Spring 2015 - Day 51 and 52: Myanmar
When I got up I attempted to take a shower since I hadn't had one in two days. Just the idea that I had to wear bug spray constantly made showering feel pointless. But I was probably starting to smell. It was an interesting task, seeing how there wasn't a shower curtain. I couldn't decide if it was on purpose, to make you only turn on the water when you needed it or if they simply forgot to put on up.
Regardless, I managed it and had enough time to each some sweet toast again for breakfast before I met the group in the lobby.
We were going to spend the morning at a school. According to the itinerary we may be given some things to do, like teach or cook and then we would be serving everyone lunch.
Our big busses were not going to fit down the road to the school so we got to ride in these trucks with caged beds. We could fit 12 people in one, but it was a tight fit. The road to the school was bumpy, very, very bumpy. We caught air a few times and landed hard on the metal bed of the truck. It was so much fun!
When we got to the school we all piled off the trucks. All of the students were crowded around to greet us. There were kids of all ages, from around 3 or 4 to 15 or 16. There was a line of about 10 fifteen year old girls that said hello to all of us and then each latched on to a SASer. One of them took me by the arm and lead me into a room of the school building. Her name was Wit Yi Phyo. The teacher handed out books of blank paper and pencils. We took turns drawing pictures. Of course, now that I was asked to draw something, all of my drawing skills went out the window. Wit loved drawing very intricate trees.
She drew one for me and wrote her name on it so that I could take it home. She didn't speak very good English so we had an extreme language barrier. I tried to talk to her and find out about her life but she just smiled at me a lot.
We eventually went out into the school yard to see what else was going on. Someone had brought balloons and had made balloon animals for a bunch of the kids. Some others were playing soccer. There was a circle that had just formed to play catch. We joined in and tossed a ball back and forth for a long time. Eventually it got a little boring but we couldn't think of a way to make it more interesting that didn't require explaining.
Mama Shelley tried to teach a group of little kids how to do the hokey pokey. They mostly just stared at her while she did it in front of them. It was really funny.
We started playing music from someones phone and danced a little. Then we got pulled into another room of the school house to do some dancing but it was hard to organize it. Then Mama Shelley noticed a long stick leaning against the wall and we realized we could teach them how to limbo.
It was an amazing idea. We played music and went back and forth under the stick to show them what to do. The little kids loved it. They ran back and forth in a giant pack. They loved falling together in a large clump, full of giggles.
This activity lasted a really long time. They loved it.
Wit was still attached to my arm at this point. Eventually they invited us to have a meal in an outdoor seating area. Wit walked me over and got my a coconut. A guy was chopping coconuts open so that people could drink the milk. It was delicious. Wit then had me sit on a bench where the food was. She sat down next to me and then disappeared. There were a few other SASers sitting around the small table and there was also a three year old little girl. She was adorable. I couldn't get her name out of her, I don't think she spoke much at all. But we played and clapping games and took turns tickling each other. I will say it again, she was adorable.
We were all a little nervous about eating the food. We were warned so strongly against eating anything we weren't sure about. We had no idea where the food was cooked, and the school complex didn't look all that clean. We also felt really bad about taking a meal away from these kids. But Cindy said that SAS had provided the food so we shouldn't feel bak about eating. That made me feel weirder though. If SAS was going to provide food, we shouldn't be eating it. We should be providing it for them. It was awkward and it didn't feel right. I ate a little rice but I didn't want to risk getting sick.
We helped them clean up. Not a lot of people had eaten so it really felt like we were wasting food. The entire meal was a point of discussion for a while after the trip.
We then gathered for a group photo and presented the head of the school with some money. We learned that SAS had actually donated a lot of money to the school over the years. We had provided a lot of money for the large school building we had spent most of our time in. We had also funded a water purifying system so they could have clean water. Go SAS. The money that we were donating on this trip was going towards a solar panel and a generator.
Overall I thought the trip was a success. We got to spend a lot of time there and play with the children. We didn't really teach or help in any way. But people didn't have their cameras in the kids faces and the kids genuinely seemed to enjoy having us there.
We waved vigorously goodbye as we piled back onto the trucks.
When we got back from the school I put on my bathing suit and laid out by the pool… without sunscreen. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I mostly laid in the shade when I could but I definitely got some sun too. I was joined by Brianne and Mom and one point and there as some SASers that had come to the beach independently that I talked to as well.
Mom had brought sun art paper and so we experimented with that. Basically you laid a bunch of objects on a page and then stuck it in the sun. The sun lightened the paper everywhere the objects weren't, leaving the areas the objects were darker. When it was done you had to set it with water. It worked pretty well but the only source of water that we really had came from the pool and we weren't sure if the chlorine would do weird things to it but it seemed to work.
We collected shells and flowers and had a great time putting together little works of art and seeing what it looked like.
I ordered another pizza for a late lunch, there was nothing else good on the menu and we had eaten them out of fries. It actually wasn't that bad of pizza and since I had been eating only rice and fruit for almost every other meal I really enjoyed it.
Around 4:30 we had the choice to go to Lover's Island. I had heard from people that already went that it wasn't all that exciting but since I had been lying in the sun all afternoon and didn't have anything else to do I decided to join the small group.
It was about a 20 minute drive from the resort and once we got there we were dropped off at the entrance to the beach. We walked down, past a few houses and advertisements for water sports, to a beach that looked a lot like ours.
The island was just off the beach, when the tide was out you could easily walk to it. When we were there the tide was coming in so while you could still walk out there the water would come up to your chest. Gloria and Andrew ended up asking some local guys to take us out there in their boat.
It was about a 1 minute boat ride and I was the least anxious I had been on a small boat in a while. The island was tiny, probably a half mile deep and only 400 meters across. On the side of the island that was facing the beach there was a mermaid statue, a flag pole, a set of stairs that led to a Buddha statue and another set of stairs that disappeared up into the trees. Brianne and I decided to be adventurous and hike up the stairs into the forest. We followed the path into the forest for about 10 minutes and ended up almost on the other side of the island. Eventually the path ended and never actually came out on the opposite side.
But we could see the other side from the end of the path and so felt like we had hiked the entire length of the island. We felt accomplished.
We only spent about 20 minutes on the island total before taking the boat back to the beach. We did take pictures with the mermaid before we left and I ended up leaving my flip flops on the beach. The boy who owned the boat was kind enough to jump out and get them for me.
When we returned to the resort after our visit to the island we only had about 15 minutes before we all gathered for dinner. We were eating at another hotel called the Bay of Bengal. It was close enough that we could walk to it.
Both parts of the beach trip came together for dinner. Which means I got to see Jessi, Andi, and Annie! We got there first and already had our food when I saw them walk up and get in line. I ran to give Jessi a hug and she held up her hands to stop me saying she did not feel well and hadn't all day.
She said she had been bitten or stung by something on the foot and had been passing out and running a fever. It did not sound good at all. When she sat down at our table she told us more. Apparently two nights ago a bunch of really itchy bumps had appeared on her foot. The next morning she got up to get ready for elephant riding she passed out in the bathroom twice. She decided not to go and slept the rest of the morning. Luckily she was able to go with the afternoon group.
She was still not feeling well and all the liaison was able to do was give her some Benadryl. Hopefully she can make it through the trip and see Dr. Jeff on the ship before it gets too much worse.
But besides that news our time at dinner was a lot of fun. Someone hooked up their phone to the speakers and played various line dance songs. We all did the Wobble, even mom joined in! We danced until about 8pm and then mom and I walked back to our resort together. We talked about our ship board communities and how this one compared to the ones from our other voyages. We also reflected on our time at the school and our feelings on other service trips. It was a good talk, I am so glad that I have such a great ship mom.
Back at the resort I struggled with the wifi for a while but gave up quickly and just laid in bed and read Harry Potter for a long while. It was peaceful and relaxing. The large Russian group that was also staying at the resort was having huge bonfire on the beach. Apparently a bunch of SASers joined in and it got a little crazy. It sounded like it would have been fun but I really enjoyed my quiet time. No regrets.
In the morning I met Brianne around 8:30, ate breakfast, and then headed out to walk around the town a little bit. Town is a very generous word, even village makes it sound larger than it really is. It was basically a single road with little run down residences and shops. All the shops sold basically the same thing, things made out of shells and clothing.
I bought some bracelets and a tiny statue made out of shells that I was just really drawn to for some reason. The items were scary cheap. I spent 4 dollars on that statue, 11 bracelets, and a magnet. It's amazing how inexpensive Myanmar is.
The walk to town took longer than we expected so we made it back to the resort with only 15 minutes to spare before we needed to check out and meet. I had packed in the morning and just needed to grab my backpack and not forget to grab the bathing suit I had left hanging up.
When I got back to our room I found that my bag and my bathing suit were gone from the room. Panic set in quickly. I had brought my computer with me this time in the hopes of having good enough wifi to get some things done.
The one time I brought my computer with me into a country and it was taken. I walked very quickly back to the front desk, my mind raced with where it could have gone and who I should tell first.
When I reached the front desk I searched for Cindy, our liaison, but before I could find her my eyes found my bag amongst a pile of other things right next to the front desk. It was safe, everything was there. Apparently the resort was trying to be high end and so as part of their service they take your luggage to the front for you. But they don't warn you or tell you they are going to do this, which makes it not a very good service. I was not the only person in our group to have this happen to them.
I didn't care, my stuff was safe. But I am never bringing my laptop with me again.
We drove the whole day back to the ship. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant that ended up being my favorite meal of the whole trip. They had spring rolls and fried shrimp, it was yummy.
After lunch we made a bathroom stop at a little shop on the side of the road. The bathroom ended up being an actual outhouse in the back yard. Just a hole in the ground with a bucket of water you used to wash it down with. It was not the first time I have used a squat toilet but it was definitely the most memorable time.
After the second stop we took Cindy got back of the bus and asked if anyone wanted a mango candy. Anything with mango sounds fantastic to me so of course I tried one.
Yeah… it wasn't mango. It was tamarin, and it as disgusting. Absolutely the worst thing I have ever put into my mouth. I could not even swallow it, I had to spit it out.
Cindy had been duped. Gloria confirmed, the package definitely said mango but it definitely wasn't mango. I was scarred for life and will never except anything from anyone ever again. Ok, maybe that is extreme but it was seriously nasty.
I had to chew a lot of gum to get it out of my mouth.
When we got back into the city the struggles continued. Our bus took off another mirror and the owner of the damaged vehicle followed us for 5 minutes. We ended up pulling over and they got into a shouting match with our driver. Mom Shelley tried to buy them off with a 20 and got yelled at by Cindy and me. No paying people off!! Plus, it wasn't our job to take care of it, it was the tour company's job. Somehow it got resolved and we were off again.
We didn't get back to the ship until almost 8pm. We cleared off the bus quickly and I waited in line to get on and was all the way up the gangway and about to have my bag inspected when I realized I didn't have my camera. It wasn't able to fit it in my bag so it had been separate. I had definitely left it under the seat of the bus and the bus was definitely long gone.
I ran back down the gangway and to the table set up by the tour company. I told the woman I left my camera and she called Gloria. She had just handed me the phone, and Gloria had just told me they had searched the bus and now found a camera, when Mama Shelley yelled to me and asked if I was looking for my camera. They had found it on the bus and had taken it off for me. I was so relieved. Thank god.
That was the second time I had freaked out about my stuff in just one day. Not ok. But it was fine and I had all of my belongings again.
I got back in line and got back on the ship. I went back to my room, dumped my stuff down, unpacked a smidgen, and then went to bed. It had been a long, long trip.
