Hanging Out

By the Resevoir 

Each weekend I come back from the refugee camp, I stuff my face with delicious Thai food. As a result, despite the constant rice diet up at camp, yours truly is finding herself a little chubbier as time goes on. Actually, I may not have even noticed if it hadn't been the topic of conversation everywhere I went last week, from my student's cheery comments on how curvey and lovely I look these days to the tailor remarking that she would have to remesure me soon. And if we are going to be honnest, it's true, my pants don't fit anymore.

Rather than stop eating (why on earth would I do that?) I just need to pick up a little exercise. As a result, last weekend found me on my mountain bike, cruising through the rice paddies on the way out to the Mae Paw resevoir, where you will find me hanging out in the above photograph. I rode out there, which took me about an hour on a nice, windy, flat road; then went for a fabulous swim in the cool, but slightly muddy water. The goal was to get out there once a week, but this weekend I have been biking along other paths. I discovered a wealth of migrant farm workers, hidden sweatshops and small factories not far from my home along the road I live on, along with a dump. I got some very surprised looks as I took the bike from paved roads to gravel to bumpy dirt tracks through the feilds. I saw chili plantations and cauliflowers and feilds and feilds of rice.



After the Crash 

This is a picture of the rail way tracks after the bus crash. Notice the severed traffic barrier lying on the road. It's wonderful to start the year off by being thankful for remaining unimpaled.

This week I am running out of internet time, but there are more photos online now and I invite you to look. Also, I invite you to use the COMMENTS section of this blog to let me know: Should I stay or should I go?

Next week I have to give my decision: do I stay in Mae Sot and take over the English Immersion Program school or do I move onto other missions, other countries, India perhaps, Canada maybe, travel, writing? What do you think? I could use some imput.