Change is the Only Constant

Please note: The following post has nothing to do with IHF's sponsorship drive.
IHF is still a very worthy cause to give to, because I have seen the children (in Chiang Rai) with my own eyes and know that the money is being utilized in the right ways.

And they are really, really, good kids.

*****

Last night was my last night in the Center, and I didn't even know it.
Apparently, after a sequence of events that unfolded in the last four days, we have been threatened with police reports that we (the volunteers) are working in IHF without work permits.

This usually arises in a 150,000 Baht fine, or being thrown into jail (can anyone say, Bangkok Hilton?) Of course, I blame the head - how could such a thing be overlooked?? Of course, none of this would have come to pass if a vengeful ex-volunteer hadn't been kicked off the property and asked never to come back. Of course, she wouldn't have been exiled if she hadn't abused the kids, threw parties at the center, fired all the local staff, and canceled all the teaching classes.

It is unfortunate. But I have learned so much from this experience.

After bawling my eyes out over the poor fate of these kids and asking God why is life such for them, I take joy in knowing that at least one more child is being sponsored for medical needs by my kind friend Yixian. It should be either Pong or Somyut, both are really polite, quiet boys. Pong is the most courteous, gentle kid and Somyut, hardly ever speaks, but take him fishing and he is there, grabbing fish with his bare hands!

The worst thing ever is that on my last day, I let one of the kids play with my camera, and he deleted all of the pictures on it. Which means, I don't have a single picture with the children.

But I guess everything happens for a reason, I've seen during this time here that alot of volunteering has to do with self-gratification and pumping up one's self-esteem with thoughts of "wow, I've done so much, the kids will miss me alot". I've been trying my best to steer myself away from such inevitable thoughts. The truth is, I don't feel like i've made any difference since I got here.. but then, isn't that again lapsing into trying to find something to gratify myself for?

No, whatever has happened, has happened. I have good memories, that's all I want to take with me. All the other bad stuff that has happened, I will learn from it, but probably not even remember it. The kids at IHF are really wonderful, and I hope that one day, they will become leaders who will go back to their tribes and stop the abuse that is happening there.

In the next entries, I will try and speak more about the Hill Tribes that these kids come from and the background of IHF's Thailand Center's mission.

Winter is Coming!

Today I woke up to a different feeling in the air. At first I thought it was going to rain, and that would be a first since I got here. Now, it is way past 10am, and it seems the blazing sun has finally decided to give us a break! In fact, there is a very pleasant chill in the air and a tiny, peaceful breeze runs through the center. Yes, winter is here.

*****

Yesterday, I went to Big C for the first time. It is the closest shopping mall to the center, and takes around 45 minutes to walk to. Thankfully, someone stopped in the middle of my walk and offered me a ride there. This is something wonderfully common in Chiang Rai villages, a lone person walking almost always gets offered a ride, especially if you're a woman. I think this a beautiful act of human kindness that should be placed back in practice.

It was an indescribable feeling, stepping into an airconditioned shopping complex again. I felt, dare I say it... home. I immediately did what any Singaporean woman would do, and peeled my eyes open for any good deals! It was quite heavenly, I bought two bags for S$24, and some skin care products. I had also bought about seven pieces of clothing at the night market before for just 700 Baht! Thats about S$4 per piece! I'm so thankful that my parents are coming after all because I hadn't organized any check-in luggage for my trip home!

*****

Some Pictures:

{laughing at one of the kid's imitation of us}

{Playing Gin Rummy}

{Don't you remember doing that as a kid?}

Two Things

One of the kids, Darid, is simply astounding.

I first noticed him because of his brooding good looks, and later, realised that he is also really really intelligent.

1. He managed to pick up Dai Dee from me after observing just two rounds of play. I tried explaining to him, but he doesn't understand much English. Later, he went on to win a round.

2. I was trying to teach some kids the 9-times-table using the fingers and he was the only one who got it. He was extremely pleased with the method and can now tell you very quickly the answers to any 9-times-table.

Curled Up with a Book

I have absolutely no mood to blog about the happenings at the center today, so I'll introduce you to the three books I've finished in the one week I've been here.

Very similar in style to his other book Tuesdays with Morrie, Mitch Albom once again finds himself spending time on a regular basis with an elderly gentleman. This time, he is the rabbi from Albom's childhood church who has commissioned him to write his eulogy. The old man lives on for another eight years since that request, allowing Albom a season of spiritual awakening where he not only begins to appreciate his Jewish roots of ritual and routine, but also begins to open his heart to other faiths as well.

Definitely worth a read, especially for people who, like me, have developed a certain cynicism about church and its history. Albom intertwines his meetings with the rabbi with the story of Henry, a Christian drug smuggler, gangster and crook who gives his life to Jesus, then takes it back at least 20 times until he realizes there was no need for haggling at all. A must-read for anyone who thinks he can run away from God and not be sought after.

*****

Written from his cell and smuggled out page by page, Colin Martin tells of how he was swindled, then accused of murder and thrown into one off the world's most dangerous prisons. After being swindled out of a fortune, Colin was let down by the hopelessly corrupt Thai police. Forced to rely upon his own resources, he tracked down the man who conned him and, drawn into a fight, he is later accused of killing that man's bodyguard. Colin was arrested, denied a fair trial, convicted of murder and thrown into prison, where he remained for 8 years.

I've read accounts of prisoners in Bangkok's prisons before and most of them tell the same story of corruption and perversion amongst the Thai Royal Police Force. I'd read this book with a pinch of salt, but couldn't help feeling slightly insecure at being alone in this country for a while. It is an easy, straightforward read, and if anything a warning against getting into any sort of trouble in Thailand.

*****

Claimed to be a true story, Norma Khouri describes in detail the life of women in Jorden who spend their entire existence submitting to men and treating them as "gods". Catholic or Muslim, women there are frequently "disciplined" for the simplest mistakes - too much sugar in the coffee, not having the food ready in time. They are to serve the men in every aspect and only get to eat the leftovers, at a different table. Their fathers and brothers monitor their every move from the moment they turn 9 (into a woman) to ensure they do nothing to dishonor their household name. The story also goes that Dalia, a Muslim, falls in love with a Catholic boy and despite their best efforts to conceal any interaction, Dalia is eventually stabbed to death by her father for being a "whore", even though she never had pre-marital sexual relations with him.

Reading this book really infuriated me, although I did some research later and found many claims that Norma Khouri was in fact an Australian citizen who had fabricated the entire thing. I can't help but feel the fiction has been based on some truth, and it is a fact that honor killings are still taking place. I can only be grateful for the freedom I enjoy as a woman and as a human today.

So, my city dwellers, how many books have you completed this week?

=)

Day Five – Sponsor Letters

Today, we sat down with the kids to get their sponsor letters done. Every month, each child must write a letter to each of their sponsors (they can each have up to three sponsors), telling them what they have been up to etc. It was quite a trying event as some of the kids had close to no knowledge of English. The letters were mostly short and the younger ones drew pictures. They were pleasantly compliant and later, the evening sort of turned into a kind of arts and craft session as some kids hung around to draw pictures and fold paper.

If you're interested in sponsoring a child yourself, visit here

Day Four – Conversations with the Director

Cath and I sat down with Peter after all the kids had gone to bed and had a long conversation.

I found out that Peter, who had volunteered his time with the Centre for a year as Director, was in fact a film director for 13 years before he gave that all up to come to Thailand. I casually asked him if I could Google him, and apparently, I could! He did advertisements back in London, but later, spent a year in Holland lecturing media students. His special interest was in analysing films and identifying specific mythology and philosophy behind the film. He also analysed subliminal messaging in movies.

Did you know that engraved on the ring in The Lord of the Rings, when the camera zooms in on it and a flash of light shines off it, are the words Coco-cola? Amazing right? He also told us how many many films are actually based on the philosophy of Plato’s Cave, where one’s reality is not what it seems – films like The Truman Show, The Matrix, The Island, The Others etc. All Hollywood produce are essentially based on the same skeletons, each with different skins.
He also mentioned that District Nine was an exceptionally good film that is actually based on Space Odyssey, and the reason why the film is set in 2010 has something to do with the fact that the first book was written in 2001 and the next, in 2010. Of course, I couldn’t understand any of this, but maybe one of you can.

Films like Legion, that’s set to come out in January, is based on Gnostic beliefs that Lucifer is actually the “good angel” and God, the “fallen angel” and films like that are produced specifically for money pockets who have these beliefs and want to propagate them. In other words, in Hollywood, if you want your film to be funded, you have to make what the funders want to pay for. Legion, as some of us would know, was the name of the demons that Jesus cast out from a man and sent into a herd of pigs, which later drowned. The demons had said “I am Legion, for we are many” when Jesus demanded to know its name.

This apparently is the reasoning behind the title of the movie I am Legend. People like Will Smith, are characters that are in the light because they are able to escape from Plato’s cave (as with Jim Carrey, and Keanu Reeves Neo) while the zombies are those in the dark (in the movie they couldn’t stand light as well). In fact, the woman and child Will Smith chance upon in the movie are all given specific names that connect with deep history – apparently they were named to be related to Adam and Eve, the first humans. Will Smith’s dog, Sam was also named such to be connected to the Sun (among many other names – Rar, Ben). I am Legend is also apparently a ‘remake’ of a much older film Omega Man, starring Charlton Heston.

And the biggest news of the night – Tom Cruise is not a Scientologist! Apparently, from studying his films, Peter claims that Tom Cruise couldn’t have believed in Scientology but was in fact a something-something-Orientist (I don’t remember).

Of course, I am only paraphrasing what Peter was trying to explain and wouldn’t be able to really tell you the actual facts of what he knows, but the whole conversation really intrigued me and gave me that familiar sense of – wow, there is much to be learned in this world! I really wish Sam had been here for this conversation, he would have loved to chat with Peter about all his favourite films.




The other highlight of the day – This awesome Banana Coconut dessert, only five baht!

Some Pictures

{laundry}

{scooping dinner}

{Nok, the littlest orphan}

{Play cooking with leftovers}

{chopped "veggies"}

Just sharing some pictures of a typical day here at the Chiang Rai Center.