*the love and grace of God in my life..*

Saturday, December 30, 2006

i know what the majority of my service-learning students are doing right now
they must be rushing their 2000 words report for me! =)

personally, i spent quite a big deal of time today recounting through the days in lahu tribe as well
and it just doesn't fail to reinforce the tremendous learning experience a service-learning trip can entail

i can recall the anxiety the night before our departure
i was trying to sleep and at the same time, worry about what the next 15 days would be like because i honestly wasn't that prepared for what was to come, or to step out of my comfort zone yet
the first day there was fine; it was at the big house at MAG and being a familiar place, it eased my fear a little
second day was the beginning of it all
the ride up to the tribe didn't just make me nauseous, it made me feel so faraway from security
we were far from everything, including the hospital!
first night there was quite a tiring one
not only were we exhausted from the journey up the hills, it was almost a requirement/need for us to adjust to the cold, the food, the people, the way of living, the dust, the dirt and most importantly, the negotiation with MAG coordinators (p.A and kar-toon), government officials and tribe people

we began our childcare construction the next day
of course it wasn't full construction per say; we had earlier engaged the local people to start work first so that when we come, we can work together for completion
in this area, we were very blessed to have ja-ha (translator), ja-hay (foreman) and ah-saw to help us out
main learning lesson for the first two days of construction would be the girl we met, named ya-mi-son
she's a burmese whose parents abandoned her after they came into the tribe and although a mere 4 years old, her survival skills is really admiring
at such a young age, she goes around being outcasted by other kids and yet, trying to find acceptance
it's such a painful sight and simply thinking of how she was comfortable in my arms made me tear during the night session of sharing
i won't forget the evening where she was bullied and came into our house crying and whining
immediately, i brought her into my arms and after a while, she stopped her whines and for that moment, i forgot about how dirty she was (after all, she had been to the dung area in the day and was playing in the mud, digging for worms) and all that on my mind was to protect her, at least for the time that i was there

ya-mi-son never fails to amaze us
after we bathe her one day, she took it upon herself to bathe the next subsequent days when she was dirty
and whenever we saw her in a new set of clothes, we know she has taken small steps to her own independent living
after a few days, she became more attached to another group of kids in the village, whom we nicknamed 'helmet gang', for the sole reason that the 'leader' of the group of them had a hairstyle which mimicked a helmet!
i was glad to see that; after all, the last thing i wanted to see was that she becomes so attached to us that when we leave, she has to re-adjust again

in the midst of the construction, we made a trip to the local market and the journey down was certainly a refreshing one
cruising along the winding and bumpy roads in the hills gave us great view towards the plains and greenery
it was simply an awesome sight!

there was also a day in the village where it was declared a celebration day because it was the one year wedding anniversary of a couple and as a tradition, the husband has to kill a pig and the village could then feast
i didn't get to witness the killing process but it was gruesome!
the poor pig was tied and before its death, it was crying and struggling to escape
it was then hammered on the nose and instantly, was sent into a moment of shock
just then, a knife was plunged down its side (probably to block the windpipe?) and hot tea was poured into its internal
it was whacked a couple more times before it finally died
then came the cleaning of its skin before it was cut up
lunch that day was almost a silent one, and for the first time, i struggled to finish up whatever was on my plate

the girls soon begun their activities at the temporary childcare centre and it's amazing to see how much effort they put in just so that the kids will enjoy the short 1 hour plus which we have with them each day
as for the guys, they spent two days finishing up the sewage hole that has to be dug for the toilet in the childcare
the last 3 days were spent painting and furnishing up the entire childcare in preparation for the opening ceremony on sunday evening

for the opening ceremony, it was really grand
the older children in the tribe were clad in their lahu costumes and for once, they were very disciplined
soldiers armed with rifles were walking around to ensure that the place is safe; after all, the government officials were coming
soon, they all arrived
the ceremony began with a speech given by the officials to us, and in return, i gave a short thank-you speech as well
we were then presented with a certificate signed by all parties
then, it was a simple ribbon-cutting and viewing of the premise
at the end of the ceremony, the official presented a small token of appreciation to all the students and staff, and we had another one from the village head as well

up next was the highlight of the day
we were invited to a dinner together with the officials and everyone started serving us
the entire village was watching us eat while they stood there waiting in the cold and instead of feeling really important (like most of us would if we were in singapore), we felt totally uneasy
after all, such treatment was the last on our mind
towards the end of our meal, the children clad in costumes started their performance for us
there were a few songs they sang and danced to
and finally, the government officials took their leave

the group of us sang a few christmas carols and danced a little like the friendship dance etc, all in the spirit of having fun
after all, how many times do you really get to celebrate christmas in the weather that is around 10-12C and around the bonfire?
most of them headed to sleep when it became late and some of us then went up to the hills to watch the stars and chatted
it was the only night throughout the homestay that i was still awake at 2am!

the next day was relaxing
we packed up, and as a final gesture of love, we distributed biscuits, yogurt drinks and clothes to the kids in the village
the journey downhill, back to MAG was the quietest moment i've seen of the team
the next 3 days were basically R&R (visits to temples, night markets, golden triangle, waterfall etc), people falling sick and video-editing

bangkok trip was also a blast
shopping was an all-time activity, aside from enjoying the comfortable bed and shower in the hotel

that's about the gist of the trip
as for learning outcome, it'll probably be in my personal service-learning journal

//posted by ivy @ 23:47//

Thursday, December 28, 2006

it's been a long hiatus since my last entry
basically, had been rather occupied with the pre-trip prep for the entire nov
and when dec comes, it was a total craze settling everything before we depart

the trip was an enriching one
one which never made me regretted in spending my saturdays with the kids
and having more than half my weekdays' afternoon taken up either meeting with them or with hui hui
not only were we priviledged to be the first international team to go to the tribe, we were also fortunate enough to have the full support from the local government officials who were in charge of the district we stayed in

right after the opening ceremony of the childcare centre, i was feeling so proud of the entire team
was only then i realised that, the entire project is completed
all the months of planning and selfless effort put in, just for the opening ceremony
again, not only was the project completed smoothly, team dynamics was also an all-time high
no one fell majorly ill over at the hill-tribe, no major accident, no big-time arguments
what more can i ask for?

the night sessions everyday were both encouraging and served as a reminder of the reason why the team was there in the first place
it was inspiring to hear how some of them have totally changed their perspective even at the first or second day
what mattered most was really the honest heartfelt sharing of their experience and journey so far
and to me, each night was a moment i wished i could capture down and replay back

i truly have no idea if i'll be involved in another service-learning project because the chance seems slim
and thus, this trip is definitely a memory i'll hold on dearly to

had been on leave since i came back
was needed back in office for a couple of occasions but on none, i was back
honestly haven't got back to the pace in office yet, and i miss chiangrai's lifestyle a whole lot
but the reality is, sch is starting pretty soon
and in 3 weeks' time, i'll be having my facilitation certification filming, then submission of portfolio and after that, semester will end and thus, the submission of BOE report
and lastly, the ending of my module-chair appointment!

i can't wait for march to arrive
with the ohana chalet, shout-troopers chalet and my beloved HK trip!
wheeeeeeeeee~
that'll certainly be a nice break!

//posted by ivy @ 13:19//