A Bunch of Burts

Hello to the world of WFMW! This is my first foray into the world of carnival blogging. I have been reading the posts of others who participate in WFMW (Works for Me Wednesday) and with the help and encouragement of my friend Kathy (of Duckabush Blog fame ), I have joined the ranks!

A bit of background, we are missionaries in Chiang Mai Thailand, and have mostly come to terms with the reality of life here. It is just plain buggier than we previously were used to. We have toyed with the idea of hiring an exterminator as many people do monthly, (yikes!), but since the houses are built right onto a cement pad, there is no basement or crawlspace and so the poison is sprayed directly into the corners and crevices in the house.

We are looking for your tips on how to kill pests, ants in particular, without resorting to poisoning ourselves in the process.

Usually we just deal with the ants. You know, keep the food sealed tight, counters wiped, floors swept and such, but the other week we had yet another incident which nearly pushed me over the edge.

This is my timer, can you see the ants that exploded out of it?! I noticed the display was a bit dim and thought the kids may have dropped it in water, but when I took the back cover off, I found an ant colony!

This is, er, was my thermometer which a dear friend sent me from the States. As you can see, it was even more infested than the timer. Not only that, those nasty little ants ate the solder! When my dear husband, (because I was now unwilling to deal with it), tried to clean it out, all the pieces broke off.

So there you have it. I need some ideas on what is toxic to ants, but things they would still be interested in. We are not opposed to finding dead ants on the counter in the mornings so are open to those kinds of ideas as well as ones where they back the ‘food’ to their nests.

I am looking forward to more WMFM with you!

To share your wealth of wisdom with the waiting WFMW world, head over to www.rocksinmydryer.typepad.com

Sawadi Kaa!

We knew before coming that it would be hot here, hotter than our Washington sensiblities would like. We have so wonderfully adapted in this area, glory be to God!

Ema wore long pants for most of cold season (70’s and 80’s) and Greg and I wake up and thank the Lord for the coolness of the mornings during this humid rainy season, when the temps are only in the low 80’s. When we come home for furlough, don’t be insulted if we don’t take our coats off when we visit you. It won’t be that we will be eager to leave, just cold.

But no matter how acclimated one becomes, hot days are still hot days. Sometimes I wonder, is today really that hot , or am I just particularly sensitive to the heat today?
I have come up with a handy list anyone can use to determine a truly hot day.

#1. You are on your second shower of the day, and it is only 9 am.

#2. The towel you used for your first shower is already dry when you need it for your second one.

#3. You can wash your dinner dishes in warm water, even if you have no water heater!

this is the actual temperature of our tap water that night

#4. This temperature water feels refreshing to you as you shower before bed.

#5. As you are making cookies, you have to keep the cookie dough in the fridge, because it is melting!

#6. The gum you forgot to put in the fridge is also melting.

#7. Even your national neighbors are sweaty and complaining about the heat.

#8 You cannot wait to get to school and sit in the airconditioned classroom.

#9. When you sit on your motorcycle after a 2-hour class, you get a mild burn from the seat.

#10. You know it is hot when not even Zachary is very hungry and will just eat an apple and crackers for dinner!

I know there of lots of others who live in hot climates, can you add to my list? Love to hear your “ways to know it is a hot day”:)

We heard about it, read about, and saw pictures on the internet about it, but nothing truly prepared us for the event that is Songkran. It actually is the Thai Buddhist New Year, making that three so far that have been well-celebrated in Thailand. Western New Year on Jan 1st of course, Chinese New Year in mid- Feb and now Thai New Year. They do love a party here.

There are many religious/spiritual aspects to Songkran, mostly centering around making merit. They would make a sand chedi (mound resembling the cone shaped temples), wash a Buddha image, or release caged birds.

The small baskets contain birds to be released for merit. Notice too, the no alcohol sign behind her. Drinking is a major part of this holiday.

Many people also give money to a wat (temple) or gifts to monks. Greg and his friend Dan went on Friday morning, the offical first day to be spectators at some of the ceremonies. Someone explained to him about the sand chedis they were making, that throughout the year, you take sand out of the temple grounds on your feet, and this is when you bring it back. Little flags were also stuck in the mounds, but we are not sure what they are representing.

The tops of the temples are also ceremonially washed with a small vial of water that has been blessed by the monks.

If you look closely, you can see a small tube moving up a wire (off to the right) to top, that is the water to wash/bless the temple.

There is definitely an idea of washing away the bad luck and bad karma of the previous year. So much of their worldview and mindset we do not know understand still, but we know this, they need to know that only the blood of Christ can truly cleanse them, and that there is nothing they can do to earn eternal life!

All the serious merit-making quickly gives way though to the fun and heat escape found in the water fight. The water began with sprinkling as a way to bless other and wish them a happy new year, but now slinging is a better word for it!

When our Thai teacher heard that we were coming back from our trip out east with a truck, she quickly volunteered to drive us all around for Songkran. She said she does not particularly like to be wet, but enjoys driving around. We filled up a garbage can, a clean one, and set it in the back of truck and armed everyone with large water guns and buckets.

The road was so crowed with water-fighters, traffic moved very slowly, which is good, because truck beds were full to overflowing and soaking wet! As your bucket/garbage can/ or whatever you were using to hold your water supply ran out, you could stop at a various stations where you could get a refill for 5 or 10 baht. Of course, before the hose was put in your container, the passengers got a good dousing too!

Can you see the trucks filled with people? It looks like it has been raining, but that is all from the water throwing.

As unbelievable as it sounded to me, we got cold riding around in the back of that wet truck! Of course some of the water was well iced and took your breath away when it hit!

We also took the kids to a well traveled corner and let them throw water at cars instead of throwing from cars for a time too. Motorcycles were a favorite target of all Songkraners, no protection. hahaha

Watch out, these guys are armed and dangerous!

The kids and Greg all really had a good time, but Tina reached her critical mass of being wet well before everyone else did. :)
Hey, someone has to stay dry to take pictures!

These little girls had more fun throwing water at Greg than the passing cars

We had been told that it always rains after Songkran, with all the water being evaporated off the ground. And right on schedule, yesterday, we had a major gully-washer! Greg had made a Lotus run for us, and was caught in the downpour just as he was leaving the store. He arrived home a very wet, but safe. The rain brought a cool and refreshing breeze though, and we will take that anytime!

WARNING! This post is not for the squeamish!

We are back from our trip to the NE! As always we had a wonderful time with our dear friends the Sullivans. Before we left, I thought to myself, self, what sorts of things should I document to make the trip come alive to everyone at home? What new and interesting things should I show them? Ah, of course, I will document the phenomenon known as… the squatty potty. As it turns out, no two are exactly the same with varing degrees of “appeal”.

Here in Chaing Mai, as a big city, you often have a choice of potty style, or even in some places, they are all western style toilets, but in the small towns and more rural areas, the squatty rules. Our first forced exposure to the squatty potty was around Christmas, as we took our first bus trip out to the NE. The bus stopped at a rest stop of sorts for a 20 minute break, for food and bathrooms. However after seeing the facilites, the girls had to be ordered in the bathrooms with not a small amount of threatening, as I knew there was no way they could hold it for another 7 hours and was not hopeful that the next stop would be any better!

The last time we were at this particular potty, the floor was flooded as the water for the cistern had just been let to run. Pull up those pant legs!

Not having had any previous ‘training’ on the use of these beauties, it was all on the job training for us! How exactly does one ask for a demonstration anyway? Greg and Zach clearly have an advantage in this one! But when you gotta go, you gotta go, and so we bravely entered.

Now one thing I have learned in our time here, is that in my bag, I always carry an ample supply of tissues and hand sanitizer.

This unusally clean squatty is in the house of two SIL ladies. Nice contrast, don’t you think? The muddy footprints were just made by kids, I was not quick enough with the camera!

This is at the tribal church in the NE where our friends the Sullivans work.

Some of the public restrooms (that term is used loosely) are pay potties. Usually it is three baht to use the facilites and another 2 or 3 if you want paper. I have noticed that there is an inverse correlation at work here. Invariably, the higher the charge to use the bathroom, the worse condition it is in. Hmmm

Then there is this one, in the house of an NTM family, a vertiable throne!

You may be wondering, how do you flush? You dip the small bowl into the cistern and pour it in. A good system if you do not have reliable running water.

On our way back home, driving this time, we stopped several places along the way for gas and refreshment. One station in particular, had a lovely bathroom, blue polished tiles, clean floors, sinks with actual soap, toilet paper, and gasp, western toilets. Closer inspection however revealed why squatty potties are sometimes preferred. Each and every western sit-down toilet had been used as a squatty, complete with wet and muddy footprints.

Arrgh! Out comes the handy supply of tissues and sanitizer. That pit stop took longer than usual as all us girls waited to use the one clean toilet.

Us girls have decided it is easier to travel in skirts and are thankful that at our home in Chiang Mai we have not one, but two western toilets! One thing though about the squatty style though, it does cut down on ‘library’ time in the bathroom!

As we live in Chiang Mai, learning Thai, we also want to learn culture. Think about our language, how much of the understanding of it is driven by a shared and understood culture? We were just watching the movie Cars, and I was struck by how much of the conversation between the characters was culture specific. That movie came out here in Chiang Mai, with Thai subtitles, but I wonder how much was truly understood, not having the shared common background and culture of America. As you watch it again, notice how many jokes and comments are only explained and understood by past cultural knowledge you have.

As we learn Thai, we are also looking for opportunities to learn more about Thai culture, how they relax, enjoy entertainment and interact with each other on an informal level.

We have been attending a new church for the last couple of weeks here in Chiang Mai. It is a largely tribal church, with many of the members from the Lawa tribe who live here in Chiang Mai. In an effort to mingle better and try to get to know some of the guys who go there, Greg and his friend Dan went to watch them play takraw, a Thai game that resembles volleyball, except the only parts of your body you may not use are your hand and arms.

The pastor Boontip plays too!

There were some other practicing off to the side, that look like pretty formidable players too! Be ready to call the ambulance if I were to try that!

It amazing to watch them, kick, jump, twist and spike the ball, and then land on their feet ready for the return! I think for now we will just watch.