Awakening: Five Days in Burma Part 1

This blog post comes with a soundtrack.  Click here to listen to it. 

I have decided to call this post "Part 1" because I know that there is no possible way I'll be able to put all my thoughts together in one sitting, nor would any of you, my dear readers, have the time and patience to read all my thoughts in one sitting.

Early Wednesday morning I flew to Yangon, Myanmar (or Rangoon, Burma, as it was known beofre the military took over and changed it) with two friends for five days.  We returned home Sunday night.  Our school was scheduled to reopen today, but that has now been delayed until this Wednesday (Nov 9th) at the earliest.  We await the decision of the MOE and the flow of the water, which continues to move and still has potential to come our direction.

Before I left for the trip, a friend of mine who has been there and has traveled SE Asia extensively told me that if I could handle Burma I could go anywhere.  It's like going back in time, he said.  And in that respect, he's right.  I was younger than most of the cars.  The internet speed and availability reminded me of the monstrous computer in my family's basement when we lived on Martha.  Some of the taxi's we rode in had upholstery and interior panels, but many did not.  AC?  Hahahajajaja555 (that's me laughing trilingually :)  I have rarely (never?!) sweat so much in my life.  There is a natural beauty to Yangon, a city of lakes and parks, despite its dusty poverty, uneven sidewalks, and lack of infrastructure.  There is a spirit that somehow, despite years of living under a military junta, life goes on.  What I want to share with you are some glimpses into things I saw or did or experienced in those days, and some reflections on what it all means, on how you look into the face of a child who lives without hope, knowing that God alone is able.

In our hearts Lord
In this nation
Awakening

Hello. Money. 
On Wednesday, late afternoon, we were walking towards the downtown area from the biggest Pagoda/temple in the city when I was spotted and approached by a young girl.  She knew only two words in English: hello and money, but these she repeated to me, over and over.  She followed us for blocks, right there at my elbow, hand reaching out, palm up.  Hello.  Money.  We walked on, but she persisted, and we even talked amongst ourselves- what do you do?  Her cries reach our ears and our hearts, yet everything you read about such situations says not to give in this way, that it in fact does more harm than good.  We eventually sat down at a sidewalk table to an Indian restaurant that looked (and was) amazing.  She stood among the parked cars next to our table.  Watching.  Even under the glare of the restaurant owner.  When bread arrived at our table, my friend wrapped it in a napkin and walked it over to her.  A half smile lit her face as she began to eat it, but before you could say 'chicken curry' an entire family of 6-8 people had appeared.  Awake my soul.

Me enjoying some chicken curry on naan and some strong but delicious Burmese tea

Lilly
After we arrived on Wednesday, we headed out to see the big golden Pagoda in the middle of town.  On the way we stopped by a noddle stand for lunch, where my regimin of pepto with every meal started (miraculously, none of us got sick, and we kind of ate wherever).  We walked up all the steps to the top of the Pagoda, but opted not to pay to go into the temple itself.  Instead, we sat on the cool shady steps in front of it to pray.  No sooner had we gotten through the "Dear Heavenly Father," when a woman named Lilly who was a guide at the temple sat down to ask us why we weren't going in.  We started talking to her about her job, family, life, beliefs, and about Jesus.  While one of us did most of the talking, the other two prayed and listened- what an amazing divine appointment, just hours after arriving in the country!  We seemed to attract a lot of attention, just sitting there talking, and I was somewhat amazed that no one else came and sat with us.  Many of them certainly looked like there were about it!  After chatting, we went back to praying, including this woman and her family in our prayers.  

Holy Spirit
We Desire
Awakening

First meal in Burma!

With Lilly

Moments
We witnessed lots of "moments" in the park along the lake near our hotel.  Let me explain.  This park- the grassy bits surrounding the lake and the wooden walkways connecting everything- was covered in couples, sitting together, sometimes making out, and often with an umbrella.  For me, it was a bit like Buenos Aires, only maybe less intense.  But being Asia, it was hilarious.  We literally couldn't find anywhere to sit where we didn't feel like we'd be interrupting.  We spent lots of time in the park, walking, talking, sitting, reading, praying and journaling over the course of our days, and did eventually figure out how to just plop down wherever.  I did my best to get a picture of the scene, without being too intrusive, so you may need to click on the picture to blow it up to see the umbrellas and couples scattered across the grass. 

Moments beside Kandawgyi Lake

more later,
love,
Clare

Koh Mak

In Thai, the word "koh" means island- last week I had a chance to spend 4 days on "mak island" with Juan and Claudia.  I had never been to the tropics before, not a proper tropical beach, and it was really hard for me to believe that was I was seeing was real, not a postcard or picture.  Koh Mak is a small island in the Gulf of Thailand- it's about 4.5 hours by van and then another 45min by speed boat to get there. It's right next to a big popular island named Koh Chang.  I'm sure Koh Chang is great, but we chose Koh Mak for it's small size and relatively small population.  There were other people on the island to be sure, but we saw very few other people on the beach.  Awesome. 

So, we spent 4 days taking naps and walks on the beach, exploring the tiny shops and restaurants nearby, snorkeling, reading, talking, and enjoying long meals.  It was a great way to escape everything here.  Juan and Claudia actually even stayed a few extra days because of the chaos and panic here in Bangkok.  I'll upload as many of the pictures from the trip as I can possibly stand- my one complaint about blogger is that uploading pics is a slow and arduous task. 

Noodle stand on the pier where we got lunch while waiting for our boat to the island.

View from the porch of my bungalow

The light in the evening was awesome- this doesn't do it justice.

View from our breakfast table

I mean, seriously, is this real life?

We did actually see a coconut fall and were quite glad not to be underneath it!

The adorable pant-less girl at the little shop who was enamored with my camera

Juan and Claudia at lunch

bliss.

Hilarious video

Okay, I thought the last flood video was great, but Episode 4 is even better.  It gives you a little glimpse into Thai culture as well.  My favorite parts are the constant references to not 'defecating in the water' and the crocodiles.  There are, seriously, about 600 crocodiles on the loose in the flood waters (a croc farm flooded) and they are offering rewards for their capture.  Our area is still dry.  Am going to venture downtown tomorrow to try to get a visa out of here, so we'll see what I see then.  Juan and Claudia left this morning after a lovely day together yesterday.  And, if I can't leave this week, I might have a volunteer opportunity at a shelter they are setting up at a nearby school for evacuees.  So that would be really cool.  We shall see.  I'm learning so much about how little of life I really control and how much everything is in God's hands.  We like to think and imagine that we do in fact exercise some measure of control over our lives and circumstances, but truth is, we don't.  Nothing like 50,000 whales stuck on dry land to teach you that! 

So we wait

Well, if this isn't just the most annoying situation ever.  We are still just waiting. The water is, in fact, entering more and more areas of the city.  But, there is still much more panic in the city than actual water.  Bummer for me is that I have friends here, until tonight, and the places we wanted to go are closed- Grand Palace (water coming in, it's by the river), huge weekend market (threatened by water and they're evacuating it), Thai Craft Fair (dunno, closed for panic?  roads to the north, where the goods come from, closed?).  At any rate, we have found sufficient, though not as exciting, things to do here in Bang Na where things are dry and functioning.  I feel so bad that they weren't able to see all the things they wanted to- they're not complaining or anything, but I would just have liked to be able to show them Bangkok at its best, and visit some of these places myself. 

I'm telling you though, the anxiety is really getting to me.  I am a planner.  And by planner, I mean a planner (Myers-Briggs folks, my 'J' is like a 28 out of 30).  And in Bangkok right now every single bloody thing is tentative, other than the fact that we don't have school until November 7th.  Or maybe later.  Maybe.  It's really a pretty tense place to be right now, so I am working on plans to escape for a few days  (Wed-Sun) next week.  But there are a lot of 'maybes' to that plan- contingent on quick visa applications and non-flooded embassies and airplanes with seats on them... so we'll see.  My back-up plan?  Call my Thai teacher, who maybe hasn't fled the city with the masses, and do some intensive Thai.  And hopefully not get stuck in my building if this area floods.  I've got food and water so I would for sure be okay, but they might need to put me in a mental hospital after.  

There aren't even any volunteer opportunities in the city right now, at least not with official projects.  There is basically nothing to do but wait.  I'm not very good at waiting.  I knew that before.  But now I know it.  So yeah, good news is that I am fine, that my area is fine, that the main airport is still dry and operational (good for Juan and Claudia who have flights out in the morning), that things are more or less business as usual in our neighborhood.  Continue to pray for the nation, for the government, for those who are affected (several of my friends are trapped at home because of water outside their houses), that the water (or the whales:) would somehow drain into the sea faster than is predicted, that Christ would be made know in the crisis, that I would trust in God and in his promises even in the midst of such uncertainty and anxiety. 

Transition...

Today I am hearing the Fiddler on the Roof song in my head, except instead of "tradition!" it's "transition".  I'll be honest.  Transition sucks.  And when you're in the midst of working through major transition, having an enormous flood that ruins all sense of stability in your day to day life doesn't help much.  As much as I enjoy waking up without an alarm clock, I wish we had school.

Transition is a strange beast.  It leaves you floating, waiting, or as my friend put it: caught in the middle.  God has provided me with great friends here, but at the same time, it takes time to settle in and find where you "fit".  You know, and this may come as a surprise to many of you, my friends here actually had lives before I showed up.  It's like in Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation where the old aunt shows up, walks in the door and proclaims, "helloooo everybody!".  So as much as I am figuring them out and where they fit in my life, they are figuring me out and where I fit in theirs.  And unlike rice and noodles, friendship doesn't have an option for "instant".  There are a variety of speeds to be sure, but it takes more than 60 seconds in a microwave to settle in. 

And it's strange, but when you move to a new country on your own, friendships become insanely important.  They are not just your friends, but your family as well- your connections to the world that exists outside your head (Yes, Clare, there is a world outside your head).  So I am very grateful for the people that God has given me to walk beside me through this season of transition, even if we haven't quite all figured each other out yet.  And, I am grateful for friends and family in both the US and Argentina who continue to walk with me even when I am far away. 

My hope and prayer is that through the changes, through the seasons of waiting, the being caught in the middle, the wondering when the new normal will be established, God would continue to reveal himself to me in new ways, continue to teach me and mold me more and more every day into who HE created me to be.  I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, even if, at times, I'm not really even sure where I am.  I love Thailand- even in all its madness.  I love ICS. I love being here and doing the work that God has called me to do, created me to do.  But I don't love transition, and I look forward to the day when I can look back on it.  Until then, on Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. 

PS- As of now, the postal system appears to be working :)
Clare Messink
International Community School
1225 The Parkland Rd.
Khwaeng Bangna, Khet Bangna
Bangkok 10260 Thailand

Best flood video ever

This awesome video explains a little bit of why I have quit paying attention to the news, have bought loads of pasta, and am just gonna hang out and see what happens.  It's about 5min long with English subtitles and hilarious graphics. 

Back to "school"

Well, after a wonderful four days on Koh Mak island (post to come later) I am back in Bangkok.  The Ministry of Education has ordered all schools to close until November 7th (at least) and ICS is closed in compliance with that.  We don't, however, want to make up all these days so we are 'conducting classes electronically', which is a bit of a pain, but manageable.  There is a blog-type website that is for classes and education purposes called edmodo that many of us are using to post assignments and instructional videos and activities.  It's a bit confusing right now as they kids login and have questions but I am confident that by the time this whole crisis is passed, they will have the hang of it :) 

Now, in terms of the flood situation, there isn't a whole lot of new news other than that the water continues to move southward towards the sea, more areas continue to flood, and central Bangkok and my area are dry (and actually VERY hot and sunny).  The main problem in this area right now is waiting and wondering and panic. I went to the grocery store today and it was half empty- though I was able to get what I needed.  Just very weird.  I would have taken pictures, but I dropped my camera face down in the sand this weekend so it's in need of being fixed or cleaned.  Course the thing is so old I might just decided to replace it.  ANYHOW...  Central Bangkok is operating, but touristy stuff is either closed or up in the air and travel is a bit tough so my visitors (Juan and Claudia) are actually still on the island. No reason for them to leave paradise to come sweat it out in stressful Bangkok.  They'll come back to the city on Friday, we'll spend some time together on Saturday, and then they leave on Sunday. 

I guess the main two things to communicate to you at this time.
#1 The situation in Thailand is still quite dire, quite bad, and probably going to get worse before it improves. There is still little to no reliable information.  Plenty of articles on cnn or bbc if you want to see their take on it.  I've mostly quit reading the news.  It's the no-news news, as my friend likes to call it.
#2 I am safe.  I now have a kitchen full of food and water.  In addition, I live on campus and the school has stock-piled water here.  One thing that continues to impress me about ICS and our administration is the way they take care of their people. We have several on campus apartments that are not being lived in right now and some of our Thai staff members and their families who have been evacuated are now living on campus with us.  For some of them, the water around their house is waist deep. 

So please continue to pray for this nation, for the people who are affected, and for God to be revealed to them in the midst of this crisis.  Some people think that as soon as this passes we'll have a coup because of the way the government has handled it (has any government ever handled a disaster well? I mean, seriously, isn't that why they call it a disaster/crisis?) so pray that that doesn't happen.  My friends and I may be looking to volunteer somewhere next week, since once I get the hang of this online lesson thing (and my kids get into the groove with it) I'll have some time on my hands.  Pray that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus to people who, yes, need food and water, but just as much need Jesus.