first off - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOMMY! Check the blog again later tonight for your "surprise".

Now that I attempted to lay the groundwork in the last blog I can talk about the more interesting things we're doing! We're working with the EMFS and Nay Chi primarily. We're also living with the Burmese family that runs Nay Chi, and yet aren't totally sure what Nay Chi does. Hmmmm....

Weekend trip to Pai:
Pai is a two-four hour bus-ride from Mae Hong Son, depending on who's driving the bus. Most people go to Pai for the rockin' nightlife and excess of foreign food/comforts. Flora and I went on a six-hour hike into surrounding tribal farm lands until we reached a picturesque river and then we were so tired that we conked out at 9. Party on! The next morning we attended yoga classes run by a woman who can only be described as the Thai-hippie version of Madame Gatlin. She makes everyone call her "mama". She's sixty but willing to cat-walk it, baby. She loves to regale us with stories of drunken tourists, her "tiger-cat baby" who lives in her yard, and how to go to the best party.....and at the end of the class she let her insane and morbidly obese dogs do laps around the room, chasing them and waving her arms......most Thai yogi are a bit more into the meditation end of things and less the"You want party?? Come with MAMA!" aspect of life. Our bus ride back was standing room only and that vehicle was struggling to get up those hills. (Have I mentioned the precisely 1,836 hills in Mae Hong Son province?)

Nay Chi:
When we first met Maung-La almost two weeks ago, we were led to believe that we would be teaching him and two other Nay Chi staff English and computer skills four mornings a week for two hours and weekends, we'd corral sixty children for two-hour English classes. He also generously offered his home to us and doesn't want us to pay a thing. (we'll have to get creative on that one). The first class was just Maung-La (and a refugee from the nearby camp who had illegally sneaked off for the day and a cat who jumped in through the window and the sound of explosions in the background to which Maung-La said; "People die".....it later came out that that was a burial ceremony.) Alright, so maybe the other staff didn't get the "memo". We were slightly confused the next day when, instead of other staff, a gaggle of local 15-year-old girls showed up for class. We didn't have a class prepared for a large-ish group, so the "wing-it" skills I picked up in India were employed. A couple days later we found out that the children's classes don't happen in March and April......okay....so we'll teach him private lessons.

Maung-La's wife works during the day, so he takes care of the three (cute) kids.....and presumably does Nay Chi work, but we haven't seen any of that, yet. So what, exactly, does Nay Chi do you might ask? We are doubtless even more curious than you! Maung-Lais the perfect host and student - eager to make everything work, make sure we're comfortable......but I have no freaking clue what Nay Chi does! I don't mind the constant misunderstandings, but Flora and I both really want to help his organization since he's being so gracious. Last night, we started to get to the bottom of it! Astra, he marvelous Dutch lady, who I talked about in last post, had us and a man (Sai) who apparently works with Maung-La and speaks BOTH Burmese and English. Hallelujah! Today, at a graduation ceremony that we were very randomly invited to, we managed to get Maung-La and Sai together and got to the bottom of it. Nay Chi.....is abysmally organized and lacks funding. SO - we can help write proposals and get them organized once he gets together with his board. Hooorah!

The Home-stay:
I haven't been sleeping well because there's not much "spring" to my springs and there aren't mattresses…..so there's this horizontal bar through my bed and it gets bad. So I almost conked out during our proposal meeting a couple days ago. Since then, I have constructed a mattress of my own out of the contents of my suitcase and, like the Beatles would say, it's getting better all the time! Maung-La has three children ages 8, 6, and 3. We taught Sai-Meh, the odlest girl, how to play Go-Fish this morning! She spends most of her time sitting in a chair in our doorway, staring at us. There's no door, so they have a pretty constant supply of white-people entertainment. The others stare too, but she wins in terms of stare-endurance. They're painfully shy, so it was great to get them laughing and playing Go-Fish with us (Flora's brilliant idea). And she could practice her English numbers, too!

Asian Toilets:
I spent the first couple of weeks in Thailand doing the bathroom thing All Wrong! I was operating off the India model, which seemed reasonable, but it was so difficult that I eventually vented my frustrations to Flora. APPARENTLY Thai toilets are shaped slightly differently, so you face the opposite way from Indian toilets! That's a cheap shot, Asia.

The EMFS (Emigrant Migrant Families Society):
We've been working our butts off writing a proposal for the EMFS to build a nursery school for young Burmese children. WE finished yesterday!!! A whole new experience for both of us made even more interesting by the fact that we knew zilch about the project until a week ago. The leader of the EMFS sat and gave us information.....here's a little break-down of a typical conversation we had for ever single item that the EMFS has to purchase to build and furnish the nursery....

Alice: So, will we need other materials?
Maung-Maung: (pause) Yes.
Flora: Will we need other materials in the bathroom?
Maung-Maung: Yes, materials in the bathroom.
Alice: Do we need to buy toilets?
Maung-Maung: Yes. Toilets. Two.
Flora: How much will the toilets cost?
Maung-Maung: Two toilets.
Alice. Yes, we need two toilets. How much money for one toilet?
Maung-Maung: (pause) Maybe I don't know. 200 baht, I think.
---repeat—

But now we know how to write proposals and we'll start another one on Monday! This time, a will write the bulk of it and I'll do our lesson planning.....we were wearing ourselves out trying to both do everything.

We're ALSO doing evening classes at the EMFS. The first class was pretty awkward because they didn't, you know, SPEAK at all.....but I have to admit, it's getting better, a little better all the time. (Thanks again, Beatles). The next two classes were fantastic! We came equipped with worksheets, got them excited about taboo and dictionary - we had a worksheet about animals (our vocab topic of the day). One of the questions asked which animal (of a group f ten) lays eggs. One group took this query to heart and listed every single creature they could possibly think of with egg-laying powers! Proud moments in teaching. Teaching is draining and we're both glad to have each other there.....two hours with 25 students - not speaking their first language....not easy. It's also fun to see that I really gained a lot from my teaching experience in India - I'm so much more confident and comfortable at the front of the class than I was when I started out teaching the Indian classes!

Once again, happy birthday to my mom - and check the blog again!

LOVE to you all,
~Alice