Pun Pun

Fun Fun at Pun Pun!

Yesterday I went with Group One (9K) out to a farm called Pun Pun. Pun Pun (which means thousands of thousands which then translates to mean diversity) is a farm nestled up in the hills that focuses on sustainable living and tending to their four basic principles. Principle one- Food- which is not genetically modified, natural, harvested by themselves and that produces seeds that can be used again and again rather than for just a one off crop use. The food they eat is all vegetarian, to promote good health in the body and mind. Principle two- Home- they have built all of their structures out of earthen bricks, which are made from mud, rice husks and recycled products. The mud homes are cool and have a calm feel about them... if a house can be calm! Principle three- Clothes- they all have just enough clothes that they need, they don't follow fashion or buy into commercialism or materialism. They avoid technology and don't have TV and reject the trappings of a busy modern life that makes the mind and body unwell. Principle four- Diversity- of people, food, crops, seeds and ideas. In short- they are Hippies!
We were shown around the farm and then how to make soy milk and tofu. The soy milk was really yum- especially when flavoured with a bit of vanilla and cocoa. We then enjoyed a scrumptious lunch of home made bread, salads, noodles and sooooooo many avocados. Some of us had fruit smoothies and tried the Moselle tea (which tastes like a red wine tea; best served chilled with a bit of sugar). After lunch we watched a film on making mud brick homes and then we went and made some mud bricks. This was a lot of fun and there was more mud on the girls than in the brick moulds. They then jumped into a dam to clean off and relive themselves from the heat. We popped into a market on the way home and I bought some short gumboots; my sneakers are completely ruined from community service and I need some protective shoes to go up to the Karin tribe next week. They will be perfect for the wet season!
Now that we are coming to the end of the first week the girls seem to have really adjusted to the heat, the food and the changes to their environment. It has really taken it out of some of them and we are constantly reminding them to drink more, take electrolytes, rest and clean their hands. It is quite a challenge to adjust to so many changes but I have been really impressed with their attitude and even when they have been feeling a bit unwell they have kept a positive attitude and their friends have been very supportive and kind. They are learning so much so quickly and proving to be resilient. It excites me that there is still two weeks to go and I feel like we have done so much already.

Some interesting tid bits about Thailand

Grasshopper anyone?

In Thailand... seat belts are optional...whole families travel on the one motorcycle...the plumbing here can't handle toilet paper and often sends it back to you and more...you can be a Buddhist and a Christian and an Animist all at once...People are so polite here that you can't just say no (My) you have to say No, Yes (My Kah) as No on it's own is too rude... to maintain modesty here the women sometimes choose one of two options- a singlet top with long pants or a long top with short pants, to wear short pants and singlet top is just tarty!...to use a public toilet costs 3 Baht and you have to provide your own toilet paper... women and men are discouraged from touching each other in public but men can hold hands with men and women with women... Shims/ Kathooeys/Lady Boys are widely accepted and employed as women but they are also mercilessly teased...They have bird here that squawks from its beak like a rooster but emits a sound from its bottom akin to a gibbon... interesting.

Ban Pang Hang Primary School

Ban Pang Hang Primary Scool

Day one- Levelling out the ground

Day three- laying out the concrete slab

The children of the Karin tribe play with balloons and bubbles

Mok Fa Falls

Community Service Part Three...

Whilst on Community Service we stayed at a place called the Royal Project- an establishment set up by the King to conduct research into 'cash crops' for the Hill tribe villages. In order to discourage the cultivation of opium the King has gotten the tribes to farm in other high return crops such as Arabica coffee, Japanese Cucumber, Orchids, Avocados etc. As a result we were surrounded by coffee plants and other more exotic crops.
Our accommodation, whilst still basic, had a wonderful eating and rec area, a small cafe and the girls shared apartments. One thing about Thailand, that wherever we have gone, the beds are HARD! It may well look like a mattress, but to touch it is a slab of wood. This has been quite unkind to our hips and shoulders but apparently it's good for you. My pillow top chiropractic mattress with latex pillow back home would beg to differ, but when it Thailand I do as the Thais do.
Every day we were trucked out to the the local primary school called Ban Pang Hang to work away at building them a canteen and eating area. The first day we looked at the grassy slope and were told we were going to make it level- so we got out our hoes and took out one side of the hill and lugged it over to the other side and packed the dirt down. Once that was done, and that took a day and a half, we made the wooden frame for the concrete slab. The girls loved to hammer! In fact a lot of them loved the hard labour and learning new skills so much it makes wish  we had wood work classes for them- every young woman should have a well stocked tool box and know how to use it!
Then came the concrete mixing. It was all done by hand. Buckets of sand, buckets or water all passed in a chain to a large container which was then mixed with a hoe with concrete mix and gravel and then poured into the frame. It was hard and arduous labour and took another day and half and we hadn't even seen the school children yet! Our group was unlucky enough to arrive during their public holidays so it was only on the final day that we were there that we got to spend some time with them; teaching English and playing games. At first I thought that the girls would be quite miffed about that but they just focused on the canteen and kept in mind that they were building it for the kids and that was the most important thing.
The school, set up by the Lion Club originally some years ago, has two main buildings, about 60 children and two teachers. A Thai Christian Missionary comes to teach the children English every week and I was really impressed with what they knew. We sang songs together, went though the alphabet and numbers and then we played pretend 'shops' where the girls had to speak in Thai and they had to speak in English- it was all a bit adorable.
At the end of the time there the girls all felt a huge sense of accomplishment and pride in what they had done. As a reward, on the way back to the Prem Centre yesterday, we stopped at a local waterfall and the girls swam and squealed under the flow from way above. It was a great ending to one part of their stay here.

Lee Su Village

Community Service Part Two...

After the Elephant Nature Park we travelled up the muddy paths to a rather remote Hill Tribe called the Lee Su people. Here we stayed the night amidst the rice paddies and jungle in our Bamboo rooms on stilts. The girls discovered the joy of bucket showers and we sat down to yet another great meal; we are being fed a mixture of traditional Thai food with some western fare such as fried chicken or scrambled eggs with bacon. There was so much laughter all night as we sang to each other and for the tribe, played games which left some of us with black coal smeared on our faces in very unflattering designs, and had rude Thai children songs taught to us about skewered chicken and fruits... I will let your children explain.
The village children are so happy, especially the boys, to have so many new people to play with and show around. Due to the heavy rains, as it is wet season, we were warned about possibility of green snakes and centipedes on the path between us and the toilets. Rest assured that we equipped ourselves with torches and no one ventured out to go to the loo in the middle of the night.
It is raining a lot- the rain has come late this season and there is mud everywhere. This has not impressed the girls and their squelching feet, but the rain takes the heat out of the day and this is a relief.
The next morning the girls were treated to a performance by the local tribe where they danced and played their local instruments all dressed in their traditional garb. We were asked to join in and dance and it was a beautiful ceremony. We have been made to feel so welcome here and Thai hospitality is fantastic!

The Elephant Nature Farm

Community Service Insallment One!

We have just returned from five days away on community service. What an amazing time- to hit the ground running with jet lag and tiredness straight into the jungle! First we went to the Elephant Nature Park set up by a Thai woman called Lek- a pioneer for the rights and treatment of Elephants in Thailand. Here there are two types of Elephants- domestic and wild. The wild Elephants are quickly losing their habitat due to logging and farming and the domestic Elephants have the same rights here as any farm animal- none. So the domestic Elephants are subjected to gross cruelty in how they are trained to work and carry people and are badly abused. Lek has rescued many Elephants and they now reside a the Nature Park- free to roam and fed and cared for by the volunteer staff.
The girls fed the elephants first, got kisses from them and went down to the river to wash them. It was pouring rain again at this stage so we all got wetter and wetter as we scrubbed away at these beautiful animals. Being so close was awe inspiring and touching them seemed to transmit joy. Of course a water fight followed and the Elephants didn't seem to mind!
We then watched them undo all of our good work by sloshing about in the mud and this was followed by a documentary on Lek and her work saving Thai Elephants. Some of the footage was quite disturbing but we noted that the Buddhist Monks were helping to save the Elephants too and had placed blessed orange scarves around trees to stop people from logging. It has been fascinating to see these scarves everywhere we go, tied to trees as a sign of protection.

A Momento of Departure

Safe and Sound

There is always a sense of trepidation when taking students on public transport as part of a school excursion; the dark looks from fellow passengers and the 'tut-tutting'.  So imagine my concern at taking a whole year group on an international flight. As we lined up at the boarding area for our flight to Bangkok passengers nearby moaned and asked if they could be seated away from our students. I can understoodd their point of view, but we hadn't even boarded yet. So it was with some sense of smugness that I later realised I was comfortably sitting amongst my quiet
sea of Firbank girls having a lovely nap, whilst the other passengers who complained were down the back of the plane with a constant screeching baby.

We left Group One in Bangkok for the barge program, made all transfers, luggage picked up- except for a few that went to Phuket ( later returned to us this afternoon) and we walked out into the soupy warm air. On the ride to the Prem Centre we were struck by the contrasts of the Chiang Mai- lush jungle with  nearby strewn waste, mansions set next to tin shacks, three people to a motorbike with no helmets riding past ghastly "Wear a seat belt" warnings with graphic pictures of victims on the road side.

The Prem Centre is stunning; beautifully kept grounds and tile-roof buildings. We settled into our apartments, got ourselves orientated and fed, the girls were involved in some group building activities and then there was free time to swim and relax. The girls are slightly delirious, with wired energy and very tired. Some girls are settling down to bed whilst others, with energy from nowhere, are building a fort out of their bedding to hold "campfire stories" before sleep. I am assured the fort will be dismantled in the morning and I have never been one to stand in the way of a linen construction in the name of imaginative play.

They are happy and safe and we have made it and that is the most important thing... it has been a massive emotional build up to this trip and I'm so glad we are finally here.

Group Three is off in the morning to the Elephant shelter and then on to our Community service to assist a local Hilltribe Primary School build a kitchen and eating area. Group Two will be immersing themselves in Thai Culture at the Prem Centre and Group Four will be travelling out to the Sustainable Farm nearby via bikes as part of their Environmental studies.

As I am off with Group Three it will be a few days until my next post. Until then I shall keep one eye open on the Gekos in my room as I sleep and an ear on the teenage giggles from the floor above.

Time for take off!

The day of departure has finally arrived and besides the normal bumpy lead up to any trip of this size and magnitude we are all excited and can't wait to be on the plane tonight. We fly out close to midnight and arrive in Bangkok at six in the morning- their time. Our group then splits and Group One goes off to start the Barge program whilst the rest of us take the flight to Chiang Mai and travel to the Prem Centre. As I sit here and listen to the sound of drizzling rain being splashed up onto the sidewalk by cars outside and the hum of my heater I cannot wait to escape this bitter Melbourne winter and enjoy the warmth of Thailand.