chiang rai mission trip
Yes, I'm back, covered with numerous red itchy spots caused by sandflies, with red scorching skin caused by the unrelenting sun, but with the fondest memories of the village people and the warmth they exude.I always hear of people going on mission trips and returning with exclamations of how warm and friendly the village people are, but only experiencing it firsthand did it truly convict me of it.
The team comprised of adrian (team leader), jean (his wife), daren, nicol and myself. We visited an Akha tribe which was in Banana Village in Chiang Rai. The place was as rural as it can get. Houses made of bamboo and dried grass lined the sides of the hill, creating a terrace-like effect when viewed from the bottom. The weather was mostly hot, ground was dusty, water was scarce and sometimes brownish even. Toilet was of a squatting kind, and one needs to use buckets of water to "flush" it, almost a throwback to our ancestors' days. Perhaps the only sliver of technology they own is electricity for fans, lights and a refrigerator, and running water (albeit only a trickle).
We slept on bamboo mats under the safe and protective cover of a huge mosquito net. It was comfortable, surprisingly. The only drawback is the early rising of the sun (6am there looks like 7.30am here, discounting the hour difference), and compounding the problem were biologically untuned cocks which crowed at 3+am. And they continued crowing even after the sun was in our faces.
Playing games with the youths was probably the highlight of my trip. To see the smiles and pure enjoyment in the simple games that we planned warmed my heart greatly. Sigh. Language played the biggest barrier. It's so hard to want to play and chat with them properly yet being prevented from doing so by mere language. For many moments, I just wished I could speak Thai.
Food was surprisingly palatable. Although it contained chiefly of rice and vegetables (with the occasional chicken), it was quite tasty. I was informed though that they put a lot of ajinomoto. But still. ;)
Overview of the village from a bird's eye view.
First meal when we arrived. Lunch. Looks good eh.
Traditional dress worn by the elder women of the village. From left (excluding the two women) - nicol, myself, daren (small group) and asholi (local missionary).
posted by solitude @ 7:02 PM
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