Our Karen teacher, Lavender, taught us how to make fish paste yesterday. It’s a very common item in Karen and Burmese culture.  You can easily find it in the market, but apparently it’s difficult to find someone who makes it well.  It takes a good deal of patience. We thought we just couldn’t leave you out on such knowledge of how to make such a delicacy, so here goes:

First, you need fish. Any kind of fish and any size. For the big ones, take the scales off; for the little ones–no problem.  Also, you must take out their crap–she used other words, but we’re pretty sure it’s because she’s unaware of what she was saying; thankfully it’s not a word she’ll use too often–because it’s bitter, you see. And add a lot of salt (pah doh, as they say in Karen).

Then, you put all the fish in a basket, place a cloth over them, and a large stone.  And let them sit for about three to five days.  The water will be drained out of them and out of the holes in the basket.

Third, you leave the basket of drying-out fish in the sun for another two or three days.  (I’m very confident it’s smelling lovely at this point.)

Once the fish is dry, you ground it all together.  Every bit of it, ground up.

And last, you let it sit. For one year. This is where many people go wrong, she was saying.  They get impatient and try to sell it; but it smells bad if it’s too early. To be honest, I’m not sure it ever smells good to a Western nose, but perhaps better?

Two other funny things she shared with us:

“We make a funny…” followed by a joke that neither of us understood, really. I love this phrasing; something I’ve heard before from Karen, meaning they will tell a joke or have told a joke in the past. Very well put.

And, supposedly there are many things from China for sale in Rangoon, but she told us in Karen that “maybe things from China break, 2 or 3 day…”  We laughed.

“If I looked like that, I’d be frustrated.”

Yes, this actually came out of his mouth in reference to another human being.

We went out to a barbeque last night with some of the Partners staff for dinner. A woman from Norway was visiting Mae Sot as she is considering the position of National Director for Partners Norway.  We went out to get to talk with her and enjoy one another’s company.

The restaurant was fun: they provide the raw meat, raw fruits and veggies, and a few spices, sauces, etc., and you cook it yourself.  There are small charcoal grills on the table where you can grill the meat (and for me, pineapple and two other unidentified, but delicious, fruits or veggies). There is also a ring of water around the grill where the meat juices run off and you can make soup. Stephen & I’s soup wasn’t too wonderful–it was pretty much just the runoff with lots of cabbage and one other unidentified fruit or vegetable boiling in it.  The group next to us had quite the tofu-noodle-cabbage-saucy soup cooking up, though.

It was really quite fun: we enjoyed a few hours of wonderful conversation while all the men, including Stephen got their fill of meat. I loved trying a few different fruits and veggies, grilling up tons of fresh pineapple, and eating about a head of boiled cabbage (that was surprisingly good). One of the Shan staff members also taught me how to make som tum, a green mango Thai salad.

And, it really was all topped off beautifully with the self-serve Cremo freezer, which is only the best ice cream in town.  We enjoyed some of that, as well!

And for our faithful readers: the answer to our game! Remember this post?

For all those who guessed our washing machine, you’re right!  We have a special tray that goes under our washer to prevent the rats from getting in.

Kudos to my mom, Leslie, Laura, Chris, & Baden 🙂

My sister, Keri, is having a baby this week! Her second, and hopefully this Thursday.  I’m completely excited and can’t wait to know if it’s a boy or a girl; and I no longer even know which one I’m hoping for!

But we’re missing it.

We knew this would be the first big thing we’d miss. When she announced the pregnancy last year, we already knew we’d be heading out in January and that this would be the first “big event” we’d be gone for. And we actually missed her last baby being born, because we were in Thailand in 2009. And again we’re here, and we’ll be waiting, again, for a call to tell us and see his or her (I typed “her” first and then remembered I don’t know; I suppose I’m hoping & planning on a little girl!) sweet face over Skype.

It’s hard to swallow. And it’s only the beginning.

What does it mean for us to live here? For us to actually make this our home–for however long–and miss out on the lives of people we love most?

After a few weeks with no internet at our house, we’ve been checking emails, writing blogs, and keeping up with everyone from our office and various coffee shops in town.  We even discovered that once we had the wifi password for a coffee shop nearby our house, we could just drive by slowly and hit “Get Mail” on the iPad…it would bring in all the new emails and we could then read them at home. Lame.

Then this week we were able to get keys to the Partners office and decided we’d head up there Saturday night and try to catch some family on Skype. I was planning to talk with Jenn in England first, so we went up at 7pm, which I thought was 2pm for her.

Nope. I did my math wrong. So for the first hour in the office we watched Seinfeld.

But then, people did sign on, and we were able to spend the next six hours–yes, SIX HOURS–skyping our families!  We managed to catch three of my sisters, one of my brother-in-laws, one niece, and three nephews.  We also got to talk with one of Stephen’s sisters, one brother-in-law, one nephew, and his parents.  And we’re actually off to catch my parents later this morning since they were busy.

Whew.

And, really, I loved it. It was late and I was getting tired, yes. And coming home and going to bed at 2am is no longer in our routine here since we’re getting up between 6 and 6:30 each morning now.

But it was lovely: to see faces, to hear voices, to laugh together.

I am so thankful for Skype. There is something about the freedom to connect with someone and simply knowing it’s available. For the past few weeks, I’ve felt like I couldn’t get to everyone–I couldn’t access their emails, I couldn’t talk with them, and we certainly can’t fly home–and it made Thailand feel so far away. But for a few hours last night, it felt not-so-far again, like I could still see how the kiddos are growing up and I could still see faces, even for a little while.

It’s still big, yes, but the world was able to get  a little smaller for just a few moments, and I loved it.

[And by the way, internet randomly started working at house. Just now. I’m not sure whose it is or how long it will work. This country takes some getting used to.]

Can I just introduce you to something absolutely wonderful?

Grilled bananas.

We affectionately call him “the banana man” (and his wife), and he makes the most wonderful snack you’ve ever imagined. We found him in 2009 and went nearly every weekend we were in town.  He’s moved down the street a little bit since, and his wife is around more often than he is, but they still know how to make something amazing.

Basically, they put four banana pieces on a stick, then grill it over a small charcoal flame. They have them grilling all day in different stages, then when you come up to purchase one, they take the bananas off the stick and smash them between two wood pieces.  They put them in a baggie, give you a clean stick to stab them with, and give you some sauce.  All for just 10B, or about 33 cents.

The greatness is really in the sauce.  I know it has coconut milk in it, and there’s something else that makes it a little carmel-y. But it’s amazing.

This will probably be one of the first things I take people to try when they come to visit. That is assuming they are out–they work independently and don’t feel the need to keep a tight schedule. They go home early if it’s too hot or too wet; they come late if they want to.  You’re just lucky to catch them.

Well, I still can’t make the sauce or recommend you to make it at home, but…we did grill some of our own bananas at home and it was pretty good. (Not comparable at all, you see, but good in a completely different way.)

You can just cut a banana up (slices or quarters) and put it in a pan, no oil or anything, and grill them. It’s quite good. I would also recommend it with vanilla yogurt or ice cream. Whip cream is probably delicious, too, but we don’t have that here.

Just something to tie you over until you make it over for a visit.

(Can you tell I’m anxious for visitors? I am.)

We went out with one of the Partners’ staff members, Matt, on Wednesday to learn how to drive in Mae Sot! We’ve already been out and about on our motorbike, but we needed to learn in the Partners’ trucks before they’ll let us take them out into town and to the refugee camps.

Stephen did great. He’s pretty chill about things and, not surprisingly, took it all in stride and did fine.

Not so much for me. I hate driving in the States, and this is far worse. I have yet to drive the motorbike, even, and haven’t driven a car since about December. And Thailand is just terrifying.

Matt described it very well:  In America, we are trained to assume someone is there until you know it is clear.  In Thailand, they assume no one is there until they see you.

Also, over half the drivers are on motorbikes, plus a large number of bicycles. When you are in the car, you’re the most dangerous, by far–and to make it worse, most motorbike drivers have never driven a car. I hadn’t thought about this, but when we’ve grown up in cars and driving cars, we understand how difficult it is to see everyone around you. We understand how difficult it is to stop quickly. We have  concept of how far to stay from large vehicles.

No such concept here. Motorbikes will cut off cars or ride right next to them in a blindspot they know nothing about.  As the driver of a car, you have to be utterly aware of everyone around you, and if you aren’t, lives are at stake because most everyone is on a motorbike, exposed, without a helmet and with flipflops on.

Thus, I was horrified.  I hate having such power to kill people, by sheer accident, nonetheless!

I also don’t like having the blinker on the opposite side, so I’m constantly turning on the windshield wipers (in dry season) and scaring myself (and drawing stares).

Either way, we both passed.  I’m still planning on Stephen driving unless there is an absolute emergency. I think it’s best for everyone.

This Sunday, March 13, 2011, is the Global Day of Prayer for Burma!  We wanted to let you know about it and invite you take some time out Sunday to pray for the country and people of Burma.  Partners also has a guide online that walks through the history, suggests ways to pray, and shares stories of the people.  You can find it online by clicking here. (Unfortunately, this link is no longer available.)

I also wanted to share this quote from Shane Claiborne in his book Jesus for President that keeps me hopeful for Burma:

“We believe
despite the evidence,
and we watch
the evidence change.”

And, just for the record, it’s also Kim Bandy’s 30th birthday this Sunday! So, happy birthday, friend 🙂

It’s official: fluency is just around the corner!

Well, maybe not just, but our teacher did proudly tell us today that we have been studying one month and have come very far, so she thinks by three months we will be fluent! (Yes, she used the word fluent!)  She also said she noticed that we are studying at home and that it is helping. I’m  a complete goody-two-shoes and this made me feel wonderful.

For the first two weeks we tried to take our two hour lesson together, but it wasn’t working too well. The language came a little easier to me, so Stephen ended up quiet.  We then suggested that for the first hour she talks directly to Stephen and I simply listen, then we switch. It’s been working so much better and she is so proud of him. He’s getting much better in his speaking and she was telling him today how he is understanding more and speaking more!

We try to study our vocabulary at home every day and she has started to make us little homework sheets that we take to translate five sentences from English to Karen and five sentences from Karen to English.  Anyway, we’re excited.