loy loy krathong

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so we just finished up loy krathong festival last weekend and there were many a time i felt my life could have been in potential danger and that was only on thrusday. it got really crazy on saturday but i decided to stay in for that. on thrusday alone in the area where we were there probably about a firework going off every second; some right at your feet, some beside you, some in the air. it was pretty crazy and i just kept saying how crazy it was. i eventually got to light off some fireworks of my own though and after a little to drink i accidently lit on off on my hand. it only hurt for a second and then i forgot about it.
on saturday from my placem i could hear about 50 fireworks going off a minute and i live a distance from the downtown; so i imagine the downtown was crazy. actually mandy told me it was and that she saw a guy with his arm severed as well.
anyways these pictures are from last friday; i don't really know what but we went to a comunity in the mountains and a temple. i guess it was because our teacher is moving into a new house and it was getting blessed or something; but we also donated to the temple. I'm actually not sure what the whole ordeal was about but it was interesting and the food was pretty good!

oh i also wanted to let you all know about one of the hill tribes we study the hmong; hopefully i can get this right; well, they were recruited by the US and fought on their side during the war in vietnam. when the war was over, well they couldn't really stay in vietnam or weren't too welcome in laos; so the US allowed many of them to migrate there; thus there are huge communities of Hmong people mainly in Wincousin, Minnesota and California, about 180 000. ANyways thought i'd let you know that interesting little bit!

also i'll be doing my placement in the province of mae hong son next semester and working with Burmese refugees; so if you want any information not necessarily on what i'll be doing but on the situation or context on what's happened and continues to happen in burma this is a good website
http://www.ibiblio.org/freeburma/index.html
check it out

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Photos

My Loy Krotong
That's right. made it myself out of banana leaves and a banana stump thing, flowers, incense and candles. we floated these down the rivers along with piles of other kratongs. there's even a song that goes along.

The kids seemed to have an endless amount of energy and danced forever at the temple on the mountain.

Schoolkids
I think these are school kids, they watched the dancing and then after that i'm not sure where they went. I guess i wasn't too with it that day!