A Few Things to Remember

I've been having one of those day.. well.. a few of those days.  I've learned to call them Thai Days.  They are those days when you have about a million things to do.  Literally, your "to do" list is 100 things long and by noon you only have half of number 1 done.  When living in a third world country one must remember a few things:


1) Everyone runs late.  If they are on time they're early.  Get used to it.
2) It rains here.  A lot.  Keeping your laptop only in your backpack during monsoon season is a sure fire way to screw it up.
3) The food is wonderful-- and for weak stomach people (like myself) you can be sure that 20-40% of your time will be spent on the toilet expelling said wonderful food the first few weeks.  If after a few weeks this continues you thank the Lord above for the loss of 5 pounds and then go to the local hospital.
4)  When going to the hospital is runs at one speed. SLOOOOW.  It gives American ERs a good name.  After three hours you get antibiotics that crap out your stomach.. but at least you've stopped crappin every 20 minutes!
5) Government in Thailand also has one speed: SLOOOOOW.  If you expect to walk into immigration and get something accomplished than you are an ignorant foreigner.  If you get there by 8am you might MIGHT get your stuff done by 4pm. If you're lucky. 
6) Internet access (or good internet access) is hard to come by.. if your awesome MacBook gets wasted in a rainstorm it gets exponentially worse.  You might borrow someone's laptop but if you think, for one second, that the password will work... you are wrong.  So you head to the internet cafe where the internet was updated in the early 90's and you hope.. HOPE that your blog that you just typed up will actually load.


In three days I've gotten about 3 hours of REAL work done.  This is frustrating.  But as Schafer says (the owner and operator of Warm Heart) "You just get used to these Thai days.. they happen all the time."  So instead of being my typical American self that would be all up in arms about the lack of things done or the inability to complete what is a seemingly simple task.... I will relax.  I'm powerless and there ain't a bit I can do to fix it.  I chuckle at the frustration and breathe a moment.  I didn't pray for patience... but the Lord is teaching me that growth comes in the long pauses that often have made me uncomfortable in the past.


The past doesn't have much use here.  And frustration doesn't really fit in with the culture.  You twist and turn with the crazy and smile and nod with the delays.  You learn that the driven, insane, push push push of the college experience isn't not only necessary here- its detrimental. You find new ways to find comfort in the uncomfortable and you allow the obsessions from yesterday to pass.  Peace comes in the gratitude that the latest commode you just crapped in not only is a western toilet-- but it had toilet paper.  And then you move on.

Back to the Grind!

Kao Pansa is over and its back to the grind.  Finding a work ethic in a new country when you don't know whats expected or exactly what you should be doing is never easy.  But it is a new challanege.  For those who knew my in college it comes as no surprise that Im ready to dive in head first and take on the world.  But the boring, if not completely necessary stuff, has to be done first.  There's the research... first to find out exactly what the problems are with the youth in this area.  Are they doing drugs? Drinking? Are they drop outs or still in high school? Are the bored? Or are they too busy working on the family farm to be bored?  What are the needs?

It seems odd, because in America I could go into a community and find the asnwers to those questions relatively quickly.  This is the not the case here.  Thai's and the culture are one of closed mouths.  They rarely speak of their problems or their issues.  They rarely talk about whats going in their lives on any emotional level and with the stigma around drug/alcohol abuse and mental health its difficult to gauge the problems that might be plaguing the local villages.  But with persistence and different avenues there is an opportunity to get a fuller perspective.  We'll do an anonymous survey for students who are still in school, talk to local police in this district and go into the villages where the drop outs hang out and ask them questions.  With these different routes (and maybe a few more) we'll understand what the teenagers around here need.  If we know what they need then we have an opportunity to provide the programs that will best help: do they need 12-step programs? sports programs? english lessons? Do they need therapy? Practical education (ie farming and weaving skills)? These are all questions that can be answered with a bit of help and a lot of patience.

This week I'll be focusing on some basic media outlets to help out while I'm (ever so patiently) waiting on the next move for the program.  Help me out by following us in our different avenues:

*On facebook: follow us by searching for Warm Heart World Wide or
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Warm-Heart-Worldwide/136461009711879
*On twitter: warmheartorg
*On Tumblr: http://warmheartworldwide.tumblr.com/

I'll be posting on several of these (if not all) in the next few weeks so be on the look out!

Kao Pansa

This coming weekend is the Buddhist holiday called Kao Pansa.  In the old days (and still today) monks travel around the country to serve in other temples and lead meditation.  During the rainy season however (the crop growing season) monks would often trample rice patties and cause crop destruction.  Buddha, in his infinite wisdom, created Kao Pansa.  This three month (lent like) holiday keeps the monks at their given temple—where they cannot leave for the three months of rainy season.  During this time monks eat only once a day and rarely leave the temple grounds except for necessities within their village. 

People from local districts often visit every single Wat (temple) in their district (often 10 or 20) paying homage to their monks who make this sacrifice so that their own crops might grow in peace.  They bring candles, pray and meditate.  They ask forgiveness for the evils in their lives and ask to leave them in the Wat taking with them only the peace and prosperity that meditation has brought them.  It is a time for meditation, prayer and repentance.  It is a time of gratitude.  In such a dynamically Buddhist country it is interesting to note that such a large part of the population participates.  When talking to my translator today I asked “do people really believe in this” and he answered, “some do and some don’t but it’s the principle that the leaders of our religion give up and have given up so much so that we can have our daily lives.” 

I had the opportunity to participate in a small way.  As a local business often dependent on the community around us we paid respect to our five main temples which are often the focal point of religious life.  We met several monks (old and new) who we prayed with and left our offerings.  Ton, my favorite, is from the east and led us in a guided meditation… leaving us in silence for a few moments and then saying in broken English “come back to center, come back to center” and then allowed us to go back into silence.  I’m not the best at meditation and the heat and sweat of the day didn't help but having the opportunity to escape my often-crazy mind was the reprieve I so very needed today.  I left my anger and frustration at the temple doors and took with me (even if only for a moment) the peace that the place offered.  It was not required of me to carry pain or even my own humanity anymore.  God was present.  I was not alone.

Tomorrow I head into Chiang Mai—the office is closed for the national holiday.  I’ll be joining a guided meditation at the yoga tree, hitting a meeting and enjoying the air conditioning in typical American style.      

Monday Morning Staff Meetings

Monday morning staff meetings at Warm Heart consist of about 15 people and are held on the front porch of their office space—the porch doubles as their large gathering space, board room and staff meeting space.  The meetings are usually directed by Evelind and translated into Thai by PJ.  PJ is half American, served for the US army years ago and speaks fluent Thai and English.  The people present range from micro business managers, farm manager (and his assistants), children’s home managers, and office staff.  Little is lost in translation but the meeting is often complicated even for veterans like Evelind and Schafer because of the language barrier.

At the meeting schedules are set, priorities are discussed and the projects that need to be worked on talked through.  With a 15 person staff and multiple projects going on at any given time there is a surprising amount to be worked out and discussed between the staff members.  Supplies need to be bought, children have to be taken to the doctor, holidays and funeral observance need to be addressed (especially by such a community organization that depends on the community for support), and reports need to be written and translated.  The amount of work to be done is awesome.  The Schafer’s remind me of me working on my projects at school last year—except they make my work seem minute in comparison.  They are tireless.

By the meeting’s end the projects and reports have been discussed.  The needs and budgets have been updated and paperwork has been dished out.  People are ready for the work week and within minutes the staff is off to the races.

Doi Suthep

Yesterday I went to Doi Suthep.  It is one of the main centers of religious life in the Chiang Mai area.  The temple, said to be constructed in the 1300’s has maintained an err of mystery and legend (like any good Wat in  Thailand).  The temple was wonderful and fully set up for tourists.. so the temple wasn’t nearly as wonderful as the opportunity to pray and meet new people.  Anywhere you go in Thailand people try speaking English with you and occasionally this bodes well for the wayward solo traveler.

On the red bus taxi (they have a specific name that I don’t know yet) up the mountain to the temple I met June.  June is a woman from Bangkok and her English was good enough that we became instant friends.  She asked “Who are you with in Chiang Mai?” and I said “I’m alone” and her response “You are not alone any more… you are with me.”  And I was,  she showed me the ropes, made sure I got my ticket up the mountain and showed me a walking mediation prayer.  Within the temple we went everywhere together and took a million pictures (a few with strangers even) and in general had a good time. 

The peace in that place was tangible despite the silly souvenirs and money changers.  The prayer was tangible and people everywhere were taking pictures and joining in the touristy revelry.  Despite all that I enjoyed my time immensely and was glad to have a friend to do it with.  We departed ways at the bottom of the mountain and exchanged email addresses.  The afternoon was glorious because of it and I enjoyed my time meeting someone new as much as I did the temple itself.

Want to know more about Doi Suthep? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Phrathat_Doi_Suthep

Chiang Mai Update

Bangkok Morning

Everything is just so much richer here.  Waking up jet lagged to hell and gone at 5:30 in the morning gives you a chance to see the city wake up.  You see sleepy children and their mothers getting breakfast from street vendors and busy businessmen getting their caffeine from the local 7/11.  Waking this early gives you a chance to eat with the locals, smile at the children’s stares (after all I’m now the odd looking one) and soaking in the smells and sights of the airport area of Bangkok.

I’m preparing to fly up to Chiang Mai this afternoon and stay in my favorite city in Thailand and rest for the next few days as I attempt to get my body back on a schedule of sorts.  It will become easier to sleep through the night and the food will continue to get tastier as I get more northern fare in the mountains.  I’ll visit a few Wats (temples) and pray and meditate with some monks, hit a few meetings allowing myself to process the emotions of change and then on Sunday I’ll continue my way up to Phrao where the bulk of my year will be spent. 

It was a good morning.  Every now and then waking up with the birds isn’t so bad.