This last weekend we took a trip to the Nan province to visit a Hmong village. Some BYU students have been living up there for about as long as we have been here and so we stayed with their friends throughout the village. It was about a 6 hour drive (this area borders Laos) through the mountains. We would occasionally stop and take pictures of the mountain scenery (except for me...my camera died, lame I know). The drive was pretty fun, swerving on these windy mountain roads. Luckily I don't get car sick too easily, otherwise there might have been a problem.
We went to this waterfall and man oh man was it amazing. The water was lukewarm (which feels great when it's hot/humid) and there were so many pools we could swim in. We were able to slide down the smaller falls which was way fun. And I was feeling extra adventurous so I was climbing all of the surrounding rocks and jumping into the water. It's great cause when you climb a steep rock, you get to the top and start freaking out because it's so high, but then you realize there is no way to get down other than jump. So jump I did, multiple times. I really had the best time at the waterfall. Even when I was done jumping off the rocks, I would just float on my back and get lost looking at the jungle canopy overhead. This place is so beautiful, I know I say it all the time but I really do love it here. Unfortunately all that climbing made me really sore for the rest of the weekend, but mai pen rai.
We spent the rest of our time hanging out at the village, playing volleyball with the people (they are stinking good and they play every single day), eating great food, and visiting some temples. The family I stayed with was so kind. They fed me and Erin (one of the girls in my program) a fantastic dinner and then gave us both gifts. So apparently the family is a copper smith family, and so they gave us each a handmade bracelet to protect us from ghosts. It is really beautiful, and I guess it's really expensive to get one in America. But they just gave it to me because they cared about my well-being. It was so sweet of them and the bracelet really is gorgeous.
It is also interesting to see how different everyone lives. I came to Thailand from America, and it was a big adjustment at first. But now I would definitely say that I am into this way of life and it doesn't seem foreign anymore. When we went to the Hmong village it was really cool to see how they lived and how different it was from the Thai style. It is not uncommon for them to live in bamboo huts in small family communities. And while I felt very ineffective with my bucket shower (it wasn't even a bucket...more of a small cup), I could not help but think that this is a common daily practice for so many people. We all have different traditions and different ways of doing the same thing, but at the same time we are all so similar. That is just so amazing to me.
Anyways, it was a great weekend. And as usual, I was very happy to get back to the farm. It's nice to come home here. Yesterday there were some big changes in our teaching schedules because Kru May (the teacher I have been teaching) had to leave the farm. That and we got another volunteer. So yesterday was just a relax day. And today we had classes and went on a hike through the jungle. Despite the fact we were all huffin and a puffin and sweating up a storm it was really fun. Life is good.
Til next time,
Peace out.
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