Advertisement
Published: December 6th 2006
Edit Blog Post
I’m not sure I know where to start exactly.
How about this: We made it safe and sound and the children are safely asleep and well fed.
This blog will likely be a bit choppy as I am a little overcome at the reality of things here and that is a good thing although I am not sure if tomorrow morning will bring concern or settlement. I am on the edge of going either way.
I want to say that these feelings are a good thing. It is what I wanted to feel but didn’t expect. The reality of this place, the life and the children is a lot more.
First off I need to emphasize that everything I need is here or I can get to. The posting will come less frequently until I can rent a motorbike, but it may be a few days as the King’s birthday is tomorrow and things function differently when there is a celebration, especially one as important as this. The closest access to internet or a telephone is about 10 minutes down the main road by motorbike and it may take me a few days to get used to
that drive on a bike with the kids. Yes I will be riding with them. So far today they have been on the front, back, and sides of cycles (at a slow speed and with experienced drivers). One of the older teen boys here spent an hour with Miles teaching him the parts of the cycle and as I clambered on this evening, he warned me about the exhaust pipe and not to lean back as we started to move. He is paying attention. His whole world is alive with senses here and he is doing well.
So here is the situation. I have my own “unit”, I won’t call it an apartment as it isn’t really. It is one of the “units” in the township row houses built around the orphanage. It is composed of a main room and one bedroom, a bed, table and fouton. There are two fans (thank goodness) no air con, and an outdoor bathroom (sort of). It has a cold only faucet and sink, shower head and squat toilet (which the kids have taken to immediately).
Tomorrow I will need to gather a few things to make this place functional without losing
the point of living this way. But a large washtub (to add hot water to) some hangers to hang dry clothes and a few baskets to put odds and ends in will be very helpful. Good thing I am in the land of plastic nick-nacks.
I am definitely going to have issue with the mini ants that are everywhere…especially since I have the fouton on the floor….might have to amend that tomorrow somehow…
My laundry is by hand and hung to dry outside…need to get twine for that chore. But there is a fridge…good thing as I need a safe place to store the toothbrush from the ants….
At this point I haven’t really realized the complete extent of the situation and after I get to cleaning this place first thing tomorrow and moving out all the last tenants junk and left overs (yes…I know….) I think I can make this place work. It is just a different way to live.
I need to clarify also, that this is not the apartment I was supposed to be renting. This is in the tenements. In a way I am happy to be here rather than sticking out
like a sore thumb and an obvious farang, but it takes a bigger stretch to become accustomed to the reality. The rent is $50 CDN per month. It is acceptable I think. The rental for the motorbike will likely cost me four times that for the duration. We’ll see. There are always people with connections.
I’m not sure what else to say about the accommodations. Shock may set in tomorrow, but maybe not and all will become normal. It’s not like anything I expected and it makes me realize how bloody sheltered my last visit was. This is real.
The flight into Phuket was rough. Miles lost it a bit and played the whiny man role for the duration…poor guy next to us was trying desperately to ignore it. The new airport is beautiful and aside from skipping immigration accidentally, it is very easy to get around. I should have taken a picture but I’ll get one on the way back. There is also a good chance that I will be through it again on a side trip or two while I am here.
We caught a cab outside the airport and I managed to pay a
good price using my very horrendous Thai. I said too much, they said oh but please, I said too much, they eventually agreed sort of. I paid about 200 baht more than I should have but the last guy in line for a cab before me paid a large amount more than I for half the distance. Whatever…..it’s still reasonable when you figure it out in CDN. I paid about 35 bucks for almost two hours of highway driving.
We arrived to the problem with the apartment. Apparently the last tenants won’t be moving on until halfway through our stay here…Mai pai dlai…no problem. I would rather get comfy in a challengingly comfortable place and live rougher than I am used to then move halfway through. Besides I can always hit a four star resort down the road for a weekend of hot showers and pool swims later.
The apartment couldn’t actually be sorted out until a few hours later, so we turned to how to feed ourselves. I don’t really know the orphanages schedule, so we started to ask around as to how to get food. (Remember I am totally in the middle of nowhere here). Turns out the closes thing to a real meal was 15 minutes by taxi/motorbike back down the highway…off we go. There are always a few people around to give us a lift. Though I prefer to be independent and hopefully will be soon. We found a great full three course meal for 3 bucks and hit the corner store for breaky stuff and water.
We settled in back at the orphanage until we could get into the apartment. So here we are, half clean, mostly exhausted and a bit freaked out for want of my usual comforts. But this is exactly the other world I want the kids to see. It is exactly what I came for.
Tomorrow I will give you more details on the orphanage and the working of the foundation. I plan to write each day at least a little and post when I can, so there may be more than one post on some days and none on others. It will work its way out.
There will be much to tell in the next few days. Already I am seeing stories of the trauma and subsequent abuse these babies have suffered. There are now almost 30 children here as residents and the range of issues are huge. From abuse, both physical and sexual to a whole host of neurosis and post traumatic stress syndrome. Some of these kids are really still babies and a couple were only infants at the time of the Tsunami. The older ones seem to find solace for themselves in caring for the younger ones. A note to those of you who saw the pictures of Gam and know the story and his extreme issues; since August when I was here last, he has developed tremendously. He is smiling now, something almost alien to him in August and has been working with a psychologist who is helping him tremendously.
Gai is here too, though he is one of the children whom there is concern about sexual abuse happening and physical as his grandfather has become a raging alcoholic. He stays here every night now, no longer in the grandfather’s occasional care. Gai is more troubled since I saw him in August.
Som and her Grand Aunt (the only family she has left, I originally thought it was her Grandmother) They both hugged me so much when I arrived. Her Grand Aunt is such a sweet sweet woman.
But I will stop now and try to sleep. It will be an enormous day tomorrow.
Love to you all….
We are smiling at you from over here….
Advertisement
Tot: 0.052s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 10; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0251s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Mom
non-member comment
I am relieved to hear from you after such a long time. Glad to hear you are safe. I am overwhelmed after reading this last entry, I see how it could be a shock, and now you are actually living the life. I also know you will settle in and when the initial shock wears off you will make the most of the situation and I know you will make a difference to all there. Love and hugs to you all. I miss you all so very much. Love Mom