Idealistic Itinerant

Malaysia!

2010-10-05T16:14:00.004+08:00

We had a company trip to Malaysia-- Kuala Lumpur and Pangkor Island. It was a great trip! Now, we start another 10 week term followed by Christmas vacation!

North Gate

2010-08-31T10:41:00.001+08:00

IMG_0683, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

The restored Qing Dynasty city gate, now on a tiny island in a traffic circle and under and overpass near the busy Taipei Main Station.

Ghost Month

2010-08-12T22:45:00.003+08:00

It is now officially Ghost Month! I really enjoy talking with my students about Taiwanese traditions and this time is particularly interesting. Right now, the gates of hell have opened and the ghosts are out and about. Paper money and other paper effigies are burned and food is offered to appease and honor them. While they're out though, you want to be careful not to attract their attention or they will stay with you instead of going back when the gates close and they will haunt you. For this reason, don't move your house, don't get married, or buy any big, important things, don't wander around at night or go swimming. If you hear your name, don't turn around, just in case.

Here's a little video about it.

http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_seyret&task=videodirectlink&Itemid=260&id=27

Fun!

Yeliu

2010-07-22T08:33:00.001+08:00

IMG_0651, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Kay!

2010-07-22T08:32:00.001+08:00

IMG_0611, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Our friend Kay visited from Korea!!!

Yeliu

2010-07-22T08:30:00.001+08:00

IMG_0644, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Geological Park

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2010-07-04T12:18:00.001+08:00

IMG_0456, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Taroko National Park, Taiwan

IMG_0444

2010-07-04T12:17:00.001+08:00

IMG_0444, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

IMG_0485

2010-07-04T12:15:00.001+08:00

IMG_0485, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Cool!

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2010-07-04T12:13:00.001+08:00

IMG_0539, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Al and I, Taroko National Park

Yay vacations!

2010-06-05T20:28:00.001+08:00

The Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon and at the end of the month we will have a little two week vacation. Looking forward to it!

2010-05-08T16:26:00.001+08:00

The National Palace Museum, Taipei.

Hawaii 2010 Our Wedding! Part 2

2010-05-08T15:46:00.004+08:00

We were in Oahu for a week and had a wonderful time!

The highlight of the trip was definitely our wild dolphin swim and snorkeling tour with Ko'Olina Adventures. We snorkeled at three spots, one a reef with a lot of cool fish, next an open water spot where we were dropped off in front of a pod of wild dolphins who swam around and under us (amazing), and finally another reef with sea turtles. It was such a fantastic day.

Here are some pics from the rest of our trip. All underwater shots were taken by Dustin Hay, the staff photographer from the snorkeling tour.

Hawaii 2010 Our Wedding! Part 1

2010-05-08T15:32:00.003+08:00

Wow, did we get married? It was such a whirlwind, it almost doesn't seem real. I feel like the fact that it was in Hawaii, so different from where we are now, combined with the troubles we had when we got back from the trip (Al's school closed, he almost lost his visa, I had to work more hours...) it all makes that week seem rather surreal.

Here are some of our favorite pics from our wedding day.

Wedding Time!

2010-02-11T19:39:00.002+08:00

I know, I know, I haven't updated this blog in ages.... extra hours at work, Western New Year, Chinese New Year and wedding planning have been a lot to keep up with.

We're very excited about taking off on Saturday for Hawaii and getting married! Thanks everyone for the well wishes!

IMG_0058

2010-01-01T14:01:00.001+08:00

IMG_0058, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Woohoo!

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2010-01-01T14:00:00.001+08:00

IMG_0063, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Happy New Year!

IMG_3204

2009-12-28T01:33:00.003+08:00

IMG_3204, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Carnivore Preservation Trust, North Carolina

IMG_3202pl

2009-12-28T01:33:00.001+08:00

IMG_3202pl, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Carnivore Preservation Trust, North Carolina

IMG_3076

2009-12-11T23:34:00.001+08:00

IMG_3076, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

View from our balcony.

Random Picture #22

2009-12-01T23:13:00.003+08:00

I know, long time, no see. I'll try to find some time this weekend.

Until then...

Bintan, Xindian, Taiwan

mmm... donkey

2009-10-26T21:00:00.001+08:00

I have been gifted some donkey hide gelatin flavored candied dates. I don't know what to make of it really.

Just a quiet weekend at home...

2009-10-25T21:13:00.004+08:00

...well that was the plan. As we were sipping coffee this Sunday morning we heard the sound of firecrackers. That's not at all unusual around here but then we thought, hey, it's the morning. We assumed there was something going on at the temple and went to check it out. Sure enough there was a massive parade of sorts marching through our neighborhood stopping at each little temple.

When each group of costumed dancers stopped they would rush into the temple entrance as if they were attacking it. They would feign being repelled, dance, try again and then rush back out, followed by a long string of firecrackers. The drumming and strange bugle-like instruments really created an otherworldly atmosphere.

It's late now and I have tons of work to do as I shirked my duties in favor of following the parade around town. I'll have to put up videos and more commentary later. Until then, I leave you with these...

Our house is in this pic.

Awesome!

Random Picture of the Week #21

2009-10-12T17:16:00.004+08:00

The view from my near my office. It's cool to see the 101 every morning.

Morning Tea

2009-10-02T13:24:00.004+08:00

A group of students I've been working with for awhile were nice enough to take me out for tea and brunch recently. We went to Maokong, a mountainy area just south of the city, accessible from the MRT system. From there we wound along the forest and tea fields, passing dozens of quaint tea houses and cafes. Finally we came to their favorite place, a 24 hour traditional-style tea house flanked by a waterfall on one side and a hillside tea plantation on the other.

It was drizzly out but, to me, it seemed life the perfect setting for sipping some tea. They showed me the Chinese way of formally making and serving tea and we tried a lot of tea snacks, followed by the best lunch I've had here yet-- goose and ginger noodles.

Here are a few pics.

Nestled in the hills.

Mmmmm...ginger noodles and mountain vegetables.

Sweet Taiwanese sausages and goose.

The ladies of class EH-2.

No! Lets stay longer!

Random Picture of the Week #20

2009-09-27T11:39:00.003+08:00

Another shot from a bus window, Xinyi District, Taipei.

New digs

2009-09-20T14:46:00.004+08:00

We've been busy. Work, work, work, and we moved into a new apartment. We both work Saturdays now so there isn't a lot of time for going out and about. Plus, since saving money is a priority right now we try to stay in anyway.

We have taken advantage of a few nice afternoons to walk around the botanical gardens and see some parts of town we haven't been to yet, like the Shilin Nightmarket (easiest the largest street market I've ever been to) and a neighborhood nearby that's packed with exotic bird stores. There, we found a friend for our newly acquired finch (he came with the apartment).

I'm technically on vacation now but picked up a short term class. The extra time in the afternoons is spent doing yoga, studying and unpacking. Al has been hired at a university so is busy preparing his courses which start soon.

busy, busy!

Botanical Gardens.

There are lots of things you can't do at the gardens.

Fish and lily pads.

The lily pond and an art museum.

Bird Street (Heping Xi Lu).

Random Picture of the Week #19

2009-08-28T19:14:00.004+08:00

Fake cat, real bird. In front of a shop off of Yongkang St.

BIG NEWS!!!

2009-08-16T22:31:00.005+08:00

As many of you now know, Allister and I have decided to get married! Yay!!!

We've been together for three years, through three countries, and have been making plans for the future, so it was the logical next step.

Since our family is spread out all over the world, and it's not easy for everyone to travel, we will do a civil service here in Taiwan sometime next year, maybe in March. We hope everyone understands. We'll give you more details as we make plans.

We're very excited and happy! Thank you everyone for your well wishes!

Us, in Rotorua, NZ

Typhoon news...

2009-08-16T22:21:00.005+08:00

First off, as I'm sure have you seen on your news, Taiwan has suffered much more from typhoon Morakot than it was initially thought. A week later the whereabouts of many still haven't been confirmed and there are thousands still stranded. The official death toll due to the horrendous mudslides in southern Taiwan may exceed 500 as entire villages were swept away by rivers of mud. It's difficult to comprehend the devastation. Now, the government is under fire for not responding fast enough and for initally rejecting offers of help from abroad. I hope that those missing are found alive.

Random Picture of the Week #18

2009-08-09T17:45:00.004+08:00

Xinyi and Donghua Roads, Taipei 101 Building in the background.

Typhoon Morakot Continued....

2009-08-09T16:51:00.002+08:00

Well, Taipei missed the really strong winds and heavy rainfall, but the rest of the country wasn't so lucky. We'll have more rains for the next two days or so, but nothing crazy. In the meantime southern Taiwan is starting the cleanup and recovery from landslides, collapsed bridges and overflown riverbanks. Several areas in southern Taiwan had record breaking rainfalls this weekend, with more than 55 inches in one day and more than 98 inches so far, and it isn't over yet.

I've been keeping up on the news on eTaiwan News website.

Luckily, Taiwan was well prepared for the typhoon so casualties have been relatively low.

Scary stuff!

Our First Typhoon...

2009-08-08T16:41:00.005+08:00

... has so far been uneventful. But really, from the images we've been seeing from the rest of the island, we're really grateful to not be experiencing it.

Thursday at work everyone was getting excited about the first big typhoon of the season heading straight for the island. Taiwan gets hit with a dozen or more typhoons a year, usually starting in late May, but this year the season started late (as did the monsoon season in greater south Asia). Thursday night CNN was predicting a category 4 on a 5 point scale and even mentioned the word "super typhoon" a few times which had us a little freaked out.

We followed the direction of our coworkers and stocked up on water, food, and batteries for the flashlight, then preceded to make ourselves comfortable in our tiny one bedroom abode.

We woke up Friday morning to a definite storm outside but were surprised when early afternoon it lightened up to almost nothing--- Pizza Hut was even delivering pizzas! CNN still focused on the Philippines and southern Taiwan which was really getting battered and we had a hard time finding out what to expect here in Taipei. At this point the storm was downgraded to a category 2.

Finally, we found a good website for seeing the satellite images like the one below and it turns out we're in the eye of the storm, so more's still to come.

Now its early Saturday evening and the day was drizzly with no high winds that we can see. Restaurants were open and schools were closed. Everyone's acting like its all over yet if you look at the satellite images it seems more is still to come. I don't know how this all works. Of course, better safe than sorry, so we're staying in. :-)

Random Picture of the Week #17

2009-07-26T17:22:00.003+08:00

Little birds for sale near the Guting MRT station.

Two Months In...

2009-07-19T16:13:00.003+08:00

Well, tomorrow is the two month mark in Taipei. It is also the day we would have had to leave if we didn't secure jobs and work permits in time. We celebrated by going to see Harry Potter (loved it), getting some cheap chicken and rice on the street, and indulging in Belgium beers at a bar we found called "Belly Wash" (bizarre).

I've been working for two weeks now at my job teaching adults intensive English speaking, reading, and writing. They range in age from 18 to 50 and are all taking this 10 week, half day course for various reasons. The diversity makes for a lot of fun, I think, although it is a little harder to help everyone reach their goals.

For me, the hardest thing about teaching adults is dealing with their sometimes flawed, or unrealistic expectations, like, "Now that I'm studying with a native speaker I'll sound like a native speaker," or "all I need is this 10 week course to ace the exam." Some people don't want to hear that learning a language is a lifelong endeavor. Kids don't worry about that stuff so much.

Anyway, overall I'm really enjoying my classes right now. Al is teaching adults and children and actually we're using the same books.

Nothing exciting to report, although we did experience our first big earthquake, a 6.4, which shook our house for what felt like a long time earlier this week. Nothing broken, amazingly-- I can't say I'm looking forward to more of those!

My favorite seat at one of my favorite cafes.

Random Picture of the Week #16

2009-07-06T17:55:00.003+08:00

Al, antagonizing the chicken who lives around the corner.

Random Picture of the Week #15

2009-06-29T01:23:00.002+08:00

Two girls check out the menu at Grandma Nitti's on a rainy Friday Night, ShiDa.

CKS Memorial Hall

2009-06-21T22:36:00.006+08:00

We spent a recent afternoon checking out the National Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. CKS was Taiwan's first president and generalissimo of the Kuomintang in mainland China before they had to flee to Taiwan when the Communist Party won the civil war.

As you can see in the following pics, the memorial hall has some fantastic architecture, the main central hall resembling the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. A small park with walking trails encircles the grounds and it's only a few bus stops away so we'll definitely check it out again in the future.

We managed to catch the changing of the guard in front of the CKS statue and spy a heron in the park before it started to rain and we headed home.

Me and Al in front of the main hall.

The grand Ceremonial Gateway from the National Concert Hall's steps.

Looking through the Ceremonial Gateway from the street.

The National Theater from the steps of the Memorial Hall.

Al!

Changing of the guard.

Lovely fish pond.

Da-an Park

2009-06-11T15:52:00.001+08:00

IMG_2212, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

A black-crowned night heron at Da-an Park.

Da-an Park

2009-06-11T15:38:00.001+08:00

IMG_2210, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Da-an Park, a few blocks from our apartment.

Shi Da

2009-06-11T15:37:00.001+08:00

IMG_2206, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Al on our street. We have about a dozen restaurants at our doorstep including Korean, Tibetan, Indian, and Middle Eastern food.

Jobless but not lifeless...

2009-06-01T10:19:00.004+08:00

Still no jobs, but lots of adventures.....

Sunset over Danshui, north of Taipei, where the river meets the sea.

Me, at the outdoor observatory at the Taipei 101 building (tallest in the world)!

Taipei 101 at night (it's designed to look like a stalk of bamboo).

Relaxing over tea at Maokong, south of Taipei.

The city on a rainy day from Maokong.

The first few pics...

2009-05-27T12:25:00.005+08:00

Squirrel!

Ximen District

Mmmm... cheap eats. ($3 US)

Punk Trees ??!!!

Seoul deja vu!

From the plane.... islands struck in the light of the setting sun... can't see the divide between sea and sky... loved it!

Nifty cloud scenery from Bangkok to Taipei.

Taiwan, Week 1

2009-05-25T16:40:00.002+08:00

Phew! Actually, we've only been here 5 days so far, but those days have been packed.

We're staying at a hostel in Taipei while searching for jobs and more permanent accommodation. At the moment it seems that we'll get a little studio for a few months until we know the city better and have jobs, then we'll get a nicer place.

The subway system here is really easy to use (it's a lot like the Korean system) so we've had no problem exploring.

It's been fun using my Chinese again. It's super rusty but good enough to so far get us food, appliances, and directions. Yay! (Jiayou!)

So far our favorite spot is an area called Ximen. It's a mega shopping/eating area with streets and streets of neon lights and people. Some of the highlights our first night there included petting someones pet squirrels, trying street food (various meats and unidentifiables on a stick), checking out the Toilet Restaurant, where everyone sits on toilets, and exploring some neat art galleries.

We spend a few hours each day doing "job stuff" and then try to check out a different part of town.

Fun, fun!

Moving Time!

2009-05-16T10:41:00.003+08:00

We leave Uttaradit tonight, then a few days in Bangkok organizing visas before flying to Taiwan on Wednesday! Woohoo!

Some of our friends and coworkers had a nice dinner for us last night, and specially ordered all our favorite foods-- great sendoff!

I finally have all my NZ pics on Flickr, but haven't had the time to make blog posts about them.

If you're not familiar with the Flickr format, briefly, you can:

1. Look at my whole photo stream, page by page, in order of when they were uploaded.

2. Watch a slide show of my photos in order from date of upload

3. or look at my "albums" and click on thumbnails or watch a slide show of just the albums.

You can also search my tags, I always tag my photos with the location they were taken in.

I'm back!

2009-04-26T16:51:00.001+08:00

Back from the land of sheep and pretty scenery. Will tell all soon in a few short installments.

Travels...

2009-03-31T10:50:00.005+08:00

It's rainy and windy and Invercargil, haha.

So far, so good! We're having a fabulous time and I feel like we're getting the grand tour! So far we've cruised through Melbourne, Australia and then Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargil, Arrowtown, and Queenstown in New Zealand. Still three more weeks to go. We've been lucky with the weather and I've met tons of Al's friends and relatives. Fun, fun!

Queenstown, from the gondola.

Dunedan, from Hogwarts Hostel.

Travels

2009-03-13T10:17:00.001+08:00

I will be traveling until the end of April, Bangkok, Melbourne, and various locations in New Zealand. I probably won't be able to maintain this blog while I'm gone. See you when I return!

Random Picture of the Week #13

2009-03-01T22:14:00.002+08:00

He lives in our backyard.

Random Picture of the Week # 12

2009-02-20T20:51:00.004+08:00

Somewhere in Chiang Mai.

Random Picture of the Week #11

2009-02-15T20:21:00.004+08:00

Down the road from our house.

Village Homestay Weekend

2009-01-31T23:34:00.011+08:00

A few weeks ago, Al and I participated in a village homestay weekend tour. We got to go for free on a trial run for the Tourism Authority of Thailand. Our boss hooked us up. It was in our province, near the Sirikit Dam, only just over an hour away.

I don't have time for many details right now, so I'll put up a few pictures and captions.

The tour was broken into two parts; first exploring Lamnam Nan National Park and Sirikit Dam, then staying overnight at a village nearby and enjoying activities with the locals. The highlight was definitely hanging out with our host family, especially their two young children who enthusiastically took us on a tour of their village.

Sunrise over the Nan River, Uttaradit

Bringing in the catch, Sirikit Dam

Fish farm, Sirikit Dam

Dinner with the hosts at the local wat/hangout

Our buddies, Kip and Gan

Heading home (note, the hut is a bus stop, not a dwelling)

I'd like to say I'll have time to write more about it later but between final exams, mom visiting, five weeks in Australia and New Zealand and then a move to Taiwan... I'm not going to make any promises.

Remembrance Ceremony

2009-01-31T19:36:00.002+08:00

Our friends were kind enough to invite us to a remembrance ceremony in honor of relatives who had passed away. They thought we probably hadn't seen one before and would be interested. It was nice of them to think of us.

I should start by explaining how their Thai-style home is organized. It's a stilt house, where the living quarters are above and open, garage-type area is below. I've seen some stilt-style houses that had living quarters in the lower level as well, but for them, the area was mostly a playground for their nine or so cats. When you take off your shoes and head upstairs, you enter a huge general living and eating area. Smaller bedrooms shoot off to one side and the kitchen and bathroom to another. The houses are usually made of large slats of wood but you do see partial or entirely cement constructions as well. This website about Thai homes has some good pics and info. In the large living area everything is arranged around the walls, TV, shelves, etc. As in other parts of Asia there are not typically any chairs; if there are some they are also pushed to the side. This leaves a huge floor space where you can relax and sit around with each other. The kitchen and bathroom are made of cement and tile, as you would expect with modern day plumbing needs. The biggest difference, I think, between Thai and Western style homes is that Thai homes are very open to the outside. The walls are filled with large open windows or are slatted to be continually open. The kitchen is almost completely open and in some homes it is outside with just an roof overhead (as is the case with our neighbors). It's very comfortable for the climate but I would need some time to adjust to the higher volume of bugs that get in.

Eight monks sat at the head of the house facing all of the guests in a row. They chanted for some time in the names of the deceased. I love listening to chanting monks, it's easy to start being lulled into some sort of a trance. As I don't know the language, I feel like I'm being carried away to an exotic place (as if the setting were not exotic enough). The family prepared a large meal which was presented to the monks after their incantations. We socialized while they ate and then they started another short round of chanting, this time as a blessing for all of us. They ended by splashing holy water on each of us before leaving the home.

Our friends explained to us that they have monks come every year for this ceremony, usually in January since that is when their father passed away. The food is an offering to the monks, as thanks for their service. The ceremony and meal are often held at 10 or 11 because the monks fast from noon until the next morning.

Once they left we were then able to eat as well. Since this was a special meal a lot of dishes were prepared, many that we had never tried before. The highlight was ant egg soup, from the corn kernel sized eggs of red ants. As the soup was so spicy, I can't really tell you what they tasted like. I wish I could have been there when they prepared it that morning though, as they apparently just shook down an ants nest they found in a nearby tree, brushing them off as they swarmed up their arms.

Unfortunately, I do not have pictures from this exciting afternoon-- blame Al, who told me we were invited for lunch, and left out the bit about the Buddhist ceremony and special feast. Haha.

2009, Adventure #1!

2009-01-18T14:55:00.008+08:00

We took off on a road trip this weekend to Si Satchanalai Historic Park, a 13th century ruined city of the Sukhothai Period, famous for its pottery kilns. This is a fantastic spot if you're into history, archaeology, adventure, and ruins. You can ride around the park on your own through trees and hills, stopping at the various walls, gates, and temples that used to make up this city (the park's too large to walk but you can rent bikes at the entrance). It's very similar to Sukhothai but, in my opinion, nicer because it has very few tourists and it is not as "manicured" I guess, as the grounds of Sukhothai are.

You can go to Si Satchanalai on a day trip from Sukhothai or, as in our case, from Uttaradit. It was a 2 hour motorbike ride straight on highway 102, past the Lotus supermarket. The only trouble we had was as we neared the destination, when we accidentally followed signs for Si Satchanalai National Park--- not the Historical Park. Don't make the same mistake as you can end up going pretty far in the wrong direction.

Anyway, we packed a picnic lunch and took off at around noon, as we had slept in pretty late. It was a wonderful drive. It's sort of autumn here, which is strange, I always thought of Thailand as being perpetually steamy and hot. It's dry now and cool, even cold. Leaves are falling from many of the trees and if you squint your eyes the scenery passing by could almost be upstate New York. Let everything come into focus though and you realize it's all completely different-- the red and brown trees are varieties of bamboo and other monsoon forest species (we are not far enough south for rain forests), the cows are not the hefty black and white dairy cows but the gaunt Brahman cattle of Southeast Asia, and the smell of a wood fire is coming from a stilt home along a muddy river. It's these days-- not when I'm plodding along at my office or sitting at home all day waiting for my internet to get fixed, that I'm really glad I chose this lifestyle.

We passed signs (in English) for more historical sites and a museum which we plan to visit next time. There will definitely be a next time since we only had an hour and a half at the park before we had to turn back to beat the sunset.

Below are some of my favorite pics-- enjoy!

Wat Chedi Chet Thae

Al, Wat Chedi Chet Thae

Wat Chang Lom (back)

Wat Chang Lom (front) The animal statues were elephants, but most of the identifying features have eroded.

Random Picture of the Week #10

2009-01-16T18:12:00.004+08:00

Railroad crossing, near Sila-at Station.

Random Picture of the Week #9

2009-01-10T11:56:00.002+08:00

Phraya Phichai Dap Hak Monument, Uttaradit City Hall, Uttaradit, Thailand.

(the weird light effect is because of all the incense in the air, this was during a festival)

Dukes up 2009, I can take you!

2009-01-10T11:36:00.003+08:00

The holidays went by in kind of a blur as we were working for the most part--- but we still managed to squeeze in some fun!

We got more presents and cards in the mail this year than ever before so thanks a ton because it really made it feel like Christmas to have things under the tree! We didn't buy each other presents, mainly because there wasn't anything local we wanted.

We had a few decorations and some Christmas stockings saved from last year. The tree was a fake 3 footer that we picked up at the supermarket. Of course, this being a predominantly Buddhist country, Christmas is not a national holiday--- so no vacation, but a lot of businesses still decorate and some kids were giving each other presents. It was exam time and our bosses were kind enough to arrange our schedules so we could have Christmas day off.

For new years we had an extended weekend, so we shot up to Chiang Mai for some R and R. We stayed at our favorite place, 3 Sis, again and basically spent the days wandering around town, reading at cafes, and eating as much good food as we could! Good times.

On New Year's Eve we found a snug spot at a bar we liked and just chilled out, listening to live music. Chiang Mai is an old city and the moat and city gates are still present. Near the main gate people were letting loose lanterns, like the ones from Loi Krathong, so we made a wish and set one off ourselves. A laid back, pleasant New Year's.

Here are some pics; as usual, you can see more on my Flickr stream:

Al, getting a shot of a wat entrance at night.

Buddha.

The wat by our hotel.

Lanterns at the city gate.

Random Picture of the Week #8

2008-12-30T11:14:00.002+08:00

Wat Kumaran, Koh Samui, Thailand. There is a mummified monk in the glass case.

Random Picture of the Week #7

2008-12-21T21:57:00.002+08:00

Snake charmer at the local night market, Uttaradit (cobras!)

Everyone!!!

2008-12-18T17:48:00.002+08:00

The ants are getting out of control. Today I came home to find our entire dish cabinet filled with trails of the miserable creatures--- turns out there was a dried little rice kernel stuck to a plate.

Washing every dish we own wasn't my idea of a great way to unwind after work, but it gave me the opportunity to loudly recite my favorite lines from The Professional (Gary Oldman rocks)

How many dishes do you want to clean MacKensie?

Heehee.

Random Picture of the Week #6

2008-12-15T22:51:00.003+08:00

We pass this on the way to and from Chiang Mai. I don't know what it is, it just looks cool.

Carnage and random thoughts from the day.

2008-12-15T22:12:00.004+08:00

I killed a lot of ants today. I normally try to just scare them away but it takes a long time and usually there aren't so many.

Our house is very open so we have to be obsessive when it comes to keeping tidy. Even in the time it takes to eat dinner ants will flood into our kitchen so I'm constantly wiping and rinsing as I cook. Today, the trash had the wrapper from cheese in it (we normally put all food trash in a bag in the fridge until it is taken out). When I got home from work the kitchen had a serious wall of ants coming down from the ceiling, gathering on the floor, and then forming another thick line up to the trash. Gross. Small trails of ants are easily scared away in seconds. These guys weren't worried about me, so I had to resort to the spray. It was ugly. We're pretty lenient with the spiders and the geckos, but ants can't stay.

Poor Al (this story makes me laugh out loud as I type) accidentally ate an ant covered cookie this weekend when he absentmindedly reached into a bag of cookies he had left out earlier. Ah well, this is just how it is when you live in a tropical country.

On another note, our miserable neighbors are having another party-- the fourth this month. Speeches and karaoke blasted out of huge speakers, right outside our windows (less than 3 meters away). I'd like to call them some names but apparently, according to random people on the net, if I call a group of people in another country a name I'm insulting their entire culture. (roll of eyes) I'll just say they're challenged when it comes to respect for the other people living around them. Our other neighbors are lovely. The little girl in the house behind us is in love with us, I think.

Next week is midterm week so we're both very busy (hence the late blog post and the crabbiness) but then after that a much needed break. We'll shoot up to Chiang Mai for a couple days. No plan for what we'll do there-- just relax!

I was afraid that Al and I working at the same place would cause tension but it's actually really nice to have someone at work who gets you and is totally on your side. :-) Now, we're worried about how it will be in the next location when we're not working in the same place and won't see each other as much.

Once it hits 2009 we'll only have 4 more months here, it'll fly by for sure!

Random Picture of the Week #5

2008-12-06T19:00:00.001+08:00

Pork satay (satay moo) with peanut sauce and ginger broth with chicken and noodles (bumee naam gai). One of our favorite meals in town.

Satay Restaurant Location: I find it hard to describe the location of things in town due to my limited Thai, but here goes it. Looking at this map, from the intersection of Inchaimee (Injaimee) Road and Th. Samranruen, go south on Samranruen to the point where the Nan River bends toward the road. The river will be in clear view to your left and down at the bank will be a statue of a woman with long hair. Across the street, facing the river, will be the large, open air satay restaurant. Enjoy.

Adventures!

2008-12-06T18:26:00.000+08:00

OK, minor adventures. We decided to go for a drive down a road that leads out of town to see what we could see. We took Thanon Samranreun (click here for maps) north figuring we'd stop at some wats (temples) along the way. It was a holiday for the King's birthday, so the streets were fairly empty and a lot of businesses were closed. Of course, once we were sufficiently far from home we got a flat tire. Haha. We walked the motorbike down to an auto shop. They couldn't fix it for us but pumped it with air and sent us down the road to a bike repair shop. When we got there we found it impossible to explain that the tire was flat and that it needed to be fixed (the poor guys there clearly thought we were nuts). They kindly pumped a bit of air in both tires and oiled the chain. We had exhausted our miming abilities and decided to just drive around until it was flat again, which only took another 20 minutes.

All was well though, with the Nan river to our right and the train tracks to our left the route was rather picturesque. We eventually came upon a huge golf course and what was apparently a military site of some sort before turning back for the day. We stopped at two of the four wats we spied, enjoying being the only visitors that day. I'm not sure the names of the temples, will try to find out this week. Pics below:

Starfruit trees outside the walls.

Old-looking wats are the coolest!

If you peruse my Flickr pages you can see I'm obsessed with wat roof spires.

Nagas guarding one of the entrances.

Random Picture of the Week #4

2008-11-29T16:38:00.000+08:00

The entrance to the university library.

Blogging as News...

2008-11-28T16:16:00.000+08:00

I know this isn't a new topic to those who frequent the blogosphere, but it really is incredible how social networking, including blogs, texts, and applications like twitter, have influenced the way news spreads.

I was surprised to see a sharp jump in readers on my personal blog today until I learned I had been linked by World Focus, a news agency devoted to covering international events, in their article about the PAD protests in Bangkok. This makes me feel both excited and, well, a little queasy--- how can what I have to say be news? Right? I always try to be clear about my sources and biases in regards to information I post on here and hope that any readers take my posts with a grain of salt and consult other sources for whatever they are researching. I'm also glad if I can help spread information about life in Thailand or any of the other topics I have written about here and on my other blogs.

It's good to be reminded about my responsibility when I am putting things on the web for anyone and everyone to read. This CNN article, about the effects of twittering during the current Mumbai terror crisis, explored how individuals giving blow by blow accounts of the events as they unfold can be a terrific source of information--- and misinformation, which is then recycled endlessly as word spreads and rumors fly.

This TED Talk, by James Surowiecki, highlights the positive points of social media as news specifically in the context of the 2005 Tsunami. As in 2005, social media today in Mumbai is allowing normal citizens to participate in providing information to authorities and the public and also helping provide other much needed services such as making phone calls for people whose families may have been affected.

Benjamin Haydon, an 18th century artist and writer said, "There surely is in human nature an inherent propensity to extract all the good out of all the evil."

If this is true, one good thing we can extract from the horror of what is unfolding in India today is the evidence of good people who are doing everything they can to personally help those who are in need due to this tragedy.

Random Picture of the Week #3

2008-11-20T17:04:00.000+08:00

Samlor in Uttaradit.

My sweet new ride...

2008-11-20T16:56:00.000+08:00

I bought a scooter a few weeks ago.

Up to now I've been stuck at home while Al was at work and had to depend on him if I had errands to run. I definitely miss the convenience of Seoul's public transportation system. There isn't really a taxi service here, although, someone at work gave us a friend's phone number and said they would give me rides on their motorbike if I really needed it. When you get out at the train or bus stations there are "taxis" (people who will you give you rides for money) and samlors (see photo of the week above), but that's about it in this town as far as I can tell. In the bigger cities there are far more options.

It's an electric scooter, new, that I bought for 20,000 baht. I only have to charge it once a week and I don't have to have a license to drive it. Works out great!

Random Picture of the Week, #2

2008-11-15T15:03:00.001+08:00

A gift shop, specializing in stuffed animals, in Uttaradit.

Loi Krathong

2008-11-13T18:37:00.000+08:00

We got to attend a really fun celebration Wednesday night, called Loi Krathong. It's celebrated on the night of the full moon on the 12th lunar month. Wikipedia can tell you all the historical details. Someone at work told me that traditionally it was meant to thank the river spirits, now it's thought of as more of a good party and a way to make wishes and shake off any bad things that happened in the year before.

What you do is put a small float made of banana leaves and flowers, topped with incense and candles into the river to float away, carrying with it your wishes for the future and any bad feelings from the year before. Some people put bits of hair or fingernails in the float to further symbolize getting rid of the old. A big party surrounds this tradition, with beauty contests, parades, music and drama performances, fireworks galore and, our favorite, the release of lanterns into the air. Our boss gave us a beautifully made float to send out.

We went to town where a ton of tents had been set up by the Nan river, centered around a pavilion and monument to King Rama V. There was a big stage with music performances and later, a beauty pageant, a huge square of food and drink stalls, an open courtyard where people were setting off fireworks and releasing lanterns, and then the pavilion to look out over the river. Under the pavilion you could access the river to set out your float. If you hadn't made your own there were plenty of people selling them; they weren't all high quality, but they were all beautiful! You could also buy little bags with live fish, eels, or turtles in enclosed to let loose in the river-- where they were probably caught earlier that morning!

The lanterns in the air and candle-lit floats in the water really gave a magical feel to this beautiful festival. We spent most of the evening there, stopping on the way home at a wat and another small point along the river where people were setting out floats. As this is a Buddhist festival (although it likely has roots with the same traditions that the Hindu Diwali Festival stems from) there was a lot of activity at the wat (temple) as well. As a fundraiser you could pay 10 baht (30 cents) to fish a little capsule out of a pond. In the capsule was a number that corresponded to assorted raffle prizes. It was good fun. As the main festival was very crowded it was nice to stop at the smaller point further up the river, near home. There, people were selling floats that I would guess were made by children for a donation of your choice. The peope we met there were incredibly sweet, so we bought another float and got our knees dirty sending it out from their floating platform.

Setting out floats on the Nan River, Uttaradit.

Children nicking coins out of floats.

King Rama V statue, lanterns galore.

The river pavilion.

Floats for sale.

Al, getting ours lit.

Hopes and dreams, floating down the river.

It was a great time!

Random Picture of the Week, #1

2008-11-09T00:11:00.000+08:00

I take tons of pictures and not all of them go along with any of my regular blog posts, so I'm starting a one-a-week post. Enjoy.

Animal balloons at the OTOP Fair market, Uttaradit, Thailand.

Correction

2008-11-07T21:13:00.000+08:00

I made a mistake in my last post in regards to the independence of Mongolia. I erroneously said it was in 1991 but, as an anonymous reader has pointed out, Mongolia was declared independent in 1911. I definitely had it stuck in my head for some reason that it was 1991, and after looking at some of the books and websites I have been reading lately, it seems that I was associating the pull out of the Soviet Union with independence in Mongolia --- totally my mistake. I've been reading a lot lately about the resurgence of Buddhism in Mongolia and often the phrase "since 1991" and "since the early 1990's" is employed. I am new to Mongolian studies and will certainly make many mistakes. I always appreciate comments, suggestions, and corrections--- of course, I also hope that these would come in a (less hostile) constructive manner.

This summer...

2008-11-07T10:53:00.000+08:00

I just realized that I never finished the stories of this summer's travels. I'm really busy these days so I can't really give the rest of those experiences justice on this blog.

I'll just add some highlights here...

Mongolia:

After wrapping up in the field we said our goodbyes and headed back to Ulaan Baatar where I stayed a few more days. We had a few more get-togethers with the friends we made on the trip, both Mongolian and Western, and just had a lovely time. I really love Ulaan Baatar, despite the first impressions I had. Crumbling soviet-era apartment blocks with gers bundled in between, both bizarre and charming. Of course, seeing the city with my new friends really put it in a different light.

I was extremely lucky to be present for a special time in Mongolia--- the night they won their first Olympic Gold Medal-- ever! It happened to be an evening I was spending alone so I wandered to Sukhbaatar Square where I assumed there would be celebrations. Sure enough there were hundreds gathered and it soon turned into a huge party. Everyone was chanting Monguul! Monguul! (Mongolia! Mongolia!) there were fireworks and at one point the Prime Minister came out, flanked by a band, and spoke to the crowd before the band played their national anthem. Mongolia has only been independent since 1991-- this was a very big moment for them. I'm so glad I was there! I made some new friends at the square that night and spent the rest of the evening with them, celebrating--- a night I won't forget.

Flags were out en masse.

The Prime Minister and entourage in front of the Chinggis Khan statue.

Fireworks over Sukhbaatar Square.

China:

I took an early flight out of Mongolia to Beijing, glad there were clear skies so I can watch Mongolia roll away as we flew out. I hope it's not long before I go back again.

My friend Laura, one of my best friends from college landed a job working at the Beijing Olympics. This was a great opportunity for me to return to the city and see it at a tremendously exciting time. I was really impressed with the way Beijingers came together to put the city's best foot forward. Businesses had new signs, buildings were freshly painted, and tourist help kiosks had been erected everywhere. Cheerful old men and women (without a lick of English), sporting brightly colored vests that said "Olympic Volunteer", hovered around on the streets, ready for anything. I made sure to ask them directions, even though I knew where I was going, as it so pleased them to help out.

I stayed with Laura, in the apartment her job provided near Sanlitun. Sadly, we both got very ill my second day in so I spent most of my time that week in the hotel room-- I saw a doctor in Chiang Mai-- turns out I had dysentery!!! Yes, the disease that kills off members of your wagon train in the old "Oregon Trail" computer game. Needless to say, it is as unpleasant as it sounds. I still wrestled up the energy to see my friend Jade, a cool chick I met on my North Korea trip last year, and to go to my first Olympic competition, which was really exciting. Laura scored free tickets to the synchronized swimming finals, in the Water Cube. The Olympic grounds were expansive and the Water Cube and Birds Nest were impressive up-close. It was fun walking around the grounds, soaking up the excitement, and watching the medal ceremony for our competition, with the gold going to Russia.

The entrance to the Water Cube.

Laura and I in front of the Bird's Nest.

Russia gets the gold in synchronized swimming (you can blame Canada for this bizarre sport).

Thailand: Al met me at the Chiang Mai airport and brought me home the next day, only to bring me to the train station less than 24 hours later for the last leg of my summer travels. I had months earlier planned to meet my friend Amber, a fellow English teacher in Korea, on the islands somewhere during her once a year break (hagwons work you to the bone). These plans were made before the Beijing plans so I didn't realize how stretched out and tired I would be. I caught an overnight train to Bangkok, waited around a few hours, and then hopped on a flight to Koh Samui, where she had arrived two days earlier and booked some beach side bungalows. It was a great way to wind down after all of my adventures. We lazed around all day on beaches, both on Samui and Koh PaNgan, enjoyed fantastic seafood and tropical drinks, and danced with a bizarre group of Spaniards. Good times.

Ko Samui sunset (click for larger view)

Amber,relaxing at the Dolphin on Koh PaNgan

Boats in the bay, Ko PaNgan

Me, enjoying fresh coconut.

It was good to get back to Uttaradit after all that, to start settling in to my new home there. I'm glad I had six weeks off before starting my new job. This summer shook my life up like a snowglobe, now everything's falling into place again-- until the next time!

English Reading Materials

2008-11-02T20:46:00.000+08:00

If you love me, you'll send me some of your magazines when you're done with them!

I have access to an eclectic collection of classics and fiction novels but nothing current and no magazines to enjoy over coffee on the weekends.

Any genre will do.

Send to:

Language Center
Uttaradit Rajabhat University
27 Injaimee Road
Amphur Muang
Uttaradit
Thailand
53000

THANK YOU!!!!

Chiang Mai, again

2008-11-01T16:47:00.000+08:00

Well, we had a short break, during which I had to go to Chiang Mai for visa stuff.

So far, I've found the documentation process to work here to be rather annoying, and more expensive than I expected. I really don't like having to pay to work someplace, so I'm also rather unhappy with myself for not making sure the school covered those expenses. I came in on a tourist visa and then, after hanging out in Ko Samui, went to get a "non-immigrant B" visa, the first step in getting a work permit. I didn't know, and the school didn't warn me (and I've never heard of this) but I had to have at least 20 days left on my first visa, I only had 19. Yep, one day off. Had to pay 2,000 baht (about 60$) for an extension and then another 1,800 baht for the non-immigrant visa, which is only good for 3 months. Then, you get to apply for a work permit which cost me 800 baht. Get this. The work permit is only set until the visa expires (the three month non-immigrant one I JUST GOT), so I then have to go to Chinag Mai or Bangkok to extend my non-immigrant B to when my contract expires (Oct 2009)-- another 1,800 baht. Now that I have completed that, I have to get my work permit extended to Oct 2009 as it is only good for my old visa. Fun!

Luckily, since Al had time off he could come too so we really did get to have a little fun.

We usually try to stay at a different guesthouse every time we go as there are endless options. This time we stayed at Your House Guesthouse where we got an aircon room for 500 baht (about $15). It was sparse but clean with good hot water showers. The family that runs the place were very friendly and helpful. I had read a few reviews indicating that they pressured people to book treks but they didn't do that to us at all.

So far, no place has come close to beating Three Sis, a lovely guesthouse filled with open spaces, waterfountains, and Lanna art, located in front of Chedi Luang.

Anyway, we got a chance to walk around the sunday night market and have a nice glass of wine at a quaint little antique store-- old records, Buddha statues, and wine? Of course.

We did do a trek, although just a short day trek. I can't say if I recommend it or not. It was right for us as we just wanted to get a taste for everything. We had a private tour, which was ideal as we didn't have to stick to a strict schedule. Our guide, Lulu, who is actually from a hilltribe himself, took us to sites when he knew there would be less people. This payed off as we really did seem to miss the busses by a few minutes at each stop.

Even though it's called a trek, we didn't do any "treking". We wewre driven in an air conditioned car from place to place, starting with the orchid and butterfly farm. It was small, and souvenirs were a big focus, but the displays showing how orchids are farmed were interesting and of course, the flowers were beautiful!

Next stop was an elephant camp. As it's in the mountains it's rather atmospheric seeing the elephants (this camp hosted 75 of them) amongst the trees and playing in the river. However, these are captive elephants, trained to put on a show every day and cart falang like us around every day (falang= foreigner). I'm sure it beats logging though, which is how the elephants used to be employed before it was banned in 1989. The show was definitely entertaining, my favorite part being the man vs. elephant dart tournament.

Next stop was to see the hilltribes. This part we had mixed feelings about. There's a lot of controversy about visiting hilltribes, on one hand you are disrupting village life and potentially causing a dependency on tourists on the other hand, it is the 21st century so isolation is a bit of a dream (in Thailand anyway) and, supposedly, many tribes welcome the income opportunity. The "village" we went to was a creation for tourists, which was clear as soon as we pulled up. There's a welcome sign and everything. Eventually our guide explained to us that the people we were seeing only come here during the day. They demonstrate how to make their handicrafts and sell things, then return to their real villages at night. People from the Black Karen, Lisu, and Longneck Karen tribes were represented here, each in their own section of the "village". At first we were dissapointed, but really, this sort of setup helps prevent our intrusion into real village life and made us feel less awkward about taking pictures (always ask first!) and asking questions. Our guide knew some old ladies there and we were happily the only tourists invited in for lunch. Spicy stuff!!! One of the ladies kept giggling at me and htting my arm, good times were had by all.

From there we went for a jungle elephant ride, followed by a small bit of river rafting (only a level II) and some bamboo rafting. The bamboo rafting, to me, was terrifying. You're just sitting on bamboo, which sinks a bit so the water is flowing over and around you. You are in the horrible, brown river (which I imagine has horrible creatures in it. I was glad to get out.

Well, a good day of adventure anyway!

We're back to work now, I'll let you know how that's going in a later post.

Orchids

2008-11-01T16:41:00.001+08:00

IMG_0102, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

At the orchid farm.

Karen Longneck tribe.

2008-11-01T16:37:00.001+08:00

IMG_0138, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

This woman spoke English better than most of my students.

Hilltribes

2008-11-01T16:35:00.001+08:00

IMG_0141, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Through the rice fields to the "village". It wasn't a real village, more of a living museum with representative people from different tribes, selling their wares and giving weaving demonstrations.

Chiang Mai Hilltrek

2008-11-01T16:32:00.001+08:00

IMG_0166, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Yay, elephants!

Doo doo doo...

2008-10-31T21:17:00.000+08:00

Al and I are always catching ourselves singing this song. It's on about every five seconds and, so far, it's the only Thai song we can sing along with!

Noisy Neighbors--- A Universal Problem

2008-10-22T22:03:00.000+08:00

Image by Malingering via FlickrI've certainly had my fair share of loud neighbors in the past-- from the fraternity guys playing beer pong above me while I was finishing my thesis in Albany, to the young family with the new puppy in Korea--- who would throw him outside whenever he got to loud for them--- but this time is different. Apparently, we're not allowed to complain!

We are in a modest condo-type home but next to us--- one wall only two meters from ours, is a rather large home with a big yard. The only neighbors from this home that have ever come out and waved is a middle aged woman who I suspect is a maid or nanny. I don't mind them keeping to ourselves, in fact, I wish they did so more! Two or three times a month these guys have huge parties. They go all out-- tables and chairs are brought in, a stage is set up with a huge screen for karaoke and dozens of cars line up on our tiny street. These parties are always on weekdays and always go on until the wee hours of the morning--- bad Thai karaoke the whole way through (bad, as in the singing).

Usually we are able to muddle through with earplugs but tonight- no. Tonight they have hired a live band, whose bass is turned up so high that although we cannot hear the vocals, our windows are shaking and my ears keep popping. No kidding.

But can we go over and throw a fit? Plead and beg for mercy?

When we asked our landlady how we should approach our neighbors about this problem she responded "Do not say anything! They will kill you!"

WHAT? They will kill us? Who the @#!% are these people?

So far, no answers-- we've asked around and the guesstimations are split between them being local mafia or actually the head police.

Whoever they are-- they suck. Wish me luck as I try to drug myself to sleep (don't worry. over the counter sleeping pills, no more than the recommended dosage)

P.S. To all you worrywarts out there--- Thai people, in fact, most people on earth, do not randomly kill their neighbors-- I expect these people are no exception. I get the impression that my landlady just wanted to make sure that we didn't do anything stupid, and does not really think we would be killed. Thai people are known for not getting angry or overreacting to things but Westerners are known here as being the opposite-- so they worry about us.

Wat Yai, Phitsanulok

2008-10-15T20:26:00.001+08:00

IMG_0455, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Al, checking out the market goods on the grounds of Wat Yai.

Wat Yai, Phitsanulok

2008-10-15T20:22:00.001+08:00

IMG_0456o, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Buddha, Buddha, Buddha, Buddha........

Wat Yai

2008-10-15T19:57:00.001+08:00

IMG_0464, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

The main Buddha at Wat Yai (there are hundreds of Buddhas throughout the complex). This was a very active temple-- lots of worshipers, music and dance performances, a market... great fun!

Wat Yai, Phitsanulok

2008-10-15T19:51:00.001+08:00

Kitty, Wat Yai, Phitsanulok, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Cats love the Buddha!

Troubles

2008-10-15T19:41:00.000+08:00

I just want to remind everyone that we are nowhere near the parts of the country that have been experiencing violence in the recent weeks, Bangkok and the Cambodian border to be specific. We are hours and hours away and these troubles have not affected our lives here--- other than to provide a topic of conversation.

So, don't worry!

Geckos Galore

2008-10-12T23:27:00.001+08:00

IMG_0007, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Geckos are everywhere in our house. Of course, these teeny ones are our favorite.

Back to Thailand

2008-10-05T01:11:00.000+08:00

Image by robstephaustralia via FlickrAlthough I have one more post about Mongolia, and posts about Beijing and Ko Samui, I will interrupt now for some Uttaradit updates.

The Langsat Festival (pictures below) is the biggest celebration in Uttaradit. This province is known for the langsat fruit--- a small, round fleshy fruit that you have to peel-- similar to lychees. The festival lasted a week and included rides, concerts, markets, muay thai (kickboxing) and the parade. We went there every night for the food stalls.

Catching my first muay thai match was one highlight of the week. I never had a huge desire to see any kind of fighting but, I must admit, the atmosphere was rather exciting around the ring as the fight geared up to begin. In Bangkok and any of the tourist spots in Thailand muay thai can see a bit gimmicky as they try to bring in the crowds but here it was all locals, just crowding around the ring, standing in the dirt, and placing bets. From what I could gather the older competitior was a champion from Vietnam who was being challenged by a young, Thai guy. Although the younger dude got in a few punches, the Vietnamese man was clearly the better fighter and seemed to defeat him easily. It wasn't shocking, brutal stuff at all, like I hear it was in the old days--- actually, it was quite entertaining and exciting.

The other highlight was the parade, which showcased all of the things Uttaradit Province has to offer. Floats represented different fruits from the region, high school marching bands participated, and men and women walked in formation promoting their trades, from loom weaving to fishing. Good show!

IMG_0352

2008-10-05T01:09:00.001+08:00

IMG_0352, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Miss Langsat.

Langsat Festival, Uttaradit

IMG_0305

2008-10-05T01:04:00.001+08:00

IMG_0305, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

The parade showcased local produce and handicrafts.

Langsat Parade, Uttaradit

IMG_0343

2008-10-05T00:57:00.001+08:00

IMG_0343, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

My favorites in the parade... monsters!

Langsat Parade

Langsat Festival Photos

2008-10-05T00:45:00.001+08:00

IMG_0300, originally uploaded by MacKensie!.

Sticky rice baked in bamboo with slices of coconut.... insanely delicious!

Langsat Festival, Uttaradit

Mongolia -Ishee's Home

2008-10-01T20:39:00.000+08:00

One of the most special nights while we were out in the field is when we were invited for dinner at Ishee's home.

Ishee was one of the few archaeology students who grew up in the countryside and he always seemed to outdo the other guys in all of the "manly" tasks I mentioned before, from horse riding and wrestling, to rock throwing and goat killing. He was also one of the most friendly and welcoming of the crew.

His family's ger camp was just over an hour's drive away so we got to stop work early one Friday and head over for a day of fun and feasting.

I'm really glad we got to see what ger life was like. They had two gers and set up an extra tent for us to chill out in for the evening. Ishee's parents were there as well as his older brother and his brothers wife and young son. I'm not totally sure, but I think they all lived there. It is also common for people to live part time in the city and go into the country for extended periods to help out with livestock etc. Another family had their ger set up in the valley not too far away, which is typical for security.

Old Russian movies on TV.

Checking out the digs.

If you don't know much about Mongolia, you may not have known that even today, many Mongolians are nomads. Their gers can be taken apart and loaded on carts within a few hours so that they can find better pastures for their livestock (almost exclusively goats, sheep, and horses, and sometimes camels). They are not constantly moving, usually only once or twice a year (summer and winter pastures), and they go back to the same spots often. Ishee's family had a generator so they can watch TV and they have all the normal household goods you would think of, just more compact in some cases (like the stove) or organized more frugally (for instance, a lot of items were stuck inbetween the wooden slats and the felt covering). It was all very cozy although I wonder what it's like in the winter--- Mongolia's temperatures can drop to -30!

We had the best meal that night--- heaps of mutton that had been slow cooked over hot rocks. My mouth waters even now, thinking about it. The met is cut up and put into a large silver bowl which is then passed around. Pick out your favorite cut and eat with your hands (and a knife if you have one). Works for me!

Tea, yogurt, sweet bread, and candies.

After that of course, the vodka. Ishee's father was in charge of pouring while Ishee passed out the cups. Everyone had more than their fair share. The rest of the night was spent socializing before heading out to the first of our ger camp parties.

The passing of the vodka.

The director, Bill, taking his turn. The senior members of our group were treated to extra cups of vodka.

It was lovely of his family to invite such a large group of clueless foreigners to their home, we all had a wonderful time!

A perfect rainbow to finish off a truly memorable evening.

Mongolia- Land of Manly Skill

2008-09-25T10:33:00.000+08:00

There were a few other Western girls on the dig, and one constant topic of conversation was how "manly" the Mongolian men were. They worked, worked worked, all day only to spend the evenings and breaks with more activity--- soccer, volleyball, and contests of all sorts. Who can lift the heaviest rocks? Who can throw them further? Wrestling match anyone? It was all very amusing.

Now, this "manliness" thing is not something we made up, it is emphasized in their culture--- although I wouldn't compare it with the machismo of Latin America. in Mongolia there are three skills that are considered the pinnacle of manliness- wrestling, archery, and horse racing. These skills are celebrated in naadam festivals, the large national naadam being held in Ulaan Baatar every summer. Local naadams are held throughout the year and people of all ages can participate. These days, women participate as well-- although not in wrestling.

We were fortunate that a local naadam was held at Baga Gazaryn Chuluu (our region) while we were there and we all got to join in the fun.

Gathering for the BGC naadam. (click for a larger view)

It was a whole day affair, starting with a knuckle bone shooting game (sheep or goat bones?). I only saw men playing this game, first the older men but then others got to try, including some guys from our camp.

Our guys are on the left end, Byambaa (shooting), with Dashka and then Galdan to his right.

A little later the horse races began. In this case it was all children riding! We were really lucky because the owners of the tourist ger camp took us in their car along the whole route of the race. We drove behind the horses as they went to the start point and then sped alongside them as they raced back to the finish line. It was an exciting way to watch.

Walking their horses to the start line.

The guy we were cheering for (a relative of the owners of the ger camp).

Rider in the distance.

After that we observed a Buddhist ceremony and ate some fresh yogurt and hard Mongolian cheese and socialized a bit. I took some photos for people and sent them the prints later.

Lovely older ladies looking at the picture Saadia took of them.

Having fun at naaadam.

A traditional blessing, flicking the milk (or yogurt?) to the ground, the wind, and the sky.

Next, was wrestling! This is a sport Mongolia is famous for so I'm glad I got to see it. Two of our guys, Byambaa and Ishee participated which made it even more exciting! The competitions started with little kids and moved up to older and experienced wrestlers. They do an "eagle dance" at the beginning and when they win. Their outfits may look funny to us, but its old traditional gear. The shirt leaves the chest open so that no women can disguise themselves and participate-- humiliating the men!

Although our guys didn't win the top spot, they did well--- it was a fantastic day!

Ishee (orange belt).

Byambaa (orange belt).

Enjoying the show.

Next Post---- dinner at Ishee's house (I mean, ger)!!!

Desert Disco

2008-09-23T18:22:00.000+08:00

I did not expect to do a lot of singing and dancing while in Mongolia-- but it turned out to be one of my favorite parts!

We had two parties at the tourist ger camp, which was a few miles away. It consisted of a few lovely rows of gers, a restaurant ger, and a bathhouse. The well we got our water from was nearby.

Baga Gazaryn Chuluu Tourist Ger Camp

Restaurant and bathhouse.

Inside the restaurant.

For our parties the whole camp piled on top of each other in our five vans and poured into the restaurant ger. The tables were moved to the side and Bill (our director) was kind enough to get the first round of beers and vodka. The lights were dimmed, track lighting was flipped on, and then a bizarre mix of five year old American pop, random Europop, and Mongolian hits were played while we all danced our butts off. I loved it.

Cheers!

The ger camp closed us down by midnight so we took the party back to our camp --- again, piled on top of each other in the jeeps, except this time driving off road in the dark! Back at camp the vans would park in a circle, turn on their blinkers for "disco lights" and blare the music. Then we'd continue the party, dancing in the sand.

After returning to UB (the capital of Mongolia, Ulaan Baatar) we had a few after-parties. Karaoke night was the most fun. I normally hate karaoke but our group is such a bunch of fun loving people its hard to be self conscious and not get into it! I never would have guessed the building we went to for karaoke was even in use-- it looked abandoned from the outside. They took us up some dark and uneven stairs into a hallway that surprisingly held a dimly lit bar. Rooms shooting off from the hall were private karaoke rooms with couches and everything else you would expect. Great night! Seeing a bunch of manly Mongolian men singing "It's Raining Men" is quite a sight and I never thought I'd have the opportunity to sing the one and only Russian song I know!

Boldoo, Saadia, Me, Alyson, and Emma.

Well, obviously, I had a great time with the BGC crew!

Next post... Mongolia: the Land of Manly Skill....

One more....

2008-09-17T19:01:00.002+08:00

Another Mongolian song I really like. This video has some cool ger scenes too. (Ger= Mongolian house, rhymes with "bear").

Traditional Music

2008-09-17T19:01:00.001+08:00

I loved the traditional music that was played in the vans sometimes on the way from camp to site. Listening to this music and watching Mongolia's incredible landscape go by gave me that tingly, alive feeling --- "wow, I'm really in Mongolia".

Here's a good representative of the music. A sad song! The ruined temple, (called Sum Khok Burd), the singer is sitting in, was a few hours from our site. We visited there one weekend and took showers in the nearby town.

Listen to how she rolls her "R's". I cannot for the life of me reproduce this which makes me wonder if I'll ever be able to learn Mongolian!

Me at Sum Khok Burd

Mongolia -- The Basics

2008-09-17T19:01:00.000+08:00

On site, three meals a day were provided for us by the lovely Jagaa and Zola, the only two Mongolian women present on this project. (There are female Mongolian archaeologists on other projects)

Breakfast alternated between rice porridge and cream of wheat. Gomber was also always present--- sort of like a funnel cake without the powdered sugar. Instant coffee and tea rounded it out.

Gomber frying. Fresh gomber with honey is fantastic! (photo by Ian Nelson)

Lunches and dinners were always a goat dish. Goat dumplings, goat soup, goat and fried noodles, goat and veggies, goat and macaroni salad...... you get the picture.

On two occasions we had mutton which was a welcome break--- so tasty!

Veggies are not so easy to come by in the Gobi so they relied on things that were easy to store and supplemented it with whatever passing nomads were selling or what could be found in the nearest town on the weekends. (which wasn't much) Usually we had potatoes, carrots, cabbage, red and green peppers, and pickles. I would have killed for a tomato.

I really didn't mind the food, in fact some of the dishes were delicious! The problem was the tremendous portion size. I could never clear my plate and the cooks were quite unhappy with you if they saw you dump it. Many plans were devised to avoid their disdain. Asking for a smaller portion had no effect whatsoever, if you were brave enough to try.

A goat was brought in almost daily, purchased from one of the nomad families nearby. Ishee, one of the archaeologists who was from our region, had the task of dispatching it. Traditionally, Mongolians slaughter an animal by cutting a small slit in its chest, reaching in, and stopping its heart with his hand. I'm not kidding you. Ishee, impressively, did this for the camp. Most of the goat was used, although the Mongolians eat a lot of parts the Westerners weren't too keen on. The cooks cooked meals based on Western tastes and made separate dishes with the intestines, etc, that just the Mongolians ate. Worked for me.

For snacks, I quickly learned it was essential to have a hoard of candy and sodas in your tent. Not just for you, but also to bring out and share and/or bribe people with. Trips to town and tourist camps were an opportunity to replenish. If you had vodka, your popularity would increase for sure.

Vodka. I thought I knew things about Mongolia before I came, but I didn't know about the prominence of vodka in their culture. Any occasion could potentially call for vodka. When one of the vans broke down a bottle of vodka was pulled out and a blinker used as a glass while they waited for help. All of our "parties" involved copious amounts of vodka. When I told one of the guys that back home I drink, but not vodka, he incredulously asked "but then, what do you drink?" Hahaha.

Luckily, the way they distribute it allows you to take a decent break between drinks. One person pours into a cup (I loved the antique cups that we saw at Ishee's ger-- more on that later), he then passes that cup to you with his right hand. You accept with your right hand and shoot it or sip it, your choice (at least, they didn't harass us if we couldn't shoot it). You then hand it back and he does the same with everyone in the group. Then it all starts again-- the larger the group, the longer the break. If you don't want to drink, dip your pinky in and flick it three times (to the earth, the wind, and the sky?) and then return the cup. I really enjoyed this, it made drinking seem more intimate and social.

Well... vodka leads to dancing, which will be the theme of my next post! Stay tuned!

Jagaa, Ishee, and Zola

the adventures don't stop...

2008-09-12T17:27:00.000+08:00

I have to interrupt the Mongolian stories to give a Thailand update---

--- horrible creatures invade Uttaradit!

Well, not really, but I have had a lot of encounters with the local fauna this week. I've gotten pretty used to the geckos all over the house and the occasional frog or centipede in the kitchen but this week we had a special scorpion guest join us for breakfast one morning. Usually I'm first in the kitchen, but lucky for me, Al was this time, so he had it all taken care of before I came down. hey can't kill you unless you're unlucky enough to have an allergy to its poison but still, I don't want a scorpion sting surprise while I'm getting ready for the day.

Today I finally had a snake encounter, which I knew was just a matter of time. We have a lot of vegetation around our house and we have daily encounters with the things snakes like to eat, so we knew they were around. I like snakes but as there are so many venomous ones here and some rather large ones as well--- I've been wary of them.

I was riding the bike down the main street, near the rice paddies, when what I thought was a stick out of the corner of my eye reared up and struck at me. Of course, on my bike I just whizzed by and tried not to veer into traffic while screaming and trying to get a better look at the thing. I don't know what kind of snake it was, but I'll try to find out. It was as long as some of the large rat snakes I had seen in Kansas and it was a light brown with thin, dark stripes running the length of its body (not around it's body but from it's head, down). From what I've read many do fake strikes before actually biting so I don't know if it had really tried to bite me or not. Yikes! I'd like to think that because of the speed of the bike I had surprised it and that if I had been walking it would have heard/seen me and gone away (at least that's what I have to tell myself since I walk there all the time)!

Anyhoo... another day in Thailand!

Mongolia-- weather

2008-09-10T21:23:00.000+08:00

Well we were in the Gobi so you can guess it.... hot and dry!

I found it to be pretty reasonable. In Thailand the heat and humidity is unbearable and even the smallest activity leaves you dripping in sweat. The 0% humidity in Mongolia made for much more pleasant working conditions. We usually had a nice breeze as well (although not ideal when you're sifting the dirt)! Most days it was bright and sunny which just added to the natural beautiful scenery at BGC. It did get cool at night though and one night I just couldn't get warm, even with my clothes on, mummy sleeping bag drawn tight, and all of my gear piled on top of me!

Three days in we had a really fantastic storm. It's funny because we watched it come in for some time after dinner--- great lightning show! Most of us were still chilling out by the kitchen tent when it hit so we retreated to the lab tent as a deluge of rain came down on us. The rain was soon joined by marble sized hail and then what was a trickle of water running on the ground turned into a flood! It only went up to our calves but, never having been in a flood, and being in the middle of nowhere-- I was scared! We rushed to get the artifact boxes off the ground and worried about our tents and belongings. Trying to run outside or to the rocks was pointless as our headlamps just reflected off the rain and the floodwaters were so cold it hurt your legs to stand and walk in it a lot anyway.

I don't think it lasted too long before it began to calm a bit. At this point the camp vans were beeping their horns outside and flashing lights so we all jumped in for shelter. The tourist ger camp, a few miles away was nice enough to house us for the night. The next day we got to inspect the damage and although a lot of tents were messed up and everything was soaked it was all back in shape by noon. That dry heat came back in full force and everyone was really good about making the rounds of everyone's tents to help with repairs. My tent suffered one broken pole which caused a partial collapse-- but back to new in no time.

Of course, in retrospect it's exciting, but at the time I wondered what I was doing there!

Sometimes the lightning seemed to stretch across the whole desert--- but of course I didn't manage those shots!

Me, super excited about floods. (notice the skulls behind me)