A Bit of Village Life

Back from the villages and so thankful for the opportunity to have met up with some wonderful, incredibly talented people whom I've had the privilege to train in Animal Health.  It was a fast-paced, 4 day trip riding up and down the mountains in a bright blue van resembling a jelly bean on wheels, eating delicious ethnic tribal foods, talking about local animal diseases and what to do about them, and feeling thankful and incredulous that God would call me to such an awesome job. 

 

Here's a few snippets:

Shock Value

Today was an day full of electrifying events.  Unfortunately for you, my picture-taking skills don't measure up.

This morning started before 6am when we drove out to Boon's village to electrocute a pig and prepare it for dissection (and tomorrow a barbecue) in the 11th grade at Chiang Rai International Christian School.  It was my first experience with electrocution, and I have to say it wasn't bad.  Much more humane than the ordinary village method of clubbing it or slowly bleeding it or a combination.  We managed the musculoskeletal, immune, respiratory, urinary, and reproductive tracts today, and they will finish up with a thorough look at the circulatory and digestive systems tomorrow.

After we got cleaned up and our leading lady safely stowed away in ice, I stopped by the MMF office to confirm plans for tomorrow's trip departure (this is the last update for a few days as I will be out of range) and arrived just in time to send off a visiting team with lunch on the veranda.  As we ate, rain began to beat down and lightening struck several times just across the street.  We had a front-row view!

On the way home, as it was still raining, I had my headlights on when I stopped to get gas.  Three minutes later, I had a full tank and a dead battery.  I am very thankful for the two gas station attendants who pushed my car out of the way and then as one of them used his own ancient white pick-up to bring mine back to life.  I had been waiting for this day - many mornings of sluggish starts finally caught up with me.  But a dead car in Thailand is ironically much less stressful than in America - and even though my automotive vocabulary is not up to snuff, it didn't matter.  Cars frequently die in the most inconvenient of places here (say, in the middle of a major thoroughfare) and life goes on around them with little more than an irritated expression from the guy stuck behind.

May 21, 12:03pm
Sometime between removing pig parts and removing car parts, we had a lovely meal.

Today Was No Exception

I could easily keep a blog about nothing but the interesting flora and fauna that I encounter here on a daily basis.  Some are more creepy than others, like the cockroaches the length of my palm that crawl in through the drains. As opposed to some people around here, I much prefer to meet them that way than fried and on my dinner plate.  But there is also the other end of the spectrum: the varietal shapes and rainbow hues of hundreds of species of orchids, the macadamia trees, the sugar cane growing in the fields...

May 20, 9:51 am
This caterpillar the length and girth of my pinky had happily munched several leaves off one of my potted plants.  I was wondering why that plant was looking thinner and thinner last week.  He was relocated.

Congratu-la-tions

May 19, 11:38am
Today the office was open for a small graduation ceremony and celebration of another class of Milagros Scholarship Students finishing university.  The MMF staff take a great deal of pride in these students, and have sibling-like relationships with them after mentoring them for 4+ years.   The younger students spent all day yesterday rehearsing a song they sang together and decorating the room for the big day.  How cute is that sign made from cotton balls?

Siesta

May 18, 1:38pm
At the nursery picking out plants for the landscaping in the office breezeway after hitting the noodle shop for lunch.

Productive...Pineapple...Pods?

It was too good to be true.  At last, I missed a day.  I'd like to blame it on the internet interruptions everyone around me has been experiencing, but that's not the case.  At any rate, I had a great "day off" yesterday, experimenting with my friend Ploy about how to make pineapple cake with the real deal.  I wanted to take a picture of her cutting up the pineapple with the machete, but my hands were sticky.

So here are two pictures from the last couple of days.
May 16, 10:10am
Everything you need for a productive work day.

May 17, 6:48pm

I came home last week to find that my lily pads had sprouted a tight green pod.  At first I thought it was another leaf, but as it expanded and lightened, it has eventually morphed into this blowsy bloom.  Can't wait to see it when it opens! 

The cake turned out delicious... a perfect birthday gift for one of the girls at the office today.

Small But Mighty

May 15, 9:03am
The humble facade of one of the most important buildings relating to my existence in Thailand: the Immigration Office.  Got my new visa today... all set to stay another year.