Doi Chang kon deaw

Headed out again tomorrow morning. Going on my first adventure all on my own! Will be traveling up to Doi Chang by bus and rot deng to meet with their Women's Group. I met one of the women when she came to a meeting at IMPECT. We struck up a conversation while making coffee in the morning, and she immediately jumped into telling me about how large their women's group is, the livelihood projects they're working on (coffee, jam, weaving and handicrafts) and what they hope to do in the future.

From elsewhere in the world..

This is something every American should watch. Our troops may be gone but the invasion and occupation will have lasting effects for decades to come:

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/faultlines/2012/07/2012724124452974165.html

What I mean to say is...

Now is when I remember why I stopped blogging during study abroad after field courses started. After coming back from an experience that's not only life changing or eye opening, but also outside the scope of one's normal language... well, the thought of trying to explain and express it to others is daunting! What words can I use to actually articulate what I did, saw, felt, the relationships I made, what it meant to me and the people I met? This was actually one of my first realizations during our first trip to Karen villages during the Forests course-- I had no words that were sufficient for what I was experiencing, no words that didn't somehow have implications that I didn't intend. Village, villager, simple, natural... these are all things that evoke mental images or insinuations for us, right? And putting your thoughts out there on a blog seems so final, so exposing. What if I don't know what I think? And I cannot begin to claim I know what the experience meant for others.

But alas, here I am, finally blogging again. Some of you have mentioned looking forward to my next post, so this is for you.. and also because reflecting and trying to articulate is a good process for me too.

Michicant: the rainy season

Forest. Rain. Fires.. somehow Justin Vernon always knows. So beautiful and quite similar to the places I've been the last few days. More of an update as soon as I have a chance, but for now enjoy the pictures I posted! And know that I am happy and well. Tired and have a lot on my mind, but very content.

A really, really, really good time

The two days since my last post have been filled with one wonderful surprise after another.

The third week

If the first week was culture shock and the second was settling in, this week has been the week of being in the routine. While the first two weeks flew by, this week has been so long that I had to remind myself it was only week three. Feels like I’ve been here forever again.