Out with the Old, In with the New

It is difficult to believe that 5 weeks has passed and my time living with host family is over.
My family has shared so much with love with me and showered me with both affection and gifts before I left. I will truely miss them. The first course, Foundations also came to a close this past Friday with projects studying the sustainability of Chiang Mai through the use of Indacators. Four groups studied The Ping river, traffic, walkability, and food systems. My group studied traffic, so I counted cars for two afternoons, and others in my group collected other data. From this very limited amount of data we had to connect traffic to Chiang Mai's sustainability and present it on friday morning. preparing was stressful but the presentations went well.

This past week Thursday we had a thank you/moving out party with the host families. It was a lot fun. Students wore traditional dress and performed a northern thai folk song. With some students doing some traditional dance and other talents. I played guitar for the song with some other students, which I really enjoyed, I have missed playing since I left.

Now The Rivers course starts and I will have a week of class in Chiang Mai before going out into the feild. I will be studying the link between human rights and the environment. I leave for Ubon Racthathani on the 20th and won't get back until the middle of March. I will spend a week living with a family in a village in Ubon. I will be fishing and learning many different things, culture sounds like it differs a lot from region to region. I will be visiting and dams and study how dams impact the environment and those that live in it. I will be near the Mekong for a week traveling northward on the Thai-Laos border, and will eventually end up in the north where we will canoe and camp on the Yom river. A lot is sure to happen and I have no idea what to expect. I am excited to go out into the field!

I often wonder when this experiance will ever seem real. My life in this place is so different and amazing. I am having the experiance of a lifetime and it is flying by. I worry that when it is over it will seem like an epic dream. I know though the realitiy of my life here. I have already made lifelong connections with my host family and also with students here.

There is no doubt that what I am doing here and now will change me for the rest of my life.

I have learned a lot about Burma this week and ran in a Run for Relief this morning to help support those in Burma that are running from the government army. Please keep this nation and its people (whether they are in the government or not) in your prayers. Also prayer for those working in burma in Burma to bring relief and hope to the people. Especially the Free Burma Rangers, they are incredibly brave, selfless, and loving people, keep them in your prayers. for more info look up freeburmarangers.org and also christians concerned for burma.org (i think these are right) The global day of prayer for Burma is coming up in March.

I am having a blast as always.

Thailand is an amazing place the more I learn about it the more I love it. I can tell that I am meant to be here.

Much Love to you all,

Ben

PS- thank you all for your prayers and support, it means a lot.