"Together We Can"

Today for church we had some visitors from the church headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. All of the congregations in Bangkok (I believe there are about 5 congregations) were invited to attend one meeting held at a convention center outside Bangkok. The meeting was inspiring as we mourned over the tragic events that have taken place recently. The speakers reminded us that no matter what our political opinions we are unified through our love for and belief in God. They reminded us of the importance to build strong families who love goodness and peace. I sang in the choir for the meeting and felt strongly a love for this country and its people.

On the way home I was driving with a friend who is new to driving in Thailand. She has a navigation system we call Lee who speaks to us in an Australian accent. We typed in the address of our final destination and Lee gave us step by step directions on how to get home. Unfortunately, there are places where the roads are a bit unclear and the highways resemble a spaghetti bowl and so we missed a turn and Lee had to recalculate and quickly think of a new route to get us home. The new path drove us into the heart of downtown Bangkok where we were able to see the damage the fires and fighting caused. We saw the huge mall that had burnt to ashes as well as the remains of several other buildings. We could see in the road where the tires had been lit on fire. It was quite sad to see the loss and damage.

There were also crowds of people on the street. Many of them standing and, like me, were also grieving the loss but many had trash bags in gloved hands and were assisting with clean up efforts. They were picking up trash, washing soot off of walls, scrubbing the streets and sidewalks. There were large trucks driving into the area which I can only assume would soon be filled with debris and other garbage. Thai citizens were purchasing cold drinks and snacks and taking them to the drivers of these large vehicles in a gesture of gratitude for their service. My heart was full of joy as I watched the people of Bangkok come together to clean up and rebuild. I was caught off guard by the whole thing quite honestly! And I was so pleased to see after the protests filled with so much anger and destruction and violence this demonstration of unity and peace and teamwork.

There was a sign hanging on the side of the road that read "Together We Can". Many of those who were helping in the community cleaning effort were wearing T-shirts that said the same...Together We Can.

This is the Thailand I know. These are the loving, kind Thai people I have encountered. This is how I will remember Thailand. A community of peace-loving people who come together to work hard after tragic events to rebuild.

There is so much we can accomplish when we work together.

Together We Can!

The Ancient City

I wrote up this nice blog yesterday about what was going on and my feelings and experiences with the BKK disturbances but it disappeared (I was obviously not on my Mac). I was too frustrated to rewrite it all. In a nutshell things are getting better here. Today I ventured out of the house and to a nearby park with 2 friends. The park is called the Ancient City. It's in the shape of Thailand and has replicas of significant buildings and ruins throughout Thailand. We rented bicycles and rode through the park visiting the replicas and learning a bit of Thai history and Buddhism. It was very interesting and the buildings were beautiful! The day was hot so we made frequent stops for cold water and ice cream.

It was great to see some of Thailand's most important structures. It was interesting to note that each building was influenced so deeply by religion. The symbolism in each aspect of the buildings, the carvings, the shapes, it all has hindu and/or Buddhist significance. The stupa, for starters...the square on the bottom is a square, like the Buddha folded his robes, in the shape of a square. On top of that is Buddha's bowl, upside down. On top of that is Buddha's staff. And there you have it...a Stupa!

It's so beautiful to see all the symbolism. I really love it.

So, it took us from 8:30 to 5 to see what we saw and we weren't even able to cover the whole park in that time. It was really amazing. And it was nice being outside, on a bike, in the hot sun rather than sitting on my couch, in front of the TV in the AC...well, ok, the AC would have been really nice.

Well, I've decided that I LOVE Thailand and that I can't wait to see the originals of the replicas I saw today. I feel so lucky to be here! Oh, I didn't even mention the purchases I made today. I bought the greatest little rocking elephant and a wooden elephant puppet with strings...so fun! And...a few Christmas gifts I won't mention. :-) Yes, I've already started my Christmas shopping.

Troops Moving In

It's Wednesday morning. I've been off work since Thursday at 3:00. I've been keeping up on the news by watching CNN, reading the Bangkok Post, The Nation and reading other sites online to stay updated on the happenings in an area I used to go to my Thai language classes and enjoy the large park in that area.

Since Thursday things have been heating up. Well, this morning I woke up (I have to admit that it has been nice to sleep in!) and turned on CNN only to see footage of troops rolling into the area of the protests, knocking down barricades and trying to stablize the area of tension. There are gun shots, lots of smoke from the burning tires and bank has caught fire.

It is strange to watch what is going on just couple of miles from me. But do not worry, I am safe. I might go stircrazy but I'm safe.

While I've been sitting here in my apartment I have been afforded the opportunity to chat with many people I haven't had direct contact with since I left the US (or longer). I appreciate these opportunities to hear updates on your lives and I'm so glad to hear that people are actually reading my ramblings! :-)

Well, I guess that is all for now. Time for me to find something else to do.

Oh, I just got a txt from the embassy stating the the security situation is deteriorating in areas closer to my house. Praying for peace.

Protest Update

My heart is heavy today as the protests have turned ugly in Bangkok. We received word on Thursday that the government advised those who work around the protest area should go home early. We let staff go home at 3:00 and told them not to come in on Friday. Unsure of what would happen we had received notices from the US embassy that something was about to happen.

Not wanting to be here when things got ugly I decided to head out of town with a friend to Nong Nooch, a botanical garden she had heard about located about 2 hours from Bangkok. Friday morning we took the drive and found ourselves in such a beautiful area! Not only were there beautiful gardens but tons of elephants, a petting zoo, a butterfly hill and lots to keep us busy.

We had a great time riding elephants, walking through the gardens, watching a cultural performance, an elephant show which included elephants bicycling, playing basketball, soccer, painting, dancing and a host of amazing tricks! It was easy to feel like Bangkok was just a bad dream but we got regular updates that the embassy sends out informing us of shootings in various areas, explosions, road closures and other bad news reminding us that the bad dream was worse than just a nightmare...it was reality.

We spent the night in a little cottage inside the gardens and spent Saturday hanging out with the elephants, feeding the fish and the animals in the petting zoo (we spent way more money on food for animals than food for ourselves!), laughing hysterically, watching the elephant show again and eating ice cream. I made my first purchase of original art. It's a piece painted by an elephant! :-) I couldn't resist! It was a beautiful (very hot!!) day.

All too soon it was time to make our way back to Bangkok. Unsure if we would be able to make it back into the city on our normal roads due to various road closures from the fighting we took our chances and found a smooth drive back. Thank goodness.

I went to church this morning but only a handful of people showed up. The service was very short and then many of us gathered at the home of a family in the congregation to have lunch. From their apartment we could see the area where the unrest is centered. Smoke was billowing into the sky, probably from the burning tires. The family said they were able to hear explosions and gunfire from their location.

After a simple meal of taco salad we discussed the political situation sharing what we'd heard and what had happened. The death toll is now at 24, the government is giving all women and children until 3 pm tomorrow to get out of the protest area and then...well, we're not sure what will happen then. Will the military go in? Things keep changing. It's got to be hard to follow through with plans when so much of the military are red shirts themselves or "watermelons" as they are now referred to (green military uniforms but red shirts underneath). I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring. I just saw on the news that the government has declared Monday and Tuesday as holidays so I've got another 2 days in the house. There isn't much work I can do from home except to cancel all of the refugee interviews both caseworkers and US government officials planned to conduct. So, I'll work on scheduling interviews in other areas in our region hoping they will actually happen.

My house is a couple of miles from the main action and I have no windows looking over the area of unrest so I think I'm safe where I am. But I am near a major street and just about an hour ago heard cars driving down the street shouting and honking horns, headed in the direction of the protests. The skytrains and metros are shut down and rumor has it several stations are under control of the Red Shirts.

I have enough food in the house to last me awhile in case I can't get out but I'll run to the grocery store tomorrow to pick up a few more things. I'm not sure what I'll do with my time the next few days but I have a few movies and books around. :-) Oh, and I learned today that what I though were the effects of a bad sunburn on my leg from last week's beach run is actually jellyfish stings! So, I'll head to the pharmacy to see what they can give me for the itch and to help it heal (how do these things happen to me?).

I'm sad it has come to this and hope peace will be restored. I love Thailand and its people. I pray peace will soon be restored and life will return to normal. Until then, I promise not to do anything stupid as my curiosity often gets me in trouble. I'll do all I can to stay safe.