In the beginning...Thailand Day One

 The first day of any trip is always a bit stressful. We had to make sure everyone came with us or met up at the airport by 7:30 on a Saturday afternoon. Then you have to factor in that they are all very excited teenagers. The term "herding cats" will be appropriate for many of our days. It is one thing to be responsible for kids on local treks but across thousands of miles it is much different.
It didn't even take until check in before Matthew here found the fruit smoothy place. As is common in Korea, one person buys a treat and others all just grab a straw. How they tell whose is whose I will never know. This is the same child who got stopped through immigration for paperwork issues and who we had to make special trips everywhere to find his guitar in oversize baggage claims.



As for the girls, once we all got through customs they had time to grab a quick bite before getting on the Thai Airways plane. What better for breakfast than french fries by sunrise. They were happy and that is all that really mattered. 17 of us including adults set off for this adventure and with just a few hiccups we all seemed to make it through.

American airline companies have nothing on these international flights for the most part. They have much more leg space in economy, much better service and in the case of Thai Airways, much brighter colors. I have to say that they win my vote for keeping your eyes open on the plane. The only downside is that all safety and other announcements are done in three languages, Thai, English, and Korean so they take a bit longer.

This is us coming into Bangkok Airport. You could start to feel the heat immediately. It was in the 90's when we got off the plane and it really smacked you in the face. This is their cool, dry monsoon season. Dry monsoon season really? Such an oxymoron in my opinion. It is about a 6 hour flight from Korea so some students slept while others had plenty of movie and music options.
Bangkok airport is absolutely huge. I had no idea how big it was. It has to be one of the larger international airports in the world. When you walk in, you immediately notice the bright colors and the smell of incense. It is not an overpowering smell, but just part of the air you breathe. It definitely tells you that you are in a different country.

Once we found our rides from the airport, the effects of the trip were rather immediate. First was the epic cry from many of the kids that there was no wifi and thus their phones did not work. (I was doing my secret happy dance inside) That meant they were going to actually have to converse on this trip. Then when we got in the vans I scared some of the students because I sat on what would be the drivers side of the vehicle in Korea and in the states. In Thailand they drive on the opposite side of the rode so I had to calm their fears that no, I would not be driving them around.
Within about 30 minutes this was the result of the majority of the van so I decided to try and take a few pictures of roadside attractions that they would otherwise have missed.

I think that the driver thought I was crazy because first I sat up front, and second, I was taking pictures from a moving vehicle. I am no fool. The best view and air conditioning was in the front seat. On picture I snapped was of this three headed elephant on top of what looked like a temple building. I am not sure what it was and could not converse enough with my driver to find out. It would give most buildings in Las Vegas a run for their money because it was so huge. I really wanted to find out more about it but it gives me something to return to one day.

This picture is of one of the bridge spans we crossed. Bankok and Thailand in general were surprisingly spacious in many areas. It seems as if urban sprawl is not only an issue in the states. Of course trying to navigate their freeway system is something best left to the experts. I would say the Thai folks drive even more insanely than the Koreans. Makes me question why Americans and Europeans for the most part follow any of the rules at all. The rest of the world sure doesn't seem to.
We drove about 90 minutes to our first destination which will be in the next blog posting. We only got turned around once which was good and even though I was tired, I really enjoyed looking at the contrasting landscape. More to come...

They Called Me Teacher....Thailand Part 1

I know that there will be many entries about this trip as I process everything. It was amazing in so many ways I will never do the full story justice. Pictured above are the teachers and the 49 students involved in our camp. 17 of them were our Korean students and the rest of them were Thai students. All of them ranged from age 12 to 19. All of our Thai guests were 12-16. 

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for your support and good wishes through this time. We needed them. These kids really made some lifelong bonds I think. It didn't seem to matter that there was a rather large language barrier. I have never seen teenage students let their guards down enough to become friends so very quickly. They learned a great deal from each other and just spent some time being kids. There were mosquitos and lizards and heat and scrapes and bruises and tearful goodbyes but some wonderful memories and work well done. 

Chester the snake...we were friends to the
 horror of many of my students

I think I will break this adventure down to a more day by day account. I am glad I kept a journal! What I will disclose for now is that we were in the southern region of the country. The trips are organized by Korean missionaries so I had a hard time following what was going on since there was quite a bit of Korean spoken as well as Thai. Once we got to the English part though I picked up a few words here and there. When you get chances in your life to take an adventure, do it. Just Do It. The slogan works for Nike so why not try it? Look at what can happen if you do?

So please stay tuned for some interesting stories. If I don't go to bed now though, I will be a mess of a teacher at school in the morning! So I am going to take some of my own advice and Just Do It. (Go to bed that is). Good night all!

Where in this world?

VASE students putting a map of Thailand together.

 I know that most of us go through a time where we seek adventure. We dream of places beyond our imagination. I just never thought that I would actually be living out some of those dreams. Nor did I realize I would be seeing and going to places I had no intention of ever adventuring to in the first place!
For someone who can be known to be "directionally challenged", I thought I was doing pretty well just staying out of North Korea and keeping to the friendlier confines of SoKo. Now I am about to embark on an adventure to Thailand with 14 adolescents and three very competent adults. Somehow I am the chaperone for this trip. Does that title scare anyone besides myself? (I thought so). I realize that I have taken students on group tours in the past but that is where I was in charge of setting up each detail. Not so with this new adventure. I leave all of that to others I have never met. I have been to more countries than I can even count over the past 6 months. I will be traveling 5 hours into tropical 90 degree and who knows what humidity out of pure choice. Most folks I know would just wave me off and say "have fun with that one" as they walk back into their homes and a sense of normal. What I have come to really understand is that my life now is far from what most would consider normal. I am also learning that it is really okay not to be normal in this regard.

Woke up on the plane and found out we were flying over Russia

The simple fact is that most people around me are one of two types. The been-everywhere's or the been-nowhere's. I am not knocking the fact that several have never ventured out of Korea. Hey I am from Idaho, I know what that is all about. It is the simple fact that a large number of people I now know have been absolutely everywhere. Whether for work or for play they have been to countries and islands that I cannot pronounce much less find on a map. They have stories that you just cannot find in any book or travel guide. Odds are if you are going somewhere, 3 people have been there and have advice on where to stay and what to do. The more and more I see and experience things in this world, the more I realize how big and how small it is at the same time. I thought my journey would stop at the Korean border. Now it takes me places many may never even take the time to look at on a map. For those who have the courage and the willingness to try, I say just go for it. I don't think you will regret one minute of it so long as you are not going out into the world to make it look and sound just like home. Let it be what it is. Take what you can and leave a little of yourself behind for the better. You never know, those little breadcrumbs of life will probably lead you home one day. But the journey sure can be amazing along the way.

And with that I begin to set my sights on Thailand for next week. 2012 is shaping up to be an interesting year already...

"Travellers who undertake a journey for the right reasons, are always helped by invisible hands." ~Amy Sky