatures of various sizes, noises and degrees of reptilian-ness (it's a word), but some things still surprise me.

The other night, I came home after dinner to find the front room of my hut being invaded by ANTS. They were a solid black mass on the wall- about 6-8 inches wide and 5-6 feet tall. The shape was so smooth and singular that I didn't see them at first, but when the column moved, I was aghast.  This video was taken after they started dispersing, but you would still agree that this is a LOT of ants:



I was worried my devout Buddhist landlord wouldn't want to kill them (especially after he started explaining to me that it would be okay because "moht" don't bite), but his wife came back with some exterminating bugspray and the business was done in a few short minutes.

Bahn Sweet Bahn

My home for the next three months... it has screens, a solid floor and a ceiling, which makes it one of the nicest houses in the area. I have no AC nor a flushing toilet but I DO have hot water.  I also have a symphony of geckos, cicadas, crickets, birds, roosters, dogs and cats contributing to the ambience at any given time.

Quite simply, it's perfect.

Arrived safely

Greetings from Thailand! I arrived on Friday, and have spent the past few days eating delicious food, drinking rice whiskey and getting to know the area. None of this is hard, because it turns out that Thailand is home to the friendliest people on the planet (who are also some of the biggest fans of rice whiskey :))

Fortunately for me, I arrived during "Rocket" season, which takes place ahead of the rainy season. The villages and temples host events where locals can enter to shoot home-made bamboo rockets into the air and see whose goes highest and remains steadiest. There is also what I will call "rockets light" in which they each get their hand at launching a pre-made rocket up a 50-60 yard wire to see who can get it the closest to the target.

The original purpose of the tradition was to bring the rain (and it obviously works because the rainy season comes EVERY year!).   But now, it's a great excuse to eat food, drink, hang out for hours and raise money for the local temple. These aren't a fancy affair - the first one I attended was on a dirt road in the woods, with just enough space for a few tents and a karaoke set-up.

I will post photos this week and can't wait to tell you more about this beautiful place.

What am I doing in Thailand?

One of the groups with which I will be working is called Warm Heart, and I am incredibly excited to work with and learn from them this summer.  Their mission and methods are courageous and holistic, and aim for nothing short of fully empowering this community to create a better future for its children. I am inspired by the concept, so I can only imagine how great the experience will be.  Feel free to check out their Web site to learn more about the clinic that was built, the school houses, and microfinance project.  If you read just a few entries in the Warm Heart blog, you will have a sense for some of the challenges they face every day: http://blog.warmheartworldwide.org/

Here is a great summary of what they are doing and why they are doing it:

In our village, third of the population lives on less than 75 cents a day. Four dentists serve 54,000 residents. Many of the Hill Tribe villages see a doctor once a year and are cut off from medical care during the rainy season. During the dry season there are no jobs for thousands of agricultural workers. Kids see no opportunities at home and leave for the cities in their teens. But with just a sixth grade education, they do not have a chance. Still, the little they earn is a boon for the families they have left behind. Without them, Phrao stagnates; when they return, it is too often because they are unable to work any longer because of HIV/AIDS or occupational injury. It’s a vicious cycle – no hope for the future and no investment in the future create the self-fulfilling prophecy that Phrao offers no possibilities to those who want to get ahead. 


What would you do? Where would you start? Who would you talk to? 

Warm Heart exists to stop such vicious cycles. How? Warm Heart gives individuals and communities the tools to launch a productive, self-sustaining virtuous spiral that promotes individual development, community and cultural regeneration, and economic growth through entrepreneurship.

I will know more about exactly what I'll be doing when I arrive in-country, and will post more as my adventure begins!

For Health or Money

Getting ready to go to Thailand is exciting and fun. Packing, reading books, learning a few words here and there...  But it is expensive. So far the priciest part has been the vaccinations, which have in fact cost more than the plane ticket.

Because Thailand is near the equator, it is home to lots of mosquito-born diseases... like malaria, dengue fever, and my favorite: Japanese Encephalitis.  The name alone makes you cringe, and according to the CDC one of the symptoms is "coma."  Hm. CDC also states that "About 1 person in 4 with encephalitis dies. Of those who don’t die, up to half may suffer permanent brain damage."

Confronted with the vaccine pricetag of $600 to avoid such a fate, I did what any reasonable person would do: I called my mom and tried to guilt trip her into paying for it (OK so I texted her - the odds were against me anyway). When that failed, I went ahead and got the vaccine. Minutes later, as I was having several hundred dollars shot into my left arm, I couldn't help but thing what else I could get for $600 that might be more enjoyable.... so I started a list.  It includes:

an iPad and an iPhone

75 Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bols with guacamole (my fave)

1 pair of Manolo Blahnik heels

11 Magic Bullet Blenders (which, despite my theories about economies of scale, have not experienced a price drop in the five years that I have desperately wanted one)

3,000 minutes on Skype to talk with my family



Now, I'll be texting my Mom to ask if she can at least help me with the last item and foot the phone bill...

My First Post

"My First Post." Kind of like "Baby's First Steps" or "First day of school." Worthy of note, but hopefully this one involves a little less stumbling.

So, why am I suddenly blogging?  It happens that I am preparing to leave for Thailand for three months, so I thought this would be the best way to keep in touch and send updates everyone can follow. Lo and behold, I apparently opened an account four years ago. I have no recollection of ever doing this, but the name is clever ("Evitorial" - get it? Like "editorial"?). So after patting myself on the back for such a catchy name, I'm going to dust it off, clean it up a bit and take it from here.

More to come as my adventures grow imminent. Stay tuned, friends...