Meeting with Ashin

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Layering up on deet- Malaria risk area and already have about 4 bites... Christianna and I were left for dinner last night because heard the wrong time! We had a nice dinner anyway the two of us! Don't want to be late for breakfast! We are going to speak to a Burmese monk and go to a school for orphans! We are in Mae Sot today, a border town between Thailand and Burma -- we were supposed to go over into Burma, but the border is closed.

Later on...

We just got back from the school for orphans 0 we went to different grades (ages 3-15, grades separated by a concrete wall). Most of their parents if still alive, live in Burma but it is too dangerous for the children there. The kids mostly stay-board at the school. There was this one little girl - short black hair, flowery shirt and pants - so dirty. She was holding a tiny black puppy just like a teddy bear. She seemed to really enjoy posing for pictures! She sat on my lap for a little while - so sweet! (I just ate a corn and bean yogurt - actually pretty yummy!) SO many smiles from the children, some of whom spoke english pretty well! There were a lot of flowers and some colorful pictures on the dusty cement walls. Before driving (in the back of a pick-up) we had breakfast at Peace Cage and spoke with Ashin Sopaka, a Burmese Monk. I recorded him speaking - hopefully it comes out! He spoke about UN delegates and the UN security Council - he says that talking about it makes him very sad. He says they are like a "Paper Tiger" They won't do anything. At the end, I asked about temples to go and study - he suggested www.dharma.org. He talked also about loving facebook! New fb friend....

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