April and May Update!

Where to begin?  I have to start by reflecting that regardless of the extreme challenges and emotions of this year, I will forever be grateful to Fulbright for the opportunities it has given me to travel and see so much more of the world!

So where have I been the last month and a half? I think where haven't I been is the better question! I started off the month of April with a whirlwind honeymoon getaway to the island of Bali with my Fulbright friend Portia.  It was my first taste of Indonesia, and to be honest, I see why people go to visit and end up staying there.  It's one of those exotic locations you hear about and dream of vacationing to and it truly lives up to your crazy expectations.

Dolphin Watching in Bali

The island is highly populated (Indonesia has the 4th largest population in the world, right after China, India and the US!) but the steep, dense mountains and panoramic rice terraces give it unique and stunning views.  Portia and I decided to spend our week in only two locations: the beach and the inland 'cultural center' town of Ubud.  We settled on the northern town of Lovina for its black volcanic beach and my weakness, the dolphin watching.  The low tourist season gave lent a quiet atmosphere, and besides a few aggressive hawkers, we enjoyed our beautiful boutique hotel in peace.  A wild sunrise dolphin watching excursion and a jeep ride around the mountains to see waterfalls and the twin lakes, accompanied by our local tour guide Katuck were definitely the highlights of the north coast.

Hindu temple in Bali

We then traveled to Ubud, which many westerners know because it was a filming sight for the movie "Eat, Pray, Love".  I could see how the movie changed the future of the town because it catered to a more hippie, tourist population than I saw in many other parts of the island.  However, we got to experience a home stay for those four days, which turned out to be incredible.  In Balinese culture, extended families live in huge walled in complexes that even contain Hindu shrines or temples as well and our was intricately beautiful.  I also ate some of the most delicious, fresh food I have ever eaten and did a cycling tour through the villages and rice paddies and met up with two other Fulbright girlfriends, Michelle and Alex.  We explored monkey forests, got monsoon rained upon and even did some dancing!

  The island is also known for producing the world's most expensive coffee. It's so ridiculously expensive because a certain kind of mongoose, a civet, eats only the best coffee beans, proceeds to poop it out and then the bean is taken and roasted. I guess that's as organic as you can get though!

Ted Carlson ladies & gents...Songkran time!

Next came my parents' visit! I had been looking forward to this for months, but I was also nervous. What would they think of Thailand? Would they survive the heat, the creatures and spicy food? Would they love my second home? My first time playing host freaked me out a little bit.  But I'm so lucky to have the parents I do because they constantly reminded me that 'seeing Thailand was just a bonus' and they were really just coming to see me! It didn't seem real when they finally flew into Bangkok, but it only took hours for it to feel normal again. I guess you just pick up right where you left of...it's family!  We flew straight down south, to a gorgeous beaches of Krabi.  If you ever think of visiting Thailand, go to Krabi! Tall, craggy limestone cliffs surround jade waters and powder sugar white sand.  We spent four glorious days swimming, taking a snorkeling day trip to Koh Pi Pi, sipping coconuts, hiking around the area and doing some much needed catching up.

Back of the pickup!

After paradise, we flew up to the real Thailand and stayed for three nights in Ubon, aka my 'hood.  My fabulous and sassy Thai mom Pilaiporn picked us up and we were shuttled around the city by her friends who I had never met.  These friends insisted that my parents stay with them, showered them with presents and became their Isaan tour guides---my parents were blown away by the average Thai hospitality and I am so happy they got to experience what I experience on a daily basis.  We even had a legit Songkran (Thai New Year) celebration, riding through the streets in the back of their truck, dousing kids and elderly alike in water and being covered in baby powder for good luck. My parents got to water the Buddha, a tradition called 'tam boon' in Thai or the making of merit.  We visited ancient Khmer ruins, the place with Thailand's first sunrise, met some of my teachers and students and ate some delicious Isaan food of course!  Even though it was such a short stay, it was so important to me to show them my life and get them off the well-beaten tourist path.

My Thai mom and our new friends in Ubon

We ended our time together in Bangkok, where we enjoyed a relatively quiet stay, as quiet as Bangkok can be that is, because all the Thais return to their homes outside the city for the Songkran festival.  We did a ton of the sightseeing in the mornings: the crazy mazes of Chatuchak market, Lumpini park (all while being sprayed with hoses, guns, buckets because of the holiday) and then would relax at our sick hotel on the Chao Phraya river. It's incredible how much smaller BKK seems and how much more I enjoy it now that I understand it and have spent so much time there.  It was really hard to see my parents go and know that I had over five months until I would see them again, but I am so blessed that they made the huge effort to fly across the ocean to see me!

My next adventure was Vietnam! Everywhere I went I compared things to Thailand. One thing I noticed was how excited people were to practice their conversational English; we had numerous young people approach us and chat, which was really fun, especially being used to the Thais and their utter terror of looking bad when they don't understand something.  Also, people were more direct and confrontational.  Going from the land of subtlety and non-confrontation to people yelling at each other or quibbling over money was definitely a cultural shock.

Nha Trang, Vietnam

A big part of me was nervous to see our reception in this place that my country has affected so horrendously, as I'm sure any even slightly aware American traveler would be, but I was pleasantly surprised by how positive everyone was.  We had a good conversation with the son of a Vietnamese diplomat who said, "Where does hating get us? It doesn't get us anywhere. Our country wants to move forward."  Even after going to War Remnants Museum (it used to be named the Exhibition House for US and Puppet Crimes)in Ho Chi Minh City and viewing picture after picture of Agent Orange victims while standing next to Vietnamese visitors, and connecting it to the fact that the country seemed very young in general, people were very hospitable and I didn't have a single bad encounter.

Hanoi, Vietnam

 Overall it true backpacking trip and my compadres were my Fulbright friend Megan and her friend from Arizona, Nick, who pretty much turned out to be our tour guide!  We made our way north up the coast from Ho Chi Minh City, through the cute coastal towns of Mui Ne, Nha Trang and Hoi An all the way to Hanoi and the World Heritage Site, the stunning Halong Bay. We knew Vietnam was world renowned for its coast and waters and we were not let down!  The partaking of pho (delicious noodle dish), sandwiches, the syrupy Vietnamese coffee and smoothies was a daily occurrence of course.  I even got to cross off parasailing from my bucket list (ask me to tell you that story sometime, as long as you aren't my mom or dad ;))!

Then May came and with it our Fulbright Mid-Grant meeting, which turned out to be a very emotionally charged session.  We've had some issues during our grant and it was definitely another exercise in cross-cultural communication to express the things that have been unsaid and undone for too long.  However, this meeting made beyond proud to be working with my nineteen other compatriots, seeing them articulate themselves so diplomatically, passionately and eloquently made me realize that I am a part of a group that has amazing potential to change our country and the world.  Although we are perhaps already are less bright-eyed and idealistic, we have made it through some tough situations and each one of us has each other's back.

Delicious pho!

Whew.  I know I will be processing the past months for a while, but I will admit it has been nice to unpack and settle into my second semester of teaching again.  Back to my adorable students, speaking Thai, my jungle home with its creatures and the monsoon season of Isaan.

Oh yeah. Don't forget to stay in touch...even though it has been 8 months, I still love and miss you all! A lot.

Siri