They’re here!

We spent Monday night at the hospital. Yuh Meh Oo’s step-mother/caregiver came over with Mong Ey, the Karen speaker, about 7pm. Apparently she had swallowed a fish bone (or chicken bone, it was debated) on Sunday morning; it had gotten lodged in her throat and she hadn’t eaten since then. We visited the emergency room, had an X-ray taken, and spoke with the ENT specialist.

In the end, he thought it wasn’t a bone, but she had a chest cold, ear infection, and sore throat.

And to be honest, we still don’t know. But without many other options, she is taking the amoxycillin prescribed and we are hoping it will help with her ear infection, cough, and even perhaps a cut from the bone or pain from a sore throat. Anything, really.

The real challenge now is that she is still refusing to eat, which led us to an hour this evening spent giving her the works: pureed pumpkin soup, strawberry smoothie, hot chocolate, and cold water, all offered in a variety of fun coffee mugs with straws. She also got to sit in the kitchen coloring with a doll to hug while she sipped. Her little brother came along, too, which just made for chaos, some high-riding shorts, and slobbery gummy bears in abundance.

Unfortunately, there was very little sipping. We tried so many different things and gave the leftover soup and some milk to her mom to keep trying.

At least she’s taking the medicine. And we told them that if she isn’t eating by tomorrow afternoon, we’ll take her back to the hospital for fluids through an IV. She’s already been malnourished for months, and was one of the kids we were bringing food to regularly earlier this year. I’m scared for her.

 

I’d like to introduce you to our most recent project: a desk for Stephen’s studio!

Teak is a commonly used wood here, but it’s quite expensive. Because of this, teak pieces are taken from old buildings and re-sold at cheaper prices, inclusive of scratches, spills, and character. We stumbled through a “shop” that sold these used doors, windows, stairs, and random pieces of wood and came across a treasure.

That was in February.

And then it sat to the side of Stephen’s studio while we decided how we might turn it into a usable desk, particularly in a few areas where the wood was weak.

And then we conquered it, in a long quest for stability. I’m pretty sure Stephen wanted to ensure he could jump on the table if situations required.

But after all the work we put into it, he might be able to!  And we really love how it turned out.

We celebrated Stephen’s birthday this weekend, and it was full of surprises!

I will apologize now for the photography. It is not very pleasant when I am on this side of the camera, particularly when exciting things are happening. I tend to hold the camera out to the side and continuously hit the shutter, while I cherish the moment with my own eyes. And thus, you have the blurry, crooked mess that I am posting for you below.

I was in cohorts with Stephen’s family and the office staff, and we managed to keep the packages a secret. His family sent two huge boxes over, which I kept in a supply closet until his birthday celebration. This was fun because he didn’t even know he had anything to open.

And then he actually opened them, which was the best part.

The first thing he pulled out was actually a pair of shoes for me, which was exciting for one of us and a little anticlimactic for the other!

Three boxes of cereal!

And a spectacular microphone for his studio! He was absolutely stoked and shocked at this. Can you see the joy on his face through the blurry photo?!

Since I knew a new microphone was coming, we have been working on the studio for the past couple weekends. We finally made the time to build his desk–another post on that coming. And now, he will be using it often!

And new Chacos! More joy.

Most days I go to my Karen lesson from 4-5pm. For his birthday, I cancelled my lesson with my teacher and came home instead. I had the kids color the letters of “Happy birthday, Stephen!”

They have been singing “Happy birthday” to both of us every day for the past two weeks or so; I make dinner and they perform for us at the back door. With all of this practice, I thought it would go great for his birthday.

They came inside about 4:55pm and we waited for him to get home. In the seven minutes until he arrived, we did a practice run of them being quiet, him arriving, holding up their letters, shouting “Happy birthday,” and then singing. The practice went great.

Unfortunately, by the time he arrived we had some letters backwards and out of order. We managed a loud shout of “Happy birthday” but forgot the singing altogether. And the twenty pairs of shoes outside the door gave it away a little bit.

They did enjoy/destroy some snacks, though, to make it a true party.

It was a good day. He was celebrated. And he will be enjoying plenty of time in his studio over the next couple weeks!

Stephen is very popular with the kids. He is the strong one who can open the gate–getting very difficult these muddy, moldy days–and throw kids into the air and have two or three kiddos dangling on his biceps. He is often beckoned with “Stephen is strong”;  I, on the other hand, am “Kelli is weak.”

And yesterday, he impressed them all even more.

We returned from errands to have a little girl and crew follow us into the gate with a pile of electrical mess. It was a variety of switches, remote controls, lights, and more things I didn’t recognize. All parts, all broken. No idea where they came from.

Please note the bag of snacks–something corn-flavored & elephant-themed? No idea, but this little guy on the right always has a snack close at hand. And he is usually spilling it.

For the electrical supplies, I tried batteries first in a couple items, which is about the extent of my knowledge. Unsuccessful.

But Stephen saw some potential. He began to tinker around with a 9-volt battery we had inside, some duct tape, wires and a working switch.

And it was successful! We were all pretty impressed, despite the unimpressed scowl that Jorgee is giving. He smiles when he sees his photo, not when its being taken.

And inevitably in having the camera outside, everyone lined up for a photo shoot. I love this one of Saw Eh Say–he was just a baby when we got here and now he’s walking, running, and destructing at every turn. He has also just sorted out our names. When he sees us, he shouts our names from his house across the street until we respond with a wave. It’s adorable, and only slightly embarrassing.

I began a training last week that will continue for the next two months. Fifteen students have traveled from remote, rural areas nearby to learn and discuss politics, democracy, constitutions, community, development, and sustainability; and most importantly, how their faith fits into all of this.

And, I am excited to say that seven of the fifteen students are women!  I’m not a feminist by any stretch; I’m actually quite sexist against my own, and amidst this culture I might be becoming more so… However, I am excited to see women taking a role in this society, and respected to do so. I personally appreciate the balance that women and men in politics and development can bring.

They are a qualified group, all having some university experience, most having completed their Masters or going to begin a Masters program after this. More importantly, they are all passionate. They want to learn, they want to discuss, and they want to be a part of bringing change to their homes and communities.

Can I tell you how much I love my job, and what a privilege it is to teach for three hours a day in a moldy building at the edge of town?

 

Because seeing each other every evening isn’t nearly enough, and we certainly must say our hellos and goodbyes before school 🙂

A friend sent us a package of treasures for the kids a few months ago that included a garden badminton set. I decided to save it for a special day for the kids, and today was it.

But the kids’ game was quickly interrupted by Mong Ey, who determined that she & I needed to play a few rounds before the kids played for three hours.

We made a day trip out of Mae Sot last week for work, and on the way there is a popular organic market along the highway. We made a stop and picked up a few treasures which I was pretty excited about.

As we walked through the market, a woman held out a piece of cantaloupe for me to try. At first I refused, because although cantaloupe is probably my favorite fruit, the cantaloupe in this country is a disappointment. It’s like water with a bad aftertaste.

She continued to push it toward me, so I took a piece.

And it was so good. Suddenly I wasn’t standing in the rain along an Asian highway; I was in Tennessee with Stephen, where we’d pick up a cantaloupe for me and get him donuts, and enjoy breakfast outside.

I picked up a large one and asked her the price. When I heard the $6, I shook my head in shock. We can buy most fruits here for round about $1 a kilo, and even 3 kilos of cantaloupe didn’t seem worth that. But she negotiated pretty quickly, following me offering lower prices. I eventually conceded at $3 and took it home.

We planned to go to our friends’ house for dinner last night and were bringing a fruit contribution. I suggested I cut up the cantaloupe, but Stephen was skeptical. What if they don’t even like cantaloupe, and they eat it to be nice?  What if they don’t really appreciate it? 

It was a big cantaloupe, so in the end I decided sharing half wouldn’t be awful.

We put out the cantaloupe and the husband tried one with a fork. He interrupted the conversation with, “What is this? It’s delicious! Where did you bring this from?? It’s like a real melon from home!”

Fully appreciated. We all oohed and ahhed over it while discussing how awful the melons are here, with the exception of this little gem.

Yes, the tortilla maker.

Another Partners staff member made this amazing monstrosity. It makes handmade tortillas into gorgeous, round, thin tortillas. And fast.

They were kind to let us take it home with us for a few days, and we sufficiently stocked our freezer tonight. We made 59 tortillas in five flavors: wheat, white, spinach-wheat, tomato basil with spinach, and jalepeno cheddar. All amazing.

I’m admittedly more excited about this than I should be. I have really begun to love cooking, particularly when I can experiment with the local produce and a variety of flavors. I’m hoping to have one made for my kitchen before too long!