Thai ’08 Journal 15

It rained a LOT last night, which cooled things off quite nicely this morning, BUT by the time we started working in the fields it was quite a different story. We were back picking corn again today. However, with Kim and Ken gone we only managed to pick two truckloads today. But really, it was more difficult picking today – there was a lot of tall wild grass amongst today’s corn and the mud and heat slowed us down a bit, or it made us pace ourselves a bit more. I also had to go and get petrol for the pickup and it took quite a bit of time, so the team was really short three people for part of the morning. I should mention that driving that vehicle is quite an experience; I haven’t driven a vehicle with NO power steering since I was a boy. So, it was hard work – almost as hard as picking the corn. Ha! Tomorrow we pick fruit again and they say that on Monday we’ll shuck corn.

The nurses did home visits for dengue fever. Some of the Thai students dressed as mosquitoes –even though it was very hot outside. They visited the villagers’ homes and treated the water for mosquitoes. About 20 of them loaded into the safety of the back of a truck to drive around to the villages. The faculty then had lunch by the waterfall – enjoying five different kinds of “chicken.” The Thai nursing faculty members are most generous and bring us fruit and Thai dishes almost every evening.

Tonight we went to the White Buddha. It is 600 steps to reach the Buddha – very hard work as the steps went nearly straight up. Vie was the only wise one who did not climb all the steps – of course she was following her doctor’s advice to take care of her heart. But the view from the top was stunning (even though “some people” barely made it to the top – crawling up the last few torturous stairs!). The trip down used a completely different set up of muscles – it was also 600 steps! Many bodily parts were quivering at the bottom. If you ever come to Thailand, make sure to go see the White Buddha.